The Vine Inter-Church Primary School

The Vine Inter-Church Primary School The Vines, Upper Cambourne, Cambourne, CB23 6DY

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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 Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher provides strong and effective leadership. Other leaders, staff and the governing body share her dream for all pupils being thoroughly prepared academically and socially for the next stage of their education.  Leaders at all levels, including the governors, work well together to improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement.  Good leadership and stimulating teaching in the early years enable children to make good progress.  Good teaching ensures that all groups of older pupils make good progress and achieve well.  Standards are rising steadily and are on course to be above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The governors know the school well and effectively challenge and support leaders.  The curriculum and additional activities effectively promote the pupils’ spiritual, moral, cultural and social development, and prepare them well for life

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

in 21 st century Britain.  Behaviour is good and pupils are confident that they are safe in school. Attendance is consistently above average.  The issues identified in the previous inspection have been successfully tackled, and improvements have been brought about in the use of marking and assessment.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Tasks and activities in lessons do not always challenge all groups of pupils to make the best possible progress.  Good practice in teaching is not always shared effectively within the school.  Occasionally pupils’ spelling in written work is not accurate because they do not develop this skill as well as other aspects of literacy and numeracy.  Subject leadership is not consistently strong in driving improvements.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching in 20 lessons, including three observations carried out jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. They considered pupils’ written work, listened to pupils read, and observed an assembly and pupils’ behaviour at break and lunch time.  The inspectors took account of 73 responses to Parent View (the Ofsted online questionnaire), and 24 questionnaires returned by staff. They considered the views of parents and carers delivering and collecting their children, and in parental correspondence received. The inspectors held meetings with staff, groups of pupils, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and took into account a number of documents. These included records of behaviour and attendance, planning and monitoring information, and safeguarding and child protection arrangements. The school’s own information on the current progress of pupils was also

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Information about this inspection

considered.  During the time of the inspection the vast majority of Year 6 pupils were away on a residential visit in Norfolk.

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Inspection team

Nicholas Asker, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The Vine Inter-Church Primary School is larger than the average-sized primary school. It opened in 2005 to serve the growing community of Cambourne.  An above-average proportion of pupils leave or join partway through their primary school education.  The school has experienced recent staff turnover, with seven teachers appointed during 2014. Three of these staff are newly qualified teachers.  The majority of pupils are White British, with about one fifth of pupils coming from a wide variety of ethnic groups. Approximately one pupil in seven speaks English as an additional language.  One pupil in 20 is disabled or has special educational needs. This is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is about one in six, which is below the national average. This is additional funding for disadvantaged pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals or in local authority care.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The school provides a daily breakfast club and after-school clubs, and has a pre-school group for three hours each morning. These were all included in the inspection.  Children in the early years Reception class attend full-time.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve teaching by:  sharing the most effective practice within the school more widely  making sure that pupils, especially those who complete work quickly, are challenged to reach the highest standards.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the standard of spelling in pupils’ written work across all subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop leadership so that it is consistently strong in all subject areas.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is led very well by an effective and well-respected headteacher, ably supported by other school leaders and governors. Their vision for the school and high expectations for the pupils are shared across the school community. Staff completely support the leadership team and believe them to be doing a good job.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school communicates frequently and very effectively with parents. For example, during the inspection, parents and carers were kept up to date with the latest photographs and news from the Year 6 residential visit. Those who expressed a view on Parent View were overwhelmingly positive about the headteacher and the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school uses highly effective systems to monitor the quality of teaching in the early years as well as other classes. Any teaching deemed to be less than good is followed up with suitable training and support. As a result the quality is rising, although the practice that leads to the most effective learning is not shared successfully across the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The leadership of subject areas varies in quality. Mathematics and literacy have effective plans to drive developments in teaching and learning. In mathematics, a series of ‘non-negotiables’ provided to teaching staff set out high expectations for the standards of work and presentation expected from the pupils. The leadership of other subjects is not yet as well developed in raising standards.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school uses assessment information well to track the progress of the pupils. Regular pupil progress meetings are held with class teachers and leaders to identify pupils who need some extra help.

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The leadership and management are good

 The pupil premium is used effectively in a variety of ways to help disadvantaged pupils to catch up with other pupils in their reading, writing and mathematics. As a result attainment gaps are closing.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school provides an interesting and engaging curriculum, which has been carefully planned so that pupils tackle increasingly harder work as they go through the school. Staff make good use of educational trips and visits and visitors into school to enhance the curriculum. The breakfast and after-school clubs are well run and offer a good range of activities for the pupils, which they enjoy.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is promoted well. The ‘reflection pod’ is well liked and used by the pupils. At the time of the inspection this had been decorated with poppies as part of pupils’ work on Armistice Day. The school motto – ‘all are welcome here’ – is reflected in the way the pupils respect each other’s beliefs and cultures. The school is committed to giving all pupils equal opportunities and discrimination is not tolerated. Pupils are well prepared for their life ahead and understand British values of tolerance and democracy.

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The leadership and management are good

 Primary school sports funding is being used to provide training for staff alongside experienced sports teachers. This has improved teachers’ ability and confidence in teaching physical education and has enabled a greater range of sports to be taught. The school subscribes to the local sports partnership, which offers access to a variety of inter-school competitions throughout the year. Pupils say that they enjoy their sports sessions and being involved in competitions.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority supports the school well through regular visits. In particular, time spent looking through pupils’ books has helped to improve the quality of marking and feedback.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders make sure the school’s arrangements for safeguarding are highly effective and meet statutory requirements.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors know the school well and have an accurate view of its strengths and weaknesses. They take an active role in the strategic development of the school and provide a good level of challenge to senior leaders. They have a good understanding of how well the staff and pupils are performing in relation to other schools, and the areas in which the school needs to develop, because they understand the data available. Governors work closely with senior leaders to monitor the quality of teaching. They know what is done to tackle any underperformance and make sure only good teaching is rewarded. Governors know how additional funding is used to improve achievement for disadvantaged pupils.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They are polite and well mannered, eager to learn and work well with each other in lessons in the reception class and in Key Stages 1 and 2.

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Behaviour

 Pupils are proud of their school and take pride in the quality of their work. The staff manage behaviour very effectively with a clear and consistent approach. As a result pupils behave well around the school. Pupils who spoke to inspectors said that behaviour is typically good in school. Exclusion is used only as a last resort and is rare.

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Behaviour

 Behaviour on the playground is good. Pupils play well together on a range of interesting equipment. Supervision by staff is good and first aiders are clearly visible. Almost all parents and carers who completed the Parent View questionnaire indicated that the school makes sure the pupils are well behaved.

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Behaviour

 Pupils who take part in breakfast and after-school clubs enjoy the opportunities they are given. Behaviour is good in these clubs.

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Behaviour

 Attendance is consistently above the national average for primary schools. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are usually good, but occasionally some lose focus when they have completed their tasks and are waiting for others to catch up.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils feel very safe and the school uses effective procedures to keep them safe, including appropriate safeguarding training for staff. Pupils are able to take responsibility for their own safety, especially in relation to the building work that was taking place close to the school at the time of the inspection.

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Safety

 Almost all of the parents and carers who responded to the Parent View questionnaire confirmed that their child feels safe in this school.

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Safety

 Pupils are very aware of the types of bullying they might meet, and use the school strategy of saying ‘name calling is appalling’ assertively when needed. They are aware of the potential dangers of using the internet and are clear that personal details should not be given out. They say that bullying is rare, and that when it does happen teachers deal it with effectively. Pupil mediators from Year 6 help resolve minor disputes and arguments if they occur during break times.

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Safety

 The small number of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are well looked after, with a ‘pupil passport’ that explains the nature of their needs to unfamiliar adults working in the school. This enables potential misunderstandings and difficulties to be avoided and helps the pupils to make good progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Consistently good teaching ensures that pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics in the early years and Years 1 to 6.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers skilfully build positive relationships with and between their pupils. As a result pupils are keen and enthusiastic in lessons, and work well together. In a Year 3 lesson observed during the inspection, pupils groaned with disappointment when the bell rang for the end of the lesson.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have good subject knowledge and use this to plan and teach lessons that are usually effective. They know their pupils well and generally use assessment information about their progress to provide suitable tasks and activities to build on their learning. As a result pupils of different abilities usually achieve well.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils’ work is marked consistently well. Advice is clear and teachers ensure that pupils know what they need to do to improve their work. This was highlighted as an area for improvement in the last inspection, and marking and assessment are now of a high quality.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The work seen in books shows that the majority of pupils are making good progress in literacy. Work in mathematics is improving, especially in Years 5 and 6. Occasionally pupils’ spelling is inaccurate because they do not develop this skill as effectively as other aspects of literacy.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of mathematics is improving. Teachers are embracing the new curriculum by giving pupils many opportunities to solve problems. Teachers ask searching questions in lessons to probe pupils’ understanding. During the inspection, pupils in Year 5 were seen using logical and deductive reasoning to solve a series of problems.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of reading is highly effective, especially in Key Stage 2. Pupils read widely and often, and teachers take many opportunities to encourage them to read aloud. Writing is also taught well, with pupils using different types of writing in other subjects such as history and geography. However, the school is aware that the standards of spelling do not always match the standard of other elements of pupils’ writing.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants are used well to support pupils’ learning. Their support allows pupils who need extra help to join in with lessons and make good progress. They often use their initiative in lessons and quickly identify ways to maximise learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In most lessons, pupils settle to their tasks and work well. However, there are occasions when the activities set lack challenge for all pupils or they finish their work quickly and have no extra tasks to challenge them.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Across the school, pupils’ achievement is good. From starting points in the early years that are typical for their age, pupils achieve well in each key stage. The work in pupils’ books clearly shows the current Year 6 are on course to leave at the end of Key Stage 2 with standards above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics. As a result pupils are well prepared for the next stage in their education.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment is above average overall at the end of Key Stage 1 and in reading and writing, and average in mathematics. In 2014, the proportion of pupils who had made the progress expected nationally through Key Stage 2 was above average. However, the proportion exceeding the expected progress in reading and writing lagged behind that found nationally. The current Year 6 is safely on course to exceed the expected national picture.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The small number of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress. This is because the school successfully identifies their learning needs and ensures that they are met.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most able pupils also achieve increasingly well. The proportions of pupils who attained the highest levels in the end of Key Stage 1 assessments in 2014 were well above the national average in writing, slightly above in reading and broadly in line in mathematics. In Key Stage 2 above-average proportions of pupils reached the highest levels in mathematics and writing. In reading the proportion was broadly average.  Most disadvantaged pupils are making good progress, and gaps between their attainment and that of other pupils are closing. In Key Stage 2, disadvantaged pupils achieve as well as their peers in the school and other pupils nationally in reading, but not as well in writing and mathematics. In the 2014 Year 6 national tests, they were behind their classmates by one and a half terms in mathematics, and over a year in writing. They were behind other pupils nationally by two terms in mathematics and a year in writing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Results from the end of Key Stage 2 assessments in 2014 show that pupils who speak English as an additional language achieve better than their peers. There is little difference between boys and girls except in mathematics, where girls achieved slightly less well than the boys in Key Stage 2 assessments. The school now provides extra support for girls in mathematics. This is having an impact on improving their achievement, which is now good.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The results of the phonics (the sounds that letters make) screening check at the end of Year 1 showed that in 2014 a slightly lower proportion of pupils achieved the expected standard than was found nationally. This was not the case in 2012 or 2013, when the proportions achieving the expected standard were significantly above average. The school is now tracking pupils’ phonic abilities more closely.

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The early years provision is good

 Leadership and management are good. The early years’ team has recently carried out a self-evaluation exercise and has a clear action plan for development. Parents and carers spoken to during the inspection speak very highly of the provision. In particular they commented on the effective transition between the pre-school and reception class.

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The early years provision is good

 Children’s levels of knowledge and skills vary from year to year but overall they are broadly typical for their age when they join the school. They achieve well in the Reception Year. As a result children are well prepared for entry to Year 1. Information about their progress is carefully checked within the school and with other schools to ensure that it is accurate.

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The early years provision is good

 Teaching is good. Well-planned and engaging resources enable children to cover all the areas of learning in a number of ways. Children use the indoor and outdoor areas with enthusiasm, and adults make good use of well-chosen questions to extend their learning.

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The early years provision is good

 Behaviour and relationships are good. Children learn and play well together and adults demonstrate high expectations of their behaviour. Children are kept safe through good safeguarding procedures. Risk assessments are frequently carried out.

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The early years provision is good

 Disadvantaged pupils and those who are disabled or have special educational needs also make good progress. The early years team tracks their progress well so that suitable support can be provided to meet match their needs. Learning journals, started in the pre-school provision, are well maintained.

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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 134894 Local authority Cambridgeshire Inspection number 448605

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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 417 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Simon Tullett Headteacher Debbie Higham Date of previous school inspection 30 June 2010 Telephone number 01954 719630 Fax number 01954 719394 Email address office@thevine.cambs.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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