Great Budworth CofE Primary School

SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 10 th - 11 th October 2000

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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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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. Great Budworth CofE Primary School - 1

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: School Lane Great Budworth Northwich Cheshire

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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: Mrs Ruth Parker

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 18 th - 20 th February 1997 Great Budworth CofE Primary School - 2

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Team members

Tom Shine 24254 Registered inspector Sally Hall 19693 Lay inspector

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Team members

PPI Group Ltd 7 Hill Street Bristol BS1 5RW

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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 Great Budworth CofE Primary School - 3

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 4 - 7

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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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

This is a small Voluntary Controlled Church of England primary school for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 85 full-time pupils on roll and the usual admission number is 12 pupils in each year group, although there are 16 in this year’s current reception. With such small numbers, pupils’ attainment on entry tends to fluctuate from year to year, but overall is broadly typical of that found nationally. Nineteen pupils (24 per cent) have special educational needs (SEN), the majority of whom mainly have learning needs. This is above the national average and does not include children in the reception class who, at the time of the inspection, had not been in the school long enough to have been assessed. There are no pupils in the school from ethnic minority backgrounds or pupils with English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals (5 per cent) is below the

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Great Budworth is a good school achieving high standards. These standards are substantially the result of effective teaching and the commitment of the headteacher and staff, supported by the governing body, to high achievement. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school does well

• By age eleven, standards in English and mathematics are well above average. • Overall teaching is good, with 80 per cent being good or better; good subject knowledge and effective questioning are particular strong features contributing to pupils’ good progress. • Pupils’ very good attitudes and relationships help them to learn effectively. • The head and deputy headteacher provide good leadership and, together with the support of the governing body, are successful in creating an effective learning environment. • The school cultivates pupils’ personal development well.

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What could be improved

• Standards in information and communication technology (ICT) overall are unsatisfactory; there are insufficient computers and some teachers’ expertise in the subject needs to be developed • There is insufficient support for pupils with SEN in the mixed age class for Years 2 and 3. • There are no out of school activities. 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 has made good progress in tackling the key issues identified for action points since the last inspection in February 1997. The headteacher has done well to ensure that most issues have been addressed. For example, there has been noticeable improvement in curriculum planning and the assessment of pupils’ progress is now much better than it was. Arrangements to ensure that pupils with SEN are in line with good practice are now in place and there are good procedures for child protection. In addition, there have been substantial improvements in teaching and in the attitudes and behaviour of pupils and these have contributed to the general improvement in standards in the school since the last inspection. There has also been new building that provides a valuable resource for specialist teaching, especially for Year 6. However standards in ICT, which had some weaknesses at the last inspection, are below the level expected nationally.

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STANDARDS

The usual table, showing results in English, mathematics and science for 11-year-olds, is not included here, as there were fewer than 11 pupils entered for the National Curriculum tests in 1999. In practice there were no more than 9 pupils entered, and this makes comparisons unreliable, both with national averages and similar schools, that is, schools with a comparable proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals . This is because intakes to the school tend to fluctuate in terms of ability year-on-year and small variations in a year group, for example the number of SEN or gifted pupils, can lead to disproportionate percentage changes in the results.

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STANDARDS

These fluctuations are illustrated by the recent results for pupils aged seven. In the National Curriculum tests, only 8 pupils were entered. Pupils’ performance in reading was well above the national average and was also well above compared to similar schools. In writing, their performance was well below the national average and also when compared to similar schools. In mathematics, results were above the national average and were broadly in line with the performance of similar schools. It is not yet possible to compare the most recent (unpublished) results for 2000 with the national average but they show the results in reading and mathematics to be well below those for 1999, although the results in writing were similar. The school attributes these outcomes to a large number of pupils with SEN in the year group. These pupils are now in Year 3. The inspection took place early in the year and, based on the evidence

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STANDARDS

available, inspectors found that standards in Year 2, in reading and mathematics, are broadly above average and are in line with the national average in writing. These pupils are taught in a mixed age class of Years 2 and 3, and the SEN pupils in Year 3, without additional support, require much of the teacher’s time and, despite her best efforts, depress standards in Year 2.

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STANDARDS

The results for pupils aged eleven in English were well above the national average and were above average compared to similar schools. In mathematics they were very high compared with both the national average and similar schools. In science they were above the national average and were broadly in line with the standards in similar schools. The unpublished results for 2000 show a slight dip on the results of the previous year. The headteacher was disappointed by these results, explaining that two pupils in different subjects did not do themselves justice on the day and led to an 11 per cent drop on the results of the previous year. Inspectors find that standards in English and mathematics broadly reflect the 1999 results, being well above average in English and mathematics. There was insufficient evidence during the inspection to make judgements about science. Pupils’ speaking and listening skills

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STANDARDS

are good and by the time they leave the school they are very good. Standards in ICT are not high enough – pupils do not have sufficient access to computers in school. The school knows its pupils well and has set challenging targets for 2001.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school These are very good and help pupils in their learning. They enjoy school and are very motivated and involved and are keen to answer questions.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms This is good in and around the school, including break-times and lunchtimes.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships These are very good. Pupils have very good relationships with each other and with all members of staff.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance This is well above the national average. Unauthorised absence was well below the national average.

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Aspect Comment

Pupils generally concentrate well; the way older pupils look after the younger ones is impressive. Taken together, pupils’ very positive attitudes and values are very influential factors in their learning. Great Budworth CofE Primary School - 6

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

Lessons seen overall Good 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

Teaching has improved since the last inspection when, despite the overall quality being good, 10 per cent was unsatisfactory. Findings from this inspection show that, in the lessons seen, the overall quality was still good, with teaching being satisfactory or better in 100 per cent of the lessons. It was good or better in 80 per cent of the lessons. Seven per cent of lessons were excellent, overall. The overall quality of teaching was consistently good in the foundation stage (up to the end of the reception class when all children are five) and in Key Stage 1 (for pupils aged 5 to 7) , overall. For pupils aged 7 to 11, 12 per cent was satisfactory with the same percentage being excellent. The rest was good. Teaching is particularly effective in Year 6 in English and mathematics, where the co-ordinators teach these subjects to this age group separate from Years 4 and 5 in whose class they are usually a part. This works very well, the

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

pupils benefiting both from the teachers’ specialist subject knowledge and the smaller groups, allowing all pupils, including those with SEN, to flourish and to make very good progress.

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

Throughout this small school, teachers have a good grasp of the national strategies for literacy and numeracy and generally teach these skills well. Very good questioning is a particularly effective feature of the best teaching. These questions not only challenge pupils to recall what they have previously learned, enabling teachers to assess their current state of knowledge, but also allow them to build skilfully on that knowledge moving the pupils on to the next stage of learning effectively. Most teachers are secure in their knowledge and understanding of the subjects they teach. The exception is ICT, where teachers’ expertise is variable and is not helped by a lack of computers in the school. Some teachers are very confident in the subject whilst others need to develop their skills. There is very little classroom support for teachers in the school, but the teacher in the foundation stage plans and works

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

very well with the classroom assistant. In the mixed class, of pupils from Years 2 and 3, the class teacher has to meet a very broad band of abilities, including a large number of pupils with SEN, without additional support. She does well with limited resources but pupils do not consistently make the progress of which they are capable.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Sound overall. The curriculum is broad and balanced, with the exception of ICT which is under-represented, although statutory requirements are met. There are no after-school activities. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Sound overall, but unsatisfactory in Year 2 and 3 to meet the needs of the pupils. The school identifies their needs early, but in a class straddling two key stages the support for these pupils is inadequate. Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development This is good. Assemblies, the Junior Council, regular visits to the local church and areas such as music, poetry and art have a positive influence on the spiritual, moral, social and cultural aspects of pupils’ personal development. How well the school cares for its pupils The school provides a safe, caring environment for its pupils.

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Aspect Comment

The school provides an effective curriculum that meets statutory requirements. Strong emphasis is placed on the development of all pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills and the school does well to provide Great Budworth CofE Primary School - 7 additional time in the upper school to practise their writing skills. Although staff training for ICT is identified in the school development plan (SDP), there are no plans to increase provision of computers. A review of after-school activities is included in the SDP.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher and deputy head provide good leadership and effective management. They know the strengths and weaknesses of the school well and are aware of the need to raise standards in ICT. The headteacher’s motto is “Winning hearts and minds” and she is right to be “proud of the level of motivation amongst staff and children not only to do well but also to improve.”

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governing body is in a transitional stage with some new members but also vacancies at the time of the inspection. The governors are very supportive and fulfil their statutory responsibilities soundly. They are interested in the work of the school and are committed to improving their expertise.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance This is good. All teachers know their pupils well and track their progress effectively. They are committed to maintaining high standards and improving those not so high.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources This is sound, but financial decisions are not consistently linked to educational priorities, for example when the stolen computer was not replaced immediately, leaving the upper school without this technology for over a term.

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Aspect Comment

The headteacher and her staff, supported by the governing body, provide clear educational direction for the school’s work and are successful in achieving their aim, “to foster high expectations of performance and to encourage the highest possible levels of achievement”, standards in ICT excepted. There is a very good ethos and high staff morale. Financial control is good and the school applies the principles of best value soundly.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Children enjoy school. • They make good progress. • Behaviour is good. • Teaching is good. • The school is approachable. • It helps pupils become mature and responsible. • The school has high expectations. • The range of activities outside school.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

Inspectors agree with parents’ positive views. A significant proportion of parents who responded to the questionnaire (41 per cent) was not happy with what the school had to offer for out of school activities. Whilst there is a limit to what the staff can reasonably be expected to do in a small school, inspectors found that the school could do more; indeed by the time of the inspection there had been no out of school activities during the term. The school is to review how the curriculum could be enriched by after- school activities. Great Budworth CofE Primary School - 8

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

By age eleven, standards in English and mathematics are well above average.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

1. Standards in English are well above the national average at age 11 and, allowing for the disproportionate fluctuations in results caused by small cohorts, broadly reflect the very good results published in 1999 for pupils of this age. In Year 6, pupils respond well to the specialist teaching by the co-ordinators for English and mathematics. They benefit both from the smaller groups and from the expertise of the teachers and pupils of all attainment levels in Year 6 make very good progress. Booster classes for these subjects also make a very effective contribution to raising standards.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

2. Throughout the school, teachers give pupils frequent opportunities to practise their speaking and listening skills. By the age of seven these are good; as pupils progress through the school they develop these skills further so that, by the time pupils are eleven, they are very good. These skills begin to be developed as soon as children enter the school. In the reception class, for example, a small group of young children, some of them only just 4 years of age, and in the school on a full time basis for just a few days, are to be shown how to work with clay. The classroom assistant, under the direction of the class teacher, leads this session. They listen well as the assistant explains the tasks and checks their understanding with the use of gentle questioning, giving the children the opportunity to communicate their thoughts and feelings. As she rolls the clay she asks, “What’s happening to the clay?” “It’s going flat” they respond. “The more you roll it, is it

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

going fatter or thinner?” The children think for a moment watching the assistant’s actions. “Thinner” they say. Pupils are given good opportunities to develop their language and are introduced to appropriate technical vocabulary at an early age. In this lesson in the reception class, children are introduced to words such as pulling, stretching , and changing . In Year 4, pupils in their ICT lesson use technical language confidently such as bird’s eye view and co- ordinates . In Year 6 in science, pupils study teeth and are introduced to incisors , canines , premolars and molars, whilst in history studying Elizabethan jewellery, they show good understanding of opaque , transparent and translucent.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

3. By age eleven, pupils read very well, their skills being well above average. Pupils of all attainment levels are making good progress. They read with accuracy and appropriate expression and explain clearly the meaning of what they have read. They read well, whether on a one-to-one basis or to a larger audience. In an assembly, with most of the school present, a girl from Year 6 read a passage from St Matthew’s Gospel very confidently and enunciated very clearly. Most pupils have very positive attitudes to books, "I love books, I have about five hundred!” said one girl, deliberately exaggerating for effect. They are able to name their favourite authors and can explain what attributes of books appeal to them. Most pupils’ research skills are good and they are able to locate books effectively.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

4. At age seven, pupils’ writing is broadly average, although there are pupils whose work does not aspire to this standard. The best work shows good use of capital letters and correct punctuation. Some pupils are able to write at length with neat, joined handwriting, conveying their meaning clearly. “Everybody did not invite Charlie to birthday parties but nearly everybody gave him presents and sweets and toys”. Most pupils of this age, however, are not yet writing at this standard. By age eleven, pupils write very well and benefit from the specialist teaching for this age group and make very good progress. Evidence from pupils’ past work shows a wide range, with imaginative use of language and some very good extended writing. There is work with well developed use of grammar and paragraph construction and effective intertwining of short and longer sentences, as in this example, “His teeth were as big as felt tips and as sharp as nails. His face

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

was round and ruby red. He had a bandana around his shiny head otherwise known as a kerchief.” By the end of the year, pupils’ handwriting has developed into an individual joined style.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

5. Literacy supports pupils’ learning well in other subjects such as history. Pupils’ very secure grasp Great Budworth CofE Primary School - 9 of language and use of grammar enables them to describe very effectively the Globe Theatre for their topic on Shakespeare’s England. “The Globe is a circular building. It has no roof. The stage jutted out like an apron shape and along the sides were the galleries where the rich men and boys sat. The ladies and the poorer people stood on the ground.” In a literacy lesson on the same theme, pupils demonstrate that they are on course to achieve similar standards. They study the diaries of John Evelyn and identify old spellings, accurately replacing them with their modern equivalents, such as air for aire , soon for soone , and nearly for neere . They also use their knowledge of similes to identify some of those used by Evelyn, such as “like the top of a burning

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

oven” and “like an hideous storm” . This skill with language enables them to write very well.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

6. Numeracy is emphasised well and, by age seven, standards are broadly above average and most pupils make good progress over time in developing their skills, especially in mental mathematics. In Year 2, many pupils count up to 1000 and back in 100’s and add 20 and 20 to 50 and 50 . They are able to identify the next number in the sequence 83, 84, 85 and can fill in the missing numbers in sequences such as 27, 29, 31 . They count on in 10’s from random numbers such as 9, 19, 29 or 37, 47, 57, and so on. Most pupils make good progress but in this mixed-age class some pupils of average attainment and below struggle and their progress is not so good, as they would benefit from additional support. By age eleven, pupils have a very secure grasp of mathematics in general and numeracy in particular. Evidence from pupils’ past work shows a wide range is covered, including work on fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio and proportion. They are

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

confident in representing data clearly in the form of pie charts and bar charts and are very secure in subtracting 3 digit numbers and in adding 5 digit numbers. In a lesson pupils divide decimal numbers of increasing levels of difficulty by single digit numbers to two places of decimals. Most pupils complete their tasks accurately and with reasonable speed.

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Overall teaching is good, with 80 per cent being good or better; good subject knowledge and

effective questioning are particular strong features contributing to pupils’ good progress.

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Overall teaching is good, with 80 per cent being good or better; good subject knowledge and

7. Teaching was good overall, with the best teaching being in the older year groups (Years 4 to 6) . Although the overall quality of teaching was good, satisfactory teaching was seen in each of the three classes. The best teaching takes place in Year 6 for English and mathematics. This is partly because, for these subjects, the class is a homogeneous unit, composed solely of pupils from Year 6. It is, therefore, intrinsically easier to meet the needs of these pupils, even though there are a number of pupils with special educational needs in this group. The most important reason, however, is that the teachers who are the co-ordinators for their subjects, English and mathematics, teach them to this class as specialists.

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Overall teaching is good, with 80 per cent being good or better; good subject knowledge and

8. In a very good English lesson, the teacher used her knowledge of the subject, the Great Fire of London, to show how John Evelyn builds up a picture of the horror of the fire. She brought enthusiasm and animation to her presentation and very good use of voice as she showed how the author used layer upon layer to paint a picture of the description, “the noise and crackling and thunder of the impetuous flames – the shreeking of Women and children, - the hurry of people, - the fall of towers, houses and churches was like an hideous storme and the aire all about so hot and inflam’d that at the last one was not able to approch it.” The whole class was enraptured as it responded to this first class presentation and was totally absorbed throughout the lesson. It is not surprising that the pupils’ progress was commensurate with this very high quality of teaching.

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Overall teaching is good, with 80 per cent being good or better; good subject knowledge and

9. One of the strong features of this and other lessons was the quality of questioning, which enabled the teachers to assess the pupils’ levels of understanding and then move them on. In the English lesson above, the teacher quotes the author, “God grant mine eyes may never behold the like” and asks the class, “What does that tell us about him?” The pupils think for a moment and one boy replies, “He believes in God” . In a mathematics lesson in the same class, the teacher begins by asking, “What is the definition of a prime number?” This is a good strategy as it enables her to gauge the level at which to resume teaching on this subject. A pupil replies, ”It can be divided by itself and one”. This establishes a good starting point. “Is one a prime number?” she asks. Another pupil replies, “No, because one is itself”. This allowed the teacher to neatly address the main topic to be covered, “Yes, it must have two factors”. The class responded very well and

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Overall teaching is good, with 80 per cent being good or better; good subject knowledge and

spent the remainder of the lesson identifying accurately prime, odd and even numbers in a 100 Great Budworth CofE Primary School - 10 number square and made good progress.

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Overall teaching is good, with 80 per cent being good or better; good subject knowledge and

10. The quality of marking varies and at its best is good. Overall, it is satisfactory. Some of it is rather perfunctory and consists merely of ticks and short comments such as “careful” when a young pupil made an error in sequencing a number series without any indication of how the pupil could help herself to improve her work. Verbal feedback to pupils on the quality of their work during the lessons, however, is generally good. In the Parents’ Guide the headteacher writes that, “one of the most powerful tools for our teaching is the fact that every member of staff knows every child and the headteacher personally monitors every child’s progress with the staff on a regular basis.” Inspection endorses that view. In the response to the questionnaire, most parents were very happy with the quality of teaching.

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Overall teaching is good, with 80 per cent being good or better; good subject knowledge and

Pupils’ very good attitudes and relationships help them to learn effectively.

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Overall teaching is good, with 80 per cent being good or better; good subject knowledge and

11. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are very good. The school is very successful in achieving its aim, “to provide a happy, secure and purposeful learning environment in which pupils may with confidence, develop their full potential academically, socially and physically”. Children, for example, are made very welcome when they first enter the school as under-fives. They are eased into school gently, attending for half-days only for up to four weeks, depending on individual circumstances, to help them settle in and do not join the school for assemblies until they are familiar with school routines. This provides a very solid foundation for the development of their very good attitudes and positive values as they begin their journey through the school. At the meeting, a number of parents commented favourably on support for children entering the school at the reception class.

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Overall teaching is good, with 80 per cent being good or better; good subject knowledge and

12. Good teaching also fosters very positive relationships between pupils and between pupils and adults. Children are confident that their views will be listened to and respected. In the school brochure the headteacher writes that “It is one of the finest features of the school that the oldest children take on a caring, adult role in looking after the younger ones when the occasion arises.” Inspection has borne out this confidence and pupils’ personal development is very good. There were many occasions when older pupils were seen helping the younger ones. The lunch period is a good social occasion helped by friendly, good relationships. On one occasion, for example, a pupil in Year 6 brought in a younger child who had fallen over for treatment. At break-times, pupils of all ages play well together. There is a strong sense of community in the school. In class, pupils work very well together and the sense of community and good relationships have a very

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The head and deputy headteacher provide good leadership and, together with the support of

the governing body, are successful in creating an effective learning environment.

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The head and deputy headteacher provide good leadership and, together with the support of

13. The headteacher provides good leadership and has a clear vision of what sort of school Great Budworth should be, and has the necessary leadership and management skills to achieve it. The headteacher says that, although the school is small, it has a boundless energy. “It thinks big and encourages great ambitions in its children paying close attention to the development of each child.” She is supported well by the deputy head and has built an effective team that is committed to high standards in teaching and learning. The support staff, including those for administration and the caretaker, make a very positive contribution to the life of the school. The headteacher has a heavy teaching commitment – 70 per cent for the year 2000/2001 – and she does very well with this heavy teaching load to lead the school so effectively. This teaching commitment is very effective as it enables Year 6 to be taught in a relatively small group by the English and

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The head and deputy headteacher provide good leadership and, together with the support of

mathematics co-ordinators, with a similar arrangement applying to ICT. She knows the strengths and weaknesses of the school well and is very focused on raising standards. For example, the school noticed that reading had improved to a much greater extent than writing, following the introduction of the Literacy Hour. It decided, therefore, to provide additional sessions on the timetable for extended writing to raise standards still further. The deputy head has a full teaching commitment and plans very well with the classroom assistant to ensure that the needs of the very young children are fully met. Great Budworth CofE Primary School - 11 14. The governing body is very supportive. Its priorities are: Quality of staff, as low a pupil-teacher ratio as possible; high standards; friendly atmosphere and a nurturing ethos in which children are cared for, and where children are bound to flourish as responsible young people with a love of

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The head and deputy headteacher provide good leadership and, together with the support of

learning. There are a number of committees to enable it to fulfil its statutory responsibilities appropriately. At the time of the inspection, there were a number of vacancies which, along with the existence of some relatively new members of the governing body, limits their full effectiveness. This should be improved when there is full membership and governors have had the opportunity to develop their expertise.

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The head and deputy headteacher provide good leadership and, together with the support of

The school cultivates pupils’ personal development well.

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The head and deputy headteacher provide good leadership and, together with the support of

15. Pupils’ personal development is promoted effectively, particularly through the school’s provision for their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This aspect was reported as being strong at the last inspection and these good standards have been maintained. This small school has a very warm, welcoming atmosphere and an inspiring ethos.

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The head and deputy headteacher provide good leadership and, together with the support of

16. Spiritual development is emphasised through assemblies, daily acts of collective worship and through many aspects of the curriculum such as English, art, history and music. One of the aims of the school is to develop a partnership with the Church and with the wider community, being responsive to the needs of that community and drawing from its strengths . The school has regular visits and services in the magnificent medieval church and, during the inspection, it attended a service for Harvest Festival which was an uplifting experience. On the short walk back to the school pupils were heard to express their enjoyment of the service.

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The head and deputy headteacher provide good leadership and, together with the support of

17. Children are given responsibilities from a very young age and they respond to the high expectations the staff have of them. The school has its Golden Rules which are prominently displayed. The Junior Council provides an effective opportunity for pupils to reflect on their own feelings and the feelings of others and makes a positive contribution to pupils’ moral, social and cultural development. Behaviour is good throughout the school, as staff act as good role models and treat all pupils in a consistent manner. The statement in the school prospectus that, the life of the school is regulated to ensure a happy and well-ordered atmosphere was confirmed by the inspection.

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The head and deputy headteacher provide good leadership and, together with the support of

18. Pupils respond well to good teaching and to the opportunities their teachers give to work together in groups. They have good relationships with each other and with all members of staff. Older pupils look after the younger children well without the need to be asked. On their way back from the Harvest Festival, some older pupils spoke in an easy, relaxed way with younger pupils. The good social atmosphere in the school provides a positive learning environment. The curriculum promotes pupils’ cultural development very strongly, especially through English and poetry, music, drama and art. In Class 2, there is a good display, reflecting the multicultural studies of the Caribbean, in geography. The school, with no pupils of ethnic minority background, is very conscious of the need to raise and develop pupils’ awareness and understanding of the richness and diversity of other cultures. It has recently joined the Cheshire Development Centre for

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The head and deputy headteacher provide good leadership and, together with the support of

multicultural studies and is committed to developing this area.

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Standards in information and communication technology (ICT) overall are unsatisfactory; there

are insufficient computers and some teachers’ expertise in the subject needs to be developed.

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Standards in information and communication technology (ICT) overall are unsatisfactory; there

19. At the last inspection, attainment in ICT was described as being in line with national expectations. Progress in word processing and the use of control technology was satisfactory. In other areas of the programme of study, progress was less satisfactory. From the evidence in this inspection, standards in ICT, by age eleven, are unsatisfactory, overall, and progress over time is also unsatisfactory. There are a number of reasons for this. The first is that a computer was stolen early in April this year and it was six months before a replacement arrived. This was because the governors elected to wait for the insurance claim to be processed to fund the replacement. The Great Budworth CofE Primary School - 12 alternative, to fund the replacement from their own resources whilst anticipating income from the claim, was not taken. This meant that pupils in class 1 (for pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6) had to be

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Standards in information and communication technology (ICT) overall are unsatisfactory; there

taught in a large group, including the pupils now in Year 6, and it is not surprising that standards are below those expected.

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Standards in information and communication technology (ICT) overall are unsatisfactory; there

20. The second reason for unsatisfactory standards is the lack of sufficient computers in the school. During the inspection two lessons in ICT were seen. In Year 6, there were 14 pupils to one computer; in Year 4 and 5, there were 18 pupils to one computer. A desk top size screen is not appropriate for class teaching, as pupils any distance from the screen cannot see the detail as they would if, for example, an interactive monitor was available. The school has recently benefited for funding from the National Grid for Learning and is connected to the Internet , but nevertheless this ratio of computers to pupils is inadequate. Pupils do not have sufficient hands-on opportunities to use the technology and, in the lessons seen, pupils were not able to use the computer themselves.

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Standards in information and communication technology (ICT) overall are unsatisfactory; there

21. The third reason for unsatisfactory standards is that all teachers are not confident in the use of ICT. In the lessons seen, the subject co-ordinator was teaching and this was good. In these lessons, however, progress was only satisfactory as pupils were hampered by the lack of machines. The lack of some teachers’ confidence in the subject also means that pupils are not always given the opportunities to use the technology to support learning in other subjects. The school is right to identify staff training for ICT in the school development plan.

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There is insufficient support for pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in the mixed age

22. In this class (class 2) there are pupils in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. There are a large number of pupils with SEN in Year 3 (Key Stage 2). Teaching is generally good in this class, even though the teacher has to meet a broad range of abilities without additional resources. The SEN pupils do not consistently make the progress they would be capable of with additional support. The dilemma for the teacher is that, in giving more attention to them, the effect is to give less attention to the others and this has a tendency to depress standards in the rest of the class. There are indications that this effect led to a dip in standards in the statutory tests in 2000, although these results are as yet unpublished.

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There is insufficient support for pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in the mixed age

23. Forty one per cent of parents who replied to the questionnaire were not happy with the school’s extra-curricular activities. Although the Parents’ Guide 2000/2001 gives information about out of school clubs, at the time of the inspection none had taken place. Bad weather can be blamed for the cancellation of some activities, but not all need to, nor should, be held out in the open. It is unreasonable to expect the same range of activities in a small school compared to a larger school as the time commitment would fall disproportionately on fewer staff. Outside staff can be bought in, subject to budgetary considerations, and some schools use the expertise of parents where this is available. The school is right to include a review of its out of school activities in its development plan to ensure regular provision that is known to parents and pupils alike.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

a) raise pupils’ attainment in information and communication technology by:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• improving all teachers’ knowledge and expertise in the subject to ensure it is taught to a satisfactory level throughout the school (paragraph 21); • ensure there are sufficient computers to provide adequate opportunities for pupils to have practical hands-on experience (paragraph 20); Great Budworth CofE Primary School - 13 b) review the arrangements for supporting SEN pupils in class 2 (paragraph 22) ;

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

c) implement the school development plan to improve regular provision for extra-curricular activities (paragraph 23). Great Budworth CofE Primary School - 14

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 14

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 85

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils eligible for free school meals 4

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 19

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 0

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 3

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5

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Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year.

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and eleven in 1999 are not included because there were less than 11 pupils in both age groups

and the results of such small cohorts would be unreliable.

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 0 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 4 Financial year 1999/2000

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 20.25

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – YR Total expenditure 195,197

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 2 Expenditure per pupil 2,244

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 24 Balance brought forward from previous year 23,949

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Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. Balance carried forward to next year 23,879 Great Budworth CofE Primary School - 16

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Percentage of responses in each category

Strongly agree Tend to agree Tend to disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 38 44 6 6 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 34 50 9 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 28 44 6 3 13

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 16 63 9 0 6

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 78 16 3 3 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 72 22 0 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 34 47 3 3 13

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 16 63 6 3 9

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 50 50 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 3 31 41 0 19

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Summary of parents’ and carers’ responses

These responses indicate generally positive views for the school and inspectors agree with them. The only significant area of criticism was to do with what the school had to offer for out of school activities. Inspectors understand that in a small school, with a limited budget, there is a limit to what the staff can reasonably be expected to do outside of school. However, by the time of the inspection there had been no out of school activities during the term. The school is right to review how the curriculum could be enriched by after-school activities.

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