Eyam CofE Primary School

Inspection Report Eyam CofE Primary School

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112816 Unique Reference Number DERBYSHIRE LEA LEA 279030 Inspection number 11 May 2006 to 12 May 2006 Inspection dates Mr. Martin Newell 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 S32 5QH Voluntary controlled School category 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01433 630840 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01433 630840 Fax number 51 Number on roll Mr.Richard Gilbourne Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Miss. Claire Whetstone Headteacher 14 June 2004 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 279030 11 May 2006 - 4 to 11 12 May 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.

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Description of the school

This is a smaller than average primary school serving the village of Eyam and surrounding areas. The proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals, of pupils with learning difficulties and with a statement of special educational need are all below the national average. Almost all pupils are White British and none of the pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds are at an early stage of learning English. Attainment on entry to the school is broadly average. The acting headteacher has only been in post since the start of the term.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Eyam CofE Primary School, 11 May 2006 to 12 May 2006

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Grade: 3

The inspection confirms the school's judgement that this is a satisfactory and improving school. Leadership and management are satisfactory with some stronger aspects. The acting headteacher is leading the school well. In her short time in post she has swiftly and accurately identified the school's strengths and areas for development. Strategies that have already been put in place to improve pupils' learning and achievement are already beginning to pay dividends. The effective steps taken to promote improvement since the last inspection together with the commitment of staff and governors to making the school a better place indicate a clear capacity for continued development. Parents are very supportive and speak highly of the school. By the end of Reception, standards are at an expected level because of the satisfactory teaching and provision. Standards by the end of Year 2 and Year 6 are average, although writing standards

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Grade: 3

are not as good. Pupils' achievement from Reception to Year 6 is satisfactory and could be stronger if teaching was consistently challenging and demanding, particularly for those who are higher attaining. Nevertheless, teaching throughout is satisfactory and has a number of strengths. It is at its best when learning is made fun and exciting, and pupils take an active part in lessons. Pupils' personal development although satisfactory has some strengths. Pupils behave well, are polite and courteous and attendance is above the national average. However, pupils do not always recognise the role that they can play in the classroom by taking initiative and being active and independent learners. The school goes the extra-mile to ensure that pupils are cared for very well and parents greatly appreciate this. Good provision is made for pupils with learning difficulties. Good enrichment opportunities are on offer through a wide

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Grade: 3

array of visits and visitors and the school promotes well the importance of keeping safe and healthy. The school provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Increase the amount of good and better teaching to improve how well pupils achieve, particularly the higher-attaining pupils. - Raise writing standards by providing more well-planned opportunities for pupils to write in different subjects, to improve their handwriting and the presentation of their work. - Ensure pupils are consistently encouraged and much is expected of them so that they contribute fully and take initiative and responsibility for their own learning.

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Grade: 3

Standards fluctuate from year to year because of the small size of each year's cohort of pupils. The skills and knowledge of children when they start at the school is generally average. By the end of the Reception year, standards are at an expected level and all children have made satisfactory progress. In Years 1 and 2 pupils' achievement is satisfactory and standards are close to those found nationally by the end of Year 2, although there is scope for improvement in how well the more able pupils achieve. 2 Inspection Report: Eyam CofE Primary School, 11 May 2006 to 12 May 2006 Standards by the end of Year 6 are at the expected level overall. Although achievement is again satisfactory, teaching at times needs to ask more of the higher-attaining pupils. Across the school writing standards are a little below average. Writing has been identified as the school's main focus for improvement. The targets that the school

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Grade: 3

sets for pupils are appropriately challenging and are usually met. The achievement of pupils with learning difficulties is satisfactory overall and sometimes good because of the good levels of support they receive.

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Grade: 3

Pupils' personal development and well being are satisfactory with some good aspects. They behave well in class and around the school and pupils confidently state that bullying is 'not a problem at our school.' Pupils say that they enjoy school, particularly practical, hands-on activities and their enjoyment is reflected in the above-average attendance rates. In lessons, however, pupils are a little too 'laid back' in their role as learners and do not show enough initiative, independence and responsibility for their own learning. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. This is reflected in their good level of respect and awareness of the impact their actions can have on others, and their knowledge of cultures other than their own. They make a telling contribution to the local community through participation in concerts, events and fayres. The school is successful at promoting healthy lifestyles and its 'Eco school'

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Grade: 3

status reflects its commitment to the wider world. Good procedures are in place for keeping pupils safe. Although basic skills are developed satisfactorily, opportunities are missed for pupils to put these into practice through exciting and innovative enterprise and initiative schemes that could also contribute to their future economic well-being.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory with some good aspects. Teaching in the Foundation Stage provides a satisfactory balance of activities so that children learn through practical, structured play activities as well as through the direct teaching of key skills. In Years 1 to 6, teachers manage pupils well, relationships are good and the stimuli for lessons are often well planned to capture pupils' interest. Teachers make good use of visits and visitors to help bring learning to life. Across the school, teaching assistants make a powerful contribution to pupils' learning. In the good lessons seen, teaching was challenging, pupils were kept on their toes and were under no illusion as to what was expected of them. However some lessons lacked urgency. Too little was expected of pupils in relation to how they presented their work and contributed to question-and-answer sessions. Assessment is satisfactory. The school has good

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Grade: 3

procedures in place for assessing and tracking pupils' progress in reading, writing and mathematics. A particularly good feature is the way in which staff make clear to pupils 3 Inspection Report: Eyam CofE Primary School, 11 May 2006 to 12 May 2006 exactly what to do to reach the next level. The acting headteacher has rightly identified the need to ensure that assessment of pupils' work is consistently accurate and assessment information is used to guide and inform teaching and learning. Marking is satisfactory. The best of it clearly outlines to pupils what they need to do to improve.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory with some good features. Satisfactory long term planning shows that all subjects are covered in sufficient depth and pupils' numeracy skills are put to effective use in other subjects. However, opportunities are missed to develop pupils' writing across all subjects through tasks that enthuse and motivate them, particularly boys. Good provision is made for pupils with learning difficulties. Whilst the school has identified the need to ensure that the higher attaining pupils are challenged, in practice this does not consistently happen. The school has good arrangements to promote pupils' personal, social and health education. Pupils' awareness of healthy living and contributions to the wider community are developed well. A good number of visits, visitors, residential trips and after-school clubs broaden pupils' social experiences and enrich their learning.

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Grade: 2

The care, support and guidance of pupils are good. This is a very caring school where the uniqueness of the individual is recognised and celebrated. Parents are very appreciative of its caring and family atmosphere. Staff know individual pupils and their social and emotional needs very well. Good links have been established with outside agencies to ensure that additional support is on hand for pupils that may need it. Pupils feel safe and valued in school and that their views are both respected and taken on board. Health and safety and child protection procedures are firmly in place, known and followed by all staff. The school is rightly seeking to extend its systems for pupils' academic monitoring and support to subjects other than English and mathematics to help pupils to achieve more.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory overall with some good aspects. The acting headteacher has only been in post for a very short time but has very quickly, astutely and professionally gained a clear and accurate picture of the school's strengths and weaknesses. She has already observed teaching, looked at pupils' work and teachers' planning, and has instigated initiatives aimed at improving teaching and learning. The acting headteacher has swiftly gained the respect and support of staff, parents, pupils and governors and there is a shared commitment to moving the school on to its next stage of development. All staff work together well as a team. Subject leadership is satisfactory and improving as the role becomes increasingly focused on 4 Inspection Report: Eyam CofE Primary School, 11 May 2006 to 12 May 2006 raising standards and achievement. The school has a positive track record of improvement and staff and governors demonstrate the capacity for continued

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Grade: 3

improvement. The school's self-evaluation is generally accurate, if a little generous at times, and it is right to describe itself as a satisfactory school. Parents, pupils and governors are consulted about the school's areas for improvement and the acting headteacher is seeking to develop these procedures further. Governance of the school is good. Governors are very supportive of the school, are always ready to ask challenging questions and they closely monitor its work. Appropriate use is made of the school's resources to ensure that it provides value for money. 5 Inspection Report: Eyam CofE Primary School, 11 May 2006 to 12 May 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: Eyam CofE Primary School, 11 May 2006 to 12 May 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 3 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 3 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 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 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 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 3 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 2 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 2 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 3 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 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 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

You may remember that I inspected your school recently and I am writing to let you know what I found. First, I would like to say a big thank you to all of you for making me feel so welcome and for being kind, polite and helpful. I managed to talk to lots of you. It was particularly good to hear about the things that you enjoy doing at school, that bullying is not a problem and that you know there is always someone to turn to if you are worried. I found that there are lots of good things about your school. Teachers try hard to make learning fun and enjoyable and to help you to achieve well. The school helps you to learn about the importance of keeping fit, healthy and safe and works hard at making sure you are looked after well. There are lots of trips and visitors to school which you say are always good fun. Another strength is the way that the staff and governors are always looking to make the school a better place for you to

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

learn and you play your part by behaving well. I have talked to your teachers about how they can help make the school even better by making learning even more exciting and challenging and by helping you improve your writing skills. Miss Whetstone and all the staff want the school to continue to improve. Having met you I am sure you will want to play your part as well. You can do this by always being enthusiastic, ready to ask and answer questions and by finding things out for yourselves, rather than always relying on adults! I wish you every success in your futures. It was a pleasure and privilege to meet you.

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