Temple Guiting Church of England School

Inspection Report Temple Guiting Church of England School

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115653 Unique Reference Number Gloucestershire LEA 279646 Inspection number 29 June 2006 to 29 June 2006 Inspection dates Alwyne Jolly AI Reporting inspector

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

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Temple Guiting School address Primary Type of school Cheltenham Voluntary controlled School category Gloucestershire GL54 5RW 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01451 850304 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01451 850734 Fax number 85 Number on roll Mr M J Krier Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Gary Tucker Headteacher 11 September 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 279646 29 June 2006 - 4 to 11 29 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 very small school where pupils are taught in mixed age classes. Numbers on roll are falling. When children start the school their abilities are generally above the level expected for their age. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties is below average. Very few pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds and all speak English at home. The proportion of children known to be eligible for free school meals is well below average. The headteacher joined the school at the start of the academic year.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Temple Guiting Church of England School, 29 June 2006 to 29 June 2006

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school which gives sound value for money. This view is consistent with the school’s own self-evaluation. It has a very caring and happy atmosphere where pupils’ enjoyment is transparent. All pupils are included in the strong welcoming and Christian ethos. One pupil explained, ‘We feel like we are part of one large family’. Pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development are marked strengths. They respond with excellent behaviour and attitudes. The positive ethos created has earned high praise from pupils and parents and one commented ‘Temple Guiting is set to thrive’. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Motivated by the new headteacher, teachers have responded to the disappointing 2005 Year 6 national test results with a strong sense of purpose and commitment. This has ensured pupils have attained the above average standards expected of them in 2006. Achievement is therefore

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Grade: 3

satisfactory. Provision for the Foundation Stage is satisfactory and standards attained are above average. However, children are not sufficiently guided when working independently to ensure activities are useful for their development. The curriculum in Years 1 to 6 is broad and has good features. There is however, insufficient focus on the needs of the more able pupils. Similarly, there are satisfactory procedures to assess pupils’ progress but the information gained is not used well enough to meet the needs of all abilities and year groups. This aspect was criticised in the last report and remains a weakness. The leadership has addressed other issues well, notably in the greater use of information and communication technology in teaching. This indicates that the school has sufficient capacity for further improvement. The school has been most effective in carrying out a very accurate and rigorous self-evaluation to identify the crucial priorities for the school. However, it has not

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Grade: 3

moved on to complete the action plans with deadlines, with sufficient urgency.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that the school’s identified priorities are converted into planned actions with clear deadlines. • Ensure children in the Foundation Stage are given more guidance during independent learning in order that they make good progress. • Ensure that assessment information is used better by teachers to plan work that meets the needs of all abilities and year groups.

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Grade: 3

Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory. Individual year groups are both very small and variable, which means any set of test results must be viewed with caution. Children’s standards are above average by the end of the Foundation Stage, with clear strengths 2 Inspection Report: Temple Guiting Church of England School, 29 June 2006 to 29 June 2006 in speaking and listening. The needs of boys particularly, are not addressed effectively in independent activities and they perform less well. Results at the end of Year 2 have followed the national pattern with some variation explained by the small size of year groups. The overall level of attainment has been above average over the last four years, with standards in mathematics a particular strength. Provisional results for 2006 confirm this judgement. The provisional 2006 Year 6 national test results are very impressive and suggest that the previous issue of underperformance has been redressed well. The overall picture

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Grade: 3

suggests above average standards, confirming satisfactory achievement throughout the school. Year 6 pupils have responded well to attain the ambitious targets that were set for them. The few pupils with learning difficulties achieve appropriately.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being are good. The standard of children’s personal and social development is the major strength in the Foundation Stage. Pupils show each other consideration and respect and this creates a happy atmosphere. One pupil said, ‘The best thing about the school is the friendship’. Pupils enjoy school and their above average attendance, and their outstanding attitudes and behaviour confirm this. In class, pupils are eager to learn. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. Their spiritual awareness is promoted through reflection and prayer in assemblies and they are very sensitive to the needs of others. They benefit from an ethos which encourages them to be active participants in the school community. By fund raising and through their work with local groups, in addition to their links with a school in Barbados, the pupils demonstrate a satisfactory contribution to the wider community.

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Grade: 2

The school council gives pupils the opportunity to handle a small budget in order to prepare them for their future economic well-being. They understand the importance of keeping fit and eating well and they are especially enthusiastic about the school’s provision for sport.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Teachers know pupils well and are highly committed to their needs. Good relationships, particularly for the oldest pupils, ensure there is a good learning atmosphere where pupils want to achieve well. Although tracking and assessment arrangements are at a developmental stage, they are satisfactory overall. The information gained however, is not used sufficiently to plan appropriate work for the needs of all abilities and year groups. This is noticeable in the Foundation Stage where, boys in particular, receive insufficient guidance on 3 Inspection Report: Temple Guiting Church of England School, 29 June 2006 to 29 June 2006 how they can learn and experiment during independent activities. At times, in all mixed age classes, work is not matched closely enough to the needs of particular year groups. There are however, indications of greater emphasis on the needs of able pupils,

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Grade: 3

reflected in their much improved results in the Year 6 national tests. The school has revised its approach to supporting pupils with learning difficulties, so that learning support assistants are effective in helping them progress. A major success is the greater use of information and communication technology in teaching and learning for all age groups. The school recognises the importance of maintaining the focus on using ICT to improve the quality of teaching and learning further.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. The school has actively sought to extend the range of activities and experiences provided for pupils building upon the satisfactory curriculum provision in English, mathematics and science. It has been proactive in utilising teachers’ strengths in areas such as French and the arts to offer a wide curriculum and stimulate pupils’ interest. The needs of the wider curriculum are met further through a mini-enterprise week for Year 6 pupils and a good range of lunchtime clubs and extra curricular activities. However, more able pupils have not been sufficiently challenged by the curriculum offered to them. Information and communication technology provision has improved since the last inspection and all statutory requirements are met.

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Grade: 3

The school’s provision for care, guidance and support is satisfactory. Pastoral support is good. Pupils feel well cared for and safe. They are confident that they could turn to adults in their school should they need help. The school council has, so far, not been able to implement pupils’ ideas in the day-to-day running of the school. Satisfactory child protection and risk assessment procedures are in place to ensure pupils’ safety. Provision for children with learning difficulties is satisfactory. There are good structures in place to identify pupils’ needs but the individual education plans are not developed sufficiently and used effectively enough by teachers. Systems to monitor and track pupils’ progress have recently been updated and are satisfactory. However, the school recognises that it has not had an impact on teachers’ planning for pupils of different abilities. Guidance for pupils on how they can develop

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Grade: 3

their work, for example through their knowledge of individual targets or through teachers’ marking, is variable but mainly satisfactory. 4 Inspection Report: Temple Guiting Church of England School, 29 June 2006 to 29 June 2006

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Grade: 3

The quality of leadership and management is satisfactory. The new headteacher has completed a very accurate and honest self-evaluation based on both analysis of data, and monitoring teaching and provision. The school now has a firm grasp of the issues and priorities for the future. There is a positive ethos in the school, where all pupils are valued. The headteacher has very quickly gained the wholehearted support of parents in his desire to improve provision and raise standards further. Parents, pupils and governors feel involved and valued in the decision making process. The governors provide satisfactory support. They have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school, recognising that standards were not high enough in 2005. Although monitoring systems are limited, there is a good reporting system to the whole body on visits by individual governors. The falling roll has reduced the budget and forced difficult decisions to be taken.

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Grade: 3

However, the leadership has recognised correctly that it is still very important to provide more resources for the Foundation Stage. It needs to finance fully the professional development of the staff in order to raise standards further. The school improvement plan has a sound structure but its identified priorities have not been converted quickly enough into effective actions with measurable outcomes. It does not have precise enough targets to measure if important improvements have been made against the identified priorities. Although plans have not yet been implemented, the school has shown through the good quality of its self-evaluation and much improved results in 2006 that it has a satisfactory capacity to improve. 5 Inspection Report: Temple Guiting Church of England School, 29 June 2006 to 29 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: Temple Guiting Church of England School, 29 June 2006 to 29 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 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 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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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 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 1 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 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 3 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 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 for helping us when we visited your school. We enjoyed talking to you and looking at your work. These are the things that we are most pleased about: You obviously enjoy being at your school and your personal and spiritual development are encouraged well. Your attendance is good and your behaviour and attitudes are outstanding. You receive helpful guidance on how to live healthily. The new leadership of the school has made a very careful analysis of what needs to be done to make your school improve further. We have asked the teachers and governors to make the school even better and have suggested that: The school’s plans for change are more clearly established with set deadlines. Children in the Reception class need clearer instructions when they work on their own. Teachers plan work more carefully to match the particular abilities and year groups in each class. We hope you have an enjoyable summer holiday.

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