Brigstock Latham's Church of England Primary School

Inspection Report Brigstock Latham's Church of England Primary School

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122011 Unique Reference Number Northamptonshire LEA 281153 Inspection number 14 March 2006 to 14 March 2006 Inspection dates Andrew McDowall HMI Reporting inspector

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

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Latham Street School address Primary Type of school Kettering Voluntary controlled School category Northamptonshire NN14 3HD 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01536 373282 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01536 373882 Fax number 95 Number on roll Mr Hugh Johnson Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Timothy J Leah Headteacher 16 October 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281153 14 March 2006 - 4 to 11 14 March 2006 Inspection Report: Brigstock Latham's Church of England Primary School, 14 March 2006 to 14 March 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 one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This is a smaller than average sized school serving the village of Brigstock. Two thirds of the children attending the school come from the village, with a third coming from other villages and nearby towns. The number of children attending the school is increasing. Social deprivation in the area is generally low.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Brigstock Latham's Church of England Primary School, 14 March 2006 to 14 March 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school. The children make a good start to their education in the Reception class and go on to make good progress and reach high standards by the time they leave school. The curriculum is outstanding and this has a very positive impact on the attitudes and behaviour of the children, which are good. The quality of teaching is good, and sometimes outstanding. The teachers provide a wide range of exciting things for the children to do. The children are encouraged to think for themselves and reflect on their place in the world. There are not enough opportunities for the children to mark their own work and assess how they are doing for themselves. The personal development and wellbeing of the children are good. The children are confident and play an active part in the church and village life. Attendance is good. The children have a good understanding of healthy living and take regular exercise. They say they

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Grade: 2

feel safe in school. The school is well led and managed by the headteacher and other key staff and everyone works well together. The school provides good value for money and has an accurate view of its strengths and areas for development. There is good capacity for improvement. The systems to check the quality of teaching and learning are good but the school does not always use the information it has gained from tests and assessments as well as it could to make progress outstanding. The governors support the school very well but need to improve the way they challenge the school to do even better and check on the school budget.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Make better use of the information it has on how the children are doing to ensure teaching is even more tightly focused on the particular needs of each class. • Involve the children more in assessing their own work and reviewing their own targets, in order to increase their involvement in their learning. • Continue to develop the ways in which the governors challenge the school and check on the budget.

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Grade: 2

Achievement and standards are good. The children enter the school with above average skills and abilities. They make good progress in the Reception class and reach good standards in all aspects of their work by the end of their first year in school. The children make good progress in Years 1 and 2 and reach high standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the time they move to Year 3. Progress in Years 3 to 6 is also good. The rate of children joining and leaving the school is high. The school is very effective in helping new entrants to settle quickly. This results in these children making good progress during their time at the school. Standards have risen steadily for the last three years and are now high. The school has high expectations of what children can achieve and sets challenging targets for each child. The school has recognised that some of the whole-school targets it sets itself need to be more

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Grade: 2

challenging in order to make achievement outstanding. 2 Inspection Report: Brigstock Latham's Church of England Primary School, 14 March 2006 to 14 March 2006

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Grade: 2

Children’s personal development and well-being are good. Attendance is good. The children behave well in school and have positive attitudes to learning. They show good understanding of the school rules and reward schemes. Children enjoy their lessons. At break times, they play together happily in well-organised play areas. Those on the school council speak enthusiastically about their school and are beginning to have an influence on aspects of school development such as the playground markings. Children work effectively in teams and are proud of their school. For example, the older children have the opportunity to run the healthy tuck shop on a rota basis and do this well. They show initiative and participate enthusiastically in a range of church and village events. The children say they feel safe in school and the ‘playground friends’ ensure no-one is lonely at playtimes. These personal qualities of responsibility and initiative

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Grade: 2

develop as a result of the school’s good arrangements for the children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and its focus on the development of thinking skills. These, together with the attention given to basic skills, prepare the children well for secondary school and later life. Children develop a good awareness of culture through a range of subjects. The school recognises that it could do more to promote awareness of the wider multicultural society.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good and some of the teaching is outstanding. The teachers know the children very well and provide interesting activities for them to do. The youngest children were highly motivated when they searched the school grounds, finding and reading clues as they looked for the giant’s lost key. In another class, the children were asked to think about imponderable questions. This promoted very good reflection and one child asked, ‘Why do people cry when they are happy?’. These exciting and reflective activities typify much of the work of the school. The teaching assistants are well deployed and work in close partnership with the teachers to provide good support to children with learning difficulties and to others. The teachers mark the children’s work conscientiously and give helpful comments as to how they can improve. However, the children are not given regular opportunities to mark their

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Grade: 2

own work and assess how well they are doing for themselves.

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Grade: 1

The curriculum is outstanding. The school provides a very rich experience for the children which successfully promotes enthusiastic learners. The skills of individual staff are used very well to enhance the curriculum. The staff in the Reception class cover all areas of learning extremely well, linking them imaginatively so that children enjoy 3 Inspection Report: Brigstock Latham's Church of England Primary School, 14 March 2006 to 14 March 2006 their activities while making good progress. The curriculum in Years 1 to 6 is broad, balanced, relevant and very stimulating. An exciting range of visits and visitors, together with good planning and well-considered links between subjects, ensures that children find their lessons interesting. The staff find time to follow children’s interests, a good example being the creation of a bug garden after a group of children showed a particular enthusiasm for learning about insects and garden creatures. The school

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Grade: 1

responds well to the community’s perceived needs for its children, introducing French throughout the school, for example. The school offers excellent opportunities for the children to participate in residential visits. All children participate eagerly in school performances and annual village and church events. These activities enable the children to develop self-confidence and a sense of belonging. The children appreciate and speak enthusiastically about the good range of clubs the school provides.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. There is a strong commitment from the staff to keep the children safe in school. Procedures for child protection are securely in place. The children say they like their teachers and teaching assistants and feel safe in school. They have good, trusting relationships with them and know that they can turn to them for help if they need to. The teachers carefully check on how the children are progressing and set them targets to improve. The children are familiar with their targets in English but are less clear about how they need to improve in mathematics. The school gives good support to children with learning difficulties, particularly through its deployment of teaching assistants. Good links with external agencies ensure additional support is provided where it is needed. There are good opportunities for children and parents to become familiar with the school before they start and they

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Grade: 2

receive clear information about secondary school choices. Children who start during the school year receive good support.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher has established a strong staff team in the school and there is a shared commitment to providing a rich and broad experience for the children. There are good systems in place to check on the quality of teaching and learning. The headteacher and other key staff have a good oversight of how each child is progressing. The children make good progress because the teaching is good and the teachers know the children well. The school does not always use the information it has from tests and assessments as well as it could to make the teaching and learning even better. The school makes good use of its accommodation and has good resources to develop information and technology skills. The governors know the school well. They visit classrooms, and some help with after-school clubs. They are very supportive and are informed about the standards attained in school. They recognise

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Grade: 2

the need to challenge the school to do even better and are beginning to do this more effectively. They are less well informed about the school budget and do not regularly 4 Inspection Report: Brigstock Latham's Church of England Primary School, 14 March 2006 to 14 March 2006 check on how the planned spending is being implemented. The school has the strong support of the parents. It successfully consults them about the development of the school and takes action when it can to address their concerns, such as installing a new gate in the playground. The school has made good progress since the last inspection. Standards are rising. The school provides good value for money and has good capacity for further improvement. 5 Inspection Report: Brigstock Latham's Church of England Primary School, 14 March 2006 to 14 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: Brigstock Latham's Church of England Primary School, 14 March 2006 to 14 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 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 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

15 March 2006 Dear Pupils Can I start by saying a thank you to everyone for being so helpful to us when we visited your school recently. You told us you think your school is good and we agree with you. These are some of the things we liked about your school: • we think the teachers plan really interesting things for you to do in lessons and give you lots of opportunities to join clubs and go on residential visits • we liked the work in your books and think you are doing well in literacy, numeracy and science • the people who work at the school care a lot about you and do their best to keep you safe • we think you behave well and show how responsible you are by the way you do all the jobs around school • you join in well with the events in the church and the village and this helps you to play an important part in the life of the area you live in. To make your school even better, we have asked the teachers to let you mark your own work

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

more often and to help you set your own targets. We have also asked them to use the information from the tests you do to plan even better work for you to do. The school governors know the school well but they need to ask the school to try even harder and regularly check how the money the school has is being spent. Finally, we think your school will get even better in the future. Thank you again for all your help during the inspection. Yours sincerely Andy McDowall HMI Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0207 421 6800 F 0207 421 6707 www.ofsted.gov.uk

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