All Saints Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Datchworth

Inspection Report All Saints Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Datchworth

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117430 Unique Reference Number HERTFORDSHIRE LEA LEA 280075 Inspection number 5 June 2006 to 6 June 2006 Inspection dates Mr. Geof Timms LI Reporting inspector

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

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Hollybush Lane School address Primary Type of school SG3 6RE Voluntary aided School category 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01438 812381 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01438 813802 Fax number 159 Number on roll Mrs.Viv Marshall Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Miss. Mary Willatt Headteacher 8 May 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280075 5 June 2006 - 4 to 11 6 June 2006 Inspection Report: All Saints Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Datchworth, 5 June 2006 to 6 June 2006

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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

The school serves Datchworth and the surrounding area. It is of below average size. Most children come from higher than average social and economic backgrounds. The number of children eligible for free school meals is well below average. Most children are of White British heritage and there is a small number from other White and minority ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average. The attainment on entry of most children is broadly in line with that typically found. The school has Investors in People status and a Healthy Schools' Award, and has won environmental awards for its wildlife garden.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: All Saints Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Datchworth, 5 June 2006 to 6 June 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school which is at the heart of the local community and the parish. It is providing children with a good education, firmly based on its Christian ethos. The school provides good value for money. The school's self-evaluation supports this view, although the grading of individual aspects of the provision was more modest. The school offers an excellent curriculum which provides children with outstanding opportunities to develop their skills and interests through clubs, individual tuition, educational visits and visitors. The many improvements made since the last inspection show that the school has a good capacity to improve further. There have been improvements, for example, to the monitoring of the teaching and learning and in teachers' planning. The resources for information and communication technology (ICT), and the use of these by teachers and children, have improved since the last

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Grade: 2

inspection, despite children having insufficient access to computers. The Reception class offers children a very good start to their school lives and they make good progress and achieve well. Standards are above average by the time children leave the school. However, the school has recognised a need to raise children's standards further in spelling, use of punctuation, comprehension and problem solving skills. Children's work is not always tidy enough; this is partly due to the overuse of manual worksheets. The provision for children with learning difficulties and disabilities is good and the school makes sure all children are fully involved in activities. More recently, the needs of higher attaining, gifted and talented children have been attended to and the school offers them good opportunities to develop their talents in lessons and in out of school activities. The school is very effective at encouraging children's personal development

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Grade: 2

and creating interested and enthusiastic learners. The leadership and management are good. Some very involved governors and others from the local community have helped develop the exceptional wildlife garden into a superb and well used resource.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Raise standards by continuing to improve children's spelling, use of punctuation, comprehension and problem solving skills. - Improve the presentation of children's work and tackle the overuse of photocopiable worksheets. - Continue developing resources for ICT so that children have enough computers to use.

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Grade: 2

When children enter the school, they have good personal and social skills, and a good knowledge of numbers. Their early reading, writing and calculating skills are less well developed. During the Reception year, children make good progress in their emotional development, their reading, writing and number skills, and in their knowledge and understanding of the world. Standards are consistently above average by the time children leave the school. Children achieve well in English, mathematics and science. Standards in ICT are in line with those expected. In addition, there are high standards 2 Inspection Report: All Saints Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Datchworth, 5 June 2006 to 6 June 2006 in art and design, and a significant number of the children play a range of musical instruments to a good level. Standards at the end of Year 2 were average in 2005 but have improved this year, with more children reaching higher than average scores.

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Grade: 2

Within these good standards, the school has recognised the need to improve children's spelling and punctuation. In addition, the comprehension skills needed to successfully improve children's problem-solving skills have been weak. The school sets challenging targets and helps children achieve them. Those with learning difficulties and disabilities make good progress towards the targets set for them. The school has introduced a detailed register of children with specific talents or higher than average abilities. This is helping teachers plan sufficiently challenging work for these children, leading to them making good progress and achieving high standards.

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Grade: 2

The school has a positive and supportive ethos that leads to well rounded and happy children. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Children have positive attitudes towards their work and this helps them learn. They behave very well in most lessons and around the school, and they say there is no bullying or serious misbehaviour. They also say that they are well prepared for secondary school. Attendance is consistently above average. Children have many good opportunities to work together and they learn to cooperate and collaborate on tasks. In Year 6, children have written job applications in response to genuine advertisements as part of a literacy exercise. These activities, together with the good basic skills they develop, show how well they are being prepared for their future economic well-being. Children know how to keep themselves safe and how they can adopt healthy lifestyles. The school council

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Grade: 2

is one of several ways the school offers children responsibilities and this aspect has improved significantly since the last inspection. There are good opportunities for community work through the Church and the local 'Elderberries Club'.

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Grade: 2

The teaching and learning are good. Teachers have good relationships with children and this means attitudes towards learning are positive and children remain attentive and on task. Lessons are well planned and resourced, and teachers ensure activities are well matched to the children's prior learning. One of the main strengths is the way teachers review their teaching and find ways to improve it further. Teachers assess and mark children's work regularly and explain what they have done and what they can do to improve well. At times work is over praised and too much that is untidy or poorly presented is accepted. There are missed opportunities to improve children's writing skills when too many photocopied worksheets are used for recording activities. The teaching of ICT has improved since the last inspection and teachers' use of interactive whiteboards is successful and effective. However, limited resources do not

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Grade: 2

3 Inspection Report: All Saints Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Datchworth, 5 June 2006 to 6 June 2006 allow children sufficient opportunities to use computers. The teaching assistants are well deployed and provide teachers with good support in lessons. The school also makes good use of volunteers and students, especially when providing for small groups of children.

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Grade: 1

The school provides an outstanding curriculum that gives children access to a full range of subjects. In addition, older children have the opportunity to learn French, and good use is made of outside expertise to provide good quality physical education. Special days, such as those for art or 'Skills', offer children a great opportunity to develop their talents and interests further. The curriculum provided in the Reception class ensures children have a positive and effective start to their schooling. The enrichment of the curriculum through clubs and trips is outstanding. There is a wide range of musical, sporting and other activities. The provision of these, including crafts such as knitting, is exceptional. A high proportion of the children from Years 1 to 6 take part in at least one of these clubs; almost half of the children have instrument tuition. Visits and trips are used effectively to build on class work and have a positive

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Grade: 1

impact on children's learning. The curriculum ensures activities are open to all children. Small groups and individuals work with adults to learn about, for example, letter sounds, reading and writing skills. This process supports children's good achievement. A major strength is the outstanding wildlife and garden area, created with the help of a very enthusiastic governor and other adults. The wildlife and garden area provides the school with excellent opportunities for practical learning across the curriculum, but is also a valuable resource for other schools and teachers to use.

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Grade: 2

The arrangements for keeping children safe are good. Child protection procedures are clear and well understood by all staff. Statutory requirements for staff security checks are met and health and safety risk assessments are carried out regularly, especially for the extensive range of visits and trips. Children say that they feel safe and secure at school and comfortable in approaching staff if they have a concern. There is a good level of care at lunchtime both from kitchen staff and midday supervisors. The school has good systems for tracking children's progress with appropriate plans to computerise these in the near future. These systems help teachers provide the right level of work for children and therefore raise standards. Children have individual targets, particularly in English and mathematics, and they know these and what they need to do to achieve them. 4 Inspection Report: All Saints Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Datchworth, 5 June 2006 to 6 June 2006

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Grade: 2

The leadership and management are good and this is reflected in the excellent curriculum and enrichment activities and in the standards children achieve. The headteacher and assistant headteacher have established a clear allocation of duties and they make a complementary and effective team. The school's process of self-evaluation is improving and staff have tackled weaknesses effectively to raise standards further. For example, the improved tracking of children's progress has been used to monitor children who may be underachieving. Recent surveys of parental and children's views about the work of the school show the positive way the school is regarded. The work of subject leaders is improving and they show a good awareness of strengths and weaknesses in their subjects. They do not have sufficient time to monitor the teaching and learning but where this has been done well it has resulted in improvements to teaching skills. The governing body knows the school well and it

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Grade: 2

has a high profile in the school's daily life. Governors have a good understanding of future challenges, such as the proposed extended school day. They ensure the school takes a full part in parish and community life. The headteacher's reports to the governing body do not always contain sufficient detail about standards and achievement, and this would help governors monitor the children's achievement more closely. The school's improvement planning is sound but some priorities are not measurable. The improvements made since the last inspection have been successful. This shows that the school has a good capacity to improve further. 5 Inspection Report: All Saints Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Datchworth, 5 June 2006 to 6 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: All Saints Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Datchworth, 5 June 2006 to 6 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 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 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 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 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

Many thanks for the way you welcomed me to your school. I enjoyed meeting you all, watching you in lessons and talking to you about the school. You were all very friendly and polite, and very happy to talk to me. I particularly want to thank the school council members I met who were very helpful and very good at talking about what they liked about the school. You were able to tell me about your targets and what you have to do to get better. You are lucky to be in such a good school. The adults are working hard to help you learn new things and to make sure you enjoy your time at All Saints. Because of this, the school is improving. The new interactive whiteboards have been very successful, although you need more computers to use. The school gives you excellent opportunities to learn about a wide range of subjects. You told me that you like PE, especially gymnastics with the 'Rising Stars'. You like the special days such

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

as Art day and the after school clubs. I think these are excellent, including some quite unusual ones like knitting or the wildlife club. You are very lucky to have the fantastic wildlife garden and the help of Mrs Lay. Your parents also told me that you really enjoy being at school. You work hard and reach good standards in most of your work. Your art work is very good as is the playing by those children learning instruments. To help you get even better some of you need to make sure that your writing is neater and your work is much tidier, especially when it is done on paper. You need to get better at spelling, punctuation, comprehension and solving problems. Once again, thank you for helping me find out about your school. Enjoy your time at All Saints and work hard!

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