Walford Nursery & Primary School

Inspection Report Walford Primary School

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116743 Unique Reference Number Herefordshire LEA 279886 Inspection number 6 December 2005 to 7 December 2005 Inspection dates David Driscoll RISP Reporting inspector

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

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Walford School address Primary Type of school Ross-on-Wye Community School category Herefordshire HR9 5SA 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01989 562209 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01989 762898 Fax number 183 Number on roll Mr Gerald Smith Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Steven Roberts Headteacher 2 November 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 279886 6 December 2005 - 4 to 11 7 December 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Walford is a small, rural primary school serving a relatively affluent area around Ross-on-Wye. Very few pupils come from minority ethnic groups and all are fluent in English. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties is about the national average. The school has had a large turnover of staff in the last two years, and also a high turnover of pupils. Less than half the pupils who left Year 6 in 2005 started their education at the school.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Walford Primary School, 6 December 2005 to 7 December 2005

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Grade: 3

Walford Primary school is a happy community that provides a satisfactory education for its pupils, with some significant strengths, particularly in the way it encourages pupils’ good attitudes and behaviour. Parents are very supportive of the school and, locally, it has a good reputation. The school is particularly good at ensuring that pupils are well cared for and that all are treated equally. Teaching is satisfactory, and pupils leave Year 6 with above average standards, having made satisfactory progress throughout the school. Most teachers are relatively new to the school; several are new to teaching. Lessons are consistently well planned, but the amount that pupils learn is not as good because of small errors that slow the pace of lessons. The quality of provision in the Reception class is good. Attainment on entry varies but is usually above average in communication and personal skills. Children make good

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Grade: 3

progress due to the good teaching and the good range of interesting activities provided. By the end of Reception, standards are above average. The school’s view of its performance is slightly too generous because managers are not paying enough attention to what the data tells them about achievement, teaching and leadership. In other respects, the school’s evaluation of its work is accurate and matches that of the inspectors. Managers have satisfactorily demonstrated that they can improve the school’s performance. They have had a good impact on improving aspects such as attendance. Improvement in achievement has been only satisfactory, because the school uses data to explain what has happened, rather than using it to raise standards in the future. The school provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

•Analyse data on pupils’ performance in greater depth and use the findings to raise standards. •Carry out more rigorous evaluation of lessons to identify and rectify the simple errors that turn potentially good lessons into satisfactory ones.

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Grade: 3

Children make good progress in the Reception class and join Year 1 with above average standards. From this time on, they make satisfactory progress and usually leave the school with above average standards, as shown by test results in Year 6. In 2005, the situation was a little different. Results were only average because so many pupils joined the school relatively late in their primary school education. Standards in English are usually slightly higher than other subjects in the school, although in 2005, pupils in Year 2 gained exceptionally high results in their writing. 2 Inspection Report: Walford Primary School, 6 December 2005 to 7 December 2005 The school’s good emphasis on ensuring all pupils are treated equally ensures that there are no differences in the rate of progress made by different groups of pupils. Those that join late are helped to settle in very quickly so they do not lose ground.

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Grade: 3

Pupils reach the targets set for them by the school’s managers, which are appropriately challenging given pupils’ standards on joining the school.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enjoy school and have good attitudes to learning because they feel part of a happy community to which they contribute well. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Celebration assemblies provide good opportunities for pupils to share in each other’s successes. In lessons, pupils work well in pairs and small groups and benefit from mixing happily and purposefully together. They learn to respect the views and beliefs of each other. Pupils behave very well in lessons and at break-times. They say that there is very little bullying or bad behaviour in the school and what little occurs is dealt with very quickly by teachers. Attendance levels are above the national average and improving, with no unauthorised absences. Pupils feel safe because they know that adults will help them if they have a problem. They know their views are taken seriously through their elected class members on the

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Grade: 2

school council. For example, their requests to have a better range of play equipment have been met. Year 6 pupils support children in the Reception class throughout their first year through a ‘Buddy’ system and this helps the very young to settle in well. Pupils also contribute to the local community through helping senior citizens and raising money for charities locally and further afield. Pupils adopt healthy lifestyles through the good opportunities for exercise and sport. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 and Reception enjoy the fresh fruit they are given every day to encourage healthy eating habits. Pupils’ basic skills prepare them well for life when they leave school.

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Grade: 3

Pupils enjoy their lessons because they find the work interesting. Topics such as ‘What is condensation?’ are planned with activities that capture the pupils’ imagination; for example finding out if the condensation from water coloured blue is also blue. Planning is carried out in great detail, which often leads to good teaching in all years. However, on other occasions, the pace of lessons is slowed by errors in teaching that would be easy to correct. Examples such as not providing a big enough piece of paper to write an answer or not spotting printing errors on worksheets lead to pupils making satisfactory rather than good progress. Throughout the school, teachers insist on high standards of behaviour and levels of concentration. As a result, pupils are prepared to work hard and complete their tasks. 3 Inspection Report: Walford Primary School, 6 December 2005 to 7 December 2005 Teachers have a good understanding of the standards that pupils should be reaching

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Grade: 3

and ensure that they achieve them. However, the push to take pupils even further is not consistently applied in all lessons.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum covers all required subjects and topics. There is good emphasis placed on the key skills of English and mathematics. Following recent initiatives in information and communication technology (ICT), better links are being established with other subjects as pupils make good use of lap-top computers. French is taught in Years 3 and 5 and German is taught in Years 4 and 6. The school provides a very good range of extra-curricular activities and clubs. These include many sports, music, dance, art and ICT. Pupils visit museums and places of worship for different religions and Year 5 pupils enjoy a residential visit involving outdoor and adventurous activities. There are many visitors to the school. These well planned activities and visits enrich pupils’ learning greatly and help prepare them for later life.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a caring and supportive environment in which all pupils feel happy and safe. Pupils know that teachers will listen to any concerns they might have. Regular health and safety checks are carried out and improvements in provision and the accommodation have been made accordingly. Child protection arrangements are clear and understood by all adults. New procedures for tracking pupils’ achievement are starting to work well in ensuring that teachers know their pupils’ capabilities. Teachers and learning assistants provide regular support to ensure that all pupils make the progress that they should. Pupils have individual targets to work towards and are aware of these, although few are pushed to exceed their targets. The school works well with families. Parents whose children moved into the school after the start of a new term indicate that they are very pleased with the support provided to help their

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Grade: 2

children settle quickly and maintain their progress with few, if any, setbacks.

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Grade: 3

The headteacher has led the school’s pastoral work very well. Parents are full of praise for the way the school instils good discipline and manners. Parents are also very pleased with the way their children are made to feel happy at the school. ‘My child really looks forward to Monday when she can go back to school’ was one comment, echoed by many others. The comments from parents have been used well by the school’s managers to come to an accurate view of aspects such as care, behaviour and curriculum. The extra activities are now much better, because the school responded to parents’ requests. The school identifies areas where it can improve the quality of care, such as better 4 Inspection Report: Walford Primary School, 6 December 2005 to 7 December 2005 supervision at playtimes, which has reduced the number of minor accidents. However, managers, including governors, have too rosy a view of the school’s academic

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Grade: 3

performance because not enough attention is paid to analysing long-term trends. Whilst the school can explain with great confidence a previous year’s results, managers are not yet using the data in enough detail to target pupils currently in the school so as to improve their achievement above the ordinary. This aspect of the school’s leadership and management is the most significant factor in the school making satisfactory, rather than good, progress since the previous inspection and the managers’ satisfactory capacity to improve. New teachers, who are responsible for a high proportion of the teaching, are very well supported in their work. They already have the same expectations of good attitudes and behaviour that are common throughout the school. However, the evaluation of their work is sometimes a little too generous and is not identifying those crucial aspects of a lesson that can make the difference between pupils making good, rather than

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Grade: 3

satisfactory progress. 5 Inspection Report: Walford Primary School, 6 December 2005 to 7 December 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: Walford Primary School, 6 December 2005 to 7 December 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 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 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 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 2 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 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 2 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

Walford Primary School Walford Ross-on-Wye Herefordshire HR9 5SA 7 December 2005 Dear Children As you know, some inspectors visited your school recently to check on how well it was doing. Thank you very much for your welcome, and a special thank you to all those who told us about their life at school. We think you are very polite to grown-ups and well behaved. You are doing as well as we would expect you to in lessons. You told us how much you liked being at school, and we can see why. Your teachers take good care of you and make sure your lessons are fun. What the teachers and other grown-ups are really good at is helping you to get on well with other children and grown-ups. You are lucky to go on more trips than we usually see, and have more people visiting the school to help you learn about what happens in real life outside school. We have made some suggestions to help the school get even better. We have asked the

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

headteacher to look for more patterns in the numbers (just like Year 5 were doing!) coming from the test results and to use this information to raise standards, and also to check what teachers do more carefully to help them to help you. Thank you again for helping us with our work. Yours faithfully Mr Driscoll (Lead inspector)

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