Cherhill CofE School

Cherhill C of E (VA) Primary School Middle Lane, Cherhill, Calne, SN11 8XX

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Requires improvement 3

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school is well led by an effective headteacher, supported by a committed and enthusiastic governing body. They have high expectations of pupils and staff.  Subject leaders are knowledgeable and support their colleagues well in raising standards.  All groups of pupils make good progress across the school.  Pupils attain standards well above national levels by the end of Key Stage 2.  Most teaching is at least good, with some that is outstanding. The teaching of reading is a particular strength of the school.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress from their different starting points. Their needs are quickly identified and additional help given.  Pupils’ work is well presented and they are proud of their achievements and the work they produce.  The school is a welcoming community in which pupils feel safe and valued. They enjoy school, behave well and get along with one another and

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

with adults. Older pupils are considerate of younger pupils.  The school is successful at promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils have a strong sense of right and wrong.  Pupils have a good understanding of the Christian faith, but they can also speak maturely and with some understanding about different cultures and beliefs.

p.1

It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The standard of writing for the most able pupils is not as high as for other subjects.  Pupils are not always given sufficient guidance on what they need to do to improve their work.  The early years provision requires improvement because activities are not set at the correct level so that children can achieve well. Inspection report: Cherhill C of E (VA) Primary School , 6−7 November 2014 2 of 10

p.1

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 19 lessons or parts of lessons, six of which were joint observations with a school leader.  The inspectors met groups of pupils and talked to them about their work, about behaviour and safety and other aspects of school life. They listened to pupils read and looked at work in their books. One inspector toured the school with a group of pupils.  Playtimes and lunchtimes were observed, as was pupils’ behaviour during assembly and when moving around the school.  Meetings were held with subject and other leaders, governors and a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors looked at a number of documents, including safeguarding arrangements, policies, records relating to behaviour and attendance, minutes of meetings and the school’s own self-evaluation.  The inspectors took account of 63 responses to the Parent View survey, and had informal discussions with parents in the playground before school. They also took account of the 13 questionnaires returned by

p.2

Inspection team

Janet Maul, Lead inspector Additional inspector

p.2

Inspection team

Claire Thompson Additional inspector Inspection report: Cherhill C of E (VA) Primary School , 6−7 November 2014 3 of 10

p.2

Information about this school

 Cherhill is smaller than the average-sized primary school. There are seven classes; one of these is the Reception class, the others contain mixed year groups. The mixed-year classes are divided into ability groups for mathematics, grammar and phonics lessons.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught full time.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The vast majority of pupils are from a White British heritage and speak English as their first language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is similar to the proportion found in most schools.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional government funding provided to support pupils known to be eligible for free school meals or children who are looked

p.3

Information about this school

after by the local authority) is below average.  There have been several changes to the teaching staff this year, including in the Reception class.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the attainment of the most able pupils in writing by:  increasing the amount of writing in pupils’ books by providing more opportunities to write across a wide range of subjects  giving pupils the opportunity to edit and critically evaluate their own work.  Ensure that all children in Reception make fast progress in acquiring skills, knowledge and understanding by:  ensuring teachers and other adults working in the Reception class always have high expectations of children based on accurate checks on their progress.  ensuring all leaders support less experienced colleagues in planning inspiring activities that make children excited about their learning.  Ensure that pupils of different abilities are given work that is both achievable and challenging by:  setting targets in pupils’ books that are more appropriate to their learning, and are updated regularly  giving consistent feedback to children so that they know how well they are doing and what they need to

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

do to improve their work. Inspection report: Cherhill C of E (VA) Primary School , 6−7 November 2014 4 of 10

p.3

The leadership and management are good

 The school is led by a strong, effective headteacher, ably assisted by her leadership team. They know the school well and have a good understanding of its strengths and areas of relative weakness. As a result, they have well-targeted plans in place to improve the school still further.  Regular, accurate lesson monitoring by the headteacher and leadership team is improving teaching in the school. Middle and subject leaders also undertake work scrutinies, assist colleagues with planning and arrange training. They have a good understanding of the school’s performance information, which they share with colleagues.  Rigorous and challenging staff target-setting reviews help to identify areas for training and development which are closely matched to the needs of the school. Pay and performance are closely aligned and salary increases are only made if they are justified by pupils’ progress.  The school has recently adopted the new National Curriculum and the staff have ensured that their

p.4

The leadership and management are good

planning closely tailors the curriculum to the needs of their pupils. Pupils spoke enthusiastically about their learning and the interesting activities planned for them, which include a wide variety of visitors and visits. Pupils told the inspector how the activities they undertook during a recent residential visit to Wales has helped them to learn to support each other and work as a team.  Leaders value the importance of educating the whole child and in addition to the academic aspects, pupils learn about spiritual, moral, social and cultural matters. For example, staff showed stones dropping into water and making ripples, and from this pupils learnt about the repercussions that one action may have on others. They could speak about this very maturely.  The headteacher ensures that the culture of the school is one of high expectations for learning and behaviour. Pupils know that they come to school to learn and were able to tell the inspector why it is

p.4

The leadership and management are good

important to behave well both in class and outside. Pupils were adamant that there is no racial discrimination in the school and they understand that children live in a variety of different family structures. This supports the school’s view that it promotes equality of opportunity, fosters good relations and tackles discrimination, and prepares pupils well for the next stage of their education.  The school works very well with all parents. There are excellent arrangements for children when starting school. Parents commented that the staff are extremely approachable and they have a high opinion of the support given to their children, both academically and socially. This positive view of the school is reflected in the high attendance levels achieved.  Only a very few pupils are disadvantaged and eligible for support from the pupil premium. This funding is spent well and the progress of this small number of pupils is monitored and appropriate additional help

p.4

The leadership and management are good

given.  The local authority supports the school effectively. They have worked well with the school’s leadership team to improve teaching and learning and the use of assessment information. The school has also benefited from specialised training by the local authority, including e-safety training which is helping to keep pupils safe on-line.  Leaders ensure that all staff are well trained in identifying pupils at risk of harm and they know who to go to with concerns. The school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils meet statutory requirements.  The primary sports funding is used effectively to provide opportunities for pupils who might not otherwise engage in sporting activities. Provision is also made to train staff, to introduce a wider variety of sports through the employment of specialist coaches, and to initiate competitive events with other schools.  There have recently been several changes of staff in school. This has resulted in the early years provision

p.4

The leadership and management are good

requiring improvement. However, the leadership team are aware of this and are taking steps to raise standards.  The governance of the school:  The school’s governors are knowledgeable and enthusiastic. They are committed to the school’s success and are generous with their time. The governing body knows the school’s strengths and weaknesses and how well the school is performing compared to other schools. Governors know about the quality of teaching and discharge their responsibilities well regarding staff pay and performance, ensuring that there is a close link between performance and financial reward. Governors offer the headteacher both support and challenge, an example being the close monitoring of how the pupil premium and sports funding is spent. The school’s finances are well managed. All governors attend training regularly and appreciate the need to promote equality of opportunity, foster good relations and tackle discrimination.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

Designated governors have had additional training for special educational needs, safeguarding and safer Inspection report: Cherhill C of E (VA) Primary School , 6−7 November 2014 5 of 10

p.4

Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. This view is supported by pupils, parents, governors and staff.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are consistently positive and a high level of engagement was seen in classrooms and assembly. Pupils were proud to show the inspector the work in their books and most pupils take pride in the presentation of their work.  Pupils expect to work hard and listen to their teachers; this allows lessons to flow smoothly. Where teaching was less strong there was some calling out of answers, but this was rare.  Pupils move around the school in a safe orderly way in response to adults’ high expectations. Pupils play well together at lunchtimes and playtimes; there are high levels of supervision and a variety of activities to do. The older and younger children interact well, and Playground Pals and Anti-bullying Ambassadors are trained to support other pupils.  Pupils talked very sensibly about fairness and understand the principles of democracy by voting for school

p.5

Behaviour

council members.  There is a clear hierarchy of behavioural sanctions and rewards which the pupils all understand and subscribe to.  The school has effective systems for recording and dealing with behavioural, racist or bullying incidents, which are reported to the governing body. This contributes to the school’s promotion of equality of opportunity.  The school has a positive ethos; this is reflected in displays which reinforce the school’s strong church school foundation. During a tour of the school, pupils used the displays as a starting point to explain about their work and to talk about other cultures and about the ethos of the school.

p.5

Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good; pupils feel safe in school.  Levels of attendance are higher than found in most schools nationally.  There are effective systems in place to check that people who work with pupils are suitable to do so. All staff and governors are trained in safeguarding procedures, and this training is updated regularly.  Most adults have had first aid training. The policy and practice for administering medicines is good. The site is kept safe and fire drills are held regularly.  Pupils have a good awareness of the different forms of bullying and told the inspector that there is no bullying in the school. However, they know what to do if it were to happen and have great faith that the headteacher would ‘sort things out’. All pupils have recently had training on e-safety and how to keep themselves safe when online. Record keeping indicates that bullying is indeed rare, and this view is also

p.5

Safety

supported by staff and parents.  Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe in different situations. The school arranges ‘Bikeability’ training for Year 6 pupils, which they appreciate, and they told the inspector that they thought it was important that younger pupils had ‘stranger danger’ training.

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have high expectations of their pupils and expect them to listen carefully and do their best. This results in pupils acquiring good skills and knowledge across the curriculum.  Teachers check pupils’ progress regularly and if learning slows they arrange for additional support until the pupil has caught up. Teachers have good subject knowledge and when teaching English and mathematics they use the correct technical vocabulary. This ensures consistency across the school, with pupils being able to talk about how they learn as well as what they learn.  Neat handwriting is taught from an early age, resulting in pupils’ work being well presented.  Phonics (the sounds letters make) is well taught. Indeed, reading is a strength of the school, with well- planned sessions and the acquisition of reading skills having a high priority. There are many opportunities for pupils to read widely and often in groups and individually, and parents are fully engaged in this

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

process.  Teaching over time in most subjects, including English and mathematics, is good. This was reflected in the Inspection report: Cherhill C of E (VA) Primary School , 6−7 November 2014 6 of 10

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

lessons seen during the inspection and the high standard of work produced in pupils’ books. However, in subjects other than English and mathematics there is too little recorded work, indicating that pupils do not have sufficient opportunities to write in other subjects.  The interaction between adults and pupils is good, with teachers skilfully questioning pupils and adjusting their explanations accordingly. Pupils eagerly look for the written comments their teachers make when marking books. However, although marking is generally of a high standard, this is not consistent across the school.  Setting targets for pupils is not consistent. While all pupils have targets, these are sometimes achieved very quickly and not updated. Also, activities are not always set at the right level, which results in pupils making slower progress than they should. This is because they are not clear about how to improve their

p.6

The quality of teaching is good

work. In the early years, teaching does not always ensure that work is set at the right level.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are quickly identified and are well supported by experienced teaching assistants. The school works effectively with outside agencies to support pupils.  The very small number of disadvantaged pupils have their needs assessed individually, and they are then supported through various programmes to make sure they are making fast progress.

p.6

is good

 Progress across different year groups and key stages is consistently strong, and evidence from tests and pupils’ work shows that they successfully acquire skills and knowledge and achieve well.  There is great variability from year to year in the skills and knowledge that children already have when they join the Reception class. However, from their different starting points, pupils make good progress during their time in early years.  The results of the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 show that more pupils are achieving the expected standard than is found nationally. This highlights the priority given to the acquisition of reading skills throughout the school, and is reflected in the high standard of reading found in all years and groups.  Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 is slightly above the national figure for reading and writing, and slightly below for mathematics.  Pupils make good progress across Key Stage 2 and from their different starting points the proportion of

p.6

is good

pupils making expected progress is higher than the national figures for reading, mathematics and writing; the proportions exceeding expected progress are higher for reading and mathematics, but lower for writing.  In 2014, the most able pupils in Year 6 attained the highest levels in reading and mathematics, but not in writing. The school has started to address this and inspectors found evidence that a high standard of writing is currently being produced by the most able pupils in Years 5 and 6.  In other subjects the standard of work is good, but there is not a great deal of work recorded in books.  Pupils with disabilities or special educational needs make very good progress from their different starting points for mathematics and reading, and similar progress to other pupils nationally for writing. This reflects a similar pattern in attainment to their classmates.  In 2014, there were too few disadvantaged pupils in Year 6 to comment on their progress lest they should

p.6

is good

be identified. However, looking at the progress of all disadvantaged pupils across the school it is evident that they make good progress because of the good support they are given.  In 2014 no pupils in Year 6 came from a minority ethnic group or had English as their second language.

p.6

requires improvement

 Recent staff changes mean that some staff do not yet know the pupils well enough to ensure that the work is set at the correct level. Also, in some cases the next steps planned for the children are not sufficiently challenging.  Staff are not always explicit in ensuring the children know what is expected of them for either behaviour or independent work.  The school’s leadership team are aware of the need for improvement and are currently planning for this with staff.  Arrangements for children to join the Reception class and settle quickly are excellent. Parents are full of praise for the admission arrangements and commented on how much they appreciated the willingness of Inspection report: Cherhill C of E (VA) Primary School , 6−7 November 2014 7 of 10

p.6

requires improvement

the staff to engage with them. They know that they are welcome in school.  Parents also commented positively on the guidance they receive from the school on how to support their children with learning to read. If they have any personal concerns they are confident that these will be addressed.  Attainment on entry to the Reception class is variable from year to year. However, tracking of the children’s progress indicates that they make good progress from their starting points.  In 2014, children leaving the Reception class achieved higher levels than found nationally in nearly all of the areas of learning. The only area where the children were below was writing. Good transition arrangements ensured that these pupils were well prepared to start work in Key Stage 1.  Children enjoy their time in the Reception class. They are well cared for by the adults who ensure that they are safe and well looked after.

p.7

requires improvement

 Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are given additional support to enable them to catch up with the other children. Inspection report: Cherhill C of E (VA) Primary School , 6−7 November 2014 8 of 10

p.7

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

p.8

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. Inspection report: Cherhill C of E (VA) Primary School , 6−7 November 2014 9 of 10

p.8

School details

Unique reference number 126313 Local authority Wiltshire Inspection number 448589

p.9

School details

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

p.9

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 202 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Nicola Brennan Headteacher Terry Hall Date of previous school inspection 24–25 February 2010 Telephone number 01249 812100 Email address head@cherhill.wilts.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 .

p.9

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.

p.10

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

p.10

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

p.10

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’.

p.10

School details

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

p.10