Titchmarsh Church of England Primary School

Inspection Report Titchmarsh Church of England Primary School

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121994 Unique Reference Number Northamptonshire LEA 281150 Inspection number 8 November 2005 to 8 November 2005 Inspection dates Christopher Kessell 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 Titchmarsh Voluntary controlled School category Kettering, Northamptonshire NN14 3DR 4 to 9 Age range of pupils

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01832 732874 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01832 732353 Fax number 71 Number on roll Mr Philip Garnham Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Josephine Milton Headteacher 20 November 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281150 8 November 2005 - 4 to 9 8 November 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

Titchmarsh Church of England Primary School is smaller than average. Children’s attainment when they start school ranges from average to above average. It varies year-on-year. Most pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is below average. Staffing has been relatively stable over the last few years. However, the headteacher has been in post since September 2004 when she was appointed as acting-head and then from Summer term 2005 in the substantive post.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Titchmarsh Church of England Primary School, 8 November 2005 to 8 November 2005

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Grade: 2

Titchmarsh Church of England Primary School is a good school. Most pupils make good progress and achieve standards that are above or well above average by the time they leave the school in Year 4. This is the result of good teaching and learning, and the good pupil: adult ratio found in many lessons. However, the procedures for tracking pupils’ progress and setting challenging targets are not adequate. The personal development of the pupils is good and they are well cared for. The parents are pleased with the school and support all that it does. Children get a good start to school in the well managed Reception class. Very good induction procedures allow the children to settle into school well. By the end of Reception, the children have made good progress and reach, and often exceed, the expected levels in all areas of learning. Pupils throughout the school are provided with an interesting curriculum and the needs of individuals are generally well met.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The new headteacher has a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and its effectiveness. Her accurate evaluation of the school is confirmed by inspection evidence. There are weaknesses in the way the school uses national data to monitor performance. The staff work well as a team and all successfully contribute to the management of the school. With a supportive governing body, they are well placed to continue the good improvement since the previous inspection. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

•Continue to develop the procedures for tracking pupils’ progress and setting challenging targets in order to raise standards further.

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Grade: 2

Effective provision in the Reception class ensures that the children make good progress from when they begin school. By the time they start Year 1, children have reached, or more often, exceeded, the expected standards. Pupils continue to make good progress in Years 1 and 2. Since 2002, standards at the end of Year 2 have been above to well above average, depending on individual year group starting points. Pupils continue to achieve well and high standards are maintained in English, mathematics and science until the pupils leave in Year 4. Currently, the school does not set challenging targets for its pupils. This means that it can only predict in very general terms what the current Year 2 pupils are likely to achieve in the National Curriculum assessments at the end of the year. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities also make good progress. This is a result of well organised provision and good support from teaching and non-teaching staff.

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Grade: 2

Parents of these pupils are very pleased with their progress. 2 Inspection Report: Titchmarsh Church of England Primary School, 8 November 2005 to 8 November 2005

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. This is reflected in their good behaviour, and positive attitudes to learning. Pupils enjoy school and arrive each morning to be greeted by the headteacher. They respond to her enthusiastic welcome with smiling, happy faces. Levels of attendance are good. Pupils do not like to miss school. These aspects of the pupils’ development and the school’s high expectations contribute significantly to the good progress that pupils make and the high standards they reach. The importance of safety and the adoption of healthy lifestyles are firmly established. Pupils feel that they get plenty of exercise and understand the benefits of being active and eating a healthy diet. Pupils value the opportunities that are provided to attend numerous sporting activities. This is an improvement since the previous inspection. Although pupils are happy that they can comment on the school through pupil surveys,

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Grade: 2

they are looking forward to the proposed school council that will enable them to increase their already good contribution to the school community. The pupils take on a range of responsibilities from everyday classroom jobs to the older pupils working with the younger ones on ‘activity days’. The pupils are keen to find ways to raise funds for those less fortunate than themselves and are actively involved with the local church and village community.

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Grade: 2

Classrooms are positive learning environments where pupils are encouraged to successfully work independently or in groups. The pupils are enthusiastic about their learning and proud of what they achieve. They are often disappointed when activities end. They are keen to share their work with classmates or visitors. The pupils’ eagerness to learn contributes significantly to their good progress, as do the small teaching groups which are often found at the school. In these sessions, teachers and other adults interact exceptionally well with all pupils and individual learning is supported very effectively. Pupils of all abilities are challenged appropriately. Pupils are aware that they have to work hard. However, their involvement in self-assessment and target setting is underdeveloped. Teachers’ marking varies in quality and effectiveness. In the best examples, it is informative and helpful. However, this is not consistent, particularly for the older pupils. Some marking can be too

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Grade: 2

superficial and does not make an effective contribution to pupils’ learning. The school acknowledges these weaknesses and has identified them as areas for development. Teaching assistants make a good contribution to all pupils’ learning with the support they provide. Other adults, such as parents who give up their time to come and help in school, also support learning well. 3 Inspection Report: Titchmarsh Church of England Primary School, 8 November 2005 to 8 November 2005

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good and well organised. Planning is effective and ensures that the demands of mixed-age classes are met. The pupils benefit from teachers’ good subject-specific knowledge and expertise. The well organised provision for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities enables these pupils to make good progress. The school now provides effective provision for information and communication technology (ICT) and physical education (PE), which were both weaknesses at the time of the previous inspection. The curriculum is enhanced well by a good range of visits, visitors and extra-curricular activities such as those for sport and a modern foreign language. There is a strong focus through a range of subjects on health, safety and citizenship. This has a positive impact on pupils’ personal development. Links with the local community are good and the pupils are involved in village events such as the May Day celebrations and regularly

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Grade: 2

The school offers good levels of care and support. This is well illustrated by the arrangements that ensure that pupils are safe and well protected while the current building work is being carried out. The pupils feel safe at school and are confident that any incidents that cause concern, such as bullying, would be dealt with promptly and effectively by the staff. The good relationships between adults and pupils help the pupils to feel happy and secure. Child protection procedures follow clear guidelines and staff are well briefed. There are strong links with parents and carers, who have good opportunities to be involved in their child’s education and support the progress they make. Although staff know individual pupils well, the school’s procedures for tracking pupils’ progress are inadequate. Consequently, the guidance pupils are offered is not as strong as the care and support they are provided with. Target setting is not well established

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Grade: 2

and teachers’ marking does not always give helpful pointers on how to improve.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good throughout the school. The headteacher and other staff have a secure understanding of what the school does well and what needs to improve. Staff are well aware of children’s progress but further steps are needed to formalise assessment procedures. All staff work well as a team and are effectively involved in activities such as development planning. They are managed well and their skills and talents are used effectively. This is seen to good effect through the specialist teaching that takes place and the development of the library by an enthusiastic teaching assistant. The new headteacher has high expectations and is ambitious for the school. 4 Inspection Report: Titchmarsh Church of England Primary School, 8 November 2005 to 8 November 2005 Parents, staff and governors feel that the school has developed well since her relatively recent appointment. The capacity to improve is good. Governance of the school is

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Grade: 2

effective. Governors are not only supportive of what the school does but are very aware of their responsibilities in holding the school to account and challenging the headteacher and staff. Links with parents and the community are good. Parents feel that they contribute to the running of the school. Learning resources and the school’s accommodation have improved since the previous inspection. Current building work will improve the accommodation further and accessibility issues for pupils with physical difficulties are also being addressed. 5 Inspection Report: Titchmarsh Church of England Primary School, 8 November 2005 to 8 November 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: Titchmarsh Church of England Primary School, 8 November 2005 to 8 November 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 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 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 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

Titchmarsh Church of England Primary School School Lane Titchmarsh Kettering Northamptonshire NN14 3DR 9 November 2005 Dear Pupils Thank you for welcoming us to your school. We enjoyed watching you learn and play. Here is a list of the things that impressed us most, and an area where we think the school can be even better. What we like most about your school: •You are well behaved and friendly. You get on with each other very well. •You are sensible when asked to do things by your teachers, for example, reading by yourselves or working on the computers with a friend. •The teachers are first rate and help you learn well and make good progress. •All of the adults at the school care for you very much. •Your headteacher works hard with the other staff and governors to make the school even better. What we have asked the school to do now: •Improve the records that are kept on your progress and set targets for your future work.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Yours sincerely C Kessell Lead Inspector

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