Kings Nympton Community Primary School

Inspection Report Kings Nympton Community Primary School

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113158 Unique Reference Number Devon LEA 279107 Inspection number 27 June 2006 to 27 June 2006 Inspection dates Shirley Billington AI Reporting inspector

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

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Kings Nympton School address Primary Type of school Umberleigh Community School category Devon EX37 9SP 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01769 580512 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01769 580512 Fax number 52 Number on roll Dr Peter Noble Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Rowena Hoare Headteacher 6 June 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 279107 27 June 2006 - 4 to 11 27 June 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a small school serving a widespread community in north Devon. There are two classes in the school. Reception children are in the same class as Year 1 and 2 pupils, and the other class is for pupils from Years 3 to 6. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties is broadly average. Most children attend the on-site pre-school group before starting school. Their skills and knowledge on entry vary considerably but overall are broadly average. The school holds the Active Mark award for physical education. It is part of a cluster of local primary schools and a community college that plans several joint events for pupils, particularly those in Year 6.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Kings Nympton Community Primary School, 27 June 2006 to 27 June 2006

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Grade: 3

The school provides a sound education for its pupils. It has some particularly strong features related to the way that pupils’ personal development is promoted through a range of enriching experiences. These include special events and a particularly good range of clubs for a very small school. Good links with other local schools enable pupils to participate in a variety of musical and sporting activities. Pupils’ achievement is broadly satisfactory and they do particularly well in some areas such as reading, science and art. However, they do not make progress at a consistent rate in all subjects and not enough use is made of assessment information to identify where this is happening and to address the causes. There was, for instance, some underachievement in mathematics for higher- attaining pupils in Years 3 and 4 two years ago. These pupils are now making steady progress in Years 5 and 6 but the reasons for the dip in their achievement have not been identified.

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Grade: 3

Provision in the Reception Year is satisfactory and most children attain expected levels at the start of Year 1. Their personal and social development is particularly strong and this good base is effectively built on as they go through the school. As a result, the oldest ones are well prepared for the next stage in their learning. Pupils enjoy school and have good attitudes to their learning and work hard. Targets are set for individual pupils but these are not precise enough. As a result, pupils are not always clear about what they are trying to achieve or what they need to do to reach their targets. Sound leadership constantly seeks to improve what the school provides for pupils and this has been successful in, for example, securing a good range of resources for ICT. However, the school is not quite so sharp in making sure that improved facilities or resources result in better achievement. While there is good attention given to those

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Grade: 3

who have some learning difficulties, and resources are directed to support them, there is not the same focus on the potentially higher attainers to secure consistent progress in all areas. The school’s view of its effectiveness is more optimistic than the inspection found. Overall, however, it demonstrates sound capacity to improve and provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that pupils have clear targets for improvement and know what they have to do to achieve them. • Track the progress of all pupils more carefully to ensure that all are making at least expected gains in their learning in all subjects.

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Grade: 3

Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory and standards are broadly average, but there is some variation in how well they do in different subjects. Progress in reading is particularly good and standards are high. Progress in writing is not as good as that in 2 Inspection Report: Kings Nympton Community Primary School, 27 June 2006 to 27 June 2006 reading, although it is satisfactory. The school has identified this as an area needing improvement. Achievement in mathematics varies from good to unsatisfactory. More-capable pupils have not always made the gains that they should in this subject. Science is a strength, with standards generally above average. All Year 6 pupils have attained the higher levels in this subject in the most recent tests. Reasonable targets are set for pupils’ performance in national tests and these are generally achieved. Children in the Reception Year make satisfactory gains in all areas of learning. Pupils

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Grade: 3

with learning difficulties benefit from good support and make good progress in relation to their individual targets.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development, including their social, moral, spiritual and cultural development, is good. Attendance is good, demonstrating pupils’ enjoyment of school. Behaviour is good and pupils generally get on well together. They are clear that there is no bullying, and they would know what to do if there were, but there are occasional instances of teasing. Overall, however, older pupils are mature and sensible. They have a secure base in key skills, cooperate readily in teams and small groups and are well prepared for the next stage of their education and for later life. Pupils show very good awareness of the need to eat a balanced diet and take regular exercise. They know that the ‘brain gym’ at the start of the day helps them to get ready for learning. They are aware of safe practices and know that they can rely on teachers to help them if they are worried. Pupils make a good contribution to the

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Grade: 2

school and wider community. They have been involved in planning and costing proposals for improving the school grounds and have opportunities to organise fundraising events, for example, for the Tsunami appeal.

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Grade: 3

Teaching is satisfactory and this ensures steady progress for the vast majority of pupils. Relationships are good and classes are well managed, and these factors create good conditions for learning. Teachers are generally secure in the subjects that they teach. However, planning for lessons tends to be focused on activities rather than the intended learning and does not always take account of the range of abilities and ages in the class. Good support is provided for pupils with learning difficulties, but higher attainers are not always sufficiently challenged. Some specialist teaching in art and music leads to good standards in these subjects. Teaching assistants are generally well used to support groups and individuals. They are well trained and their particular areas of expertise are well used. 3 Inspection Report: Kings Nympton Community Primary School, 27 June 2006 to 27 June 2006

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory and has some strong features. Long-term planning takes account of mixed-age classes so that pupils experience a balanced curriculum and there is progression in areas that they study. For the Reception Year, while all areas of learning are planned, the need to work with Year 1 and 2 pupils means that occasionally activities are not adapted to an appropriate level. Good links are made across subjects so that, for example, pupils use their literacy and ICT skills in history projects. Art is a strong aspect of the curriculum, with pupils having good opportunities to learn a good range of techniques and work on some exciting collaborative projects. The curriculum is enhanced by a good range of visits to places such as galleries and museums, visitors and special events. Pupils in Years 3 to 6 learn French as part of a cluster initiative, which one pupil commented ‘makes you more confident when you

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Grade: 3

go to secondary school.’ There is a good range of extra-curricular activities and opportunities to participate in competitive sports and music-making events with other schools.

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Grade: 3

These aspects are all satisfactory. Pupils are well known by staff and well cared for on an individual basis. Good additional support is given to those who have learning difficulties. Risk assessment and health and safety procedures are all in place. All staff have had training in child protection arrangements and more is planned before the end of this term. Pupils’ progress is tracked through the school, although this is in the early stages for children in the Reception Year. The information is used to identify those pupils who may need extra help, but it is not analysed in sufficient depth to evaluate how well all pupils are doing in each subject or each area of learning. Targets are set for individual pupils but children are not always aware of precisely what their target is or what they need to do to improve. For example, several know that ‘spelling’ is their target but cannot say what aspect of spelling they should be working on.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The school is well managed on a day-to-day basis and strong teamwork ensures a good level of care for individual pupils and promotes their well-being. The school evaluates how well it is doing through a range of activities, including canvassing the views of parents and pupils. This results in aspects of provision being improved, for example, the introduction of a residential visit for Years 5 and 6 was in response to parents’ requests. Staff review individual pupils’ performance in national tests and identify where extra support might be needed. However, not enough use is made of performance data to check that all pupils are making progress at expected rates through the school or to compare progress across subjects or, for the Reception children, across different areas of learning. 4 Inspection Report: Kings Nympton Community Primary School, 27 June 2006 to 27 June 2006

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Grade: 3

Governors fulfil their statutory responsibilities and are supportive of the school’s work. They have some involvement in forward planning for school improvement but much of what is done is led by the headteacher and governors do not ask searching questions about the school’s effectiveness. Recommendations from the last inspection have been successfully addressed and recently there have been particular improvements in provision for ICT. The leadership has the capacity to improve the school further, but needs greater rigour in the way it checks on its own effectiveness. 5 Inspection Report: Kings Nympton Community Primary School, 27 June 2006 to 27 June 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: Kings Nympton Community Primary School, 27 June 2006 to 27 June 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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

Thank you very much for the way that you helped us when we visited your school recently. We enjoyed visiting your classrooms and talking to you about your school. We thought that you might be interested in what we are saying in our report. Good things about your school You behave well. Those of you at the top end of the school are mature and sensible and ready to move on to secondary school. You have lots of exciting activities to do. Some of you told us that you particularly enjoy art and science lessons and you also appreciate all the clubs and extra activities such as sport and music. You understand how important it is to keep healthy and know that ‘brain gym’ each day helps you with this and also gets you ready to work well in lessons. Teachers and other staff are quick to see if you need some extra help and they make sure that you get it. What we have suggested the school does now Make sure that you have clear targets to work towards and that you know what you have to

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

do to achieve these. Use the information that the school has about how well you are progressing to check that your learning is moving on as well as it should every year. Thank you again for your help. Keep on enjoying your learning! Best wishes Shirley Billington Lead Inspector

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