Fritwell Church of England Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Debbie McLeod Headteacher Fritwell Church of England Primary School East Street Fritwell Bicester Oxfordshire OX27 7PX

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Short inspection of Fritwell Church of England Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 24 January 2017, 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 March 2013.

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Short inspection of Fritwell Church of England Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You demonstrate a clear drive to achieve the best outcomes for your pupils. You ensure that each member of your school community, staff and pupils, feels valued. This has allowed you to develop motivated staff who share your vision and support you well. You acted swiftly in response to areas identified for improvement in the last inspection report. You addressed weaknesses in teaching efficiently and developed a strong leadership team, allowing you to maintain the good standard of education in the school. You have a positive, open working relationship with the governing body and the Diocese of Oxford which enables a culture of challenge and aspiration.

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Short inspection of Fritwell Church of England Primary School

The school is calm, orderly and productive. Teaching is strong throughout the school. There are strong relationships between staff and pupils and there is a clear culture for learning in the school. The school is well resourced and funding has been used effectively, particularly to develop sport provision and to expand the early years foundation stage. Teachers and teaching assistants work together effectively to support pupils’ learning throughout all key stages. You value a broad curriculum and time is rightly given to areas beyond the core subjects. Pupils speak articulately about their learning. For example, I observed pupils discussing fruit and healthy eating in the early years foundation stage and I observed pupils in Year 5 discussing the difference between similes and metaphors. Pupils enjoy coming to a school that has a warm, caring and respectful ethos. At the time of the previous inspection, leaders were asked to focus on improving

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Short inspection of Fritwell Church of England Primary School

the quality of teaching so that it was consistently good. Leaders were specifically asked to ensure that they effectively evaluated the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress, and necessary, swift action was taken where improvements were required. In response, you have implemented a regular and well-structured monitoring schedule which allows you to evaluate the impact of teaching accurately. This is rightly based on a range of evidence including observing lessons, looking at pupils’ work and analysing performance information about pupils’ progress. You set high expectations. You regularly visit classrooms to ensure that you have a good understanding of the quality of teaching. Governors work closely with you, and so they also gain an accurate understanding of the school’s work.

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Short inspection of Fritwell Church of England Primary School

You have rapidly addressed any variability in teaching and have rightly placed a firm emphasis on securing the highest-quality staff appointments. Pupils make strong progress across the school and this progress is particularly rapid for many during key stage 2. You deploy staff skilfully to maximise the use of their strengths and experience. You clearly link staff training to the school’s main priorities, which you have accurately identified. Targets given to staff are correctly focused on raising further the quality of teaching in the school so that more pupils make rapid progress. You monitor the progress of pupils carefully and have been a leading member in the development of new ways to track pupils’ achievement within a partnership of seven local schools. However, there is still room for further improvement in teaching to secure the best possible outcomes for all pupils.

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Short inspection of Fritwell Church of England Primary School

Leaders and governors have recently increased their focus on disadvantaged pupils in the development work they undertake. In the past, some disadvantaged pupils’ attendance has not been high enough. While you have taken swift action to improve this, there is further work to be done before all disadvantaged pupils attend regularly enough.

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Short inspection of Fritwell Church of England Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. Staff training is up to date and staff are knowledgeable about how to identify concerns and keep children safe. Pupils feel safe and demonstrate awareness of how to keep themselves safe, including online.

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Short inspection of Fritwell Church of England Primary School

Teachers know their pupils’ individual needs well. This allows for careful monitoring of pupils’ welfare, particularly the welfare of the most vulnerable and the disadvantaged pupils. When concerns arise, these are dealt with effectively. The school refers information appropriately when necessary and works well with external agencies in line with agreed procedures.

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Inspection findings

 I examined how effectively leaders are improving the quality of teaching across the school. You have implemented well-planned, regular monitoring of teaching. Targets for staff rightly focus on improving outcomes for pupils and are correctly linked to raising standards of teaching in the school. You set high expectations for your staff and rapidly address underperformance. You deploy staff effectively to maximise the use of their skills and experience.  As a result of your actions, teaching is consistently good. This enables many pupils, including most disadvantaged pupils, to make strong progress. However, teaching in the early years foundation stage and key stage 1, while good, is not yet generating the rapid progress achieved by many pupils during key stage 2.  A range of activities and strategies are used effectively by teachers to support learning. Teaching assistants support the progress of groups and individual pupils

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Inspection findings

well. Pupils demonstrate consistently positive attitudes to learning, concentrating well and working hard. Guidance from teachers ensures that pupils know how to improve their work.  I looked at how well leaders are addressing variable achievement in reading and writing, particularly with a focus on any differences in outcomes for boys and girls. Pupils’ work shows consistently strong progress, particularly in writing, for both boys and girls. The school’s information about the achievement of current pupils shows equal progress for boys and girls. Leaders work in close partnership with seven local schools to ensure pupils’ progress is accurately monitored and assessed. Leaders meet teachers regularly to discuss the progress of pupils and use this information effectively to inform future teaching. You have implemented changes to the curriculum to stimulate pupils’ interest and create a sense of purpose in English lessons.

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Inspection findings

 I considered how effectively leaders are improving the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and using the pupil premium funding to improve outcomes for these pupils. Leaders have created a positive ethos which makes the school a caring and supportive environment. Pupils, including the disadvantaged, feel safe and happy in school and so are motivated to attend well. Teachers understand the wider needs and backgrounds of their individual pupils. This deep knowledge allows teachers to be highly focused on addressing the barriers which restrict achievement for disadvantaged pupils.  You have a very strong overview and understanding of the individual needs of all disadvantaged pupils. This allows you to plan clear and effective strategies which target the requirements of the individual. You review these strategies accurately, changing your approach where techniques have not been effective to ensure pupil premium funding is used well. While the attendance of disadvantaged pupils

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Inspection findings

is now improving, it needs to continue to improve further before it matches the high levels of other pupils.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 the attendance rates of disadvantaged pupils continue to improve  teaching is further improved so that more pupils make rapid progress in all key stages.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Oxford, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Oxfordshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I checked safeguarding arrangements, including the records of recruitment checks, policies and procedures. I reviewed a range of published information including the school’s website. I reviewed the school’s self-evaluation and development plan. I visited all classes across the school with the headteacher where I observed lessons and looked at pupils’ work. In meetings with senior leaders, we discussed pupils’ attendance, pupil premium spending, progress information for current pupils, curriculum planning, records of monitoring and training of staff. I observed pupils during lunchtime. I spoke with a group of teachers and a group of pupils. I met with members of the governing body, a representative of the Diocese of Oxford and spoke to a representative of the local authority. I reviewed records of pupils’ behaviour and records of governors’ meetings. I considered 23 responses to the Parent View online questionnaire, 28

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Information about the inspection

responses to the pupil survey and 15 responses to the staff survey.

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