Cumwhinton School

112108 Unique Reference Number Cumbria LEA 278850 Inspection number 12 September 2005 to 13 September 2005 Inspection dates Pat Kime Reporting inspector

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

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School Road School address Primary Type of school Cumwhinton Community School category Carlisle, Cumbria 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01228 560400 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01228 562824 Fax number 142 Number on roll Mrs Jacqui Tarrant Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Anne Howells Headteacher 1 November 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278850 12 September 2005 - 4 to 11 13 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 two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and an additional inspector employed by Ofsted.

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Description of the school

Cumwhinton Primary School has 142 boys and girls who are taught in five classes. Most pupils come from the neighbouring villages but more than a fifth of them travel from Carlisle. Very few pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds or have English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils receiving free school meals is below average. Around 15 per cent of the pupils have learning difficulties or disabilities. This is a slightly lower than average proportion. The school building has been extended and improved over recent years. The latest phase of this work was in progress during the inspection. The school premises are used for an after school club and a summer school club. These clubs are not managed by the school but have close links with it.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Cumwhinton School , 12 September 2005 to 13 September 2005

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Grade: 2

Cumwhinton School gives its pupils a good education. The pupils are happy and confident at school and parents are very satisfied with the education and care provided. The good curriculum is taught well. The headteacher and senior staff lead and manage the school well. As a result of these strengths, pupils throughout the school make good progress in their school work and their personal development. Results in the 2005 tests exceeded the school’s targets, which should have been set higher. The school gives good value for money. This is an outward-looking school which has an accurate view of its effectiveness and a strong commitment to continuing development and improvement. There is, nonetheless, scope to improve development planning. The school has dealt effectively with the issues raised at the last inspection six years ago and is well placed to continue to improve.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Set more challenging targets for pupils’ achievement. • Focus more strongly, in its development planning, on improving standards and the quality of provision in subjects. • Improve the way it keeps a check on the progress and effectiveness of changes and innovations it introduces.

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Grade: 2

Standards are above average. Pupils make good progress from a broadly average starting point when they join the school in reception. Most pupils do well and some make very good progress. There are small pockets of underachievement, for instance, pupils slipping behind in mathematics in one year compared with their progress in English. The school is tackling these successfully. Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities progress well in response to the good support they receive. A good proportion of these pupils reach average standards by the time they leave the school. Pupils in the Foundation Stage get a good start and standards are above average by the end of the reception year. Standards are rising. Particularly good improvement is evident in the seven-year-olds’ test results over the last five years. These higher standards lay good foundations for the school to build on in Key Stage 2. The eleven-year-olds’ test results have been

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Grade: 2

more erratic over the last few years but the overall trend of improvement has been satisfactory. Pupils’ results in the 2005 tests show improvements at age seven and eleven. The seven-year-olds’ results show considerable improvement in the proportion of pupils who are securely at the standard expected for their age (Level 2). Improvement is 2 Inspection Report: Cumwhinton School , 12 September 2005 to 13 September 2005 particularly marked in writing where, in 2004, too many pupils only just reached Level 2. In English and science more eleven-year-olds reached an advanced standard for their age (Level 5) in 2005 than the previous year. This improvement was greatest in science where results showed that the previous year’s leavers had not done well enough in Key Stage 2. The school’s targets for the Key Stage 2 results in 2005 were not set high enough; they were exceeded.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Social and moral issues are taught particularly well and expectations of behaviour are high within the school’s friendly and purposeful atmosphere. Consequently, pupils have a good understanding of the difference between right and wrong and they are polite, considerate and well-behaved at school. They have good attitudes to learning and they enjoy school life. Pupils make good progress in developing personal attributes and skills, such as independence, co-operation, responsibility, and confidence. These will equip them to make the most of their future education. For example, they undertake a very good range of enterprise projects. Pupils make a very good contribution to the life of the school and to the local community. All pupils have a voice in the running of the school and get a taste of democracy in action through the school council. Pupils’ knowledge and understanding

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Grade: 2

of various cultural traditions develops well as a result of a good range of imaginative activities within and outside school. The personal, social and health education programme teaches pupils how to keep safe. The school has put a lot of effort into promoting healthy lifestyles and this has paid off well. For instance, it has developed a policy on nutrition. It promotes healthy lunchboxes and provides fruit at break times. A good range of outdoor play equipment has been purchased and pupils play actively and sociably at break times. The range of sports clubs has improved and is now good. These clubs are well-attended. Pupils’ attendance is broadly in line with most primary schools and punctuality is good.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good throughout the school. Inspectors visited a lesson in each class, looked at examples of pupils’ work, and discussed teaching with staff. It is clear that the teaching is successful in meeting pupils’ varied learning needs and enabling them to make good progress. A notable feature is the staff’s high level of commitment to continually honing their teaching skills. Lessons are well-planned and purposeful. Staff have good relationships with the pupils and they maintain good order in lessons. Teachers brief teaching assistants well and deploy them effectively, particularly to support pupils who have learning difficulties 3 Inspection Report: Cumwhinton School , 12 September 2005 to 13 September 2005 or disabilities. Staff present new concepts in a range of ways so pupils who learn in different ways can all make progress. For example, in the first science lesson of a series

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Grade: 2

on rivers, a teacher presented information about the water cycle using a video, from a text book and through an oral explanation. Teachers are alert to how well pupils cope with the work and adapt it to their different levels of understanding and rates of learning. When teaching is slightly less effective, this match of work to ability is not as good for the most able pupils. Sometimes, in these lessons, pupils sit listening to the teacher without being actively involved for longer than need be and, as a result, the edge has gone off their enthusiasm by the time they are set to their tasks. Teachers assess pupils’ learning effectively. They keep good records of pupils’ progress and mark their work regularly. The quality of marking varies. It is never less that satisfactory and some is very good. However, comments on the work sometimes do little to tell pupils how they could improve. Homework is used well to promote pupils’ learning. In Key Stage 2, the introduction

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Grade: 2

of reading journals in which pupils complete planned reading-based tasks at home, has been particularly successful. The school’s records show that where this initiative has been implemented well, pupils’ progress in English has benefited.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good curriculum which meets the needs of all the pupils and enables them to make good progress in all aspects of their development. The curriculum is planned carefully to ensure that pupils cover all that is required and build up their knowledge and skills year on year in the mixed age classes. Links between subjects and skills are being developed well. For example, information and communication technology (ICT), literacy skills and aspects of personal, social and health education (PSHE) are integrated into work in other subjects. Pupils benefit from a very good range of enrichment activities, such as educational visits and opportunities to perform for audiences, and from the provision of French lessons in all classes. The curriculum is supplemented very well by extra activities that encompass a wide range of interests, such as the eco club, philosophy, sports and music. The school has forged a very good

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Grade: 2

range of links with other agencies and organisations, including local schools, the National College for School Leadership and Manchester University. It uses these links well to extend and enrich what it offers to pupils. Grade: 2

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Grade: 2

Good quality care is a key feature of all aspects of the school’s life and work. The vast majority of parents and carers agree that their children thrive in the school’s caring environment. Effective support and guidance are rooted in the positive relationships between pupils and staff. Teachers assess pupils’ learning effectively on a day to day basis and they use their knowledge of pupils’ academic progress to target support 4 Inspection Report: Cumwhinton School , 12 September 2005 to 13 September 2005 where it is most needed. Staff identify pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities quickly and ensure they get the extra help they need. Child protection procedures are in place and all staff are aware of them. Pupils feel safe at school and know they can turn to staff for help with any problems they might face. The school works very well with a wide range of external agencies to ensure that

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Grade: 2

pupils and their families are supported. The school has facilitated the development of the after school and summer school clubs which are appreciated by parents. The school has systems to record any incidents but action taken, if any, is not always clear. Analysis of the records gives key staff a very good awareness of individual pupils’ difficulties. This in turn helps staff decide how best to support the pupils. Arrangements to smooth the transition to secondary education are well established with local schools.

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Grade: 2

The school is led and managed well. The headteacher has created a positive, caring ethos and a strong team with a shared vision for continuous improvement. She is supported well in this by senior staff and the governing body. At Cumwhinton staff reflect on the effectiveness of their work and are always looking for ways to improve the quality of education the school provides. The school’s self-evaluation is accurate in most respects and its track record proves it has the capacity to improve further. Good checks are kept on pupils’ progress in the core subjects and on the quality of teaching, and there is a good system of setting targets for pupils to reach year on year. Nonetheless, targets are not always set high enough. Those for standards at the end of Key Stage 2 were exceeded in the 2005 tests. Plans for future development are, for the most part, well-considered. They are drawn up after analysis of test results and consultation with the school’s stakeholders,

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Grade: 2

including pupils. The school acknowledges where it could do better and takes effective action. For instance, standards in writing lagged behind reading. The school has taken effective steps to tackle this disparity and test results in writing have now improved. Looking beyond the school and learning from good practice is a positive feature running through the school’s development planning. For example, planning for a facility for autistic pupils has included visiting similar provision in another part of the country. There are two relative weaknesses in the development plan. Firstly, ways to raise standards in subjects other than English and mathematics are absent even though responsibility for leading and managing work in these subjects is allocated to named teachers. The school has good evidence from past test results in science that standards rise when pupils are taught by staff with particularly strong subject knowledge.

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Grade: 2

Secondly, checks on the progress of developments and how much impact the investment in them is having are only sketchily planned. 5 Inspection Report: Cumwhinton School , 12 September 2005 to 13 September 2005 .

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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: Cumwhinton School , 12 September 2005 to 13 September 2005

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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 2 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

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0207 421 6800 F 0207 421 6707 www.ofsted.gov.uk Cumwhinton School School Road Cumwhinton Carlisle Cumbria CA4 8DU September 2005 Dear Pupils Thank you very much for making us so welcome in your school. We had a lovely time. We really enjoyed seeing your lessons and talking with you. We were delighted to hear how much you enjoy school and how you make suggestions to improve the school. We think yours is a good school because: you do well in your school work you are growing up well - learning to be responsible and to think for yourselves the school takes good care of you the headteacher runs your school well the teaching is good and the staff work hard to help you do well the teachers are always thinking of ways to make your school even better you are all involved in life at school and have lots of chances to join in activities in the village and further afield you have lots of clubs to go to after school and interesting visits and trips to help you learn.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

The school is better now than last time inspectors came, six years ago. The most important things to do to make your school even better are: to set even higher targets for you to reach in your tests to plan how to help you do better in all the subjects, not just literacy and numeracy when the school changes the way it does something (like teaching writing) it should check more carefully to see whether it makes a difference to how well you learn. Keep on working hard and enjoying school. Pat Kime Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools

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Annex B

(on behalf of all the inspectors) Annex B

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