Rufford CofE School

Rufford CofE School Flash Lane, Rufford, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L40 1SN

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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 Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils make good progress from their starting points. By the end of Year 6 attainment is above average in reading, writing and mathematics.  Attainment and progress in reading are strengths of the school. Pupils enjoy reading and apply their skills well.  There is good provision in the early years.  Teaching is good and sometimes outstanding.  Pupils are very polite, very friendly and a pleasure to talk with. Behaviour is outstanding, as is the school’s work to keep pupils safe.  Above average attendance reflects pupils’ enjoyment of school.  The headteacher provides very strong leadership. Middle leaders are very aware of the strengths and possible areas for development in their subjects and take action to address any weaknesses.  The governing body is highly effective in both supporting and challenging school leaders. Governors have a wide range of professional expertise.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The quality of teaching is not consistently strong in making sure pupils make outstanding progress.  Some of the work pupils, other than the most able, are asked to do in mathematics is too hard.  Opportunities are missed for pupils to use their good writing skills well in other subjects and work is not always presented neatly.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed nine lessons including one observation carried out jointly with the headteacher. The inspector also observed group work and listened to pupils reading. He observed pupils as they arrived for school and at break and lunchtimes.  The inspector carried out a review of pupils’ work.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, staff, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  A wide range of documentation was reviewed including systems for tracking pupils’ progress, safeguarding arrangements, policies, a record of the school’s lesson observations and pupils’ work in their books.  Pupils’ views of the school were gathered through informal discussions with individual pupils in lessons and at break and lunchtimes. Discussions were also held with representative groups of pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 and with parents.  Thirty two responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) were considered alongside the schools’

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Information about this inspection

most recent questionnaire.  The responses from staff questionnaires were also considered.

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Inspection team

Geoffrey Yates, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than most primary schools.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is well below the national average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well below average.  There are no disabled pupils currently attending the school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils and therefore eligible for support through the pupil premium is well below the national average. (The pupil premium is additional funding for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority.)  The school meets the government’s current floor standards which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  At the time of the inspection the school hall was out of action because of major building works.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that pupils make even better progress by: - making sure the work set in mathematics is at the right level for all pupils - providing more opportunities for pupils to use their good writing skills in subjects across the curriculum - making sure work is presented neatly.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher with the good support of the deputy headteacher provides a clear vision for the school firmly grounded in the school’s Christian ethos. She is determined in her ambition that the school continues to improve and that the education the pupils receive is the best that it can be.  The middle leaders support the work of the headteacher well and the work they do ensures that pupils experience a good range of learning opportunities with any gaps in learning identified and addressed.  The school’s self-evaluation is accurate. The school’s plans for bringing about further improvement are well judged. Leaders carefully monitor the quality of teaching.  The management of staff performance has been successful. Staff training makes sure that there is a strong focus on improving standards. This can be seen in the improvements in reading provision last year resulting in improvements in pupils’ attainment.

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The leadership and management are good

 Equal opportunities are a strong feature of the school. The school does everything it can to meet pupils’ needs.  Child protection and safeguarding have a high priority. Leaders ensure that all requirements are met and that the building is a safe environment.  The local authority sees this school as a good school and as such provides ‘light-touch’ support.  The curriculum is matched well to pupils’ needs. However, there are too few opportunities for pupils to use their writing skills well in subjects across the curriculum. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted very strongly across the curriculum. The school does all it can to develop in pupils an understanding of life in modern Britain and is very much a part of the local community.  Additional funding for physical education is used effectively to improve pupils’ physical well-being. For example, increasing numbers of pupils are taking part in out-of-school sporting activities.

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The leadership and management are good

 The staff and parent questionnaire responses show clearly that all parents and members of staff think highly of the leadership and management of the school.  The governance of the school: - The governing body is highly effective and plays a strong part in leading the school even further forward. Governors know the school exceptionally well and provide strong challenge. They place a high importance on safeguarding and on pupils’ well-being as well as on the school achieving high academic outcomes. Governors ensure that the systems to check the performance of teachers are thorough. The governing body uses pupil-premium funding effectively to make sure it has a good impact on the very small number of eligible pupils. It has a good knowledge of how the additional sports funding grant is used for the benefit of pupils.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  In lessons, pupils behave exceptionally well and show highly positive attitudes to learning. Pupils say that everything about this school is wonderful. Pupils are proud of their attempts at making poppies at home as part of the school’s way of demonstrating the importance of remembering what happened in the First World War.  Pupils are very polite and friendly and are willing to share their experiences about school. For example, one pupil said she felt ‘overwhelmed’ to be chosen as a school council member.  Parents who completed the school’s own questionnaire and those who completed the online questionnaire were confident that pupils enjoy school and behave very well.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding.  Record keeping and follow ups with parents about safety issues including minor bumps are effective.  Pupils take great care of one another and try to ensure everyone is included at play. Pupils say that bullying does not take place and they have a very good understanding of all forms of what constitutes bullying, including the potential dangers on the internet. One pupil commented that on her Kindle she would never download the first chapter of a book without parental agreement.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils enjoy learning and respect their teachers. They respond extremely well to their teachers’ high expectations of them. Pupils are encouraged to ask questions and say when they do not understand something.  Good and at times outstanding teaching means that pupils make good progress across the school. Teachers all make it very clear to pupils their high expectations of their work and behaviour. However, at times the work pupils do is not presented well.  Reading skills are taught very well and pupils have plenty of opportunities to use their skills, including older pupils reading and evaluating new books written by professional authors. The work done by volunteer parents to support reading in the school is highly effective.  Teachers assess pupils’ work accurately and mostly use the information to provide challenging work for pupils to do. For example, older pupils respond exceptionally well to the challenge of using clues about a

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The quality of teaching is good

fictitious person to build up a profile of him. One pupil’s written summing up of the evidence stated,’ I think he is up to no good!’ However, in mathematics there are times that some of the work set is too hard for pupils other than the most able and as a result pupils’ progress slows.  Well-planned activities that capture pupils’ imagination are very much part of school life. Younger pupils, for example, are keen to investigate the properties of different materials to see if they are absorbent and to use their findings in deciding the best ones.  There are examples of pupils using their good writing skills in subjects well across the curriculum, for example in part of a project about Ancient Egypt. However, opportunities are sometimes missed for pupils to use these skills consistently well.  Currently there are no disabled pupils but pupils with special educational needs and disadvantaged pupils

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The quality of teaching is good

who require extra support for particular aspects of their work, receive good support from teaching assistants.  Teachers mark work effectively and provide helpful comments.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment at the end of Year 6 is above average both at the expected levels and at the higher levels in reading, writing and mathematics.  From their starting points, the vast majority of pupils make good progress.  Younger pupils’ learning about letters and sounds is good so that by the end of Year 1 an above average number of pupils reached the standard expected for their age in the national screening for phonics (the sounds that letters make). By the end of Year 2 standards in reading, writing and mathematics are above average.  Progress continues to be good through Key Stage 2. Thorough tracking data held by the school and the work in pupils’ books show that current pupils are making good progress and are on track to achieve well. This shows an improvement on the previous year where progress in writing was not as strong.  The good development of pupils’ reading, writing and basic number skills is ensuring they are ready for

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The achievement of pupils is good

the next stage of their learning at secondary school. However, pupils are not always given good opportunities to use their writing skills in other subjects.  Pupils with special educational needs receive effective extra support. This ensures they make good progress from their individual starting points.  The most able pupils achieve well especially in reading and mathematics. Their reading skills are used to good effect and they talk competently about why they like certain books and certain authors. They have a very strong mathematical understanding and enjoy being challenged to use their numeracy skills.  The very small numbers of disadvantaged pupils who are supported through the pupil premium make the same good progress as their classmates. Teachers are very aware of their needs and track their progress carefully. The extra support they are given is effective and as a result they achieve as well as other pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

It is not possible to make reliable comparisons between this group and other pupils in the school or with other pupils nationally because there were fewer than 12 pupils in both the 2013 and 2014 Year 6 groups.

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The early years provision is good

 Children are very well cared for and looked after and their behaviour is outstanding. During the inspection parents commented about how well the needs of their children, who had just started school, are met.  Most children start school with skills that are typical for their age. They very quickly settle and are keen to work together and highly enthusiastic about the work they are asked to do. For example, children, role playing as pirates, put a tremendous amount of energy into digging for treasure in the outside area. Occasionally opportunities are missed to make best use of the learning opportunities provided to move children’s learning on rapidly.  By the end of their Reception year, children achieve a good level of development and are very ready to start the Year 1 curriculum. The progress children make is checked carefully to see if any children need additional support and to build on the learning from earlier lessons. For example, children are challenged

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The early years provision is good

to use their ‘robot’ arms to help them sound out ‘new’ letters, building successfully on previous learning.  Work seen in children’s books shows that while it is still very early in the school year children have moved from mark making to forming recognisable letters, with some writing simple sentences. When questioned they show a good understanding of simple addition.  Leadership and management are good. The teacher is supported effectively by the teaching assistant.

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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 119483 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 448828

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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 131 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mrs S Nickson Headteacher Miss A Farrington Date of previous school inspection 25 November 2009 Telephone number 01704 821300 Fax number 01704 821940 Email address head@rufford.lancs.sch.uk 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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