Catherington Church of England Infant School

Inspection Report Catherington Church of England Infant School

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116280 Unique Reference Number Hampshire LEA LEA 279781 Inspection number 10 October 2005 to 11 October 2005 Inspection dates George Rayner AI Reporting inspector

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

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316 Catherington Lane School address Infant Type of school Catherington Voluntary controlled School category Waterlooville, Hampshire PO8 0TD 4 to 7 Age range of pupils

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02392592263 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 02392591488 Fax number 87 Number on roll Mr John Mosely Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Melanie Kendall Headteacher 1 February 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 279781 10 October 2005 - 4 to 7 11 October 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 an additional inspector.

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Description of the school

Catherington Church of England Infant School is smaller than other primary schools, with 87 children on its roll. The school is always oversubscribed. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties is low and none has a statement. A very low number are from minority ethnic groups and none has a first language other than English.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Catherington Church of England Infant School, 10 October 2005 to 11 October 2005

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Grade: 2

The overall effectiveness of the school is good and the school agrees with this judgement. Children achieve well by progressing from average to above average standards. This is due to good teaching and learning. Assessment is used well to plan appropriate work for all children. Their personal development is outstanding, as is the care that the school provides for them. The school has improved its curriculum so that its breadth and balance are now excellent. The headteacher provides outstanding leadership and the school is well managed, although improvement planning and the delegation of responsibilities are not as sharp as they could be. An initiative to enable pupils to make more decisions about their work is in its infancy and is having an impact in some lessons. In the Foundation Stage children make good progress towards their learning goals. This provides a firm foundation for the further progress that they make

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Grade: 2

in later years. The school provides good value for money and has a good capacity to improve yet further.

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What the school should do to improve further

* Ensure that the school's strategic plan clearly shows who is responsible for improvements and how success in achieving them is to be measured* Implement fully the initiative to allow all pupils to have the opportunity to think for themselves and make decisions about their work.

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Grade: 2

Achievement and standards are good. Children start the school with standards that are broadly average. In the reception class they achieve well in making progress towards the learning goals that are set nationally for children of this age. This is due to teaching that succeeds in providing useful, enjoyable tasks and experiences such as role play in which children learn to work together. Good progress in Years 1 and 2 results from teaching that builds well on existing learning and is fully supported by children's excellent attitudes. Consequently, most children make good progress and achieve above average standards. When children are assessed at the end of Year 2, they do particularly well reaching higher levels in reading and mathematics. They are not quite so strong in writing. The school has recognised this and has introduced steps to improve standards. This is already beginning to have an impact, for example, on the writing of

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Grade: 2

more able children.There is no major variation in the achievement of different groups of children. Important factors in the good achievement of those with learning difficulties are the school's close monitoring of their progress and the very caring individual support given. Most of the brightest reach standards that are considerably higher than average. 2 Inspection Report: Catherington Church of England Infant School, 10 October 2005 to 11 October 2005

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Grade: 1

Personal development and well-being are outstanding. The school's denominational nature and Christian ethos underpin its work. Children benefit tremendously from very clear guidance on how they should behave and treat other people. The good teaching of mathematics and literacy is contributing well to skills that will promote children's future economic well-being. In the last inspection, the provision for multicultural education was identified as a weakness. This has greatly improved and is now very good. There is a wide range of activities for learning about customs and lifestyles in places such as the Caribbean and India. As a result, children are developing a very good understanding of, for example, the ways in which the lives of people in some places are less advantaged than their own. Behaviour is excellent. Children are polite and considerate to each other and to adults. They clearly enjoy their work and talk

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Grade: 1

enthusiastically about their school. Their attitudes towards the school and the similarly high opinions of parents are amply demonstrated by the very low absence rates. One parent summed up the school's contribution to her daughter's personal development, saying 'In one year, she progressed from being a shy girl to one who was brimming with confidence'.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. In most lessons, assessment is used well to plan appropriate challenges for all. In a conversation, children said that they really liked the way teachers helped, encouraged and praised them when they did well and worked hard. Teaching assistants and volunteers are well organised to work effectively as a team, providing good support and guidance during group work. When children work in small groups, they usually co-operate very well with each other, sharing resources willingly, without needing to be asked to do so. In many lessons, teachers use questions well to encourage children to think. However, on occasions questions are restricted to looking for a single right answer. Children's ability to think independently would benefit from more planned use of open-ended questions. The school is developing strategies to promote independent learning and this is a strength in a growing number

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Grade: 2

of lessons. In an excellent 'Challenge Club' lesson about the effects of gravity on moving objects, children were encouraged to explore and experiment with marbles and slopes. They were then given a highly challenging task of designing a game, using what they had learned and choosing their own approaches and resources. It is a very recent initiative though, so has not yet had an impact in all lessons. Some are still too teacher directed and this reduces opportunities for children to think and work independently. In most lessons, the great majority of children work with considerable commitment, listen well, concentrate on their tasks and willingly answer questions. This is an important factor in their achievement. A very small number need reminders to maintain their concentration. On a few occasions, teachers do not ensure that these 3 Inspection Report: Catherington Church of England Infant School, 10 October 2005 to 11 October 2005

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Grade: 2

children are fully involved by, for example, positioning them carefully in the classroom, or directing questions at them.

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Grade: 1

The school provides an outstanding curriculum. It has worked very effectively to improve areas in which this was needed. The curriculum is very broad and balanced. Children say that they have lots of enjoyable things to do. The humanities subjects, which were deficient at the last inspection, are now very well included in topics. This is having a strong impact upon the personal development of children, as it provides very good opportunities to see the world through the eyes of people in other times and places. The school succeeds very well in ensuring that the curriculum meets the needs of all. Children with learning difficulties have these carefully monitored and receive caring and effective support. In an activity to help younger children who are not yet secure in how to work harmoniously with others, the children said they were enjoying themselves and had learned a lot already. The school runs excellent activities,

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Grade: 1

within the curriculum, called 'Challenge Clubs'. They cover all of the different ways in which talent can be shown and consequently involve a large number of children. These experiences very effectively encourage them to nurture talents they might not otherwise recognise.There is excellent enrichment of the curriculum through additional, special activities during the school day and after-school clubs. For a small school, the number of clubs is impressive. This is achieved by a wide number of staff, including support staff, volunteering to help.

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Grade: 1

The quality of care, guidance and support is outstanding. All staff are highly committed to making the school a very safe and happy environment in which all succeed. Children benefit greatly from being part of a secure and caring community. All safety procedures are managed carefully and all staff have up to date first aid training. Risk assessment is very well organised. Much effort has gone into making the playgrounds and adjoining field pleasant, safe places for play. Through their association, parents have been very helpful in supporting this by fundraising and assisting in improvement work. Effective guidance is giving children a very good understanding of healthy lifestyles. They speak appreciatively of cookery lessons in which they learn about healthy foods.The school carefully monitors the progress of every pupil. This is used to set challenging, but realistic targets. These are regularly reviewed to identify and help any pupils who are

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good overall. The headteacher provides outstanding leadership. This is characterised by her very clear vision and the energetic way in which 4 Inspection Report: Catherington Church of England Infant School, 10 October 2005 to 11 October 2005 improvements are pursued. She is well supported by all the staff. The improvement plan provides the school with a clear direction. The responsibilities of those leading improvements and the criteria for measuring success in achieving them are not sharply enough defined. Consequently, plans do not ensure that the current good improvement would continue if for example, there were changes in key staff. There is rigorous and helpful, monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning. Well-organised peer observation runs alongside the formal performance management monitoring. This has helped to create a climate in which there is much sharing of ideas and strategies.

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Grade: 2

Effective monitoring has given the school a clear picture of areas that could be improved further. For example, it has correctly identified a need for children to be given more opportunities for independent learning and research. The school takes good account of the opinions of parents, carers and children and has effective procedures for obtaining these.Governors make a good contribution to the school's work. They have very clear roles, are well informed by regular, detailed headteacher's reports and visit the school often to monitor and support its work. Several governors are quite recently appointed. They are developing their roles with considerable commitment and benefiting from training.Finances are carefully managed and financial expertise within the governing body ensures very effective scrutiny. The school has worked successfully for improvement since the last inspection and has a strong capacity to pursue this

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Grade: 2

further in the future. 5 Inspection Report: Catherington Church of England Infant School, 10 October 2005 to 11 October 2005 .

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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: Catherington Church of England Infant School, 10 October 2005 to 11 October 2005

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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 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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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 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 1 The behaviour of learners NA 1 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 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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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 2 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 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

Thank you for being so friendly and helpful when I visited your school. I really enjoyed my visit. It was good to see that you are so happy and like your school so much. Some of you told me that you love coming to school because it is such a nice place and the teachers are so helpful. My visit showed me that you are doing well in reading and using numbers and almost as well in writing. Teachers think carefully about what will be the best work for you all. They are working hard to give you more chances to think for yourselves and choose how you are going to work. They are planning more rigorously to ensure that you do even better and have more chances to think for yourselves. Your headteacher, teachers and the other people who help them have worked very hard to give you lots of interesting things to do in lessons and clubs. They have made the school better than it was in teaching about things like the olden days and what it is

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

like to live in other countries. You help your teachers very much by behaving very well indeed. All of the grown-ups in the school care for you very much and are very proud of you. They work hard together to make sure that you are happy and safe and that the school, playground and field are lovely places to be in. It is also good to see that your parents and other grown-ups who look after you like the school very much.

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