Berkswell Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Inspection Report Berkswell Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

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104093 Unique Reference Number Solihull LEA 277069 Inspection number 7 December 2005 to 8 December 2005 Inspection dates Marianick Ellender-Gele HMI Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Church Lane School address Primary Type of school Berkswell Voluntary aided School category Coventry, West Midlands CV7 7BJ 3 to 11 Age range of pupils

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01676 532141 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01676 535794 Fax number 212 Number on roll Mr MR Burns Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Alison Wellings Headteacher Not applicable Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277069 7 December 2005 - 3 to 11 8 December 2005 Inspection Report: Berkswell Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 2005

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report 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.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one HMI and one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This average-sized primary school draws its pupils from the village. An increasing number of parents living further afield choose this school. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties is below the national average. Children join Reception with above-average levels of knowledge and understanding. There are no pupils whose first language is not English. Three teachers joined the school at the start of this school year. The school has been awarded the Gold Artsmark in recognition of its very good work in the arts.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Berkswell Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 2005

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Grade: 1

Berkswell is an outstanding school giving very good value for money. It judges its own effectiveness generally accurately, although too modestly in some areas. The determination of the headteacher to ensure that all pupils achieve as much as they can stimulates high levels of commitment from children and staff. The school’s caring, family ethos makes it a very safe and welcoming place to be. Pupils achieve very well and reach standards that are well above average. The 2005 Year 6 tests results were particularly strong. The quality of teaching is very good, with some outstanding features. Lessons are stimulating and, consequently, pupils are eager to learn. Teachers set challenging targets and check each child’s progress towards them very carefully, providing effective support for those who need it. The excellent curriculum is accessible to all pupils and its planning is exemplary. Effective provision for children in nursery and reception

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Grade: 1

enables them to reach above-average standards and they achieve very well. Pupils and parents are rightly proud of the school. Leadership and management are outstanding at all levels. Staff and governors rightly recognise that pupils could do even better in their writing and that strategies to raise the achievement of very able children need consistent reinforcement across all groups. Since the previous inspection the school has made dramatic improvements to the nursery and to learning resources, particularly in information and communication technology (ICT). The school has excellent capacity to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

•Raise standards in writing so that they match the very good levels achieved in other subjects. •Apply consistently the agreed strategies to get the most out of all able children.

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Grade: 1

Pupils achieve very well. Children enter the nursery with above-average skills in speaking and listening. Their social skills are also well developed. By the time they leave the reception class, standards are above those expected for their age. Pupils continue to make good progress in Years 1 and 2, reaching standards that are above average in writing and well above in reading and mathematics. This good progress gathers even more momentum in Years 3 to 6, leading to consistently high standards in English, mathematics and science. Results in 2005 were high and targets were exceeded. The school is currently revising its targets for 2006 to ensure that they are suitably challenging. Pupils with learning difficulties achieve very well as a result of the very effective support they receive, with some making outstanding progress. The school has recognised the relative weakness of writing skills and has put in place

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Grade: 1

strategies to address this issue. Standards in ICT have risen significantly since the 2 Inspection Report: Berkswell Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 2005 previous inspection and ICT is now used well to support pupils’ learning across the curriculum.

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Grade: 1

Pupils love their school. It is very clear that they thoroughly enjoy all aspects of school life. Consequently, behaviour, both inside and outside the classroom, is commendable. Pupils also show exemplary attitudes to each other and their teachers. All these attributes contribute significantly to their outstanding personal development and enthusiasm for learning. They are mature, courteous and are willing to engage in sensible and responsible discussion. The well-above-average attendance rate in the school reflects pupils’ understanding of the importance of learning and their enjoyment of it. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. This is underpinned by the Christian ethos that permeates all aspects of school life. Pupils are offered opportunities for prayerful reflection, to consider the needs of others and to accept personal responsibility. For example, volunteer pupils, the ’blue band’ group in Year

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Grade: 1

6, provide a wide range of activities during lunchtime for younger pupils, including games, use of computers, drawing and writing. Pupils’ social development and community awareness are very well supported through work for national and international charities and pupils are very confident in contributing their views about the school in the recently established whole-school council. The importance of staying healthy and safe is well understood by pupils. The school underscores this understanding by providing a good range of sporting activities and by, for example, the introduction of the ‘fruit for schools’ scheme and the availability of drinking water in all classrooms. Older pupils show that they have mastered the necessary skills to move to secondary education and they understand very well what is important for their future.

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Grade: 1

The quality of teaching is very good, with many outstanding features. Teachers explain clearly to pupils what they are going to learn and then plan tasks that are stimulating and imaginative. At the end of each lesson, teachers and pupils together check that the agreed objectives have been achieved. Teachers’ high expectations promote intense concentration and, consequently, pupils achieve very well. For example, in mathematics, pupils were totally engaged and excited by an imaginative activity on world times and they worked with real enthusiasm. Similarly, in English, brisk question-and-answer sessions followed by time for independent work and reflection enabled pupils at different stages of learning to excel. Teachers challenge pupils to give their best and this is very effective because staff know each child very well. Sometimes, however, 3 Inspection Report: Berkswell Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 2005

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Grade: 1

opportunities for able children to learn more are missed. Those who experience learning difficulties are identified early and the highly effective support by teachers and teaching assistants helps them to make very good progress. The contribution of the ICT technician to pupils’ enjoyment of learning is outstanding. In the reception class, very effective teaching ensures that practical activities and investigations build swiftly on the children’s existing good level of knowledge, and ensures good progress in all areas of learning.

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Grade: 1

A frequent comment made by pupils about their teachers was: ‘they make the work interesting and fun’. This describes very adequately the broad, stimulating and exceptionally well planned curriculum. The school has devised a very imaginative approach where the timetable is driven by the need of the topic or subject rather than being constrained by time. This helps to ensure that the curriculum is lively and meets the learning needs of pupils. Pupils’ creativity is further stimulated by the excellent provision for the arts, resulting in the award of the Gold Artsmark. The skills gained in one subject are used well by pupils to extend their learning in other subjects; for example, literacy skills are used well in Year 2 religious education stories and ICT skills are increasingly used in a range of subjects. The personal and social development programme contributes very effectively to pupils’ personal development.

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Grade: 1

The school offers an extensive range of educational visits and extra-curricular activities, for example, concerts in the Albert Hall, climbing and abseiling for Year 6 and musical and sports clubs after school. Very good provision is made for guidance about drugs and medicines, smoking and alcohol awareness.

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Grade: 1

The school is a large family where every child is of the utmost importance. Each individual is well known at the personal level but their academic needs are also regularly tracked and monitored. Targets set for individuals and groups are used well to support learning. As relationships in the school are so strong, pupils feel able to discuss any problems with an appropriate adult. Each classroom’s ‘bubble bag’ and ‘Golden letter box’ provide good opportunities for pupils to share a problem with a teacher or to share with everyone in assembly the help they have been given by others. Child protection procedures are fully in place and there is regular training on such issues. Pupils with learning difficulties are given very good support and those with particular talents in, for example, art, music and physical education are well catered for.

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Grade: 1

Parents and pupils praise the headteacher’s dedication and presence around the school. They rightly value the excellent role model that she provides. She is very ably supported 4 Inspection Report: Berkswell Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 2005 by her new deputy and together they promote a caring and safe learning environment and give staff excellent support and direction. This unity of purpose and excellent teamwork help pupils to develop into confident and caring young people, and staff to go from strength to strength. The recognition that writing requires further improvement shows that the school is far from complacent. It seeks advice so that all pupils can reach their potential, as exemplified by the developing provision for gifted and talented children. Parents’ views are taken into account, for example, when reviewing the effectiveness of educational plans for children who receive learning support. Subject managers make

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Grade: 1

a full contribution to the school’s drive for success, for example, through the very effective monitoring and evaluation of their subject. Governors also play an important part in the success of the school. They know what the school does well and where improvements are needed. The investment in ICT and the persistent struggle to extend the play areas are good examples. Governors manage resources and finances very well. Progress since the previous inspection has been very good and the highly effective leadership and management demonstrate an excellent capacity to improve further 5 Inspection Report: Berkswell Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 2005 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Berkswell Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 2005

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 1 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 1 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 1 How well do learners achieve? NA 1 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 1 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 1 The behaviour of learners NA 1 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 1 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 1 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 1 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 1 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Berkswell Primary School Church Lane Berkswell Coventry West Midlands CV7 7BJ 12 December 2005 Dear Pupils Thank you very much for making us feel so welcomed when we visited your school. We very much enjoyed coming into your lessons and looking at your work. We especially enjoyed talking to many of you, and seeing you participate so well in your assembly and in your preparations for Christmas. You are working very hard in lessons and show great interest in your work. You learn very well and make very good progress. It is obvious that you enjoy school and look forward to coming each day. We thought that you were extremely well behaved, very polite and helpful to each other and visitors. We saw that you enjoy the interesting work your teachers give you, and the support that they provide in lessons to help you to do well. All the adults in school look after you very well and help you to feel safe and keep healthy. You really appreciate all the extra opportunities the

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

school gives you, especially visits and clubs. We have seen the excellent way in which your headteacher, staff and school governors run the school. We enjoyed looking at the colourful displays around the school and we learned a lot from them about what you do in school. Your headteacher and teachers already know what they need to do in order to make your school even better. We have asked them to make sure that you improve your writing even more and, if you are very good at a particular subject, we have asked your teachers to check that the work you do is sufficiently demanding and interesting. Yours sincerely Marianick Ellender-Gelé Lead inspector

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