Setting

Mrs Sue Parker Headteacher Callow End CE Primary School Upton Road Callow End Worcestershire WR2 4TE

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Short inspection of Callow End CE Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 8 December 2015 I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in February 2012.

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Short inspection of Callow End CE Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of Callow End CE Primary School

Pupils describe school as ‘amazing’ and parents say ‘my children love school’. This is because you have created a culture in the school where pupils and staff feel highly valued. As a small school, you and your staff have a detailed knowledge of every pupil. You use this knowledge exceptionally well to ensure that provision is closely tailored to meet the needs of all groups of pupils. As a result, they achieve well and reach standards which are well above average by the time they leave Year 6.

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Short inspection of Callow End CE Primary School

Actions you have taken have ensured that achievement and teaching have remained good. You, staff and governors continue to analyse the school’s effectiveness honestly and accurately. You pinpoint precisely where strengths lie and formulate detailed action plans to improve any areas which you feel need addressing.

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Short inspection of Callow End CE Primary School

Pupils’ behaviour and safety were judged to be outstanding at the previous inspection. These areas continue to be strengths in the school. This is because key values such as truthfulness, trust, respect and perseverance are strongly promoted. As a result, pupils make excellent gains in their personal development and well-being and become well-rounded individuals who work hard and feel safe at school. Ofsted

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Short inspection of Callow End CE Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Since the previous inspection you have taken appropriate action to address the areas identified. Teachers have become skilled in their use of questioning. They ask more probing and searching questions to check pupils’ understanding and make them think more deeply about what they are learning. The good practice within the school is also shared more widely. Teachers observe and support each other and they also visit local schools to gain further ideas and develop their own practice.

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Short inspection of Callow End CE Primary School

Pupils now have more opportunities to use their mathematical, technological and scientific knowledge in their topic work. As a result, achievement in mathematics has risen and the additional computer equipment purchased further aids learning. For example, during the inspection, pupils had the opportunity to evaluate and improve their performance of some poems by filming their efforts. The marking and feedback policy is now firmly embedded and used consistently across the school in English and mathematics.

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Short inspection of Callow End CE Primary School

You, staff and governors take your safeguarding responsibilities very seriously. A handbook has also been compiled for visitors, volunteers and student teachers so they are familiar with school routines and know who to contact if they are worried about a child. All staff have received safeguarding training and you diligently follow safer recruitment procedures when appointing staff. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are effective and records are detailed and of high quality.

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Short inspection of Callow End CE Primary School

The pupils I spoke with said they feel safe in school. They are taught to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet. They have a good awareness of different forms of bullying but say that this rarely happens at school. Behaviour records checked show that very few incidents occur, but when they do, these are recorded and swift action is taken to prevent any further reoccurrences.

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Inspection findings

 As headteacher, you lead by example with dedication, care and commitment. This is replicated by staff who work together as a united team. As a result, staff morale is high and pupils enjoy their learning. Parent and pupil views are extremely positive with 100% of parents saying that they would recommend the school to others, and the very large majority strongly agreeing that their children feel safe and are happy.  With your staff, you set targets for pupils to reach at the end of each academic year. You assess pupils during the course or the year and analyse their progress to check if they are on track. You also carefully examine the information generated to determine if any pupils need additional support to prevent them falling behind. Teachers provide some of this extra support before school, demonstrating their strong sense of dedication to ensuring pupils achieve well.  Subject leaders make a significant contribution to improvements identified. They

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Inspection findings

play a full and vital role in checking the quality of teaching in their respective subjects and assessing and supporting pupils’ achievement. They look at the work in pupils’ books, observe teaching and talk to pupils about their learning. This helps them to determine how well pupils are progressing and where the strengths and areas for improvement lie in different subjects. Subject leaders also work alongside five other local schools to check that their judgements about pupils’ work are accurate. This strong practice is particularly effective in writing but is now being developed in mathematics.  Governors have a very detailed and accurate view of the school. They work closely with you and your leadership team, especially in checking on the progress made towards the school’s identified priorities. They visit school regularly on a rota basis and report back their findings to the full governing body. They have a

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Inspection findings

good understanding of data and how well the school is performing compared to other schools nationally. They set challenging targets for you as headteacher and recognise the link between good achievement and good teaching. Governors also have a thorough understanding of how the sports and pupil premium funding is used and its impact on pupils’ development and achievement.  Teaching has remained good and is characterised by the exciting lessons teachers plan. This results in high levels of pupil enjoyment and engagement. Good attention is paid to setting tasks at the right level for pupils of different abilities. However, the level of challenge for the most able is not always evident in their books and the proportions reaching the higher levels at the end of Key Stage 1 are below average. Published data also show that pupils in Key Stage 2 make expected rather than good progress over time. Marking provides helpful

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Inspection findings

feedback and guidance so pupils can improve their work. Pupils are very clear about the criteria used and respond to comments made. Marking is less focused and effective, however, in other subjects such as science and topic work.  Leaders have been successful in maintaining the exemplary behaviour and attitudes noted at the previous inspection. During the inspection we observed pupils being polite, helpful and behaving sensibly around school. We also saw examples of their excellent attitudes to learning when we visited classrooms and the very high levels of concentration, collaboration and perseverance. Pupils enjoy the incentives offered for good work and behaviour, especially ‘Tea with Mrs P’. Attendance over time is above average as pupils enjoy school. Where there are dips, you know precisely the reason behind pupil absences due to your in-depth knowledge of individual circumstances.  There are only a small number of pupils in the school who are disadvantaged, or

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Inspection findings

from showmen families, or who have special educational needs, but all achieve well due to the high-quality support they receive. As a result, they make the same good progress as others in the school. You do not, however, track the progress of the most-able pupils, and leaders are therefore unsure if this group are achieving as well as they should.  The school’s most recent assessment information shows that, by the time pupils leave school at the end of Year 6, they have made good progress, and on occasion outstanding progress, especially in mathematics. Year 6 pupils who left the school in 2015 reached standards which were well above average in mathematics and grammar, punctuation and spelling and above average in reading and writing. Most current pupils in the school also make consistently good progress in reading and mathematics but their progress in writing is not yet as strong. You have identified this as a priority area. Already, the steps taken are

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Inspection findings

showing that pupils’ writing is improving quickly in terms of quality, quantity and presentation.  Children in the early years settle quickly and make good progress. Your own and other assessment information show that most pupils join the school with skills and knowledge which are typical or above for their age. Having opened a pre- school two years ago, you have successfully integrated this provision into the whole school. Both the pre-school leader and Reception teacher work well together to ensure that children’s individual needs are fully met. As a result, every child at the end of Reception Year reached a good level of development in 2015 and a significant proportion exceeded this.  Parents are delighted with how well the school is run and how well their children are achieving. They value the small and friendly nature of the school and the efforts made by you and your staff to provide the highest standard of care. The

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Inspection findings

before-school club also provides a valuable resource for working parents and fosters good relationships between the older and younger pupils who attend. Homework is set weekly for all classes and this allows parents to support the work the children complete in their learning logs or with the models they make.  The local authority provide light-touch support as they recognise that leadership is effective. They know how well the school is doing and provide guidance as needed.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and governors should ensure that:  teaching challenges the most-able pupils in Key Stage 1 so that more reach the higher levels and progress is consistently good in Key Stage 2  pupils make the same rapid progress in writing as they do in reading and mathematics  marking in other subjects is as effective as in English and mathematics. I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children’s Services for Worcestershire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection I met with you and your leadership team, the Chair and members of the Governing Body and a representative of the local authority. I visited all classrooms and spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at the work in their books. I spoke informally to parents as they brought their children to school and took account of the 23 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire (Parent View), together with your own parent and pupil questionnaire responses. Documents and records relating to pupils’ achievement, teaching, leadership, attendance and safeguarding were scrutinised.

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