East Bergholt Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

East Bergholt Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School School Lane, East Bergholt, Nr Colchester, CO7 6SW

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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 school has had significant changes in leadership since the last inspection. Current leaders are having a positive impact on the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement.  The headteacher has provided excellent leadership since her appointment. She has created a very effective senior leadership team and the subject leadership is improving rapidly.  By the time pupils leave the school, their attainment is above average in reading, writing and mathematics. They make good progress from their different starting points.  Good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development ensures pupils are growing up with an appreciation of British values, based on the school’s Christian ethos, respect for and tolerance of, others.  The school is outstandingly rigorous in ensuring pupils are kept safe. Behaviour is good in lessons and around the school.  Teaching is good because the leaders and others with specific responsibilities have robust systems for

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

checking on teachers’ work. Extra training is provided where needed and past weaker teaching has been addressed.  The governing body provides good support and challenge for school leaders. The effective use of governors’ individual knowledge and skills has a positive impact on the support they offer.  Children in the early years are well taught and have a very positive start to their schooling. Their learning is captured very well in some high quality records of work.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils’ work is not always neatly presented and they are not taught consistently good handwriting skills.  Not all pupils are engaged sufficiently in some lessons and do not take a full part in the activities.  The reading materials provided for pupils do not always match their learning needs well enough.  Most-able pupils are not always given sufficiently challenging activities, especially in mathematics. 2 of 10

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 11 lessons or parts of lessons. A number of lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher.  The inspectors held meetings and discussions with the headteacher, members of the governing body, staff, pupils, parents and a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors examined samples of pupils’ work, some with the headteacher and senior leaders. Several pupils read to the inspectors.  The inspectors took account of 46 responses to the online parent survey, Parent View. The inspectors also talked to parents, read letters from some of them, and took account of 12 questionnaires completed by staff.  The inspector looked at a range of documents produced by the school, including data on pupils’ progress and attainment, procedures for safeguarding, the school’s own evaluations of its work, reports to the governing body and minutes of their meetings and the school’s plans for school improvement.

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Inspection team

Geof Timms, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Inspection team

Sally Taggart Additional Inspector 3 of 10

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Information about this school

 East Bergholt Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The headteacher was appointed 18 months prior to the inspection. The two assistant headteachers have been in post for 12 months.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below average.  A below average proportion of pupils are disadvantaged and supported by the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals or looked after by the local authority.  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.  Children in the early years attend the school on a full-time basis in a Reception class.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ achievement and the consistency of the teaching by:  helping pupils become more fully and actively involved in their learning  ensuring the tasks provided for the most-able mathematicians match their needs and provide sufficient challenge  providing pupils with reading resources that are appropriate for their abilities.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ handwriting skills and the way they set out and present their work. 4 of 10

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is led by an effective senior leadership team and a good governing body. The school has improved rapidly under the outstanding leadership of the headteacher. She quickly identified where there were weaknesses in teaching and leadership. These have been very robustly addressed. Leaders have created a positive culture in which there are high expectations of teaching and pupils’ behaviour.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, with other leaders and governors, has devised detailed and practical development plans based on an accurate view of the school’s effectiveness. These include plans covering priorities for the next three years. These documents provide a firm basis for school improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior and subject leaders have undertaken relevant training to help them improve their skills so that they can better fulfil their responsibilities. Although they were only recently appointed, the two assistant headteachers are carrying out their roles with a growing effectiveness.

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The leadership and management are good

 The leadership of teaching has had a positive impact on its improvement and, because of this, on pupils’ learning. The headteacher’s systematic and robust checks on the work of teachers have ensured that the quality of teaching is good. She has done this through regular observations of teaching, careful scrutiny of pupils’ work and the use of data to track individual pupils’ progress. Where performance has been less effective, leaders have dealt with this firmly and appropriately.

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The leadership and management are good

 Training to extend the skills of teachers and other staff is effective. For example, in physical education, the primary physical education and sport premium has been used to provide expert coaching and to develop the skills of the very enthusiastic sports leader. This had had a clear impact on pupils’ participation rates and created wider opportunities for competing against other schools, as illustrated by the recent successes in hockey and cross-country.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has provided good support and challenge since the previous inspection for leaders and the governing body. The provision for the youngest children has been supported and aspects of this are now being used as an example of good practice for other schools. Staff have attended a good range of training events provided by the local authority, including those for newly qualified teachers.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils are well-prepared for life in modern Britain. The school council helps develop pupils’ understanding of democracy. The school’s work to teach a range of values to underpin pupils’ learning, as well as how they live their lives, is very effective. The school offers many enrichment activities including special days to provide in-depth learning in some topics. The curriculum has been developed recently and is yet to be made fully secure in all aspects. For example, changes to mathematics have been well-introduced but the new computing curriculum, although improving, is at an earlier stage of development. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils are free from discrimination and the school ensures all enjoy the same opportunities to succeed.

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The leadership and management are good

 The pupil premium is used well. The funding provides specific resources, including targeted support from a qualified teacher, and this is having a positive impact on disadvantaged pupils’ progress. Leaders and governors track the impact of the funding carefully to ensure it is used to improve these pupils’ achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 The provision for children in the early years is well led and managed. Links with parents are strong and they have a good knowledge of how well their children are doing. The links with local early years providers are very effective in preparing children for starting school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s arrangements for safeguarding are outstanding. All statutory requirements are met. Pupils spoken to had an excellent understanding of how to keep themselves safe, including when using computers and other technology. This is supported by the views of parents.

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The governance of the school:

 The governing body provides the school with good support and challenge. Governors have worked 5 of 10

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The governance of the school:

successfully since the last inspection to improve their effectiveness. The governors undertake a good range of monitoring activities to check on the school’s work. For example, some recently visited to check on changes made to the content of some subjects. They carry out their statutory duties appropriately. Governors take part in a good range of training, including that to help them understand fully the range of data about pupils’ progress.  Governors know how good teaching is; how well the school tackles any underperformance and check how well leaders are improving its quality and impact. They make sure decisions about teachers’ pay increases are linked to performance and responsibilities. Governors track finances well. They work with leaders to decide how to spend additional money, such as that to support disadvantaged pupils. They have a clear understanding of the impact of their decisions.  Together with leaders, governors ensure that all safeguarding requirements are fully met and the

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The governance of the school:

school’s related procedures are effective.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils talk positively about the things that they enjoy doing. Physical education and sporting opportunities are a major part of what they like. They talk about how teachers help them and one said the school ‘gives you new opportunities such as, in a reading week, learning about publishers’

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Behaviour

 The majority of the pupils behave well in lessons. It is rare for learning to be slowed because of poorer behaviour. When moving around the school, at lunchtimes and playtimes pupils are well-behaved and play together well.

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Behaviour

 Most pupils talk enthusiastically about lessons, their work and other aspects of school life. One talked about how he enjoyed science because of the practical aspects of carrying out an experiment. A few are less well-engaged in learning, although not disruptive.

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Behaviour

 Pupils show respect for their surroundings. They do not drop litter and they are clearly proud of their work, although it is not always very carefully and neatly presented.

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Behaviour

 Pupils’ response to the school’s expectations of their behaviour and social development is good. They have good opportunities to take responsibility and learn about democracy, through activities such as the school council or the eco-committee.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. The overwhelming majority of parents who responded to Parent View said their children are safe and happy at school and would recommend the school to other parents. Staff put a high priority on ensuring pupils’ safety. On school visits, or during activities on the school site, supervision is excellent and the staff assess risks very well.

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Safety

 Pupils have extremely positive attitudes to keeping themselves safe. Older pupils play with younger ones and demonstrate caring attitudes towards them. They are aware of risks such as ‘stranger danger’ and have police visits that emphasise road safety. During the inspection groups were undertaking some good quality cycling training.

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Safety

 Pupils have an excellent understanding of what constitutes bullying and how to deal with it. They are very positive about the lack of any name-calling or racist bullying. They know how to keep themselves safe when using computers and are very aware of how the school promotes their safety in this way. They are confident there are adults in school who they can trust and would talk to if they had any worries.

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Safety

 Attendance is well above average. Parents ensure their children attend school regularly and are punctual. There is very little persistent absence but if it occurs the school deals with it very effectively. 6 of 10

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The quality of teaching is good

 Improving the quality of teaching has been a focus for the headteacher since her appointment. School leaders and governors are continually checking teachers’ work to assess its impact on pupils’ learning. Improvement has come about through extra training and changes to staffing. Because of this, pupils’ progress is good and standards are continuing to rise.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The marking of pupils’ work helps them understand what they have done well and what they need to do to improve. Teachers ensure pupils are given time to respond to the marking and it is clear in the books that pupils have moved their learning on because they have followed the next steps teachers have given them.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In the vast majority of lessons, teachers and teaching assistants form a good, effective team. This has a positive impact on pupils’ learning. In particular, the help and guidance they provide for individual disadvantaged pupils, or those who are disabled or who have special educational needs, has a very positive impact on their progress. The successful outcomes of good support in, for example, mathematics booster sessions, is evident in these pupils’ progress and is checked on by teachers and leaders.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers ask questions skilfully to check pupils’ understanding. Individual support and advice is provided during lessons when teachers recognise a pupil has not understood and needs further help. Recent staff training, provided by the subject leader, has improved teachers’ understanding of how to better develop pupils’ skills in mathematics. Even so, at times, the most-able pupils are not given work in mathematics that offers them sufficient challenge.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers provide good opportunities for pupils to use and practise literacy and numeracy skills in other subjects such as history or science. In addition, they promote boys’ attitudes through a very popular dance project and take a good number of pupils to sing at the O2 Arena with thousands of pupils from other schools. However, there are times when some pupils are not sufficiently engaged in their learning. This has a negative impact on their progress and is not always picked up and addressed by the teachers.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The school’s recently introduced tracking system provides clear information to teachers about pupils’ progress. Teachers use this well to provide work in most cases that is at an appropriate level to extend their learning, apart from the most-able in mathematics. However, teachers do not have high enough expectations of the quality of how neatly pupils present their work. Too little time is spent on developing handwriting skills and this is evident in their books.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching has a positive impact on pupils’ learning in reading, literacy and numeracy. This is evident in the skills pupils develop in these subjects. Even so, there are a small number of occasions when pupils have reading materials that do not match their needs or challenge them sufficiently.

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is good

 The progress made from Year 2 to the end of Year 6 by the pupils who left at the end of 2014 was above that expected in reading, writing and mathematics. This led to attainment that continued a clear upward trend. Attainment in reading was well above average, in mathematics it was above average while in writing it was broadly average. This was because teachers had focused on raising standards in mathematics and writing had a lower profile during the year.

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is good

 Current pupils throughout the school are making good progress from their different starting points in all three subjects. The Year 6 pupils are on track to attain standards that are slightly better again, with more reaching the higher levels in writing. Improving pupils’ skills in spelling, punctuation and grammar is a current focus and evidence from pupils’ books shows that this is successfully raising levels of attainment.

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is good

 In 2014, the Year 2 pupils reached well above average standards in reading, writing and mathematics, continuing a consistent trend of steeply rising attainment. Progress is strong due to effective teaching and the very positive start children get in the Reception class. Current Year 2 pupils are making good progress in all three subjects and are on track to achieve similar levels to last year. 7 of 10

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is good

 The results of the Year 1 check on pupils’ skills in phonics (how sounds in words are shown by different letter combinations) are good over time. Pupils’ basic reading skills are good and most of them develop into good readers who maintain a good level of interest in a wide range of books. However, in some cases, pupils are not given reading materials appropriate for their abilities. This slows their progress and has a negative impact on their attitudes towards reading.

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is good

 Progress in literacy and numeracy is good throughout the school. There are good opportunities for pupils to extend their vocabulary through, for example, in Year 4 writing imaginative descriptions based on Greek myths. Pupils produce some high quality work in other subjects such as art and design, physical education and history. However, the school does not have a consistent approach to teaching letter formation and handwriting and this is leading to skills that are below those expected.

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is good

 In 2014 there were too few disadvantaged pupils in Year 6 to report on without identifying them. Throughout the school the number of disadvantaged pupils is too small for their attainment to be reported. The school works hard with these pupils on an individual basis to narrow any significant gaps in their knowledge and skills. They are swiftly given effective support and consequently make good progress that is at least in line with their classmates and other pupils nationally, and sometimes better.

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is good

 Throughout the school, the most-able pupils make good progress. In 2014, a well above average proportion of the pupils reached the higher levels in reading and mathematics. Even so, there are times when they are given work that does not extend them sufficiently, especially in mathematics. Their writing is often imaginative and mature.

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is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress from their starting points because of the good teaching they receive and the effective additional help the school provides. Gaps in their knowledge and skills are reducing in all classes and year groups.

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is good

 From their different staring points, children make good progress in all areas of learning. In the past, children have joined the school with good personal and social skills but less well-developed writing, number and physical skills. The teacher has worked closely with new management at a local nursery and this has had a very positive impact on the starting points of the current Reception children.

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is good

 The early years provision is led and managed well. The teacher and other adults plan activities well and use their time effectively. This adds greatly to the children’s learning. It also ensures children are well prepared for their work in Year 1. The school makes accurate assessments of children’s attainment when they start at the school. The accuracy is ensured through good checks with staff in other schools and the local authority staff. Equally accurate assessments of children’s learning are made on a daily basis.

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is good

 The outdoor area is well-equipped, although the school has plans to improve it still further. Staff use this area well to support children’s learning. For example, work on phonics carried out in the classroom was extended when an adult led a group in writing the sounds on the floor outside using large chalks. There are strong links with parents and this means they have a clear insight into the work of the school and how well their children are learning.

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is good

 Teaching is good. Adults provide a good range of activities which address all areas of learning. The relationships between adults and children are very strong. The teacher’s good questions extend children’s learning very successfully by helping them think and reflect on their activities. Learning record books are of very high quality and this practice has been shared with other schools.

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is good

 Children behave well, including when outside or in a different environment such as the dining room. They use resources, such as computers, carefully and play and work together well. The adults all promote children’s safety through careful supervision. 8 of 10

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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. 9 of 10

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School details

Unique reference number 124729 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 448555

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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 controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 179 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Gill Rattray Headteacher Gill Mitchell Date of previous school inspection 25 February 2010 Telephone number 01206 298202 Email address admin@eastbergholt-pri.suffolk.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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