Other · Ofsted report

Wymeswold Church of England Primary School

Inspected — · published 28 Jun 2000 · URN 120174

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No overall grade in this framework

Herringston Barn

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Herringston Barn
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120174

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Full report text

WYMESWOLD C E PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 27 th – 29 th March 2000

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WYMESWOLD C E PRIMARY SCHOOL

Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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WYMESWOLD C E PRIMARY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary 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. Wymeswold C E Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School category: Church of England Voluntary Controlled

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: The Nook Brook Street Wymeswold Loughborough Leicestershire Postcode: LE12 6TU

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr Neil Paterson

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 2 – 6 September 1996 Wymeswold C E Primary School - 4

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Team members

Mr Michael Allcock Registered inspector Mrs Rosalie Watkins Lay inspector Mrs Barbara Crane Team inspector

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Team members

Herringston Barn Herringston Dorchester Dorset DT2 9PU

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Team members

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to:

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Team members

The Registrar Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Wymeswold C E Primary School - 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL 11

Attainment is very high in English and mathematics Teaching, and as a result learning, is very good Very good provision is made for pupils’ personal development Pupils have very good social skills Literacy and numeracy are effectively emphasised within a broad curriculum, which is extended out of school time by a very wide range of extra-curricular activities

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED 15

Standards in information technology are below those expected Limited use is made of monitoring and evaluation to further raise standards and assess whether money spent on identified priorities is having the desired effect Parents could be better informed about what their child is learning and how they can help

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Wymeswold Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled school with 111 pupils on roll in five classes, so is smaller than average. The school is set, close to the church, in a pretty north Leicestershire village about five miles from Loughborough. It is a popular school, with 25 per cent of the pupils coming from Loughborough or neighbouring villages. No pupils come from ethnic minorities or have English as an additional language. Only 3.6 per cent are entitled to free school meals, which is below the national average. Eight pupils are on the register of special educational needs. One pupil has a statement of special educational need, representing less than one per cent of the school population, against a national average of 1.5 per cent and a county average of 1.8 per cent. Children enter the school at the start of the term in which they are five with above average attainment, as measured by the local education authority’s baseline assessment procedures.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is an effective school. The pupils achieve high standards in lessons and in the end of key stage tests. Teaching is a significant strength, in all lessons seen it was good, very good or excellent. The headteacher has vision and drive. However, the leadership offered by key staff is reduced by the lack of monitoring undertaken to analyse weaknesses, in order to drive up standards still further. Governors are knowledgeable and supportive. As in most small schools, the running costs are high but the school continues to provide sound value for money.

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What the school does well

• Attainment is very high in English and mathematics, due to the very good teaching, in challenging and exciting lessons. • The school makes very good provision for pupils’ personal development. • The pupils have very good social skills. • Teaching, and as a result pupils’ learning, is very good. • Literacy and numeracy are effectively emphasised, within a broad curriculum, which is extended out of school time, by a very wide range of extra-curricular activities, promoting high overall standards.

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What could be improved

• Standards in information technology are below those expected. • Limited use is made of monitoring and evaluation as tools for further raising standards of teaching and learning and assessing whether money spent on identified priorities is having the desired effect. • Parents could be better informed about what their child is learning and how they can help their child to raise standards further. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in September 1996. Since then developments made have been sufficient to maintain the high standards achieved by the pupils. The governing body is more involved in the day-to-day activity of the school, although this is capable of further development. The school development plan is more helpful in enabling the school to achieve and measure improvement. However, the time frame over which some priorities have been spread, especially in the redrafting of policies and schemes of work for the subjects of the curriculum is too long, so that only those for English and mathematics are at present in place. Pupils now routinely practise core numeracy skills, refining them in investigative work in mathematics and in other subjects, like science and geography. The organisation of the Key Stage 2 day has more clearly addressed the social and learning needs of pupils. The creative addition of an extra classroom has reduced Key Stage 2 class

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

sizes, and age and attainment ranges, in the literacy and numeracy hours. Provision for the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is now a significant strength, showing considerable improvement, especially in the spiritual and cultural dimensions. Wymeswold C E Primary School - 7 Monitoring is still limited in scope. Direct observation of teaching and learning has only just started in English and none has been carried out in mathematics so far, in the year the National Numeracy Strategy is being implemented. The school has otherwise responded appropriately to recent government initiatives in literacy and numeracy. However, the current focus on information technology has not had such positive results. Standards in information technology, and its wide use to support work across the curriculum, are not at the level seen nationally. The school has the people and the will to address these weaknesses to enable it to continue to improve.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by 11 year olds based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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Key

English A A* A* A* well above average above average A B Mathematics A A* A* A average below average C D Science A* A* B C well below average E

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Key

This very impressive set of results places the school’s performance in English and mathematics in the top five per cent of all schools nationally. The fluctuation in the 1999 result for science is the one blemish. This is often seen in small schools, where variations in the relative strengths of groups are more likely to cause apparently large shifts in results. In some years, the school has not had enough pupils taking the tests for the results to be statistically significant. Despite this, in both 1996 and 1998, the school achieved 100 per cent success in reaching the expected Level 4 or better in all three subjects, so coming equal first in the county league table.

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Key

Evidence from this inspection broadly confirms these high standards for the eleven year olds but indicates a possible reason for the 1999 result in science. In a lesson seen in Year 5/6, pupils were not given the opportunity to plan and carry out their own experiments, the lesson concentrating on their working through a set of prepared investigations. This inhibited their capacity to plan a fair test, considering control factors and recording requirements and resulted in standards above, but not well above, those expected. Over the last four years, the school has maintained high standards limiting its capacity for further improvement. However, the school’s improvement trend has been below that seen nationally, confirming the need to work hard to extract the maximum from pupils, for example by a more critical analysis of how they are taught and how subjects are organised. The school has set challenging performance targets for the next two years, to help ensure that the necessary

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Key

At seven years of age, standards are high in reading, writing and mathematics, compared to national results. The basic skills of phonics, spelling and handwriting are well taught. Pupils are given regular opportunities to write, developing confidence and competence, for instance in the correct use of punctuation. Numeracy skills are also well taught, consistently refined and widely used. Pupils of all abilities throughout the school achieve well, compared to their previous levels of attainment.

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Aspect Comment

Wymeswold C E Primary School - 8 Attitudes to the school Very good. Pupils like school. They come to their lessons willing to take part and learn, and work very hard in them.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Behaviour is very good. Even the youngest ones understand what is expected and respond immediately if the teacher ever has to remind them.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Personal development is very good. Pupils work and play happily together. They show a good capacity for independent work. They are pleasant and helpful, both to each other and to adults. All this contributes to their progress in lessons.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Attendance is very good. Pupils are happy in school and rarely stay away without good reason.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

Lessons seen overall Good Very good Very good Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

Overall, the teaching in the school is very good. In all lessons seen, teaching was at least good. In 57 per cent it was very good or excellent. The teaching of English, including literacy, and mathematics, including numeracy, are very strong features of the school’s work. In over 71 per cent of these lessons the quality of teaching is very good or better.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

The best teaching displays very detailed knowledge of the National Curriculum Programmes of Study and the requirements of the literacy and numeracy strategies. High quality direct teaching of skills, including providing excellent models ranging from the reading of poetry to a gymnastic movement, is demonstrated. Teachers prepare very thoroughly, with helpful resources carefully deployed, so that lessons can proceed at a very busy pace. Relationships are very constructive, so that management is not bogged down by overt disciplinary requirements. Activities are well chosen and challenge pupils of all levels of attainment by being well matched to their present learning needs. A major strength is the teachers’ commitment to stretching the able and talented in their specific area of excellence, or generally. Questions are probing but sensitively phrased to suit the capacity to answer, of the pupil asked. Very telling interactions regularly take place in group sessions to assess

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

the levels of understanding or further learning needs of groups or individuals, and move them swiftly on, often by carefully targeted precision teaching. The pupils’ personal development is very well promoted by the teachers’ provision of a good level of high quality, structured opportunities to work collaboratively.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

The consistently high quality of teaching produces a very positive response from the pupils. Their attention is captured and maintained throughout lessons. It is made abundantly clear why they are being asked to undertake the work and what standards are expected of them. Pupils’ quality of learning is always good and in half the lessons seen it is very good, as they learn new skills and acquire new knowledge speedily and work at an increasingly independent level.

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Aspect Comment

Wymeswold C E Primary School - 9 The quality and range of the curriculum Good. All aspects of the National Curriculum are given appropriate consideration, except for information technology, with high emphasis placed on literacy and numeracy. Attractive, inter-active displays are mounted in all classrooms and widely around the school. Residential visits, field trips and the very well supported extra-curricular activities provide practical and relevant experiences for the pupils.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs The needs of pupils with special educational needs are well met within the classroom. Limited guidance is given to teachers of pupils who need an individual education plan.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Very good. Regular opportunities are provided throughout the curriculum and in collective worship to introduce and reinforce positively the school’s Christian values, a consistently high moral tone, harmonious family atmosphere and national and international cultural identity.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Good attention is paid to pupils’ welfare. Staff know their individual circumstances and look after them as individuals. Pupils are able to feel secure and cared for within a very friendly family atmosphere. Staff successfully encourage regular attendance. However, there is insufficient attention to detail in the school’s official records of attendance, with the result that attendance figures are inaccurately reported.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff A positive ethos has been created by the headteacher, with a strong commitment to achieving high standards. Monitoring of lessons, planning and the curriculum is not sharp enough to make teaching and learning even better.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors are knowledgeable and have forged an effective critical partnership with the school. Statutory requirements are appropriately fulfilled, with the exception of a few minor omissions that have been brought to the school’s attention. Finances are well managed.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Satisfactory. The school has identified appropriate aims, priorities and targets. It is aware of its strengths and those areas that need development.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Good. Time, money, staff, accommodation and learning resources are all used efficiently and for the benefit of the pupils. Effective additional provision has been made to reduce class size in the morning sessions.

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Aspect Comment

The school has begun to analyse strengths and weaknesses in most areas of its activity, using the national and some of its own performance indicators, such as the take up of music and sport. There are weaknesses in the monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning by key school personnel and governors and also in the lack of analysis of best value for money when evaluating the results of spending decisions upon standards.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• The good leadership, resulting in good • More opportunities for involvement when Wymeswold C E Primary School - 10 provision in many aspects of the school’s work. • The good teaching and high expectations. • The good progress their children make. • The good caring family atmosphere. • Their children like school. their children first start school. • A few parents are unhappy about the type and amount of homework set. • A few would like more information about their children’s progress.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team agrees with parents’ very supportive and positive views about the important features they praise. Parents’ willingness to be involved is a further strength. For instance, most families help their child’s progress by regularly reading with them at home. Parents come in very good numbers to parents’ evenings and, through the PTA, they work hard and successfully to supply extra resources and to improve the learning environment. The points parents identify for improvement are also justified. Insufficient information is provided for parents when their children enter school. There is no detailed homework policy, outlining what children are expected to do and how much help parents should give. Reports do not give parents clear indications about how their child is doing compared to national expectations. Some reports do not include information on all the subjects of the National Curriculum.

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Attainment is very high in English and mathematics, due to the very good teaching, in

1. The pupils achieve very high standards in English and mathematics in the end of Key Stage 2 National Curriculum tests. Key Stage 2 pupils build securely on the above average results attained by seven year olds in National Curriculum tests of reading, writing and mathematics.

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Attainment is very high in English and mathematics, due to the very good teaching, in

2. In the mixed reception/Year 1 class, pupils lay firm foundations for future learning. Core skills in speaking and listening, reading and writing are well taught and quickly acquired. Pupils soon learn to read and love stories. The majority understand what title and author mean, and use complex sentences when discussing the big book they are reading with the teacher. They write their own stories and factual pieces avidly. The higher attaining already use capital letters and full stops accurately. They show great pride in the presentation of their work, for example using finger spaces to separate carefully words in their sentences. Those of average attainment write fluently but without the same accuracy in spelling and consistency in letter formation and size. In early mathematics learning, most count forward and backwards in twos and the majority in fives. The higher attaining understand that if you

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Attainment is very high in English and mathematics, due to the very good teaching, in

count in twos from one, you end on an odd number. They measure accurately in centimetres and define exactly what the circumference is.

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Attainment is very high in English and mathematics, due to the very good teaching, in

3. By the time they are seven, higher attaining pupils are confident with numbers into four figures. They are secure with investigative work in money, time and length. Simple fractions are used in calculations, such as 160 into halves and quarters. Most pupils know tables to five, the common two-dimensional and three-dimensional solids, odd and even numbers to beyond 20 and use and apply the four rules up to 100 accurately. The teaching is very carefully planned and features a vigorous mental warm-up to encourage agility and facility with number. Teachers’ expectations are very high, as in work linked to a survey done in geography, where pupils were challenged to use a range of data handling techniques, including Carroll and Venn diagrams, pictograms and tally charts. In English, pupils write extended, well organised pieces to tell stories, construct biographies, for example of Claude Monet, and to support work in art, history, religious education and other subjects. Pupils read

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Attainment is very high in English and mathematics, due to the very good teaching, in

confidently to the whole class or to an adult, using the voice expressively for dramatic effect and to capture the rhythms of poetry in their performance.

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Attainment is very high in English and mathematics, due to the very good teaching, in

4. Teachers at Key Stage 2 plan challenging and exciting lessons in English and mathematics to refine skills and increase confidence. In a Year 3/4 drama lesson, pupils’ speaking skills were purposefully promoted, their awareness of the power of body language heightened and excellent input made into their personal development by the sensitive analysis into feelings they were encouraged to make. The structure of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies has been successfully introduced and helpfully informs much of what is taught and how lessons are organised. By the time they are eleven, pupils analyse complex texts and modern poetry, for instance by Ted Hughes, to assess content and style. They read widely and independently and all volunteer to read aloud willingly, confident of the sympathetic hearing their teacher and friends will give them. Those who need extra help are set specific, carefully matched tasks, so that their literacy skills will be enhanced. The specific needs of a

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Attainment is very high in English and mathematics, due to the very good teaching, in

mathematically gifted Year 4 pupil are met by his joining the top group in Year 5/6. Both practical and formal tasks in mathematics are well organised in very good teaching seen in Year 5/6, so that pupils become very confident in handling real notes and change in retail exercises and are set mental challenges including such questions as one-twelfth as a decimal.

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Teaching, and as a result learning, is very good

5. Teaching is of a very high quality. In all lessons observed, teaching was at least good but more often even better than that. Teachers, particularly those working with the younger pupils, are effective in getting across the basic skills of literacy and numeracy and also those Wymeswold C E Primary School - 12 skills needed to carry out a scientific experiment or complete an elegant gymnastic movement. This was seen in Year 1/2, where the teacher’s very good demonstration of how to read a poem was reflected by the pupils’ subsequent renditions. In Year 5/6, the teacher’s excellent personal skills and very energetic demonstration of a range of gymnastic movements led to pupils reaching good standards and showing first class attitudes in application and effort, whatever their own level of attainment. The level of detail in planning varies, as the school does not have a daily standard format. However, learning objectives

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Teaching, and as a result learning, is very good

are clear and very effectively shared with the pupils in both introductions to lessons and final review sessions.

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Teaching, and as a result learning, is very good

6. Pupils are expected to work very hard and behave in an exemplary fashion, and they do. No time is wasted on overt disciplinary concerns; a brief reminder is enough. Teachers are very skilled at matching the activities they set very closely to the pupils’ needs. This effectively extends and motivates the higher attaining and supports the lower attaining or those with special educational needs. The careful briefing and deployment of learning support staff and parent helpers further promotes the specific needs of these pupils. The best lessons are fun. They get the pupils buzzing with enthusiasm as they investigate like detectives, honing their research skills in history, working out why Henry VIII had so many wives and what fate awaited them, in Year 3/4 following a role play session that had switched on and focussed their interest. Most lessons mix methods to keep pupils’ attention. The Key Stage 1 classes

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Teaching, and as a result learning, is very good

move from their quiet rooms into the larger shared space, to enable more active sessions to take place, for example in reception/Year 1 role play using money while shopping. The hall is used for practical tasks when not otherwise programmed, as in Year 5/6 work when pupils role-play in mathematics as shopkeepers and customers. Teachers are adept instigators of collaborative work, so that pupils work very constructively together, promoting their personal development.

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Teaching, and as a result learning, is very good

7. Teachers interact regularly and to great effect with individuals and groups during activities. Their probing questions give the higher attainers plenty to think about and gently challenge the lower attaining, while supporting them by the sensitive way they are framed. A very positive feature of the pupils’ learning is the very supportive response that spontaneously occurs in lessons when a pupil achieves success.

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Very good provision is made for pupils’ personal development

8. Regular, planned opportunities to promote pupils’ personal development abound within the curriculum and in assemblies, social times and during extra-curricular activities. Pupils’ self- esteem is effectively further promoted by the very good displays of their work that are seen around the school. Work pupils undertake in art, drama, music and religious education effectively introduces elements of spirituality and moments of reflection. In collective worship, pupils are encouraged to reflect on abstract ideas like freedom and how each of us should treasure and use it, against the background of a series of assemblies on slavery. Pupils’ moral development is very effectively promoted by well defined and clearly understood school rules and the staff’s consistently high expectations of good behaviour, and well applied rewards system, ‘smiles’.

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Very good provision is made for pupils’ personal development

9. The pupils’ social development is fostered by a very wide range of well designed opportunities. For example, the older pupils support younger ones with their reading and the recorder groups play introductory music and accompany hymn singing in assemblies. The child council gives pupils a say on how the school functions, one they believe is valued and carefully considered by the staff. Pupils regularly organise their own charitable functions, most recently in support of orphaned Bulgarian children. The very well supported extra- curricular clubs are enjoyed by a large number of Key Stage 2 pupils, working together in a more social context. Within lessons, teachers provide many occasions where pupils can work harmoniously together, as in a Year 1/2 mathematics lesson when pupils showed excellent social skills in negotiating tasks within their groups and teamwork in making sure the job was well done. Provision for pupils’ cultural development is good. It is well promoted

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Very good provision is made for pupils’ personal development

by visits from theatre and musical groups, through literature within English, drama, art and music. The school introduces pupils to a good range of musical instruments and is rightly proud of the amount of curricular and extra-curricular provision it achieves, as over half the Wymeswold C E Primary School - 13 pupils currently play an instrument. Parents, at the pre-inspection meeting with inspectors, identified and praised the work undertaken by the school, at present comprising pupils who are all white, to foster an understanding and appreciation of life in a diverse, multi-cultural society. For example, the school recently planned a visit to Leicester, which included both a Hindu temple and the Christian cathedral. In lessons, pupils use a range of texts from authors from around the world, including Grace Nichols’ Caribbean poetry, well displayed with a collection of tropical fruit. In Year 3/4 work on the Chinese New Year, pupils

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Very good provision is made for pupils’ personal development

understand the symbolism of the dragon and why firecrackers are lit to frighten him away.

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The pupils have very good social skills

10. The pupils behave very well in lessons, in the hall and playground, and when taking part in extra-curricular activities, some of which necessitate them arriving at school by 8.00 a.m. In lessons seen during the inspection, behaviour was never less than good and was excellent or very good in over 71 per cent. Parents report very favourably on pupils’ behaviour out of school. One parent who helped staff on a residential course last year praised both pupils’ behaviour and the mature social interaction between boys and girls. Furthermore, she was so impressed that she has volunteered again this year!

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The pupils have very good social skills

11. Attitudes to work are very positive. Almost all pupils come to school on time, so that lessons start punctually and no time is wasted. Early sessions, including registration, are used well as both learning times and social occasions. For instance, in Year 3/4 pupils are busily engaged on a range of activities, including reading and computing, during registration. In Year 1/2, pupils answer in French and Spanish, as well as English. They show their very good relationship with their teacher in the individual exchanges that occur during this time and the subsequent very well established routines to start the day, including handwriting and spelling practice. Within lessons, pupils are very keen to take an active part and readily volunteer to answer or read aloud. Even the youngest ones in reception/Year 1 understand the conventions and wait patiently for their turn, hands held high, and are prepared to listen

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The pupils have very good social skills

carefully to their teacher and other pupils before offering an answer. In independent group work in literacy and numeracy, pupils need very little supervision and persevere for long periods without losing concentration. In co-operative or collaborative tasks, they work together very well and show mature skills of negotiation. For example, in a Year 3/4 art lesson, one pupil suggested to her partner, “If you hold that section, I’ll put this part together”. In lessons such as science and art, pupils observe closely. In mathematics, they display good problem solving skills, which they apply to work in other subjects. In all their work they show great respect for the school’s precious resources.

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overall standards

12. The teachers ensure that pupils are given early and thorough access to the fundamental skills of literacy and numeracy, upon which to build academic success. Their commitment predates the national strategies, whose basic content and organisation they have adopted successfully and adapted to their own needs, to further build on very high standards. Core literacy and numeracy skills are widely applied in other subject areas. Other subjects of the National Curriculum receive appropriate amounts of time and attention, except information technology. Individual teachers’ subject strengths are played to, so that the amount of time devoted to individual subjects varies from class to class but is balanced over a pupil’s time in the school. For example, Year 3/4 have more art but less music, Year 5/6 the reverse.

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overall standards

13. The school provides a stimulating range of residential courses and visits to promote the acquisition of knowledge and skills in a wide area of subjects including geography, history and physical education. There is a very wide range of extra-curricular clubs, enjoyed by a large proportion of the Key Stage 2 pupils, plus recorder clubs for Key Stage 1 pupils. There is something for every interest, from cross- country to chess. This gives a welcome opportunity for pupils and the adults who run or help with the activities to forge closer relationships. This is a major factor in the very good attitudes and behaviour displayed. The headteacher is tireless in his leadership of pre- and post-school club activities. He is well Wymeswold C E Primary School - 14 supported by other members of staff and parents. Some provision, for instance dance and drama lessons, has usefully involved the local community. In a careful analysis of how the

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overall standards

school’s aims are being met, the headteacher reflects on the school’s philosophy of treating each child as an individual and providing an education based on family values, involving all within the school’s community. Wymeswold C E Primary School - 15

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Standards in information technology are below those expected

14. The school acknowledges that information technology is not one of its strengths. The lack of suitable hardware and software has often led to the skills and knowledge of pupils being behind those of pupils from other schools when they transfer to secondary school. The school’s documentation is considerably out of date but they have been helped by the publication of the Qualification and Curriculum Association’s model scheme of work for the subject, which is now followed by most teachers. This has helped ensure that all statutory requirements for the subject are met but many of the aspects of information technology, like control, monitoring and simulation, are still not sufficiently in evidence. Pupils’ skills in communicating and handling information are closer to the levels expected nationally. However, in Year 5/6, when using the computer to word process a piece on Ted Hughes’ poem ‘The Beggarly Bat’, only one of three higher attaining pupils was able to use more than

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Standards in information technology are below those expected

one finger on each hand to type and one could not save her work without help.

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Standards in information technology are below those expected

15. The school has identified information technology as a priority for improvement in its school development plan. However, it does not set out specific objectives linked to improving pupils’ standards following the provision of suitable hardware and software. The recently appointed co-ordinator has a clear idea of what needs to be done. He has worked hard over the last year to audit the school’s needs and mount a well-researched bid against new government funding. However, the fourteen computers, with CD ROMs, on order will not arrive for some time. There is no assessment of information technology skills throughout the school. This makes it difficult for teachers to build upon the prior knowledge of pupils, when they move to a new class, to ensure progression in learning. Very limited progress has been made in information technology since the last inspection.

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whether money spent on identified priorities is having the desired effect

16. Teaching is very good overall. However, it could be improved further if teachers shared the very best practice more widely, for example, in subjects like science, where standards dipped sharply in the end of Key Stage 2 tests last year, and information technology. Very little formal evaluation of teaching and learning has yet been undertaken, with no targets set for further improvement. There has been a start made in English but none so far in mathematics, despite its current high national profile, or in any other subject. Appraisal has not been used to observe teaching and to follow-up with professional discussions to help raise standards. However, the current school development plan indicates that the local education authority’s performance management procedures will be implemented this year. This will ensure a modicum of classroom observation, with the subject co-ordinator’s role clear in monitoring the subject to support teaching and learning and further develop the

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whether money spent on identified priorities is having the desired effect

17. The headteacher’s monitoring of teaching has been restricted, as agreement on how this should be organised within the school has only just been reached. His monitoring of planning has ensured that suitable work is provided for pupils of different abilities, and that the able pupils are consistently challenged. Inspection evidence confirms this. Governors have yet to develop a systematic programme of classroom observations to facilitate their monitoring role. Informal visits take place but these appear to lack a focus, so that little benefit is seen in contributing to raising standards. There is a requirement upon governing bodies to set up systematic procedures for gathering information about the provision they have made in the school, to assess its quality and assure the best value for money is obtained. A well planned programme of classroom observation will greatly enhance governors’ understanding of how

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whether money spent on identified priorities is having the desired effect

the school works and enable them better to fulfil their statutory responsibility for the conduct of the school. The school understands that this will necessitate change and have identified it as a priority on the current school development plan. Wymeswold C E Primary School - 16 18. The school intends that regular monitoring will also be part of the process by which assessment procedures, earmarked for improvement, will be enhanced. At present, the teacher assessments at the end of the key stages do not correlate closely with final test results. This needs to be remedied. One outcome of open, professional discussion between teachers and a shared commitment to improvement could be a focused response to this perceived need.

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Parents could be better informed about what their child is learning and how they can help

19. The team finds that, as parents suggest, opportunities to foster parents’ interest and direct involvement in their child’s learning are neglected, both in the first class and indeed, to a lesser extent, throughout the school. Despite an undertaking in the prospectus to explain what the school does, parents of young children joining the school receive little explanation of the learning activities their children engage in, and feel cut off from their child’s experiences and from chances to support them. Opportunities are further neglected in other classes. For instance, there are no routines for regularly sending home advance information about the work to be done in the various classes, to facilitate interest and promote research at home. When the literacy strategy was introduced in the school, no meeting was held to explain this important innovation to parents. Written guidance for parents about homework

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Parents could be better informed about what their child is learning and how they can help

20. Parents are not told enough in the prospectus or governors’ annual report, about provision made for pupils with special educational needs. Parents are not always told when their children are placed on the special needs register. Annual reports are unsatisfactory in their content. They relate clearly to the individual pupil, but do not say how he or she is doing in relation to others in their age group or to national expectations. Some of them omit mention of individual foundation subjects. Wymeswold C E Primary School - 17

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

21. The headteacher, governors and staff have identified the school’s needs and are in the process of defining appropriate new targets for the next academic year. In order to supplement these targets and to further develop the good work of the school, they should:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) raise levels of attainment in information technology by:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• increasing the amount of time pupils spend using information technology products to further develop their skills and understanding in the subject; • following a scheme of work to provide additional guidance to the teachers and to ensure a steady increase in skills and knowledge by the pupils; • implementing appropriate assessment procedures to measure pupils’ progress over time; • developing information technology to support pupils’ learning widely across the curriculum;

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) improve the monitoring of teaching and learning, and the subjects of the curriculum, by co-ordinators, senior staff and governors in an effective, systematic way;

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(3) improve the information flow to parents by:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• reorganising the vital induction phase when a child first enters school; • providing advance notice of work to be undertaken in each class, and keeping interested parents up-dated on major curricular innovation; • supplying a detailed written homework policy, with clear indications on expectations regarding time to be taken and help to be given; • amending minor omissions from the prospectus and governors’ annual report and fulfilling other statutory requirements, including those relating to the special educational needs Code of Practice and annual reports to parents. Wymeswold C E Primary School - 18

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