Longparish Church of England Primary School

Inspection Report Longparish Church of England Primary School

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116364 Unique Reference Number Hampshire LEA LEA 279803 Inspection number 18 October 2005 to 19 October 2005 Inspection dates John Earish AI Reporting inspector

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

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Longparish School address Primary Type of school Andover Voluntary aided School category SP11 6PB 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01264720317 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01264720731 Fax number 88 Number on roll Mr John Coughlan Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Miss R Hobrough Headteacher 24 January 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 279803 18 October 2005 - 4 to 11 19 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 one additional inspector.

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Description of the school

Longparish Church of England Primary is a popular small village school. It has been undergoing a major rebuilding programme since September 2004 and work is almost complete. Significant numbers of children move to private schools during Key Stage 2, and their places are filled from outside the immediate area. The profile on entry to the school is changing and the number of children identified with learning difficulties is rising and varies between 15 and 20 per cent. However, these pupils are not equally represented across all classes. Some of the pupils come from comparatively advantaged homes.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Longparish Church of England Primary School, 18 October 2005 to 19 October 2005

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Grade: 2

Longparish Primary School believes that its overall effectiveness is satisfactory, but inspectors judge it to be good. The quality of education, including teaching, is good. Recent changes to the way learning is organised are having a positive effect upon pupils' progress. Standards are good. Children in the Foundation Stage receive a good start to their education, and all groups of pupils are now making good progress. The school is very welcoming and values all its pupils equally. Pupils like coming to school and are very eager to learn. Their personal development is outstanding because of the very strong emphasis on the promotion of pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The school offers good value for money. The school has made good progress in remedying the weaknesses identified at the previous inspection and in identifying and tackling new initiatives, such as reorganising the Foundation Stage

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Grade: 2

and providing new school buildings. This evidence of improvement, combined with the commitment of the staff and governors, suggests that the school has the capacity to make further improvements.

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What the school should do to improve further

* Take full advantage of the new buildings by examining different ways of organising the school to provide sufficient space for the Foundation Stage children.* Improve standards in reading in Years 1 and 2.* Enhance value added to pupils learning in Years 3 to 6.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good. The small numbers of pupils taking the national tests each year means that statistical data must be treated cautiously. However, it is clear from the results of 2004 that pupils aged 11 years achieved very good standards in science and good standards English and mathematics. Very good numbers of more able pupils achieved the higher levels in science and mathematics, but fewer in English, although the provisional results for 2005 show that performance in English has improved significantly. However, the school's own tracking of individual pupil performance shows satisfactory value has been added between Years 3-6 which is reflected in national test data.Pupils aged 7 years achieved good standards overall, although standards in writing and mathematics were better than in reading. The best progress is being made by the more able pupils, with very good numbers achieving the higher levels. Provisional

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Grade: 2

results for 2005 show this trend has continued. The school has been alert to this and has taken effective action so that all groups of pupils can make equally good progress and assessment information for the current Year 2 supports this.Children in the reception classes now get a good start to their education. When they start school, their levels are just above those expected for their age overall. Children quickly settle because of the interesting range of activities designed for them and the support they are given. They are now making good progress and most will exceed all of the learning 2 Inspection Report: Longparish Church of England Primary School, 18 October 2005 to 19 October 2005 goals expected at this age. Those with learning difficulties and disabilities are making good progress because their individual needs are clearly identified and they are given appropriate additional help and support.

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Grade: 1

This aspect is outstanding. The pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding, and is strongly supported by the school's very positive ethos. Opportunities for reflection are built into the day and pupils develop a remarkable understanding of spirituality because of the sensitive support they are given by their teachers. Pupils eagerly take on responsibilities around the school. They say it makes them aware of the importance of patience, tolerance, and humour and allows them to give something back to the school which they hold in high esteem. This concern for others extends to the wider community and pupils choose to host a regular lunch club for senior citizens.The school council represents the views of pupils very well and has suggested changes which have been taken up by the school. For example, they have canvassed the support of local councillors for the installation of flashing road signs

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Grade: 1

to warn motorists of the school entrance which is on a very sharp bend. This is helping pupils to develop a very good understanding of democratic principles and equipping them with the skills and qualities for roles in later life.Pupils say they feel safe in school and are valued by staff. They attend regularly, enjoy being at school, show very positive attitudes to learning and behave very well, which is further evidence that they are very happy at school.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. All groups of pupils make good progress. The school recognises that the teaching in the Foundation Stage in the past did not give children enough opportunities to find out for themselves through imaginative or creative play. Steps to improve this have been made and this has had a positive impact on both attainment and progress. Teaching is now good, and all adults are adept at creating a learning environment where children are encouraged to think for themselves. In other classes, teachers place a significant level of demand upon individuals, to ensure that all are fully involved. They are good at challenging the more able pupils with additional work, and are now providing additional support for those who need extra help with their learning. The marking of the pupils' work is good and helps pupils improve. 3 Inspection Report: Longparish Church of England Primary School, 18 October 2005 to 19 October 2005

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Grade: 2

The curriculum gives pupils a good range of activities to help them learn. The youngest pupils in the mixed Reception/Year 1 class find out for themselves through imaginative or creative play. Activities are no longer matched to the needs of the oldest pupils in the class. The pupils' understanding of how to stay safe and healthy and their personal development is promoted very effectively throughout the curriculum, and especially through personal, social and health education. This helps the pupils grow in confidence and understand that they have a useful contribution to make to the community. Provision for information and communication technology has improved significantly since the last inspection and is now good. Pupils have good opportunities to extend these skills through learning in other subjects.The wide range of extra curricular activities is noteworthy in a small school; provision in this area is good and includes

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Grade: 2

sports, dance, drama and a modern language clubs. These additional activities have a positive impact on pupils' confidence and self esteem and greatly increase their enjoyment of school.

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Grade: 2

The care provided is good. Many parents commented very positively about the quality of care their children receive. Teachers and their assistants create a warm, friendly and secure learning environment where all are valued equally.Pupils are provided with clear and effective guidance about their performance and how they can improve. They say the new marking policy is helpful and is providing them with a greater understanding of what they need to improve. Furthermore, they like being involved in assessing their own performance but this is at an early stage of development. The systematic tracking of the progress of individual pupils is helping the school plan an appropriate level of support for all children, including those identified as gifted and talented. Arrangements for safeguarding children are robust and regularly reviewed. Good provision is made for children who have specific learning disabilities such as hearing impairment. There

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Grade: 2

are regular and effective meetings between teachers, support assistants and outside agencies with the result that they able to achieve as well as their peers.

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Grade: 2

The school rightly assesses the quality of leadership and management as good. There is a clear focus on achievement but also on pupils' personal development. School self evaluation is accurate and has been used well to identify areas for improving the attainment of pupils, for example through the introduction of new initiatives in numeracy and literacy, and improving the planning for the Foundation Stage. These are already having a positive effect on pupils' achievement. The school improvement plan is sufficiently detailed to allow the governors to hold the school to account.Governance is outstanding. The governing body is fully committed to raising 4 Inspection Report: Longparish Church of England Primary School, 18 October 2005 to 19 October 2005 standards, and has very good systems to support and challenge the school so they can hold it to account. They realised that the old school building was inadequate, cramped,

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Grade: 2

partially dilapidated and was having a direct impact on the quality of pupils' learning. In a relatively short period of time they secured a 1.8 million pound fund to substantially improve the school building, including 250,000 pounds raised from within the community. The chair of governors has been driving force behind this initiative, and has been ably supported by the headteacher and governors. The commitment and enthusiasm of the headteacher is good, and she is held in high regard by the whole school community. Parents told the inspector repeatedly how greatly they value the caring ethos that the headteacher and staff have created. Resources are carefully deployed and the best use has been made of the old accommodation. The new buildings are very near to completion. The headteacher recognises that the next step is to re-examine the way the school is organised so that the best use can be made of the

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Grade: 2

new buildings, for example, by providing a separate Foundation Stage classroom. The capacity for improvement is good, and the school is well placed to sustain these. 5 Inspection Report: Longparish Church of England Primary School, 18 October 2005 to 19 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: Longparish Church of England Primary School, 18 October 2005 to 19 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 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 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 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 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 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 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 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 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 2 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 1 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

Following my visit to inspect your school I would like to tell you what I think about how well you are getting on and how well your school is helping you to learn. I enjoyed seeing you at work and at playtimes, and liked talking to you. There are lots of things that I like about your school. Some of them are:* Your school is very friendly and welcoming. You behave really well and get on very well with each other. * You listen carefully to what your teachers have to say and try very hard in your lessons.* You were able to tell me about your work and what you needed to do to improve it.* You school council is very well organised and works hard to help the school.* You have a very good understanding of the importance of a varied diet and taking regular exercise.* You enjoy helping each other and are very sensitive to other people's problems and concerns. All of the adults in your school want it to be even better. To help them to do this, teachers are

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

going to look at different ways they can use the new buildings to make your learning even better. Yours sincerely, John Earish, Lead Inspector

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