Chelford CofE Primary School

Inspection Report Chelford CofE Primary School

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111254 Unique Reference Number Cheshire LEA 278638 Inspection number 14 September 2005 to 14 September 2005 Inspection dates Mrs Margot D'Arcy CfBT Lead Inspector Reporting inspector

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

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Oak Road School address Primary Type of school Chelford Voluntary controlled School category Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 9AY 4 to 11 Age range of pupils

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01625 861351 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01625 890003 Fax number 38 Number on roll Mr Donald McCloud Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Alison Scott (Acting) Headteacher 5 April 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278638 14 September 2005 - 4 to 11 14 September 2005 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 additional inspector.

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Description of the school

Chelford is a small village primary school. Most children come from socially and economically favourable backgrounds. None has free school meals. Almost all children are of White British heritage and all speak English fluently. There are very few children with learning difficulties and disabilities. When children start in the reception class, their standards are generally above those expected for their age. As the number of children in year groups is low, mobility is often quite high even though this may only relate to the movement of one or two children. Children are organised into two classes (infant and junior) and so stay with their class teacher for a number of years. During the past couple of years the school has experienced a very unsettled time that resulted in some decline in previously established procedures. The acting head teacher was appointed a year ago. During this time, in which she has had a significant teaching

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Description of the school

commitment, her tenure has been uncertain. It has been frequently renewed in the light of changing circumstances and is now in place for a further 12 months.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Chelford CofE Primary School, 14 September 2005 to 14 September 2005

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Grade: 2

This is a good school, a judgement that matches the school's own view. Most children make good progress and reach high standards. Good teaching and a good curriculum supports children's enjoyment of school, which is reflected in their good attitudes, behaviour and attendance. There is a real family feel to the school, with each child fully included in what is offered and known as an individual. Good links with parents and outside specialists help to promote children's well-being. The quality of provision for reception children is good. They progress well and attain standards that are generally above those expected for their age. Although there has been significant disruption to leadership and management, the commitment of staff has ensured that children's national test results have remained favourable and that they have continued to make good progress. Some important matters suffered, however, such as the management of provision for children with

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Grade: 2

learning difficulties and disabilities. Although this is now in hand, there is still much to do to re-establish other systems and update and implement policies. This is especially important for assessment and monitoring so that the school can be absolutely certain that all children are reaching their potential and completing work that is precisely tailored to their needs. The acting head teacher has evaluated the school's position well and rightly identified these two aspects as the most important things to tackle next. Recommendations made by the last inspection have been satisfactorily addressed. As such, the school has the capacity to improve. Although, as a small school, the expenditure per pupil is high, there is generally good performance in most aspects of the school's work so it provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Implement a system to assess and record children's achievements and use the information to support the setting of targets at various levels, for example for the school, groups of children, and individuals. • Ensure rigorous systems are used regularly, to check on the quality of teaching and learning, for example, through observations of teaching and checks on children's work.

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Grade: 2

The school's view that children achieve well is supported by inspection findings. The majority of children build effectively on their earlier attainment and make good progress. By the end of the reception year, children generally exceed the learning goals expected for their age. Even at this early stage of the year, children provide well-constructed sentences to describe photographs of themselves and make good efforts to trace over the teacher's writing. Good progress continues during Years 1 and 2 so that children attain above, and often well above, average standards in the national reading, writing and mathematics tests. Teacher assessments of their standards 2 Inspection Report: Chelford CofE Primary School, 14 September 2005 to 14 September 2005 in science are also favourable compared to national averages. Year 6 children's national test results in English, mathematics and science are well above average and are often

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Grade: 2

very high, falling into the top five per cent nationally. Based on their prior attainment, children's progress during Years 3 to 6 is good. They are avid readers and competent mathematicians capable of manipulating large numbers mentally. They show a good awareness of key experimental and investigative ideas in science. Children meet the challenging targets that are set by the school in relation to its test results. The progress of the minority of children with learning difficulties and disabilities is satisfactory overall. However, whilst these children receive extra help from the school's staff, some need more specialist support than the school is able to offer. The school is in the final stages of securing this.

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Grade: 2

The inspection confirms the school's view that children's personal development and well-being is good. The children say that they enjoy school and find out lots of new things in lessons. One explained "it was amazing when we learnt about the bones in our bodies and how our blood travels round it". Children's attendance is very good. In class, they pay good attention and contribute confidently. Children behave well and work co-operatively when required. At playtimes they participate fully in the wide range of games and activities provided. Boys and girls of all ages mix well and older children show kindness to younger ones, helping them to feel safe. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory overall. Children's good moral awareness has helped them to make a useful contribution to the formation of school rules. Children are also adept socially, for example, chatting amicably during the

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Grade: 2

lunchtime meal and showing good manners. Children show an informed awareness of their own cultural traditions, but have limited knowledge of others'. In assembly, the children were clearly captivated when viewing the vicar's birth certificate, recognising its uniqueness, but their reverence during reflection time and prayers was somewhat lacking.

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Grade: 2

The school's view that the quality of teaching and learning is good is supported by the inspection. Teachers have secure subject knowledge and involve many children in contributing in lessons. Teachers know children so well that they are generally successful in matching questions and work to the wide range of ages and needs in classes. Teachers' expectations of children and the challenges they set them are rooted in this good knowledge and in some informal systems to assess and record children's achievement. However, assessment procedures are not precise enough to allow teachers and the school's management to identify and track individual children's progress over shorter periods or to ensure that all are achieving as well as they can. Moreover, to a 3 Inspection Report: Chelford CofE Primary School, 14 September 2005 to 14 September 2005 certain extent, the current system precludes the setting of specific and individual

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Grade: 2

learning targets for children. When asked, most children were unable to say exactly how they could do better in any subject. Teaching assistants make an effective contribution and are used well to support groups. There is scope, however, to use these staff more in assessing children. Teachers work hard to include children with learning difficulties and disabilities in lessons. Often their efforts are successful but, due to the nature of some children's specific needs, more specialist help is required to guarantee that all are included as well as the school would like.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good curriculum. Improvements made to planning during the last year have ensured that work caters well for the range of ages in classes. For example, children in the reception year have opportunities to learn through play and first-hand experiences that are linked to the curriculum for their age group. Basic literacy and numeracy skills are promoted well in specific lessons and across the curriculum. The development of ICT skills is also given a high profile and integrated into other subjects. Health education has made a good impact on children, but the provision for sex education has been interrupted by the disruptions at management level. Children are pleased about the introduction of regular circle times. One explained, "it's where you can all talk about your feelings and share worries if you have them". Given its size, the school provides a good range of additional activities to enhance

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Grade: 2

learning experiences, including a fitness club, drama and French. Good community links add to the provision. Examples include all children working with the Cheshire Vocal Strategy to produce a choral piece and junior children painting on silk as part of a year's project with the Groundwork Heritage Centre. Links with a local high school have allowed gifted and talented children from Year 4 upwards to take part in a variety of workshops.

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Grade: 3

The school feels that it provides a good level of care, guidance and support for children. In many respects, the inspection came to the same conclusion, but judged provision to be satisfactory overall. In a broad, everyday sense staff and governors show good care for children, look out for their well-being and ensure that they feel safe. However, there are some elements of the provision that could be better: • Child protection arrangements are satisfactory, but school policy and staff training needs updating. • Staff give children day-to-day advice about their work, but they do not set them clear improvement targets so they are somewhat in the dark about how to do better. • Children could be much more involved in helping to make decisions about the school's work, for example, through a school council. 4 Inspection Report: Chelford CofE Primary School, 14 September 2005 to 14 September 2005

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Grade: 2

Whilst there are aspects of leadership and management that are good, the overall quality is satisfactory. The leadership of the acting headteacher is good. She has brought stability to the school and given it a clear sense of direction. On her appointment she produced a useful 12-month development plan to improve the curriculum, behaviour management and procedures to identify and provide for children with learning difficulties and disabilities. To this end she has worked successfully with staff, governors and the local education authority. The two priorities in the coming year's plan are well founded and concur with inspection findings. The school's view of itself is generally accurate. The acting head teacher knows that whilst standards and progress, as reflected in test results, are a good indicator of the quality of provision, regular and rigorous checks on teaching and learning are also needed. Currently, this

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Grade: 2

type of quality assurance and self-review are lacking so the school's leadership does not know for sure that all children are achieving their potential and if not, why. Improvements made in response to the findings of the previous inspection and those made during the last year show that the school has the capacity to improve. During the school's period of disruption, governors have become more involved in monitoring its development. Consequently, there is good agreement between governors, the acting headteacher and local authority on the way forward. Governors discharge most of their responsibilities adequately. Whilst this includes voicing a commitment to equal opportunities, key policies such as that for race equality are not in place. The disruption at management level has also interrupted the process of performance management for teachers, which needs to be reinstated. Resources are deployed effectively and satisfactory value for money is achieved.

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Grade: 2

There is a good relationship with parents who have a high regard for the school. Whilst parents' views are occasionally canvassed, as with children, they could be more involved in decisions about the school's work. 5 Inspection Report: Chelford CofE Primary School, 14 September 2005 to 14 September 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: Chelford CofE Primary School, 14 September 2005 to 14 September 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 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 3 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 1 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 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 3 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 2 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 3 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 3 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 3 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 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 4 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 3 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 3 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 3 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

As you know I visited your school recently to find out if it was giving you the education that you should receive. First of all, thank you very much for making me welcome. I enjoyed chatting to you about your school and the things that you like doing. I am pleased to tell you that I agree with your views that your school is good. Lots of things are done well and there are just two things to improve. The things that I was particularly pleased with were: - You work hard and attain high standards. - You behave well and are friendly and kind to each other. - Your teachers teach you well and provide interesting lessons. - Your school is being led well by the acting headteacher who has good ideas about how to make things even better. I have asked your school to improve the following two things: - I would like your teachers to make even better checks on how well you all learn, telling you exactly what you are good at and how you might do better.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

- I think that it would be good if your headteacher visited some lessons to see how well you are doing and also if she and your teachers looked carefully at your work to make sure that you are all doing as well as you can. Thank you for helping me with the inspection of your school. I hope that you will carry on enjoying lessons and continue to help your teachers make Chelford a good place to learn.

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