Priors Field Primary School

Priors Field Primary School Clinton Lane, Kenilworth, CV8 1BA

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 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

 Under the decisive and effective leadership of the headteacher, the school has improved in all key respects since its last inspection and is continuing to improve.  Senior leaders and governors have worked successfully to develop a strong and effective school. Governance has improved significantly since the previous inspection.  Teaching is consistently good throughout the school, particularly for the youngest and oldest pupils. This ensures that learning is good and pupils are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils behave well in class and around the school. They have positive attitudes to learning and say that bullying is most unusual.  Pupils say they feel safe and their parents agree. As a result, the school is a calm and harmonious place of learning.  Effective teaching ensures that children in the early years get off to a productive and enjoyable start to their education. They are well prepared for Year 1.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Careful tracking of the progress of all groups of pupils, based on accurate and reliable information, means that any at risk of falling behind are identified quickly and given good support to help them catch up.  Teachers prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain. There are regular visits to places of interest and to the theatre. The curriculum and assemblies make a strong contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not always provide work that challenges pupils to learn as much as they could, particularly those who are more able, or move them on quickly once they have completed the tasks set.  Subject leaders are not yet contributing enough to improving the school. They have only recently begun to check closely on the amount of learning taking place in lessons.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in parts of 23 lessons, four of which were seen jointly with senior staff. They looked at the work in many pupils’ books and listened to pupils in Year 1 and Year 2 reading.  The inspectors spoke with parents, teachers, senior and subject leaders, governors and a representative of the local authority. They held formal and informal meetings with pupils.  Inspectors took account of 27 responses to the staff questionnaire and 57 responses to the online questionnaire for parents (Parent View).  Inspectors looked at the school’s records relating to: the safeguarding of pupils; their attendance and behaviour; the progress made by past pupils and those currently in the school; governing body meetings; raising achievement since the last inspection; and the monitoring of teaching and learning.

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Inspection team

Terry McDermott, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Priors Field is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Children in the Reception class attend on a full-time basis.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is well below average.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is well below average. Almost all pupils speak English as their first language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is well below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching and achievement by:  planning work accurately to match the capabilities of pupils of different levels of attainment  ensuring that the more-able pupils in each class are not set work that is too easy  checking more closely that pupils are working productively.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of subject leaders throughout the school by:  checking rigorously the amount of learning taking place in lessons  using the results to help identify possible further improvements in teaching.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and governors have ensured that the areas of weaknesses identified at the last inspection in teaching and achievement have been significantly improved. Teaching is now good, pupils behave well, progress is accelerating throughout the school and standards are rising.

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The leadership and management are good

 The roles and responsibilities of the two assistant headteachers have been clarified. One has taken responsibility for Key Stage 1 and oversight of the early years. The other is moving to a new post in another school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Good leadership and management of teaching and learning have successfully driven the improvement of teaching since the last inspection. However, to date, the direct monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning have only been carried out by senior leaders. The recently appointed subject leaders are committed to their roles and hard working. This is expanding leadership capacity throughout the school. However, some are not yet fully effective in monitoring the quality of learning taking place in lessons.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s self-evaluation is accurate and based firmly on the pupils’ overall achievement. Leaders know what needs to be improved and what actions to take to make those improvements. This is confirmed by well-documented evidence in the school’s Raising Achievement Plan (RAP), combined with the effectiveness of previous actions in improving outcomes for pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum is wide-ranging and effective. It focuses rightly on developing pupils’ core skills of literacy and numeracy, but supports this creatively through the ‘Linked Learning’ programme. Pupils are given many opportunities to take the skills they have learned in reading, writing and mathematics, and apply them in many different themed projects. These range from a Reception class project on dinosaurs through a Year 2 research project based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest to a Year 6 project on castles. Pupils find this work very interesting, particularly when the project is attached to a site visit to bring theory to life.

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The leadership and management are good

 Within ‘Linked Learning’ there is also a series of set modules dealing with personal and social education, based on an appreciation of different religions and cultures. This underpins the school’s effectiveness in tackling discrimination by enhancing pupils’ already strong perspectives on tolerance, respect and the equality of all human beings. It also promotes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils’ well-disciplined approach and calm adherence to the school’s rules and routines are indicative of their good appreciation of the need for the rule of law. This and their charitable fundraising, directed through the elected school council, ensures that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school meets statutory requirements for safeguarding pupils’ well-being well. Procedural and administrative arrangements for ensuring pupils’ safety are followed fastidiously. All the required staff training is up to date. Several staff are trained in first aid. Some leaders and governors are trained in the safer recruitment of staff. Consequently, pupils are kept safe in school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has only a small number of disadvantaged pupils. Nonetheless, it uses the pupil premium funding effectively to provide resources and support as required. It also makes effective use of the primary school physical education and sport funding. The employment of a specialist teacher is helping other teachers to plan their physical education lessons well, and the use of coaches working alongside class teachers is making lessons more active. Consequently, pupils’ participation rates in a range of competitive or special interest activities have increased.

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The leadership and management are good

 Since the last inspection the local authority has, through its consultants, provided good support for the school’s governors and leaders. This has helped to move the school forward.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governance is good. Very quickly after the last inspection, the governing body carried out a review of its effectiveness and acted promptly to address its identified weaknesses. A new Chair of the Governing Body was appointed and leadership of the different committees was changed. Her Majesty’s Inspector noted the effectiveness of these steps in the monitoring visit of October 2013.  Governors are well trained. They carry out their duties effectively. Governors rigorously hold the school’s leaders to account for its performance. They have supported the headteacher in addressing the previous issues of weak teaching and achievement in Key Stage 2 by funding training of teachers and teaching assistants. They ensure that only good performance in the classroom is rewarded.  Governors have a very clear and well-founded understanding of what the school’s performance data

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The leadership and management are good

means. They are overseeing the school’s use of additional funding for physical education and for disadvantaged pupils rigorously.  The governors’ active and continuous involvement in developing and pressing forward the school’s RAP has been instrumental in helping the school to improve rapidly and securely.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. There is a calm atmosphere around the school. In lessons, pupils are attentive, respectful to each other and to adults, and usually focus well on their learning.

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Behaviour

 Pupils say they like coming to school and this explains why their attendance is consistently above average. They take pride in their work, their handwriting is good, and their books are very well looked after.

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Behaviour

 Well-established and solidly understood routines underpin good behaviour. Pupils respect the school’s rules. They know what standards of behaviour and deportment are acceptable, and what are not. When teachers very rarely have to manage inappropriate behaviour, they do so quietly and calmly so that other pupils’ learning is not disturbed.

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Behaviour

 Pupils enjoy taking on responsibility, whether helping to record things in class discussion, being on the school council, or representing the school at events and competitions. They are rightly proud of their school.

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Behaviour

 Sometimes, when work is not challenging enough, pupils finish quickly and teachers do not notice soon enough. On these occasions, pupils do not seek out extra work or challenge, but sit quietly and politely waiting for the next task to be presented to them.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils are taught about the basic safety measures, such as taking care on roads and not talking to strangers. They know how to keep safe when using computers or social media.

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Safety

 Pupils can explain crisply and confidently why they are safe in school. Their parents agree that they are well looked after and kept safe.

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Safety

 Incidents of bullying are rare. Pupils have a very mature understanding of all forms of bullying, including homophobic bullying, and can talk confidently and sensibly about how to avoid them. They know that careless words can offend, and they say that racism is simply not tolerated because it is not right. They are tolerant, thoughtful and respectful of other people and their environment. This is a firm reflection on their good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Safety

 The school uses very effective systems to ensure that any pupils who may need help or support receive it quickly. Pupils confidently say they can approach any teacher if they need confidential advice or have a concern.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good throughout the school, particularly in the early years and upper Key Stage 2. This is ensuring that pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics in all phases of the school is now good.  Classrooms are well-equipped, well-organised and attractive places for learning. Teachers display pupils’ work from a range of subjects to celebrate achievement, to motivate greater efforts, and to stimulate learning. Pictorial or creative work usually has good quality written explanations attached; these explain to observers where a pupil’s ideas originated or how they were developed. Because of this, pupils become more adept at writing concisely for a particular purpose.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Relationships between pupils and adults are very positive. Where learning is at its best, this enables teachers to set pupils individual or group research tasks which they can be trusted to complete without direct supervision. This then enables the teacher to get round other pupils in the class and inspire rapid learning for all.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of reading is very good, and all teachers place a strong emphasis on developing pupils’ comprehension skills from an early age. Teachers and teaching assistants are well trained in the teaching of phonics (how the sounds in words are represented by different letters). Phonics sessions are well planned and tightly focused. Teachers usually move pupils on rapidly once they have mastered this basic skill. Reading records show that pupils are heard reading frequently and regularly in school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of writing is good throughout the school. In the early years and Key Stage 1, pupils are given many opportunities to explain their thoughts and ideas ‘so that we don’t forget them’. As they move through the school, pupils are keen to write for a range of purposes, and their grammatical skills become impressive by the time they reach Year 6. They organise and present text and information very effectively. Most teachers promote pupils’ writing skills even further by using cross-curricular themes to demand that pupils explain ‘why’, rather than simply describing ‘what’.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Mathematics is taught well. In the early years and Key Stage 1, pupils practise mental recall of number bonds regularly. Well-organised, practical resources help pupils to develop secure multiplication skills. They gain a solid understanding of the language of mathematics because they are repeatedly exposed to it by most adults during mathematics lessons. In Key Stage 2, a great deal of work is based on solving complex word problems or undertaking thought-provoking mathematical investigations. This builds pupils’ confidence and interest in the subject.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ marking of pupils’ work is generally good. It is regular, acknowledges and celebrates good effort, and usually gives guidance on what to do next to get better. Teachers often set little challenges for pupils as a part of their marking to extend learning or deepen understanding. Pupils respond well to these challenges.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants are predominantly effective. Additional adults in classes usually make a good contribution to pupils’ learning, particularly when they are well guided by the teacher.

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The quality of teaching is good

 On occasion, work is not as challenging as it could be, particularly for the more-able pupils. At the beginning of lessons, teachers sometimes go over work that the more-able pupils can already do. At other times, some teachers do not notice that pupils have finished set tasks quickly, particularly when the same tasks have been set for every pupil in the class.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the school with knowledge and understanding that are broadly typical for their age, although there can be variations from one year to the next. In 2014, an above-average proportion of children left Reception class at the expected level of development in almost all of the early learning goals. They made good progress to reach these standards.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 As a result of firm action taken by the school’s leaders, achievement throughout the school and particularly in Key Stage 2, is now good. The work seen in many pupils’ books and information in the school’s reliable and accurate tracking system indicate that the vast majority are at least making nationally expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics. In most year groups, between a third and half of the pupils are now exceeding expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics. More than half the pupils in the current Year 6 had exceeded expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics during Key Stage 2 by March 2015.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Standards at the end of Year 2 dipped in 2014 to broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics. However, this reflected the lower prior attainment of this particular group of pupils and their progress was good. School data show that standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 1 are on track to be much higher in 2015.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Standards in reading, writing and particularly in mathematics in 2014 at the end of Year 6 were lower than they might have been. However, this was due to some unusual circumstances and the school accurately predicted the final outcomes.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school is convincingly and confidently predicting that standards in reading, writing and mathematics in Year 6 in the 2015 national tests will significantly exceed the standards reached in 2014, from a slightly lower starting point into Year 3.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 There were too few disadvantaged pupils in Year 6 in 2014 to comment on their attainment without risk of identifying individuals. There are no disadvantaged pupils in the current Year 6 or Year 5. Across the school, disadvantaged pupils make progress in line with other pupils in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress because of the expert support and guidance they receive.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most-able children in the early years, Year 2 and upper Key Stage 2 are now making rapid progress because teachers have high expectation of them, and present them with challenging tasks. In other classes, they do not make such good progress because work is sometimes too easy for them.

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The early years provision is good

 Children’s knowledge and skills are broadly typical for their age when they first enter the Reception class. Many have well-developed personal and social skills. The setting is imaginatively resourced and well organised to ensure that no learning time is wasted. In this vibrant learning environment they make good progress, and are well prepared to move into Year 1.

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The early years provision is good

 Teaching is now consistently good and learning is sometimes outstanding. Well-planned and interesting activities help children to concentrate for extended periods and thus secure deeper understanding. In one session on dinosaurs, some children were researching on computers, while others drew and labelled pterodactyls and diplodocus, wrote about the habitats they had constructed, or built pterodactyls using Lego and counted their ribs. Children were absorbed in their various tasks, carried out both indoors and outside, and learning was excellent.

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The early years provision is good

 There is a strong and very effective focus on extending children’s vocabularies and language skills. Adults consistently ask children to explain what they are doing. Thus children become increasingly confident in expressing their thoughts and ideas to others.

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The early years provision is good

 Activities encourage children to cooperate, to play and learn together taking turns, and to listen to adults’ instructions or guidance. They are kept very safe and secure, and as a result, they behave extremely well. This lays very firm foundations for what is expected later in school.

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The early years provision is good

 The leadership and management of the early years are good. With the effective support of the assistant headteacher responsible for the early years and Key Stage 1, the class teacher is leading the Reception class well. She shows high expectations of what children can do, and has revitalised the curriculum and tightened up the assessment of what children know and understand. The gathering of evidence on children’s progress is comprehensive and accurate.

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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 125609 Local authority Warwickshire Inspection number 462534

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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 Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 206 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Helen Busby Headteacher Margot Brown Date of previous school inspection 27 June 2013 Telephone number 01926 853015 Fax number 01962 851875 Email address admin2605@welearn365.com guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . 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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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