Pangbourne Primary School

Inspection Report Pangbourne Primary School

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109940 Unique Reference Number West Berkshire LEA LEA 278313 Inspection number 12 July 2006 to 13 July 2006 Inspection dates Daniel Kilborn AI Reporting inspector

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

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Kennedy Drive School address Primary Type of school Pangbourne Community School category Reading RG8 7LB 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 01189 842315 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01189 841225 Fax number 222 Number on roll Mrs Wilma Grant Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Maureen Appleton Headteacher 26 April 2004 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278313 12 July 2006 - 3 to 11 13 July 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This average sized school serves the village of Pangbourne, which is set in a ward with higher than average social economic features. The school, however, attracts many pupils from the surrounding area. The number of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is lower than the national average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties is average and four pupils have a statement of special educational need. The number of pupils eligible for free school meals is well below average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Pangbourne Primary School, 12 July 2006 to 13 July 2006

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Grade: 2

The school has improved significantly since the previous inspection and provides a good education. This supports the school's own evaluation of its effectiveness. The headteacher provides inspirational leadership and has created an ethos where aspirations are high. There is a strong commitment to high standards and achievement for pupils of all abilities. Inspectors agree with a parent who said, `There is a higher degree of focus to the school with expectations much clearer to the children.' This is a view shared by almost all parents. Standards and achievement are good in reading, mathematics and science, although there is still scope to further improve standards in writing and information and communication technology (ICT). The curriculum is good and pupils' personal development, care guidance and support are also good. Pupils' attitudes to learning and their behaviour are good and make a significant contribution to their achievements.

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Grade: 2

Provision in the Foundation Stage is good and children make a fine start to their school life. Teaching is good throughout the school and learning proceeds at a lively pace. This enables pupils of all abilities to achieve well. There is good capacity for further improvement as shown by the significant progress since the previous inspection. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Maintain the focus on raising standards in writing and provide more opportunities for pupils to write at length in subjects other than English • Provide more opportunities for pupils to use and apply their ICT skills in all subjects

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Grade: 2

Standards and pupils' achievements are good and have improved markedly since the previous inspection. This is the result of outstanding leadership from the relatively new headteacher, good teaching in all year groups, and increasingly effective use of assessment and tracking data. This has also enabled the school to set and achieve more accurate and challenging targets and focus support where it is needed most. It has been particularly successful in raising the achievements of the more able pupils and this is reflected in the provisional results from this year's national tests, the school's own tracking data and the pupils' work during the inspection. Standards are particularly high in reading, mathematics and science by the end of Years 2 and 6. There has been good recent improvement in writing but there is scope to improve standards further. Children make consistently good progress in the Foundation Stage and almost all reach

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Grade: 2

the goals expected nationally by the time they enter Year 1. At the time of the previous inspection, standards in ICT were unsatisfactory. Pupils now have satisfactory computing 2 Inspection Report: Pangbourne Primary School, 12 July 2006 to 13 July 2006 skills, but there are not enough opportunities for them to use and apply their skills across other subjects, in order to reach higher standards.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils have respect for the views of others. They know about major world religions and have good knowledge and appreciation of different cultures through work in art and design, history and music. Pupils enjoy school and say how much they enjoy their lessons. After a writing activity in Year 1, a pupil said to the teacher, 'I enjoyed that, can we do it again?' Behaviour is good and pupils say that any incidents of bullying are dealt with successfully. Pupils are polite to visitors and listen well when others are speaking. At all stages, pupils have good attitudes to work. Attendance is satisfactory and has improved over the past year. The school council has an active voice in school improvement and take their responsibilities seriously when, for example, supporting community and charity fundraising events. Pupils know the importance of cooperation within a group and

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Grade: 2

share out tasks sensibly. They understand the value of regular exercise and which foods are healthy and which are not. Together with their good basic literacy and numeracy skills, pupils are prepared well for their future economic well-being.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Teachers plan together effectively and use the outcomes of day to day assessment to provide appropriate challenge for pupils of all abilities. Pupils have a good work ethic because teachers have high expectations of behaviour and of what might be achieved. Relationships are very good and build pupils' self-esteem and confidence very well. Effective classroom management and organisation helps pupils to learn more quickly. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is consistently good and provides a good balance of teacher directed and independent learning. This gives children a good start to their education. At all stages, classroom assistants support pupils well, and the teaching and support for pupils with learning difficulties is good. Good individual targets are set in English and mathematics and the progress of pupils is tracked effectively. Marking is consistently good and helps pupils see how work

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Grade: 2

might be improved. In Years 1 to 6, teachers do not yet provide enough opportunities for pupils to use their writing and ICT skills across all subjects. 3 Inspection Report: Pangbourne Primary School, 12 July 2006 to 13 July 2006

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is well focussed on enjoyment. It includes a good range of curriculum enrichment activities and promotes good personal, social and health education. The curriculum provides good opportunities for pupils to work as part of a team, for example, when conducting mathematics and science investigations. Curriculum planning is good and relevant links are made between subjects. However, there is still scope to improve ICT and extend writing experiences across the curriculum. The needs of the more able pupils are now catered for effectively, which is a great improvement since the previous inspection. The needs of pupils with learning difficulties are met well. Key skills are developed well in English, mathematics and science. The school provides a good range of well-supported extra curricular opportunities and pupils talk enthusiastically about their recent residential visits. The use of visits and visitors to

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Grade: 2

support learning, particularly in the creative arts and sports, is good.

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Grade: 2

All adults who work in school have a clear commitment to the care, guidance and support of all pupils. Pupils say that there is always someone to listen and help if they have a problem. Monitoring of pupils' progress is good and individual target setting is used well to support and guide pupils' academic and personal development. There are good arrangements for regular risk assessments and appropriate child protection procedures are in place. Teachers pay good attention to health and safety aspects. For example, in science, when collecting invertebrates from the school grounds, pupils are supervised well when using the school ponds. Visits from outside providers and the school curriculum provide pupils with good opportunities to learn about relevant aspects of sex education and the dangers of drug misuse. Effective links with relevant outside agencies provide good support for pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities.

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Grade: 2

There are good support systems to aid the induction of new pupils and to help with the move to secondary education.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher provides inspirational and outstanding leadership. She is an excellent role model and enjoys the overwhelming support of pupils, parents, staff and governors. In a relatively short time, supported well by the deputy head, she has built a strong and confident team committed to continuing improvement. As one parent said, 'The school is very professionally led and managed, and making rapid progress'. Standards are high and pupils achieve well because expectations have been raised. There is a very strong commitment to high standards, good quality care guidance and support and pupils' personal development. In the light of this, there is good capacity for further improvement. Self evaluation is accurate and draws on a range of evidence. The school 4 Inspection Report: Pangbourne Primary School, 12 July 2006 to 13 July 2006 leadership seeks to gain the views of staff, pupils and parents and takes these into

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Grade: 2

account in the school improvement plan. Management is good. There are clear structures and lines of responsibility. Monitoring, and the rigorous evaluation of teaching and learning, together with more effective use of assessment, tracking and target setting are impacting well on standards. For example, in reading, mathematics and science standards have risen significantly since the previous inspection. There is still work to be done to raise standards further in writing and ICT. New key subject leaders are building a more accurate view of standards and teaching through monitoring and evaluation. Governors, led by an astute and experienced chairperson, are very supportive of the school and hold it accountable for the quality of education it provides. Financial management is good and linked well to school priorities. 5 Inspection Report: Pangbourne Primary School, 12 July 2006 to 13 July 2006 .

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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: Pangbourne Primary School, 12 July 2006 to 13 July 2006

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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 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 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 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 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 2 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 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 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

Pupils I am writing on behalf of the inspectors to thank you for the friendly and helpful way you welcomed us to your school. We enjoyed talking to you and your teachers and were very impressed with the way everyone gets on together. It is clear you enjoy coming to your school and are very proud of it. We agree with your parents that the school is good. You behave well and work hard in your lessons, which is why you are doing particularly well in your reading, mathematics and science work. You are improving with writing, and your work in ICT is better as a result of the new suite, but we have asked your teachers to give you even more opportunities to use your writing and ICT skills in all your subjects. Your headteacher and all the staff are working very hard to make the school better. You tell us they look after you very well if you have any problems. We know your teachers and other visitors to school tell you about keeping safe and teach you about healthy eating and taking

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

regular exercise. We were pleased to see how many of you take part in after school clubs, residential visits, and how enthusiastically you join in community and charity fundraising activities. We hope the production of Joseph went well and we wish you all the very best for the future. Daniel Kilborn Lead Inspector

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