Shiplake Church of England School

Inspection of a good school: Shiplake Church of England School Memorial Avenue, Shiplake, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 4DN

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Outcome

Shiplake Church of England School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like their school and are happy to attend every day. Pupils say that they feel very safe because they know that the staff care about them a lot. They feel listened to and say that adults who work in the school support their well-being.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of what pupils can achieve. Leaders, teachers and support staff help pupils do well academically and personally. The staff and pupils are proud of the ‘four pillars’ of learning, innovation, community and faith. They are at the heart of the school’s work. Staff work with pupils to use the ‘pillars’ in a meaningful way in their daily lives.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons, concentrating on their learning. Pupils are polite and friendly. At breaktimes, pupils play together happily. They have a good understanding of what bullying is, and if it happens, it is dealt with effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders provide opportunities for all pupils to develop wider talents and interests. For example, many pupils relish the chance to learn new skills in clubs, such as cookery. Pupils contribute to their school and wider community by acting as school councillors, eco-councillors, sports ambassadors or anti-bullying ambassadors, and raising money for charity.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders ensure that pupils study a rich and ambitious curriculum. It meets the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders have developed comprehensive curriculums in each subject by identifying the key ideas, knowledge and skills pupils will learn. Staff have received effective training and support in different subjects. This ensures that they teach the right things in the right order. As a result, pupils are achieving well. 22 March 2022

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Teachers have the subject knowledge that they need to teach each subject well. Teachers encourage pupils to remember what they have learned previously. Staff also support pupils to recall key knowledge quickly. This helps to create very engaging and purposeful classrooms for pupils to learn in. Teachers check how well pupils remember and understand what has been taught. They know how to address misunderstandings and adapt their approach if they need to revisit any learning that pupils do not fully understand. However, there are times when teachers do not deepen pupils’ learning sufficiently because the work set is not ambitious enough. As a result, some pupils do not always learn as well as they could.

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Leaders ensure that reading is a top priority. They have developed a consistent and effective approach to the teaching of reading. Children learn phonics from the start of Reception. The daily teaching helps pupils to learn their sounds and to read words they do not recognise. Pupils read books that are matched to the sounds they know. They are keen to take these books home to practise. As a result, younger children and older pupils alike become fluent and confident readers. Pupils who fall behind receive effective support so that they can catch up quickly. Staff promote a love of reading.

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Leaders have high expectations for pupils with SEND. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) works closely with teachers. They accurately identify the extra support that pupils with SEND need. The work set for these pupils in different subjects matches their prior knowledge and helps them to learn well. Support plans contain the strategies staff can use to help pupils with their learning.

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Pupils have very positive attitudes to their learning. Leaders expect pupils to be responsible. Staff have designed a curriculum that teaches pupils how to understand their own actions and make the right choices. The school is calm and orderly with an extremely purposeful atmosphere. In the early years, children are adept at taking turns and sharing. Children are very enthusiastic when tackling activities.

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Leaders provide a range of broader opportunities for all pupils. These experiences help pupils’ personal development. Pupils learn to care for their local environment through countryside walks and activities. In personal, social and health education lessons, pupils share ideas and feelings confidently. Pupils learn how to recognise their emotions and manage their responses to different situations. This helps them to develop strong interpersonal skills. Staff teach pupils to recognise and respect individual differences. Pupils listen to and value the opinions of others.

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Staff communicate and work well together. They value how they can speak to senior leaders about professional matters, such as workload. This is because levels of trust are high. Any concerns raised by staff are acted upon quickly by senior leaders. Consequently, staff say that they enjoy their work and that it is manageable. 22 March 2022

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils’ welfare is a top priority for the school. Leaders make sure that all staff know that safeguarding is their responsibility. Staff receive regular training and updates. They know who to share information with and how to communicate any concerns.

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Safeguarding

Leaders work well with external agencies to ensure that pupils are kept safe. There are frequent meetings between school leaders and other professionals. This means that pupils and their families receive the right help and guidance.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have developed effective systems to support the safer recruitment of staff. They complete methodical checks on potential employees.

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school and appropriate authority)

Sometimes, teachers do not take full account of what some pupils already know and understand when planning to deepen pupils’ learning. This means that these pupils do not always learn as well as they could. Leaders need to ensure that teachers are suitably ambitious in their planning and teaching.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 2011.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school. 22 March 2022

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If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, 'disadvantaged pupils' refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 22 March 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10211060 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6 December 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a Church of England primary school. The school’s next section 48 Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools is due in the next year. The last inspection of this type took place in December 2016.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, two senior leaders and the SENCo. The lead inspector met with six governors, including the chair of the governing body. He also conducted a telephone call with the diocesan representative and a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep drives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at 22 March 2022

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curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation relating to safeguarding and spoke with pupils and staff, including the designated safeguarding lead.  The inspectors took account of the 62 responses to Ofsted’s Parent View, including the free-text responses. They also took account of the views of staff and pupils through the 15 responses to the staff survey and the six responses to the pupil survey.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation relating to safeguarding and spoke with pupils and staff, including the designated safeguarding lead.

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Inspection team

Richard Blackmore, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Bill James Ofsted Inspector 22 March 2022

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regulates and inspects to 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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