Barford St Peter's CofE Primary School

Barford St Peter's CofE Primary School Church Street, Barford, Warwick, CV35 8EW

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils’ achievement is good because pupils join the school with skills that are typical for their age and leave with attainment that is well above average.  Teaching is good with some that is outstanding, notably in the early years.  The headteacher, senior team and governing body take a strong lead in driving improvement. Rigorous checks on teaching, with good training and support where it is needed, maintain the quality of classroom practice and improve achievement.  The good teaching of letters and the sounds they make (phonics) means that pupils quickly develop good reading skills from an early age.  Pupils’ exceptional attitudes to learning have a very positive impact on their progress. Their behaviour is exemplary and they are always polite and welcoming. Pupils enjoy school and their attendance is above average.  Children in early years make excellent progress because they are developing highly effective

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

learning habits, such as staying on task, listening attentively and working together in groups.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well. All pupils say they feel safe and the wide variety of exciting themes and activities provided by the school, including after-school clubs and visits, ensure that pupils develop skills in a broad range of subjects and are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Standards in reading in Key Stage 2 have not improved as much as those in writing and mathematics.  While there is some high-quality marking in pupils’ books providing clear guidance as to what they need to do to improve, this good practice is not consistently applied across all classes.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed parts of seven lessons, including two shared observations with the headteacher. In addition, he listened to several pupils read and looked at samples of their recent work.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, teachers and members of the governing body. The inspector also held a telephone conversation with the local authority’s representative. Discussions also took place with groups of pupils.  The inspector scrutinised a variety of school documents, including: the school’s self-evaluation; the school development plan; behaviour records; governing body documents; and documents relating to the management of teachers’ performance.  The views of the 49 parents who responded to the online questionnaire, Parent View, were taken into account, along with letters from parents. The inspector also considered the views expressed in 18 questionnaires returned by school staff.

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Inspection team

Steven Cartlidge, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a much smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Pupils are taught in mixed-aged classes. Children in Nursery attend a combination of either morning, afternoon or full days.  Most pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is below average, as is the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language.  Less than 5% of pupils are eligible for pupil premium funding, which provides additional funding for those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals. This proportion is below the national average.  At 6%, the proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below national average. Around 3% are supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs. This is also below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards for primary schools, which set the minimum

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Information about this school

expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  A breakfast club and after-school club are provided by the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make sure that the quality of teaching is consistently effective by ensuring that teachers:  give pupils clear advice when marking their work, so that they always know what they need to do to improve  check that pupils act on the advice they are given through marking.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate further the progress pupils make in reading, particularly in classes in Key Stage 2, by ensuring that pupils have more opportunities to apply their reading skills both within English lessons and in other subjects.

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The leadership and management are good

 Since the previous inspection, the headteacher has recognised the need to improve the quality of teaching and to raise achievement. She has successfully achieved this by establishing a strong and determined team of school leaders and staff who share a common set of high expectations.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher’s rigorous analysis of pupils’ progress and her accurate checks of the school’s work give all teachers and the governing body a clear understanding of the school’s performance, including in the early years. This means that improvement planning is sharply focused on identified weaknesses. This is seen, for example, in the successful action recently taken to raise attainment in mathematics. It shows the school’s capacity for continued improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 The leadership of teaching is good and the school places a high priority on improving teaching through good-quality training. Teachers’ performance is checked and information is used from lesson observations and from information about pupils’ progress to set teachers’ targets for improvement. There is a clear understanding that decisions about promotion and pay rates will be based on the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has in place its preferred approach to assessment. A scrutiny of pupils’ work and its assessment by teachers in both Key Stages 1 and 2, demonstrated a majority of pupils’ understanding of how well they had achieved and what they needed to do to improve. However, the arrangements for assessment and marking are not yet being consistently applied in all classes.

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The leadership and management are good

 The range of subjects and activities is well planned. The range of subjects and topics covered in all years recognises local, regional and global differences, including different cultures and beliefs, and it promotes an understanding of others’ point of view. Planning promotes fundamental British values around democracy, liberty, and respect and tolerance of faiths and beliefs. Information about what is taught in the school is published on the school website and meets statutory requirements.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s view of itself is accurate. School improvement plans reflect the correct priorities.

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The leadership and management are good

 The funding for disadvantaged pupils is used effectively and has helped to develop the role of the teaching assistants. The school evaluates its expenditure on the support provided through data showing how well pupils achieve. This shows that all groups, including disadvantaged pupils, are making similar progress to that of their classmates.

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The leadership and management are good

 School leaders ensure that different groups of pupils have an equal chance to succeed, and they tackle effectively any instances of discrimination.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has carried out an impressive set of actions to make use of the primary sports funding. There has been a particular focus on early years sports provision in order to encourage more pupils to participate in sports activities from a young age and keep them playing sport throughout their life. The school has employed several coaches to provide extra opportunities for pupils to participate in dance, netball, swimming, tennis and cricket clubs, both during the day and after school. Pupils’ participation and confidence have increased because of this provision and now almost all leave Year 6, for example, able to swim at least 25 metres.

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The leadership and management are good

 The parents who responded to Parent View were extremely positive about the work of the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority is fully aware of the school’s strengths and areas for development and has worked well with the headteacher.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school: Governors are well informed. They have recently self-reviewed and changed much of their way of working. They have a clear grasp of the school’s strengths and what still needs to improve if the school is to become outstanding. They know that data on progress is accurate and reliable, that teaching is improving and that all staff are ambitious to make sure that the remaining gaps in progress are narrowed further. Governors know how the pupil premium funds are spent and see their impact in improved outcomes for eligible pupils. They also have an understanding of new National Curriculum requirements, including the rigour needed for assessment processes and ensuring that the curriculum promotes tolerance and respect, and prepares young people for life in modern Britain. They manage the performance of staff effectively and are rigorous in ensuring that the salary progression of staff is justified

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The leadership and management are good

by the outcome of pupils’ progress and achievement. Governors have a wide range of expertise in education, finance and safeguarding which enables them to be sure that all statutory requirements are met, including those for pupils’ safeguarding.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. The children develop their exemplary attitudes to learning in early years, where they learn to follow instructions and listen to others. Throughout the school, pupils are proud of their well-presented work and are keen to share it with visitors.

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Behaviour

 Pupils are respectful to all adults. Pupils respond immediately to instructions and their manners are exemplary. At the end of lunch, for example, all pupils in the playground obey instructions to stand still and then move to their appropriate class line, before entering school quickly, efficiently and clearly ready for afternoon lessons.

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Behaviour

 Attendance is above average and has been over the past three years. The school has had no persistent absence during this same period.

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Behaviour

 Pupils’ work is always neatly presented, and pupils take an exceptional pride in themselves, their school uniform and their school.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. The pupils say they feel very safe and have an excellent understanding of how to keep themselves safe. For example, they have a thorough understanding of how to keep themselves safe outside of school; they have a clear sense of road safety and they are very aware of the dangers of talking to strangers.

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Safety

 By Key Stage 2, pupils are exceptionally knowledgeable about the dangers of cyber-bullying and understand the importance of not sharing personal details online. Parents also believe that pupils are very secure in school.

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Safety

 Pupils say that there is no bullying but, if it did occur, they know staff would quickly sort it out. School records support this. Pupils describe everyone as kind and that is why they like school so much. They also know that this helps them to learn and they are proud of their learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers set challenging work that pupils relish. This was particularly evident in a fast-paced Year 2 and 3 mathematics lesson where pupils were calculating the area of compound shapes. The tasks were challenging and stimulating, and pupils were engaged in discussions about how to carry out the calculations. The most-able pupils had their work targeted at the higher levels. Pupils’ commitment was evident throughout and the progress demonstrated was good.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ subject knowledge is good. Teachers provide a range of tasks that motivate their pupils and encourage them to want to succeed. Pupils are also keen to live up to the expectations of the adults around them and this helps them to make good progress. This was particularly noticeable in a literacy lesson, where pupils in Years 1 and 2 had the opportunity to practise their use of punctuation. The pupils were extremely enthusiastic to share their answers with their classmates. Throughout the lesson, they showed a clear understanding of the strategies needed to develop their work to reach the highest level.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers and teaching assistants work together effectively, and the help they give pupils is matched well to the accurate assessment they make of pupils’ individual learning needs. This means that pupils of all abilities, including the relatively few disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs and the most able, make good progress in all subjects.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers provide high-quality constructive feedback to pupils verbally but written feedback, in the form of marking, varies. In the best practice, teachers’ written comments, which show pupils what they need to do to improve their work, often contribute to the progress that pupils make. Older pupils value this kind of feedback. However, this approach is not yet consistent across the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of reading is good, particularly in Key Stage 1. The teaching of phonics is effective and there are arrangements to give additional support to pupils who are identified as not having made sufficiently good progress. Pupils say they enjoy reading, and they read confidently and with understanding. Senior leaders have identified the reasons for the recent dip in standards in reading in Key Stage 2 and have put into place strategies to tackle this relative underperformance. Early indications are that the vast majority of pupils are now making good progress with reading

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils’ complete homework to a good standard and this gives them a strong platform for tackling work in the following lesson. Parents agree and are very supportive of the progress homework helps their children to make.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children start at the school with attainment typical for their age. They make good progress and their attainment, including that of the most able, means pupils leave school approximately a year ahead of pupils nationally in English and mathematics. The school’s information is based on accurate internal assessments of how well pupils are doing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most-able pupils achieve well because the school provides additional challenge and sets high expectations for what they can achieve .

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Results of the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 were high in 2014, and an improvement on the previous year, when they were above the national average.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Very few pupils have special educational needs that require support through school action. Those pupils who are eligible receive appropriate support and none fall behind. Disabled pupils and those supported at school action plus make progress equally as well as their classmates.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school has used pupil premium funding very well to provide extra one-to-one support for disadvantaged pupils where it is needed. There were no pupils eligible at the end of Year 6 in 2014. However, throughout the school, they make the same good progress as their classmates.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ attainment at the end of Year 2 is above average, particularly in writing and mathematics. Mathematics has been a recent school priority. School data and the work seen indicate that current pupils are making good progress, with many working at levels above those expected for their age.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment at the end of Year 6 is well above average. The upward trend is particularly evident in writing and in grammar, punctuation and spelling. The high quality of pupils’ recorded work in English and mathematics indicates that standards continue to rise.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In recent years, standards in reading in Key Stage 2 have not been as high as those in other areas. The school has thoroughly investigated this and has been involved in various initiatives aimed at further raising attainment in this key skill. Recent school information on progress in reading suggests a much stronger picture, with the vast majority of pupils now achieving well for their age.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 Children make consistently high rates of progress during their time in Nursery and Reception. Children start with typical levels of development for their age. As a result of teachers and teaching assistants continually motivating and encouraging children to become more independent, when either inside or outside, children make rapid progress. By the time they leave Reception, children are very well prepared for their start in Year 1.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 Outstanding teaching in the early years results in the children making excellent progress. All adults in Nursery and Reception work together to create a strong and effective team. Teachers and other adults model language well for children and, by continually challenging them to express themselves and extend their use of new words, children’s vocabulary and confidence develops rapidly.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 There is an excellent partnership with parents, who are encouraged to attend the ‘stay and play’ sessions held throughout the term. Parental attendance is frequently 100%.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 Children are given many opportunities to demonstrate they are confident and enthusiastic when left alone to explore, make their own discoveries and solve problems. This was well illustrated when children had to engage in several tasks involving counting numbers, including one using an interactive whiteboard. All of the children approached their tasks with great enthusiasm and skill, demonstrating an understanding of how numbers work.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 The number of disabled children and those who have special educational needs is small. Their specific needs are identified quickly in order for these children to make the same outstanding progress as their classmates.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing

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Grade Judgement Description

to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 125729 Local authority Warwickshire Inspection number 448565

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4-11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 133 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sarah Ransome Headteacher Annette Delaney Date of previous school inspection 9 February 2010 Telephone number 01926 624244 Fax number 01926 624109 Email address Admin3587@welearn365.com guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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