Christ Church CofE Primary School Padgate

Inspection Report Christ Church CE Primary School Padgate

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111363 Unique Reference Number Warrington LEA 278669 Inspection number 29 March 2006 to 29 March 2006 Inspection dates Mr Adrian Simm CfBT Lead Inspector Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 which gives Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools the authority to inspect any school in England. The inspection is to be treated as a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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Station Road School address Primary Type of school Padgate Voluntary aided School category Warrington, Cheshire WA2 0QJ 4 to 11 Age range of pupils

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01925 492422 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01925 492421 Fax number 287 Number on roll Mr E Collinson Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Ian Williams Headteacher 12 June 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278669 29 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 an Additional Inspector, who during his time in the school • talked with the school council, other pupils, staff, parents, a representative of the governing body and the school's local authority adviser • examined the school's records on pupils' progress, safety and attendance • observed pupils at break time, lunchtime and in lessons • evaluated pupils' work and the quality of teaching and learning in lessons • analysed the school's self evaluation and evaluated the progress the school has made in improving areas it has identified for improvement.

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Description of the school

Whilst the school is a voluntary aided Church of England school, it welcomes children from a range of faiths and those with no faith at all. The school is popular although it is in a position of falling numbers because of the reduced birth rate in the local area. This led to a budget deficit which is being remedied. The school serves a stable community. A very small percentage of families do not speak English at home. The attainment of pupils, on entry, is variable year on year, but overall is below national expectations; it has declined gradually over recent years. Although below average, the number of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is increasing slightly. The school is responsible for the resources and staffing of a local authority Nursery on the school site. The school has been led by the deputy headteacher in the capacity of acting headteacher since early May 2005.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Christ Church CE Primary School Padgate, 29 March 2006 to 29 March 2006

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Grade: 2

The school sees itself as providing a good quality of education and is accurate in this view. This is because staff, governors, pupils and parents understand its strengths and what else needs to be done. The school has a very strong spiritual outlook on life. Lessons and other activities are full of challenge, interest and fun. Together this results in a school that is a hive of activity both during the school day and in the outstanding range of after school clubs. Parents are very complimentary about everything the school offers. From their start in the Nursery, where pupils' levels are just below what would be expected, pupils achieve well. They quickly become confident learners because of the high quality of care and support offered by experienced staff. One parent wrote, 'my daughter enjoys it so much she would go at the weekend if she could'. This is built on effectively in the Reception so that overall, children develop well in the Foundation

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Grade: 2

Stage, many reaching the expected standards with some above. The school has recognised rightly that the children would benefit even more from improved outdoor learning opportunities. This is in hand but is dependant upon available finances. During Years 1 and 2, pupils consolidate their previous learning and achieve satisfactorily. Standards are broadly average, which has been the picture for a few years. Current initiatives to strengthen achievement in Years 1 and 2 include rightly, ensuring the different styles of teaching and learning in the Foundation Stage flow into Year 1 more consistently. Also, staff are being supported in trying to ensure pupils achieve the very challenging targets set in reading and writing; particularly for those capable of high levels of attainment. From the results of national assessments and from school records of pupils' progress, pupils' standards and achievement in English, mathematics and science by Year 6 are

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Grade: 2

a real strength of the school. In 2005, overall standards by Year 6 were exceptionally high. Achievement was in the top 6% in the country. Higher attaining pupils achieved exceptionally well. Although the levels of the current Year 6 pupils are not as high, their progress from a lower level of attainment on entry shows all signs of being good. Clearly a major reason for levels reached by the pupils is because they want to learn. Attitudes and relationships are good. Pupils mature and grow in confidence and independence and many have good levels of attendance. Although improving, the attendance of a significant minority is poor and affects the overall picture of attendance in the school, which is satisfactory. The quality of teaching and learning is good as is the care, support and guidance that pupils receive. Recent staff development has ensured teachers are more confident about the use of information and communication technology (ICT) equipment which

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Grade: 2

is becoming more readily available to them. As a result, standards in ICT correctly assessed by the school as satisfactory are improving rapidly from a low base. The school has improved well since the last inspection and has the wherewithal to continue to build strongly on its current position. It provides good value for money. 2 Inspection Report: Christ Church CE Primary School Padgate, 29 March 2006 to 29 March 2006

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Grade: 2

• Standards in Year 6 in English, mathematics and science have improved generally year-on-year for the last 5 years. • Progress is good, particularly for higher attaining pupils. • Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities progress well. • The school recognises that progress by pupils in Years 1 and 2 in reading and writing, particularly for higher attaining pupils, is not as strong as it should be. Steps have been taken this year to challenge the pupils to succeed more and standards of achievement are rising.

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Grade: 2

• Pupils have an effective focus on healthy eating and living. They speak effusively about the value of their sports clubs and inter-school teams. • Attitudes and behaviour around the school are good. Pupils take on a variety of responsibilities such as monitors, playground buddies, team captains, school council members and editorial control of the school newspaper, all of which help them contribute very well to the success of the school community. Teamwork and enterprise skills abound. • The school council has an agenda item for reporting concerns, which pupils take seriously and use. Council members consider behaviour is good in the school, but are checking, by means of a survey, that no instances of bullying are missed. They acknowledge when it does happen staff deal with it quickly. • Pupils readily pick up the small amounts of litter that are dropped round the school, showing true citizenship. • Pupil-organised charity fundraising is a very good example of how pupils think of

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Grade: 2

others rather than themselves and learn about and contribute to their community. • Although attendance is satisfactory, it could be better. The school recognises this and has introduced a broad range of suitable strategies including trophies and certificates to help achieve its targets for improvement.

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Grade: 2

• Pupils have a good understanding of their work and what is expected of them in meeting their targets to improve. • School council members expressed their positive views about how well teachers help them to learn. One leading light explained how 'each July when I finish for the summer holidays I can't wait to get back to school in September'. • Pupils are involved effectively in judging their own success and what could be better. 3 Inspection Report: Christ Church CE Primary School Padgate, 29 March 2006 to 29 March 2006 • Strengths identified by the school were present in the lessons observed. Of particularly good quality is the way teachers set out at the start of lessons, exactly what is expected by the end and how that is going to be achieved; the skilful use of questioning to help pupils understand more but without giving them the answer; taking time during and at the end of lessons to check on any misunderstandings

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Grade: 2

that might have arisen; and ensuring the work is pitched generally at the right level of challenge for different abilities of pupils. • The school has identified correctly that, in particular, higher attaining pupils in Years 1 and 2 could be challenged more. • A wealth of volunteers support lessons in an extremely valuable way. The school now has plans to provide teaching assistants to help the teachers in Years 1 and 2 to meet the challenges for improvement already set.

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Grade: 2

• Classroom and corridors reflect the strong links between subjects. Work in art and geography was displayed very effectively, for example, using Aboriginal style symbols to represent pupils' journeys to school. • Under the banner of 'Follow your interests - develop your talents', pupils have a tremendous choice of after school clubs that are well attended. These range from academic support, the arts, physical development and leisure pursuits. The library is signed as 'The Discovery Zone', with personal research a strong element of lessons seen. • Provision for ICT is now well planned, staff are trained and achievement is strengthening. • The Foundation Stage has a very active and successful style of learning. The school is already taking steps to ensure that as pupils move into the slightly more formal approaches used in Years 1 and 2, that the transition is better planned and supported as part of the drive to raise standards.

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Grade: 2

• Plans are in place to ensure a high quality outdoor play area will add to the effective and practical curriculum already in place in the Foundation Stage. • Older pupils enthuse about the chances they have to work in the local high school in subjects such as design and technology, music and science. They appreciate how well this is preparing them for moving on in their lives.

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Grade: 2

• The achievement of different groups of pupils is checked so that the progress of individual pupils, year groups and other groups is analysed. The school acknowledges there are still a few more steps to be taken for this to be fully up and running, such as in tracking cohorts of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, which will complement the good individual records already kept. • The new systems need time to settle to be fully effective but are already flagging areas for development, for example, in Years 1 and 2. 4 Inspection Report: Christ Church CE Primary School Padgate, 29 March 2006 to 29 March 2006 • The school takes pupils' welfare and safety seriously and records presented show that good practice is being followed.

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Grade: 2

• The acting headteacher has led the school effectively in the last 12 months and has balanced time very well between teaching and leading and managing. • The school is very clear about what is going well and what could be stronger because it has effective ways of checking this in lessons. The progress of pupils is tracked carefully. • A major strength in school self evaluation is how everyone is encouraged to be part of the process. Co-ordinators take an active part in leading and improving their subjects. Pupils persistently put forward their ideas because they know they will be taken seriously. • The acting headteacher, all staff and governors work very hard and successfully to ensure the effect of the school's deficit budget upon pupils' achievement is minimal. However, plans to improve the school buildings, appoint extra support staff, increase ICT equipment and improve the Foundation Stage outdoor

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Grade: 2

environment have moved more slowly than would otherwise have been the case. 5 Inspection Report: Christ Church CE Primary School Padgate, 29 March 2006 to 29 March 2006 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Christ Church CE Primary School Padgate, 29 March 2006 to 29 March 2006

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Inspection judgements

16-19 School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Inspection judgements

NA 2 How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of 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 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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Inspection judgements

Achievement and standards NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 1 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Inspection judgements

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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Inspection judgements

Personal development and well-being NA 2 How good is the overall personal development and well-being of the 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 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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Inspection judgements

The quality of provision NA 2 How effective are teaching and learning in meeting the full range of the learners' needs? NA 2 How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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Inspection judgements

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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Annex A

Leadership and management NA 2 How effective are leadership and management in raising achievement 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 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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Annex A

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 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 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

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Annex A

wider community 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 allowing me to be part of your school council meeting when I visited the school. I learnt a lot about your views, how you work and your confidence in wanting to improve your school for everyone. I was particularly pleased with your enthusiasm for taking part in the wonderful range of after-school clubs, your politeness to each other in school, how keen you all were to join in with the story in assembly and your part in organising all of the other activities in which you are involved. You appear to thrive on everything you have to do, with not a minute wasted. You recognise that all of this is possible because you have good teachers who set challenging tasks for you to complete. When I asked you what you liked about school, your first answer was 'the teachers'. For those of you in Class 11, not only has Mr Williams been your teacher but he has been doing a good job running the school for the last year. I think he has balanced

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

this work very well and I hope you agree with me. Mr Williams and your teachers have many good ideas for making your school better. You have helped with these. Your skill on the computers is growing rapidly and those of you in Years 1 and 2 are working very hard with your teachers to do the best you can. Most of you attend school very well and really enjoy everything that goes on. Can I ask you to encourage and help the very small number of pupils who don't turn up at school as often as they should? Perhaps that extra smile or word of friendship might help. Please pass on my thanks and best wishes to everyone.

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