Lovington Church of England Primary School

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

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Mrs Norma Anselm Executive headteacher Lovington Church of England Primary School Lovington Castle Cary Somerset BA7 7PX

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Short inspection of Lovington Church of England Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 21 February 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 May 2012.

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Short inspection of Lovington Church of England Primary School

You have maintained the good quality of education identified at the previous inspection. You and your senior leadership team, supported well by other staff and the governing body, have successfully built on the strengths of the school evident at the previous inspection. You have tackled the areas for improvement which the previous inspection identified, and also improved other aspects of the school’s provision and outcomes.

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Short inspection of Lovington Church of England Primary School

Pupils of all ages are keen to learn. They enjoy their lessons and the other activities which the school provides, such as the various clubs and visits. Pupils feel very safe and well cared for and parents are very appreciative of what the school provides for their children. Pupils throughout the school behave well. Staff prepare pupils in Reception well for their move into Year 1. Teachers benefit from good opportunities for training, have adapted well to the demands of a new curriculum and ensure that pupils make good progress.

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Short inspection of Lovington Church of England Primary School

The governing body comprises a mix of experienced members and those relatively new to the role. Governors work well within the federation alongside Evercreech Church of England Primary School to ensure that Lovington School continues to improve. Governors are active and supportive within the school, but are also now more knowledgeable and confident in evaluating school performance and holding leaders to account. Leaders check the quality of teaching and learning rigorously. The leadership of the early years has reviewed provision for children in Reception to make more effective use of the outdoor facilities. Staff have worked effectively with families to improve the attendance of those few pupils whose absences have been a cause for concern. Teaching has improved, and staff make better use of assessment information in their lesson planning. The activities planned for pupils enable them to achieve better than they did at the time

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Short inspection of Lovington Church of England Primary School

of the previous inspection. As a result, pupils are securely on track to improve on last year’s outcomes.

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Short inspection of Lovington Church of England Primary School

 You have made sure that effective policies and procedures are in place to ensure that pupils are safe and well looked after. Staff and governors have had appropriate training in safeguarding legislation.  Pupils feel very safe. Both they and parents who the inspector talked to at school confirmed this. Pupils are very confident that staff will ensure their well-being.  The leadership ensures that all adults in school undergo the appropriate checks and training. The school has good relationships with outside agencies when they are called on for support. There is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school.

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Inspection findings

 One of the key lines of enquiry which I followed on this inspection centred on the progress of pupils in key stage 2. The 2016 results, albeit that they were based on a very small cohort of pupils, showed that a few pupils, especially boys, had not made the progress they should in English and mathematics. The evidence I collected during my visit confirmed the improvement in the progress of older pupils. The great majority of these pupils are already achieving at the expected level of attainment or are on track to exceed expectations by the end of the current academic year.  The improvements are due to your more rigorous checking of teaching and learning, and more support and training for staff to help them increase their expertise in subjects such as mathematics. Staff also give more attention to the needs of individual pupils, such as higher-attaining pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. There are now fewer inconsistencies

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Inspection findings

in the quality of teaching.  The few disadvantaged pupils, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, the most able pupils and middle-attaining pupils, all share in the good progress. There is now little difference between the rates of progress of these different groups.  Although progress in writing has improved, teachers’ expectations of the presentation of pupils’ work and of the quality of writing are not as high as they could be. The range and depth of writing in subjects outside of literacy lessons is not as well developed as the work seen in pupils’ English books.  Attendance was another of my key lines of enquiry for the school, because in 2016 attendance had been too low. This was partly due to the frequent absences of a small number of pupils with specific medical needs. Using resources from within the federation, you have worked closely with families where attendance is

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Inspection findings

a concern. The results have been positive and attendance is now above average for all groups of pupils and in all year groups.  A third key line of enquiry concerned the effectiveness of the school’s leadership in bringing about further improvement since the previous inspection. This included the effectiveness of leadership of the early years. Your determined direction of the school, assisted by a newly restructured leadership team and reinforced by the commitment of staff and governors, has brought about improvements and shows that the school has a strong capacity to improve still further. This is evident in the way you have improved the tracking and assessment of pupils’ progress, more rigour in your checking the quality of teaching and learning, and the improvements in teaching.  There is now strong leadership of the early years. Staff in the early years use outdoor resources more effectively to secure good progress for the children. The

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Inspection findings

local authority recognises the expertise of the early years leader by using her to moderate children’s work in other schools.

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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

 teachers have higher expectations of what pupils, including the most able, can achieve when writing outside of English lessons, by making sure that pupils have enough opportunities to apply their improved writing skills to more challenging tasks in other subjects  staff have higher expectations of the presentation of pupils’ work and the quality of their handwriting.

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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 Bath and Wells, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Somerset. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I held meetings with you, other staff and two members of the governing body, including the chair. I talked to several pupils, including a group of older ones. I talked to a few parents at the start of the school day. There were not enough responses to register on Parent View, but I received some written comments from parents. I visited the classrooms with you for a short period to observe learning and behaviour. I also spent time with you looking at pupils’ work, to see what progress they were making. We discussed the attainment and progress of pupils in the school. You showed me records relating to safeguarding and other documentation.

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