Greatworth Primary School

Inspection Report Greatworth Primary School

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121822 Unique Reference Number Northamptonshire LEA 281110 Inspection number 22 March 2006 to 22 March 2006 Inspection dates Alison Cartlidge AI Reporting inspector

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

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Helmdon Road School address Primary Type of school Banbury Community School category Oxfordshire OX17 2DR 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01295 711456 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01295 711456 Fax number 72 Number on roll Mr Mick Scott Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Fiona Toman Headteacher 13 March 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281110 22 March 2006 - 4 to 11 22 March 2006 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

This is a small school with all classes having more than one age group. All pupils are of White British heritage, with no pupils having English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties is broadly average. Attainment on entry to the school varies from average to above average in most years. The number of pupils taking free school meals is well below average. There have been many recent changes in teaching staff and the headteacher has been in post for less than two years.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Greatworth Primary School, 22 March 2006 to 22 March 2006

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school, with strengths in pupils’ personal development. Leadership and management are satisfactory overall. The headteacher has a clear vision for the school and a good understanding of comparative strengths and weaknesses in provision. The school’s evaluation of its effectiveness matches that of the inspectors. Pupils’ academic standards vary from year to year but are currently broadly average in Year 2 and Year 6. Achievement is satisfactory overall, although not all pupils make enough progress in writing and science. Provision for pupils in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory and by the end of the Reception Year, most pupils are working within nationally expected levels and several are working above them. Teaching is satisfactory overall. Pupils’ differing needs are met well in many lessons, though there are occasions when that is not the case and where expectations are not high enough. This is especially

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Grade: 3

evident in the written work of more able pupils which shows that they could be progressing more quickly and reaching higher standards. The school has a satisfactory basic curriculum with a good range of interesting additional activities that contributes well to the pupils’ good attitudes and behaviour. Pupils receive good pastoral care and support and procedures for academic guidance are satisfactory. The school is aware that assessment information is not always used well enough to identify when pupils have made too little progress. The school has developed satisfactorily since the last inspection and has the capacity to improve further. The school provides sound value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve pupils’ standards and progress in the quality of written work in English and science, particularly for the more able pupils. • Improve teaching by raising teachers’ expectations and by ensuring that they consistently provide work that meets pupils’ differing needs. • Make greater use of information collected on pupils’ progress to ensure that all pupils learn as quickly as they should.

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Grade: 3

Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory overall. Standards vary from year to year according to the ability of pupils when they start at the school. In the Reception class, pupils make satisfactory progress and by the end of the year, most pupils are working at or beyond nationally expected levels. The pupils in the current Reception Year are confident and have particularly well developed listening skills. In 2005, national test results at the end of Year 2 were above average in reading and writing, with mathematics being exceptionally high. The current Year 2 are mostly working within expected levels for their age, although few are working beyond them, especially in writing. By the end of Year 6, national test results in 2005 were above average and in the current Year 6, standards are broadly average. During their time in Years 1 to 6, not all pupils, particularly the more able, make enough progress in writing and science;

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Grade: 3

2 Inspection Report: Greatworth Primary School, 22 March 2006 to 22 March 2006 they achieve more highly in reading and mathematics. That is also the case in the current Year 6. The achievement of pupils with learning difficulties is similar to that of other pupils. Suitably challenging targets for pupils at the end of Year 6 were exceeded in mathematics in 2005, but not met in full for more able pupils in English.

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Grade: 2

Pupil’s personal development and well-being are good. Pupils enjoy coming to school, behave well and feel safe. They have a good understanding of school routines and relate well to members of staff and one another. Rates of attendance are broadly average. Pupils take responsibility well. In the school council, they develop their skills in making decisions and contribute well to the life of the school. For example, they raised money for additional play equipment by running a disco. Pupils understand the importance of adopting healthy lifestyles and are enthusiastic about initiatives such as the ‘five a day’ programme to encourage them to eat more fruit and vegetables. Pupils’ spiritual, moral social and cultural development is good. They consider a range of social and moral, issues and have the opportunity to listen to each other and to visiting speakers. Pupils show good respect and concern for each other. They have a

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Grade: 2

broad understanding of the world through a varied programme of visits at home and abroad. Pupils’ good social skills, together with their literacy and numeracy skills, prepare them satisfactorily for the future world of work. The school is working on improving the pupils’ attitude towards writing and is aware that pupils need to take more care in the presentation of their work.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Classroom routines are clear and teachers set high expectations for behaviour. In the best lessons, the pace of learning is good because a range of methods and resources are matched well to pupils’ differing needs. Questioning is used regularly to check understanding and develop knowledge. For example, in a good mathematics lesson, the teacher made frequent checks and built upon pupils’ answers so that they developed a very good understanding of prime numbers. Expectations for written work in English and science are not always high enough to ensure that more able pupils reach the higher levels. The use of assessment and target setting is developing so that teachers and pupils are able to identify progress clearly and use this information to plan suitable work. This is not yet robust enough to ensure that all pupils make good enough progress. Teachers make classrooms vibrant

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Grade: 3

learning environments where pupils’ work and achievements are celebrated. Lessons are generally well planned but the mixed age classes provide an additional challenge to teachers in matching work to the full ability range. Pupils in the Reception Year are taught alongside older pupils, and whilst they have good opportunities for independent learning, they do not always learn quickly enough when working with the whole class. 3 Inspection Report: Greatworth Primary School, 22 March 2006 to 22 March 2006

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Grade: 3

The school provides a satisfactory curriculum despite the needs of the most able pupils not always being considered well enough. The curriculum for pupils in the Reception Year usually meets needs well, although occasionally pupils take part in tasks which are more appropriate for the older pupils in the class. The benefits of productive links with the local secondary school are seen in the help it provides for language and history teaching for older pupils. Pupils throughout the school have a good range of additional opportunities in music, sports and chess, and these contribute well to the pupils’ creativity, health and good attitudes. Pupils enjoy learning about how to care for their environment. This encourages them to lead active and healthy lives and to develop an interest in caring for their community. A particularly strong feature is the range of visitors, visits and residential courses that enhance pupils’ learning by introducing

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Grade: 3

them to other environments and more diverse cultural experiences.

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Grade: 3

Care, guidance and support are satisfactory overall. The school provides good care and support for pupils’ personal development. From the time they start in the Reception Year, pupils are treated as individuals which helps them to be happy and confident at school. There are clear routines and systems to safeguard pupils’ welfare and good links with specialist support from outside the school. Child protection arrangements meet requirements and pupils say they feel safe and secure and have someone they can talk to if they have worries or concerns. Supervision around the school is good and all teaching assistants have recent first aid training. Monitoring and support for pupils’ learning is satisfactory. Newly introduced systems to monitor and support pupils’ academic progress are beginning to improve this aspect of care and help members of staff to plan work that meets pupils’ differing needs more closely.

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Grade: 3

school for less than two years and, due to the inexperience of other members of staff, has responsibility for leading and managing most subjects. Despite a heavy teaching commitment, she is focused on raising standards and these improved in 2005. Other teachers are committed and hard-working and are being prepared well to take on further responsibilities. Priorities are based on a clear understanding of strengths and weaknesses in standards, and the school recognises that progress in writing and science needs improvement. Writing projects have not had time to have a significant impact on raising standards. Thorough monitoring of teaching provides the headteacher with an accurate understanding of where teaching is best, and a clear agenda for improving teaching further. The headteacher has managed a reduction in teaching staff well and the school is spending prudently after recovering from having a deficit budget. School

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Grade: 3

self-evaluation is satisfactory. The headteacher has an accurate understanding of 4 Inspection Report: Greatworth Primary School, 22 March 2006 to 22 March 2006 overall school effectiveness and how it can be improved. The newly appointed leader for pupils with learning difficulties has raised awareness of the needs of such pupils and improved procedures for monitoring their progress. In addition, there have been many recent developments to improve the monitoring of all pupils’ progress through the school. For example, teachers set writing targets in consultation with the pupils, although they do not always use assessment information well enough to ensure that all pupils are provided with suitable challenge. Test results at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 are analysed carefully but information on pupils’ progress over time has only recently been formalised so that it can be shared with governors and members of staff.

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Grade: 3

This information has not yet been analysed in sufficient depth to identify when not enough progress has been made from one year to the next. Governors are supportive of the school and carry out their duties satisfactorily. They are developing their role in holding the school to account for its actions and in ensuring all statutory requirements are fully in place. Parents and pupils are given good opportunities to share their views and to contribute to the school’s self-evaluation process. For example, the school has recently improved information for parents by setting up a website. The school has made satisfactory progress since the time of the last inspection and has a sound capacity to improve further. 5 Inspection Report: Greatworth Primary School, 22 March 2006 to 22 March 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: Greatworth Primary School, 22 March 2006 to 22 March 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 3 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 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 3 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 NA 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

Dear Children Thank you for welcoming the inspectors to your school and for showing us your work. You were very polite and friendly. What we liked most about your school • Members of staff help you to learn to behave sensibly. • The school provides you with a wide range of interesting clubs and other activities. • Your teachers are kind and caring and look after you well. • The headteacher, members of staff and governors are working hard to make the school even better. • Your parents and carers are pleased that you enjoy coming to this school. What we have asked your school to do now • Help you to improve your written work in English and science, particularly those of you who are more able. • Make sure that your teachers expect you to work hard enough and give you work that is neither too hard nor too easy. • Make greater use of information collected on your progress to ensure that all of you learn as quickly

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

as you should. We thoroughly enjoyed listening to you and watching you learn. We wish you all well for the future. Yours sincerely Alison Cartlidge Lead Inspector Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0207 421 6800 F 0207 421 6707 www.ofsted.gov.uk

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