Chadlington Church of England Primary School

Inspection Report Chadlington Church of England Primary School

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123096 Unique Reference Number Oxfordshire LEA LEA 281399 Inspection number 27 June 2006 to 28 June 2006 Inspection dates Steven Hill AI Reporting inspector

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

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Church Road School address Primary Type of school Chadlington Voluntary controlled School category Chipping Norton OX7 3LY 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01608 676366 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01608 676868 Fax number 86 Number on roll Mrs Alison Bennett Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Jon Gray Headteacher 27 September 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281399 27 June 2006 - 4 to 11 28 June 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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

The school serves children from Chadlington village and the surrounding area. Most pupils are of White British heritage, and all speak English as a home language. The social circumstances of pupils' families are above average overall. Children's attainment when they start school varies considerably for individuals and from year to year, but is broadly average. The numbers of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities, or statements of special educational needs, are average. The school had suffered considerable disruption in the last two years because of several changes of leadership, as well as some extensive building work. An interim headteacher took over in January 2006, and led the school during the inspection, pending the arrival of a permanent headteacher in September 2006.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Chadlington Church of England Primary School, 27 June 2006 to 28 June 2006

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Grade: 2

The school assessed itself as satisfactory and felt it was making improvements quickly. The inspector agrees with the second point and judges that, because of recent improvements, the school now provides a good education and gives good value for money. Standards have improved, are above average throughout the school, and pupils are achieving well. Teaching and curriculum in the Foundation Stage are satisfactory and are improving, particularly after major changes to the outdoor provision. Standards are high in personal, social and emotional development, and at least average in all other areas. Teaching and learning are good throughout the school. Teachers manage classes effectively and generate interest and enthusiasm from pupils, who work hard and enjoy learning as a result. Good use is made of skilled teaching assistants, particularly to help pupils who would otherwise struggle with their work. Where, despite these

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Grade: 2

good points, some lessons are only satisfactory, this is usually because the pace of learning slows at times, or the level of challenge is not suited to all the pupils. This is often caused by gaps in teachers' knowledge of the subject being taught. Teachers have not had the opportunity to observe each other's lessons and to share subject expertise and good practice, to help each other refine their teaching. Pupils' personal development is good. They thoroughly enjoy school, behave well and work hard. They have very good relationships with each other and with staff. Older pupils said the best thing about the school was that there were '... so many friends and nice people ... it feels like home'. Staff have worked very hard, under the good leadership of the interim headteacher, to improve the quality of pupils' education. Strengths and weaknesses were identified accurately, and effective action was taken to address problems. While many of the

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Grade: 2

strengths in teaching and in pupils' personal development were well established, the school lacked overall systems to ensure a common approach - to planning, discipline and assessment, for example. This lack of continuity undermined the impact of the school's strengths. Improvement since the last inspection had been inadequate. Now, strong teamwork and better systems to monitor provision enable rapid, positive change, and the school is well placed to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Provide opportunities for teachers to monitor each other's lessons, share good practice and so further improve teaching and learning.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good and standards are above average and rising. Children in the Foundation Stage make good progress. By the end of Reception, standards are high 2 Inspection Report: Chadlington Church of England Primary School, 27 June 2006 to 28 June 2006 in personal social and emotional development, and above average in creative and physical development, and in knowledge and understanding of the world. Skills in communication, language and literacy are average, as is children's mathematical development. Pupils also make good progress in Years 1 to 6 and standards are above average. Most pupils meet their challenging targets in national assessments and tests, and some exceed them. Pupils in Year 2 achieve standards that are above average in reading, writing and mathematics. This year all met or surpassed the expected standards, an improvement since last year. Preliminary results for Year 6 this year also show good

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Grade: 2

achievement. High standards from tests in 2005 have been maintained. Pupils who have learning difficulties or disabilities make good progress because their support is very well organised.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They have very good relationships with each other and with staff. Boys and girls all work or play happily together, as do children of different ages. Pupils enjoy doing jobs around the school, and older pupils take a pride in helping younger ones. Behaviour is good and pupils report that it has improved since the introduction of a unified 'Code of Conduct'. School council members take a particular pride in their contribution to writing this. Pupils reflect thoughtfully on complex issues, such as 'hope' and give their views sensitively and sensibly. They take an active part in village life, and enjoy learning about the wider world through a variety of initiatives, such as a recent 'multicultural week'. Pupils have very positive attitudes to school and really enjoy learning. One said 'You learn but have fun at the same time'. This is reflected in their hard work in class and

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Grade: 2

their good attendance. They know how to keep themselves safe, for example, children who cycle independently to school have learned how to do so safely through the cycling proficiency scheme. They know how to keep healthy, and participate enthusiastically in physical education lessons and sports clubs. They understand healthy eating, although they vary in the extent to which they take this up. Pupils rightly said that 'We work well as a team'. Together with their good basic skills, this means they are well prepared for their future lives, both in school and out.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. The school had assessed these as satisfactory, with good features. The recent improvements mean that the good features strongly outweigh any weaknesses. Teachers build on the positive relationships with pupils and the consistent expectations of behaviour, which are now well established, to ensure that 3 Inspection Report: Chadlington Church of England Primary School, 27 June 2006 to 28 June 2006 lessons are orderly, purposeful and enjoyable. Pupils concentrate well, understand what they are doing, enjoy their work and make good progress. Teachers explain things well, and make good use of the electronic white boards to make things clear to pupils. Very good use is made of the skilled teaching assistants to help different groups to learn, particularly pupils who have learning difficulties or disabilities. Tasks are usually closely matched to pupils' needs, based on careful

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Grade: 2

assessment, which is more consistent following recent refinements. In the minority of lessons that are just satisfactory, for example because the pace slows, or the challenge of tasks is not appropriate for all pupils, then learning is not as brisk. These issues usually arise because of gaps in the teacher's knowledge or understanding of the subject being taught.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a varied and exciting curriculum. The National Curriculum is fully in place, including satisfactory provision for information and communication technology (ICT), an improvement since the last inspection. Planning is better organised to give continuity since the recent adoption of a more consistent approach. Strong provision is made for the arts, and pupils are particularly keen on their art and drama lessons. Many have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. Pupils stressed how much they enjoy the good range of practical activities, and the special events such as multicultural week. Their participation in the County Arts Week, where they worked with local artists, can be seen in the interesting range of artwork now on display. There is a good range of trips out to enhance learning, as well as a residential visit for older pupils. The school makes good use of visitors to widen pupils' experiences, including

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Grade: 2

Pupils are looked after very well. Child protection procedures are robust and arrangements to ensure pupils' health and safety are good, and have improved, as shown in recent audits from the local authority. The 'Code of Conduct', introduced recently, is very effective. When there are issues of behaviour, as pupils said '... teachers generally get to the bottom of it ... and sort it out'. Recent improvements to the consistency of assessment, building on established practice, mean that pupils' progress across the school is carefully tracked. When pupils are not making the progress they should, they receive support to help them catch up. Pupils are given good feedback on how they are getting on. The support for pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is particularly effective, because of good management and the effective use of external agencies. There is good provision to teach pupils how to stay safe and healthy, with provision

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Grade: 2

of fruit for all pupils, for example, and extensive provision for exercise and sport. 4 Inspection Report: Chadlington Church of England Primary School, 27 June 2006 to 28 June 2006

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are emerging strengths of the school. Because of considerable disruption to leadership in recent years, the school lacked many management systems to ensure a common approach, and the impact of the hard work and skills of staff was not maximised. Some statutory policies were not in place. In the last two terms, all staff, under the effective leadership of the interim headteacher, have worked to establish common approaches to planning, behaviour and assessment. The resultant improvements are already showing in improvements in pupils' progress. The secure systems now in place, and the strong teamwork of staff, leave the school well placed to improve further. Subject coordinators give good leadership to colleagues, particularly in ICT and literacy. The scrutiny of work across the school in English, for example, has helped the coordinator to identify some issues and suggest changes to colleagues. This has led

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Grade: 2

to improvements in the quality of extended writing. The monitoring of teaching is just becoming established, with support from the local authority, and has enabled the headteacher to have a sound overview of its quality. However, other teachers have not been involved in this, and so have not been able to share their subject expertise and extend good practice as fully as they might. The school has plans to change this next term. Assessment of pupils' attainment has improved and gives a clear picture of pupils' progress from Years 1 to 6. This enables managers to identify issues and address them. Although detailed assessments in Reception ensure that work is matched to individual children's needs, there is no system to give an overview of progress by the class as a whole across the Foundation Stage. Governors are effective, and have given good support to the school during the recent changes in management, making good use of the support from the local authority.

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Grade: 2

5 Inspection Report: Chadlington Church of England Primary School, 27 June 2006 to 28 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: Chadlington Church of England Primary School, 27 June 2006 to 28 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 3 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 1 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

Pupils Thank you for your help when I came to your school recently. I enjoyed talking to you and watching you work in lessons. This is what I thought. Chadlington is a good school, where you are all learning well and reaching good standards because you work hard. You told me that you enjoyed school and that lessons are fun, and that is what I saw in your classes. You have lots of interesting things to do, particularly in art, DT and drama, which you said you liked particularly. The Reception class really enjoy playing in their super new outside area. There are interesting events that make learning more exciting, such as the Arts Week, and I was very impressed by the quality of the work you did then. You have good opportunities for exercise and sport, and this is helping you to be fit and healthy. Some of you would like to have even more PE lessons!Your teachers are good at helping you to learn, especially using the interactive white boards to make things clearer. They are getting

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

even better at checking up on how you are doing, so that they can make sure that the work is just right for you. Some of you told me that you agreed, and that work is '...a good mix ... challenging work and easier things'. The staff are also good at looking after you and making sure you are safe. You told me that you are happy in school because you '... can talk to teachers and feel comfortable with them'. You all get on well with each other and work well in teams when you need to. Your behaviour is good and you told me that this had got better because of the new 'Code of Conduct', which the school council helped to write. I found that lots of things have improved lately in the school, because your headteacher and the other staff have all worked so hard. They want to continue to make the school even better, and we have agreed that teachers should try to spend time in each other's lessons, so they can share ideas and pick up good tips from

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

each other, so that you learn even more.Thank you again for your warm welcome, Best wishes, Steven Hill Your Inspector

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