St Pauls' Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Inspection Report St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

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118590 Unique Reference Number Kent LEA 280347 Inspection number 31 October 2005 to 31 October 2005 Inspection dates Alison Cartlidge RISP Reporting inspector

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

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School Lane School address Primary Type of school Swanley Voluntary controlled School category Kent BR8 7PJ 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01322 664324 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01322 614939 Fax number 88 Number on roll Ms Anne Philpott Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Desmond Watson Headteacher 6 December 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280347 31 October 2005 - 4 to 11 31 October 2005 Inspection Report: St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 31 October 2005 to 31 October 2005

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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 school is much smaller than most primary schools. Most pupils are of White British heritage, with a very small minority coming from the travelling community and a few from a range of other ethnic backgrounds. No pupils are at an early stage of speaking English as an additional language and the proportion of pupils identified as having learning difficulties and disabilities is broadly average. Attainment on entry to the school, whilst varying from year to year, is broadly average overall. Several pupils join the school other than in the reception year. At the time of the inspection, the school was undergoing major building work and the reception class was working in the hall. The pupils from the travelling community were absent from school during the inspection.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 31 October 2005 to 31 October 2005

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school with good features, particularly in the pupils’ personal development. There has been a steady improvement in national test results since the time of the last inspection and pupils’ attainment and achievement are satisfactory overall. Children in the Foundation Stage make good progress and most are working within the expected levels by the end of the reception year. Good provision for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities enables these pupils to make good progress. Teaching and learning are satisfactory, though teachers do not always plan work that meets the pupils’ differing needs. Whilst leadership and management are satisfactory, leaders are too ambitious about what they plan to develop in a year, reducing the impact of their efforts. The school has a more generous view of its overall effectiveness than the inspection team, but members of staff are strongly committed to developing

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Grade: 3

the school further and are suitably placed to bring about improvement. The school provides sound value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

•improve teaching and pupils’ progress by making more effective use of assessment information to meet pupils’ differing needs and by informing pupils of what they need to do to improve •respond more quickly when pupils are making insufficient progress •provide a sharper focus for school development planning and the actions taken to make improvements, so that they are more closely linked to raising standards •increase the rigour in evaluating school effectiveness so that development planning builds on a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.

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Grade: 3

Pupils make a good start in the reception class, and make especially good progress in personal, social and emotional development and speaking and listening, where standards are good. Most pupils are working within the nationally expected levels for their age by the end of the year in other areas of learning. By the end of Year 2, pupils’ attainment is average and they make satisfactory progress. Attainment by the end of Year 6 has been rising steadily in the last few years and in 2004, it was above average in English and science and average in mathematics. These pupils made good progress from the end of Year 2. However, results vary from year to year because a small number of pupils take the tests and in some year groups there are more pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities. Test results in 2005 are not as strong as in recent years. Overall, pupils’ achievement is satisfactory. Pupils with learning difficulties and

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Grade: 3

disabilities achieve well because their particular needs are clearly identified and well supported. Whilst the school sets challenging targets for each year group, not all pupils reach these. 2 Inspection Report: St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 31 October 2005 to 31 October 2005

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Grade: 2

Despite bad weather and the school undergoing extensive building work during the inspection, restricting pupils’ movement, pupils behave well at all times and move around the school calmly. Pupils are polite and friendly and develop confidence within the family atmosphere in the school. Their enjoyment of school has a positive impact on their learning, though several would like more opportunities to use the computers. Reception year children make good progress in personal, social and emotional development, work together sensibly and are confident about choosing their own activities and sharing their ideas. Rates of attendance are below the national average, because a small number of pupils are frequently absent. The school is taking effective action to encourage better attendance and rates are improving this year. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good overall. Pupils make thoughtful contributions to discussions in

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Grade: 2

assembly. For example, they were able to say what the word ‘treasure’ meant to them and were aware that it was much more than objects of monetary value. They draw up their own class rules and share in the culture of traveller families by frequently taking part in specific exhibitions. However, the school is aware of the need to develop further pupils’ knowledge of other cultures. Pupils adopt healthy lifestyles effectively, by taking part in several projects. For example, they grow vegetables in the school allotment and eat fruit at playtime. They take an active part in the community by fundraising for charity and joining in with local festivals. They develop satisfactory skills that will support them in the world of work.

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Grade: 3

The effectiveness of teaching is satisfactory overall. All teachers and teaching assistants have good relationships with the pupils, manage behaviour well and promote personal development effectively. In the reception class, where teaching is good, members of staff work alongside children well, provide clear instruction and ask probing questions which encourage children to discuss and extend their learning. The teacher and teaching assistant assess the children learning thoroughly and use this information to plan what children are to learn next. In Years 1 to 4, teachers do not always make enough use of assessment information to ensure that work is challenging for all ability groups within the classes. At these times the pace of learning drops and the progress of some children is slower than it should be. In Years 5 and 6, teaching is good because there is greater challenge for more able children and they are better motivated to work hard. Throughout the school,

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Grade: 3

3 Inspection Report: St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 31 October 2005 to 31 October 2005 limited use is made of teachers’ marking to show children what they need to do to improve and children do not have individual short-term targets to work towards.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum for children in the reception year is rich and varied, with a good balance between instruction and learning through exploration. A variety of imaginative tasks, including exciting role-play activities such as ‘the building site’, inspire children to experiment and develop their ideas. Members of staff have been successful in maintaining this wide choice in the temporary accommodation. The curriculum for children in Years 1 to 6 is satisfactory. Creative arts are promoted well, with examples of interesting sculptures made from paper and malleable materials on display and in photographs. The school has started to make use of information and communication technology (ICT) to support learning in other subjects, though some newly installed equipment is not yet in use. The building work has restricted opportunities for physical education during bad weather, with the hall being used for the reception class this term.

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Grade: 3

Every pupil is welcomed and valued by the school and children are well cared for and kept safe and healthy. There are thorough procedures for supporting children from the travelling community and effective links are maintained with external support and advice agencies within the local education authority. Arrangements made to support children with learning difficulties and disabilities are also good, with clear individual education plans supporting their learning effectively. The school carries out frequent reading and spelling tests and sets individual targets for children in reading, writing and mathematics for the end of each year. Whilst the school provides suitable ‘booster’ support for children who fail to meet their targets by the end of the year, children’ progress is not monitored closely enough during the year to provide early intervention when children fall behind in their learning.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher, other members of staff and governors are eager and committed to developing the school and work together to draw up plans for school improvement. However, they have identified too many areas for development and there are no clear priorities. This lack of sharp focus and limited concentration on how developments will raise standards reduces the effectiveness of their hard work. Nevertheless, a satisfactory start to evaluating school effectiveness has been made and leaders understand how the steady progress made since the last inspection can be built upon. There have been improvements in children’ progress in mathematics by the end of Year 2 as a result of new developments. 4 Inspection Report: St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 31 October 2005 to 31 October 2005 Despite a large amount of managerial time being taken up with the extensive building

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Grade: 3

developments, the day-to day management of the school has been successfully maintained, leading to a calm and happy school. The monitoring of teaching and learning identifies appropriate ways in which teachers can improve their work. Most parents are positive about the work of the school and are pleased that members of staff are friendly and caring. However, a significant number in the pre-inspection questionnaires expressed some concerns about the opportunities they have of becoming involved in the school. The inspection team found that the school provides satisfactory opportunities for parents to share their concerns and views. There were also concerns about leadership and management, especially with regard to the use of expensive resources such as ICT and physical education equipment not being used often enough. During the inspection, these resources were not in full use, partly due to the disruption

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Grade: 3

caused by building work but also because members of staff are not fully trained in the use of the ICT equipment. 5 Inspection Report: St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 31 October 2005 to 31 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: St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 31 October 2005 to 31 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 3 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 3 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 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 4 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 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

St. Paul’s CE VC Primary School School Lane Swanley Kent BR8 7PJ 31st October 2005 Dear Pupils Thank you for welcoming us to your school and for being so friendly and helpful. We enjoyed listening to you and seeing you at work. What we liked most about your school •You like school, behave well and play together sensibly, even when it is raining and you have limited space due to the building work •Your teachers are kind, look after you well and help you to learn •The headteacher, other teachers and governors understand how to make your school even better •Your parents are pleased that you come to this school. •You are keen to help each other •You make interesting sculptures. What we have asked your school to do now: •Make sure that teachers always give you work that is neither too hard nor too easy and show you how you can improve your work •Help you more quickly if you do not make enough progress •Help you to make better progress by improving a few important parts of the school’s work

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

each year •Be more thorough when deciding what the school does well and what it needs to do to improve. We hope you enjoy the rest of the school year and wish you well for the future. Yours sincerely A. Cartlidge and J Lindsay Inspection Team

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