Wigley Primary School

112514 Unique Reference Number DERBYSHIRE LEA LEA 278948 Inspection number 7 July 2006 to 7 July 2006 Inspection dates Mr. Glynn Storer AI Reporting inspector

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

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Wigley School address Primary Type of school S42 7JJ Community School category 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01246 566432 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils Fax number 45 Number on roll Mr.R Boughey Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr. J Crawford Headteacher 22 January 2001 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278948 7 July 2006 - 4 to 11 7 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 one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This very small school serves the community of Wigley and outlying rural settlements. Because intakes are so small, children's attainment on entry varies considerably from year to year, but is broadly average overall. Social circumstances are generally favourable. Eligibility for free school meals is below average, virtually all pupils are of White British heritage and all speak English as a first language. However, educational circumstances are quite challenging: pupil mobility is quite high and the proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is above average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Wigley Primary School, 7 July 2006 to 7 July 2006

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Grade: 2

The school's view is that it provides a good education. The inspection agrees and also identifies outstanding features. Most pupils make good progress. Children get a positive start in the Foundation Stage because effective teaching helps them to make good progress. From broadly average starting points most pupils achieve well. Most reach or exceed nationally expected standards by the time that they leave the school. Pupils' personal development is outstanding. Pupils are extremely well behaved and thoroughly enjoy learning. Teaching is consistently good. Lessons, which are both demanding and fun, result in good standards in most aspects of pupils' learning and personal development. A consistent strength is teachers' extremely effective planning for the wide range of age and ability in each class. They successfully ensure that all pupils are fully included and achieve well. The curriculum is good. It is given added depth by an

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Grade: 2

excellent range of additional activities, which promote enjoyment and encourage pupils to become confident learners. Standards of care are outstanding. The headteacher, supported by staff and governors, provides effective leadership. His personal example has created a highly motivated staff team. However, there are weaknesses in school improvement planning, which mean that other staff and governors are not yet sufficiently involved in checking the school's work. Nevertheless, the school is considerably stronger than it was at the time of its last inspection and is in a satisfactory position to improve further. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Give staff and governors a more prominent role in checking on the quality of school's work. - Strengthen school improvement planning by introducing a more systematic approach to organising cycles of monitoring and evaluation.

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Grade: 2

Children enter the school with skills and knowledge at levels similar to those found nationally. They flourish in the combined Reception and infant class because their work and play interest them and are carefully geared to enable most to attain or exceed the early learning goals for five-year-olds. Most achieve well from Reception to Year 2, although standards vary because statistics are affected by the small numbers and the particular makeup of each year group. Nevertheless, in the 2005 national assessments for seven-year-olds, overall standards in reading and writing were above average and were exceptionally high in mathematics. Similarly, overall standards were above average, but exceptionally high in English, at the end of Year 6 in 2005. Pupils of all abilities achieved well in English and science, though pupils with learning difficulties made most progress. Most pupils also did well in mathematics, but there

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Grade: 2

was a degree of underachievement on the part of some pupils who were higher attainers in Year 2 but who did not attain the above average standard in Year 6. The work of pupils currently in Years 2 and 6 and the unpublished results of the 2006 tests indicate 2 Inspection Report: Wigley Primary School, 7 July 2006 to 7 July 2006 that pupils continue to achieve well. The school set challenging targets for these pupils and most met or surpassed them, although overall standards are unlikely to rise this year because of the higher incidence of pupils with learning difficulties in the very small year groups. The school's measures to improve pupils' progress in mathematics have been particularly successful.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding. Pupils speak well of the school. They say that the teachers make learning fun and that they really like the school's friendly atmosphere. Consequently, almost all attend very regularly. Behaviour is excellent. Pupils are extremely well motivated and try hard in lessons. They add much to the school as a community. Pupils' spiritual, moral and social development effectively is good. Pupils are reflective, show good levels of social responsibility and establish excellent relationships with staff and classmates. A good number of pupils take part in the school's sporting activities. This, along with the push on eating healthily, means that pupils fully recognise the need to keep fit and healthy. Pupils demonstrate a strong sense of responsibility in their contributions to the school council, their work as school captains and by acting as 'buddies' to younger pupils. They

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Grade: 1

understand some of the hazards that youngsters face and know how to avoid them. The school successfully prepares pupils for adult life by promoting good standards of literacy and numeracy and by providing opportunities for teamwork, which lay firm foundations for future economic well-being.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good and at times outstanding. Children in their Reception year thrive, because staff provide a good balance between first hand experience, opportunities for purposeful play and effective teaching skills. Throughout the school, relationships between staff and pupils are excellent. They are based on high expectations of pupils' behaviour and response and of their capacity to cope with demanding tasks. This results in a positive climate for learning in which pupils rise to the challenge to do their best. Teachers' planning for pupils who differ widely in age and ability is particularly good because it ensures that all make the progress that they should. In this respect, teaching assistants make a valuable contribution, particularly to the learning of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities. Teachers assess pupils' work regularly. They use assessment information well to track pupils' progress and set

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Grade: 2

individual targets which help them to improve. In a small minority of lessons, teachers' monitoring of work in progress is not thorough enough to pick up when pupils are having difficulties. When this happens, the pace of learning for these pupils slows and they do not always make the progress that they could. 3 Inspection Report: Wigley Primary School, 7 July 2006 to 7 July 2006

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good curriculum, which fully meets statutory requirements. Recent modifications, such as giving greater emphasis to mental mathematics, have successfully raised standards. Staff adapt the curriculum well for pupils with learning difficulties and ensure that they are fully included and succeed alongside others. There are useful links between subjects, which give added purpose to pupils' work. The school is rightly developing this aspect of curriculum planning and is also introducing special themed events, because they add to pupils' enjoyment. The curriculum for information and communication technology (ICT) has improved since the last inspection and all aspects of the subject are covered satisfactorily. However, the school recognises that more opportunities could be provided for pupils to use ICT to aid learning in other subjects. An excellent range of enrichment opportunities adds to the overall quality

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Grade: 2

of the curriculum. For example, the school provides exciting outdoor challenges, such as caving and rock climbing for older pupils. It also provides educational visits, such as that to see a Shakespeare play in Stratford-upon-Avon, and activities that support the local church, the elderly and a nearby hospice. Together, these activities broaden pupils' horizons, make a strong contribution to their personal and academic development and prepare them well for life as young adults.

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Grade: 1

Standards of care are outstanding because all staff give high priority to developing personal and social skills and to promoting pupils' well-being. The very good role models that adults provide encourage pupils to care for and support each other in turn. This makes the school a harmonious place with warm relationships based on trust and respect. Systems for ensuring the health, safety and protection of pupils are rigorous and work well. Pupils are confident that they always have someone to turn to with worries or concerns. Pupils are well supported academically because there are robust systems for checking how well they are doing. Staff set challenging targets for pupils and give them the guidance and support they need in order to achieve them. The school works closely with parents and outside agencies to ensure those pupils who are vulnerable or need extra help get the support they require.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher is an effective leader. He gives his time and energies unstintingly to the school, its staff, the pupils and their families and as a result is held in high esteem by the whole school community. His enthusiastic approach sets a good example for all staff. They work as a committed and effective team focusing successfully on ensuring that each pupil is given every opportunity to do as well as they can. School self-evaluation and planning for improvement are satisfactory. The headteacher knows the school's strengths and areas 4 Inspection Report: Wigley Primary School, 7 July 2006 to 7 July 2006 for development. However, current arrangements rely too heavily on the headteacher alone. The exception is the management of provision for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities. For other aspects of provision staff do not have a prominent enough role in checking standards and quality. Most staff are not given the time to monitor

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Grade: 2

areas for which they are responsible and this weakens their role in improvement planning. Similarly, governors do not collect enough first-hand information to hold the school to account for what it achieves. However, the headteacher's improvement plans do focus on the right aspects of the school's work, even though they do not always set out when, how or by whom monitoring will be carried out. With support from staff and governors and in consultation with parents, the school has secured substantial improvement since the previous inspection. Standards are higher, there have been improvements to the school's accommodation and facilities, most notably for children in Reception, and provision for ICT is better than it was. Consequently, despite structural weaknesses in planning, the school has a sound capacity for further improvement. 5 Inspection Report: Wigley Primary School, 7 July 2006 to 7 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: Wigley Primary School, 7 July 2006 to 7 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 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 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 1 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 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 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 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 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 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

You may remember that I visited your school a little while ago. Thank you for making my visit so enjoyable and for taking time to talk to me and to answer my questions. I thought that you would like to hear my findings. There are many good things happening in your school. - Almost all of you make good progress in English, mathematics and science. - You tell me that you enjoy school because teachers make learning fun. - Most of you get on well with one another and enjoy the friendly atmosphere. - You say that you enjoy the many after-school clubs and activities, such as theatre visits and caving expeditions. - I am pleased to hear that all of the adults help you when you have problems and make sure that you are safe. - Mr Crawford, the staff, governors and pupils work hard to make the school a better place. There are some things that could be even better. - I have asked Mr Crawford and the staff to make even more careful

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

plans to improve the school. - I have asked the school governors and the teachers to check more regularly on how well you are doing. I hope that you will all continue to work hard and do well.

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