Radford Semele CofE Primary School

Radford Semele CofE Primary School School Lane, Radford Semele, Leamington Spa, CV31 1TQ

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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

 Leaders and governors take effective action to ensure that teaching is consistently good and pupils achieve well. As a result, standards at the end of Key Stage 2 are rising and are well above the national average in reading, mathematics and grammar, punctuation and spelling.  Information on pupils’ progress is collected and analysed meticulously by the deputy headteacher. Regular meetings with teachers are robust as they identify where additional support is needed.  Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to their learning are good. They are respectful to all adults and each other, enjoy lessons and are keen to do well.  Pupils feel safe at school and are taught effectively how to keep themselves safe. Pupils enjoy school and this is shown in their above- average attendance.  Parents have positive views of the school and feel their children are happy, safe and well cared for.  Good teaching enables all pupils, including the most

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

able, disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs, to achieve well.  All pupils make good progress from their starting points. They quickly acquire and extend their basic skills as they move through the school. Pupils who left Year 6 in 2014 made outstanding progress in mathematics.  Children in the early years make good progress due to good teaching and the high quality of care and nurturing they receive.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through a rich and diverse curriculum.  Governors are very knowledgeable about the school. They provide a good balance of challenge and support to leaders to make sure that there is continuous improvement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not always move pupils on swiftly in lessons when they show they understand and can do the work set.  Teachers’ marking does not always provide clear guidance to show pupils how to improve their work in all subjects.  The headteacher does not always review teachers’ targets regularly to check if they are suitably challenging to maximise pupils’ achievement.  Behavioural incidents are recorded but not analysed.  Leaders do not systematically update or check the school’s policies to ensure all staff have read them.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching in all classes. They saw 14 parts of lessons, three of which were jointly observed with the headteacher or deputy headteacher.  Meetings were held with pupils, the headteacher, other staff with leadership responsibilities and members of the governing body. Inspectors also spoke to a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 72 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and information from surveys collected by the school. They also spoke to parents as they brought their children to school and those who requested contact with inspectors by telephone. Consideration was also given to letters sent in by parents during the inspection.  The inspection team received responses from 20 staff to the inspection questionnaire and their views were taken into account.  Inspectors listened to pupils read, talked to them about their learning and reviewed the work in their

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Information about this inspection

books.  Inspectors reviewed a number of documents, including the school’s checks on how well it is doing, the school improvement plan, data on pupils’ current progress, leaders’ reports following lesson observations, and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Heather Simpson, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Information about this school

 Radford Semele is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The early years consists of one class of children in the Reception Year and they all attend full time.  The large majority of pupils are of White British heritage and most speak English as their first language.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils known to be eligible for pupil premium funding is well below the national average. The pupil premium is additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those in the care of the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is slightly above the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 6.  The governing body has recently taken over the management of the breakfast and after-school club.

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Information about this school

 Since November 2014, the headteacher has reduced his contract to four days per week. The deputy headteacher is substantive headteacher on the fifth day.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching and, thereby, accelerate pupils’ progress further by making sure teachers:  move pupils on to more challenging work in lessons when they show they are ready  provide precise guidance to pupils on how to improve their work in all subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve still further leadership and management to outstanding by making sure that:  the headteacher regularly reviews the targets set for teachers and adjusts what is set if necessary to maximise pupils’ progress  behavioural records are analysed in order to identify any trends or patterns  school policies are systematically updated and all staff read them.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, other leaders and governors have created a calm and purposeful learning environment where pupils behave well and thrive. Values, such as ‘respect, kindness and equality’, are strongly promoted and integrated into assemblies, lessons and pupils’ work. These set the tone within the school and pupils can talk confidently about these.

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The leadership and management are good

 Staff morale is high and all adults are committed to providing high-quality nurture and support for pupils. They work very effectively together and are a united team who feel valued. As one staff member wrote, ‘This is a great school to work in and all of the staff are treated equally.’

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders’ evaluations are accurate, including those in relation to the quality of teaching. Where improvements are needed in teaching and learning, detailed action plans are generated which rightly focus on the main priorities. For example, leaders detected that standards and rates of progress in reading were declining at the end of Key Stage 2 between 2011 and 2013. Effective action and additional training for staff resulted in a significant improvement in 2014 which has been maintained. This strong track record of improvement shows the school has good capacity for further improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 The deputy headteacher plays a leading role in regularly checking pupils’ progress and using the information collected to target additional support where it is needed. Leaders hold regular meetings with staff and, together, actions are agreed and implemented. These have led to improvements in reading, writing and mathematics for individuals and groups. Arrangements for introducing assessment without levels are underway and a new system is scheduled for September 2015.

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The leadership and management are good

 Middle leaders are very knowledgeable in their subject areas. They lead training for other staff, which has brought about improvements in pupils’ learning, especially in writing. Standards have been improved by pupils’ opportunities to write in different subjects. For example, when studying the First World War, older pupils developed their letter-writing skills and use of empathy when writing letters home from soldiers in the trenches.

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The leadership and management are good

 The quality of teaching and training provided are frequently checked to ensure that staff knowledge and skills are kept fully up to date. Action is taken where teaching is not good enough to make sure that pupils’ progress is not hindered. Annual targets are set for all staff. However, the headteacher does not always review these regularly in order to check that teachers’ targets in relation to pupils’ achievement are sufficiently challenging.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupil premium funding is used well ensuring that disadvantaged pupils make good progress. Staff regularly hear these pupils read and give them extra help in lessons and individually. Music and swimming lessons and school trips are funded to make sure all pupils have opportunities and are treated equally so they can develop a broad range of skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school makes effective use of the government’s sports funding to employ specialist coaches. Weekly lessons help to expand and extend pupils’ sporting skills. As a result, pupils’ enthusiasm and enjoyment of different sports has increased. Additionally, pupils have had greater success in competitive sport and have celebrated winning the local schools’ football tournament for the last two years.

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The leadership and management are good

 Visits, visitors and memorable experiences enrich curricular topics and make learning stimulating. For example, pupils in Year 3 talked enthusiastically about their recent visit to a museum as part of their topic on Ancient Egypt. A range of art, music and drama opportunities extend pupils’ cultural development. Leaders ensure that all pupils are able to take part in activities, thus demonstrating the school’s commitment to equal opportunities and ensuring there is no discrimination.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils’ spiritual, social, moral and cultural development is strongly promoted and pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils are effectively taught about different faiths and cultures, as well as British values, and encouraged to reflect and think about other people’s point of view. Their knowledge and understanding of other cultures is extended by learning about other countries, for example India and China.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority provides good support, particularly in reviewing the quality of pupils’ writing and checking that teachers’ assessments of pupils’ work are accurate. As a result, pupils are improving the quality of their written work.

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The leadership and management are good

 Arrangements for safeguarding staff and pupils meet all statutory requirements. Staff who spoke to inspectors were clear about child protection procedures and know what to do if they have a concern about a pupil. However, leaders do not always ensure that the most recent policy is published on the school’s website nor check that all staff, including those who are part time, have read it. Additionally, although behaviour records are kept systematically, these are not thoroughly analysed to show any patterns or trends for individuals or types of behaviour.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors have a good knowledge and understanding of how well the school is performing compared to other schools as they receive regular reports from senior and middle leaders and understand information on progress and attainment. They are personally involved in school life – for example, hearing pupils read and attending celebration assemblies.  Governors keep a close track of the funding the school receives, particularly the pupil premium. They track the progress of individual pupils and meet regularly with the deputy headteacher to discuss the impact of the actions taken. They are aware that pupils eligible for additional funding are making good progress along with their classmates.  The governing body sets challenging annual targets for the headteacher and reviews these to make sure that the headteacher is on track to achieve them. Governors also receive updates on the

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The leadership and management are good

performance of teachers and appraisal of their work to ensure improvement. They only approve pay awards where there is continued evidence that pupils are achieving well. As a result, they have a good overview of the quality of leadership and teaching.  Governors are not complacent and commissioned a review of their own effectiveness from the local authority. Minutes of governors’ meetings show that they regularly ask probing questions of leaders. They discuss proposals put forward by leaders and only accept these where there is strong evidence that they will lead to further school improvement.  Governors fulfil their statutory duties effectively. They attend relevant training and carry out checks to make sure arrangements in place are working well.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are keen to learn and have positive attitudes. They persevere and enjoy a challenge. For example, a child in Reception class showed great skill and determination in trying to retrieve a mathematics game on the computer which had disappeared. He was thrilled when his lengthy efforts were successful and he could enjoy the game.

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Behaviour

 Around school, pupils are polite and respectful. Most walk calmly and conduct themselves well but, on occasion, some younger pupils run in corridors or are noisy when others are trying to work. In the playground, pupils of all ages play together harmoniously. They use the equipment sensibly and know and follow school routines.

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Behaviour

 In lessons, pupils work well in pairs and small groups and readily share their ideas. They also provide mature and sensible suggestions to help each other improve their work.

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Behaviour

 Most parents and pupils are confident that when pupils do not behave well, appropriate action is taken. School records show that all cases are taken seriously and followed up appropriately, including excluding pupils for serious misdemeanours, in accordance with the school’s behaviour policy.

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Behaviour

 Pupils have a good understanding of different types of bullying, including physical, verbal and cyber- bullying. They know who to talk to if they have a problem and are confident that adults will sort it out.  The breakfast club provides an excellent start to the school day and is a valuable resource for parents and pupils. Adults in charge plan exciting activities, including art, drama, and other games in a safe and calm environment. They also spend time with the pupils and encourage their social and personal development.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe in different situations. Older pupils are particularly secure in their understanding of e-safety and using the internet. Year 6 pupils gave a presentation to others in the school about e-safety which developed not only their computing and language skills, but reinforced pupils’ understanding of how to manage risks and keep safe. However, younger children are less knowledgeable.

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Safety

 Enhanced disclosure and safeguarding checks are carried out on all adults to make sure they can work with children. Staff are also trained to make sure they are very clear about their responsibilities in protecting children.

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Safety

 Pupils enjoy school and feel safe. This is shown in their above-average attendance rates. Effective systems are in place, including first-day calling to parents and offering rewards and incentives to pupils for good attendance and being punctual.

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The quality of teaching is good

 School’s own information, observations of learning in lessons and work in pupils’ books show that teaching is good across the school and there is an increasing proportion which is outstanding, especially in mathematics in Key Stage 2. This is because teachers have strong subject knowledge and an accurate understanding of pupils’ abilities. Consequently, all groups of pupils make good or better progress and achieve well over time.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers plan imaginative and creative lessons which pupils enjoy. For example, pupils in Key Stage 1 compared the taste of ‘space’ ice cream with ‘real’ ice cream. They then wrote adjectives to describe the flavour, texture and their personal opinions. The imaginative stimulus to the activity resulted in very-high levels of enthusiasm and engagement and good language development.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers provide clear explanations at the start of lessons so pupils know precisely what they need to do. Where appropriate, teachers give examples and show pupils exactly what to do so that they are confident when starting their work. For example, effective teaching helped pupils in Year 3 to learn about embedded clauses in writing. The teacher cut up a sentence strip and asked pupils to insert an extra phrase in the middle of the sentence, and then reassembled the whole sentence. As a result, every pupil fully understood the task and could not wait to write their own sentences.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Work is usually suitably challenging for all abilities. However, while teachers regularly question and check pupils’ understanding, they do not always move them on to more challenging work in lessons when pupils show they can do the work set.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Support staff work in close partnership with teaching staff and make a valuable contribution to pupils’ progress. They skilfully support those who are disadvantaged, disabled and those who have special educational needs. One letter received from a parent of a child with special educational needs during the inspection stated, ‘I cannot thank the staff enough for all their hard work and support.’ Teachers also provide higher levels of challenge for the most-able pupils, which enables them to reach their potential.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Reading is taught well from the outset. Reception class children quickly learn their letters and sounds (phonics) and apply these in their early reading. All pupils read regularly at home and in school and every opportunity is taken to ensure pupils read a wide range of books. Stories which pupils are reading together as a whole class are also used effectively as stimuli to develop pupils’ writing skills.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Leaders identified writing as an area for improvement following a dip in standards and rates of progress at the end of Key Stage 2 in 2014. Leaders and staff reviewed how writing was taught and introduced different strategies to improve the quality of pupils’ writing. As a result, pupils are writing at greater length across different subjects. Younger pupils also experiment with writing about their own interests, and all groups’ standards in writing are improving significantly across the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Mathematics is taught very effectively and achievement is strongest in this subject. This is because teachers plan work which enables pupils to regularly use, apply and extend their mathematical skills. Pupils have very strong knowledge of their multiplication tables and are confident in carrying out mental calculations.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers mark work regularly and have begun to add comments which show pupils how to improve their work. However, it varies from class to class and does not always provide pupils with the guidance they need, especially in subjects other than English and mathematics, for example, science and topic work.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress across the school. In 2014, pupils reached standards that were well above the national average at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. The school’s own accurate information shows that these standards are continuing and pupils currently in Year 2 and Year 6 are predicted to reach similar levels of attainment to those of 2014.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress in Key Stage 2 has improved since the previous inspection. Pupils who left Year 6 in 2014 made good progress in reading and outstanding progress in mathematics. However, their progress in writing was not as strong and attainment in writing in other year groups was also weaker than in reading and mathematics. Leaders, therefore, made writing a whole-school priority. As a result of actions taken, inspectors noted clear improvements in pupils’ work during the inspection. Achievement in writing now equals that in reading. Progress in mathematics remains outstanding by the end of Year 6.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Phonics is taught well and, as a result, children’s reading and writing skills are well developed in the early years. In Year 1, pupils build rapidly on these strong foundations and the proportion reaching the level required in the national screening check has been consistently above average.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The small number of disadvantaged pupils in the school make good progress and the gaps in attainment between them and others in their class are closing. The pupil premium is used effectively to provide additional adult support to work with individuals or small groups to boost their literacy and numeracy skills. It is not possible to comment on the attainment of these pupils compared to others’ nationally without identifying individuals.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs also make good progress. Effective additional support is provided both inside and outside the classroom together with specialist input from external agencies as needed. Consequently, these pupils achieve as well as others in the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most-able pupils make good progress overall and, on occasion, outstanding progress in mathematics. They learn so successfully because teachers provide increasingly challenging tasks which require pupils to apply and extend their knowledge to different mathematical problems. Consequently, the number of pupils reaching the higher levels in national tests is well above average at the end of Year 6 and inspectors judged this trend was set to continue.

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The early years provision is good

 School’s own reliable information shows that while the majority of children join the Reception class with knowledge, skills and understanding that are broadly typical for their age, some are around a year behind in important aspects of their personal, social and emotional development. Good teaching, however, ensures that children make good progress and by the end of their first year in school, the majority of children usually reach a good level of development on entry to Year 1.

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The early years provision is good

 Teaching places a strong emphasis on developing children’s early skills. Regular time is allocated to hear them read and specific areas of the classroom are set up to enable them to practise their writing and counting. Other interesting work and experiences are planned. Weekly challenges are set which develop children’s investigative skills, for example, ‘build a cave for a bear’ or ‘find an object that sinks’.

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The early years provision is good

 Children behave and work well together. They take turns and happily share equipment. They enjoy the activities that are available both indoors and outdoors. Children show good levels of concentration, perseverance and imagination during activities which they choose themselves.

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The early years provision is good

 Staff use information about children’s achievements and regular observations of them well to plan future work. Adults note how well children learn and carefully track their early development. They interact with individuals and groups and skilfully question children at all times to check their understanding and develop their thinking. However, some of the activities available for children to complete on their own are too easy and do not always extend or build on what they can already do. For example, when children use the sand tray to fill containers, they are not always challenged to use their mathematical or language skills.

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The early years provision is good

 Leadership is effective and ensures children make good progress and are kept safe. Daily checks are made on the indoor and outdoor areas so that they are safe for the children to use. The early years’ leader regularly tracks assessment information about children’s progress and makes suitable changes so that children make strong gains in their learning. For example, in 2014 there were wide gaps between boys’ and girls’ writing. Activities were planned to address this issue and, as a result, these gaps have closed.

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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 125665 Local authority Warwickshire Inspection number 461828

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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 201 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Patrick Donajgrodzki Headteacher Paul Wyllie Date of previous school inspection 24 November 2010 Telephone number 01926 426940 Fax number 01926 426940 Email address admin3152@welearn.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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