Great Wilbraham CofE Primary School

Inspection Report Great Wilbraham CofE Primary School

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110789 Unique Reference Number CAMBRIDGESHIRE LEA LEA 278514 Inspection number 28 March 2006 to 29 March 2006 Inspection dates Mr. Champak Chauhan LI Reporting inspector

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

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Church Street School address Primary Type of school CB1 5JQ Voluntary controlled School category 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01223 880408 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01223 882402 Fax number 97 Number on roll Mrs.Sally Ramus Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs. Ann Jordan Headteacher Not applicable Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278514 28 March 2006 - 4 to 11 29 March 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 one of Her Majesty's Inspector of Schools.

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Description of the school

Great Wilbraham is a smaller than average rural primary school. It largely serves three villages on the outskirts of Cambridge and is often oversubscribed. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is well below average. Very few pupils are from minority ethnic groups. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is broadly average. Pupils' attainment on entry to the school is broadly in line with the average for their ages.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Great Wilbraham CofE Primary School, 28 March 2006 to 29 March 2006

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Grade: 1

Great Wilbraham is a highly effective school and this judgement agrees with the school's own view of its effectiveness. Children start school with attainment that is broadly in line with the average for their ages. They make at least good progress because of the good provision for them and achieve standards that are generally above the expectations for their ages. They continue making this progress across the school and achieve good and sometimes better standards. The more able pupils attain exceptionally well on occasions. The pupils' personal development and well-being, the quality of the curriculum, the care, support and guidance given to pupils, and leadership and management are all outstanding. The teaching and learning are at least good with some outstanding features, although the school believes them to be outstanding. When the teaching and learning were not outstanding, the pace to the learning

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Grade: 1

sometimes suffered because time was not used properly or where the pupils were unduly noisy and the teacher did not intervene. An overwhelming majority of parents are very supportive of the school and value what it does for their children. The school has a very good capacity to improve. It enhanced the quality of pupils' writing after the last inspection and has improved provision and standards in information and communication technology (ICT) in the recent past. Overall, given the quality of provision and the standards that it achieves, the school provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Continue to strengthen the good teaching and learning so that more is consistently outstanding across the school.

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Grade: 2

The school's data on the national tests at ages seven and 11 need to be treated cautiously because of the relatively small numbers who sit these every year. However, pupils' attainment is usually good and sometimes it is outstanding. Children in the Foundation Stage make at least good progress and by age seven in 2005 they attained standards in writing and mathematics that were above national averages. They continue with this good and better progress and their results at age 11 in 2005, especially in English and mathematics, were significantly above national averages. In 2004, however, the Key Stage 1 results in reading and writing dipped and fell to below national averages. Pupils of all ages generally meet the challenging targets set for them, and all abilities and backgrounds make at least good and sometimes better progress. The written work of the average and the more able pupils shows excellent progress over

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Grade: 2

time. They can write at length for different audiences and purposes. The presentation of their written work is generally good. They can spell mostly accurately and can correctly use punctuation and grammar. Pupils of all abilities have well-developed skills in speaking and listening. They have a good understanding of number work in mathematics. Older pupils show they know how to conduct investigations in science 2 Inspection Report: Great Wilbraham CofE Primary School, 28 March 2006 to 29 March 2006 and are developing well their knowledge and understanding of, for instance, the solar system.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding. Pupils have excellent attitudes to their learning. They settle down quickly to their learning and are keen to answer questions in whole-class discussions. The pupils have excellent relationships with each other and with the adults. Pupils enjoy their time at school and speak with evident pride about the work and experiences they are offered. Their behaviour is outstanding. The pupils' attendance is very good and much higher than the national average. The pupils have a strong moral ethos and know right from wrong. They have well-developed social skills, and are keen to undertake additional responsibilities in the school. Some stand for election to the school council or are selected to be on the eco council. The school council has made valuable suggestions about improving aspects of the school and the eco council makes useful suggestions about recycling. Older

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Grade: 1

pupils also undertake additional responsibilities by being mentors and play leaders for the younger pupils. They enjoy doing this. The pupils have a good awareness of their cultural heritage through visits to local museums and other places of interest. Their awareness of cultural diversity has been increased through, for example, the support of villages in Africa but more work needs to be done on preparing pupils for life in contemporary Britain. Pupils' spiritual development is soundly promoted through daily prayer and moments for reflection in assemblies. Pupils make a positive contribution to their community by participating in at least one community project per year, for example playing hand bells in an old peoples' home. They regularly raise money for charities. They are beginning to learn about preparing for their future economic well-being through, for instance, growing and selling plants as part of the gardening

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Grade: 1

club and organising fund raising events. Pupils generally adopt safe practices and are aware of the need to have healthier lifestyles.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good overall with some outstanding features. Lessons are characterised by excellent relationships between the staff and the pupils. Staff know the needs of the pupils well and manage them in a supportive but firm manner. Pupils respect this and respond accordingly. Teachers have good knowledge of their subjects and use this effectively in their questioning skills to extend the pupils' knowledge and understanding. The pupils, in turn, are keen to ask and answer questions in whole-class discussions. They sustain their concentration on the tasks set and are eager to help each other. They work productively in pairs and in small groups. The pupils maintain a brisk pace to their learning set by the teaching and they learn new things. They enjoy their learning because they are invariably challenged, regardless 3 Inspection Report: Great Wilbraham CofE Primary School, 28 March 2006 to 29 March 2006

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Grade: 2

of their abilities. Staff have appropriately high expectations of all pupils. Teachers plan their lessons in some detail and ensure that there is progression in the pupils' knowledge, understanding and skills. Teaching assistants are used well for this purpose. In some lessons, there is good evaluation of the learning that has occurred. Classrooms are characterised by good work on display and there are stimulating learning environments. Where there are relatively minor weaknesses to the teaching and learning, the pace occasionally slackens because of the inattentiveness of some pupils and a slow response to this from the teacher.

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Grade: 1

The quality of the curriculum and other activities is outstanding. The curriculum is broad, balanced and meets legal requirements. The teaching time, especially for Key Stage 2, is considerably more than that recommended. It is enhanced by an excellent range of additional activities and after-school clubs, which are well attended. Great emphasis is placed on developing pupils' basic skills in literacy and numeracy by the use of extra time for this purpose. Their skills in music are developed through the use of outside specialists who come in each week to teach them singing and instrumental work. Pupils are regularly taken on visits to museums and other places of interest. A very good innovation is the use of time on Wednesday afternoons for creative activities. Pupils' experiences are enriched through their participation in a wide range of additional activities, including gardening, languages, cooking and drama. These are taught by

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Grade: 1

outside specialists . Pupils enjoy these activities and value the opportunities that they provide to further their learning. The school has a thorough system for assessing pupils' work and their progress. Weaknesses are identified and appropriate action taken to address them. Data gathering processes are comprehensive and trends identified though a careful scrutiny of these. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are quickly identified and the school has very good procedures for meeting their needs. Two parents have longstanding concerns about the school's reporting arrangements but the school meets requirements.

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Grade: 1

The quality of care, guidance and support is outstanding. Staff are caring of pupils, they know them well and they are aware of the pupils' needs and aspirations. The small number of staff means that concerns about individual pupils can be quickly identified and acted upon. The school has thorough systems for inducting Reception aged pupils, with home visits for all parents of pre-school children. Very good systems have been established to track the progress of individual children. The needs of the more able and the less able have been properly identified and the pupils provided with appropriate additional support. Pupils feel safe and secure in the school and are thus able to concentrate on their academic work. Some are able to speak openly in lessons about their hopes and fears, and ask their friends and adults for advice on relationships. Some pupils report instances of bullying but say that these are dealt with swiftly and

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Grade: 1

4 Inspection Report: Great Wilbraham CofE Primary School, 28 March 2006 to 29 March 2006 effectively by the school. Child protection procedures are in place. Training in managing behaviour, and in creating and maintaining a protective ethos has been undertaken by all staff and some governors.

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Grade: 1

The school benefits from outstanding leadership and management. The headteacher is hard working, forward-thinking and innovative in her approaches to managing the school. The staff enjoy working for, and with, her. The high levels of motivation and teamwork apparent in the school are a tribute to her leadership. In addition, she has inculcated the ethos of the achievement of high standards for all and this is evident in, for example, the high quality of teaching and learning that the pupils experience. The headteacher and staff have an in-depth understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses. Internal procedures for checking the effectiveness of the school's work are thorough. Pupils' standards and their progress, and the quality of teaching and learning, are regularly checked. There is a constant dialogue in the school on how to improve. The school's self-evaluation is generally accurate and it is used as a tool

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Grade: 1

for self-improvement. The views of parents and pupils are regularly sought through questionnaires and through informal feedback to improve provision. These contribute well to the self-evaluation. The governing body provides appropriate strategic direction to the work of the school. It has well-established procedures for holding the school to account. Governors, including the chair of governors, work hard on behalf of the school and they are keen to see it improve even further. The school has a very good capacity to improve. This is demonstrated, for instance, by the recent building of an ICT suite, and the use of laptops and interactive whiteboards in lessons resulting in better pupils' progress and standards in ICT. The school has a relatively high proportion of funding that has been carried over into the financial year 2005-2006. However, this is mostly accounted for. 5 Inspection Report: Great Wilbraham CofE Primary School, 28 March 2006 to 29 March 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: Great Wilbraham CofE Primary School, 28 March 2006 to 29 March 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 1 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 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 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 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 2 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 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

Thank you for welcoming me to your school recently. I enjoyed talking with many of you and would like to let you know what I thought about your school: What the school does well - You make good progress and the standards you achieve are often good or even outstanding. - You do well in your SATs results and the older pupils did particularly well in their English and mathematics test results last year. - You work hard and you thoroughly enjoy your learning. You are always keen to do your best. Your behaviour is excellent and you are a credit to the school. - Your teachers work hard and they teach you really well. - The activities you are offered are outstanding and many of you enjoy the creative afternoons on Wednesdays. All the adults look after you really well. - Your headteacher, Mrs Jordan, runs the school extremely well. She checks on its work regularly and is always looking for ways of making it better for you. Her

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

work and that of others who run the school is outstanding. What needs to be improved - Although you are taught well, I have asked your teachers to continue looking for ways of making the teaching and learning even better for you. I wish you all the best for the future.

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