Trefonen CofE Primary School

Inspection Report Trefonen CofE Primary School

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123507 Unique Reference Number Shropshire LEA 281494 Inspection number 26 September 2005 to 26 September 2005 Inspection dates Bogusia Matusiak-Varley 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 Trefonen Voluntary controlled School category Oswestry, Shropshire SY10 9DY 5 to 11 Age range of pupils

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01691 652960 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01691 680 793 Fax number 140 Number on roll Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Miss Cathy Dunleavy Headteacher 1 November 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281494 26 September 2005 - 5 to 11 26 September 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

Trefonen Primary School is a small village school and 41% of pupils live outside the catchment area. The percentage of pupils entitled to free school meals is below the national average. Almost all pupils come from White British backgrounds. Sixteen per cent of pupils are on the register of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities and one pupil has a statement of special educational need. Socio-economic circumstances of pupils are average as is their attainment on entry. The school has been part of the North West Shropshire Action Zone. It has an Active Gold Mark for its sports achievement and a Green Flag ECO (ecological) Schools’ Award for its environmental and social awareness. The school is led and managed by a newly appointed headteacher who has only been at the school for four weeks.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Trefonen CofE Primary School, 26 September 2005 to 26 September 2005

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Grade: 3

Inspectors, and the school agree that its provision is satisfactory with good features. Teaching is satisfactory. Teachers convey information clearly and keep good discipline but there are weaknesses in the quality of marking and higher attaining pupils are not always challenged enough. Pupils make satisfactory progress as they move up through the school and standards are average in English, mathematics, science and information and communication technology (ICT) at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. Higher attaining pupils do better in mathematics in Year 6 than they do in English and science. However, standards in writing, whilst broadly average, need improving and too few opportunities are provided for pupils to write in different subjects. In the Foundation Stage, children make satisfactory progress and attain the expected standards on entry to Year 1 but too few opportunities are provided for them to learn using a variety of senses. The

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Grade: 3

school’s capacity to improve is good because the newly appointed headteacher has been very quick to identify the strengths and areas for development of her school and has already put potentially robust systems in place to evaluate the school’s effectiveness. For example, she has enabled staff to make more sense of assessment data. The leadership and management of the headteacher, senior management team and governing body are satisfactory, with good features. The headteacher is very clear as to the direction that the school needs to follow in order to attain higher standards. Improvement since the last inspection has been satisfactory and the school provides satisfactory value for money. Grade 3

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What the school should do to improve further

• improve pupils’ rates of progress in writing throughout the school • use assessment data more precisely to challenge higher attaining pupils • improve the quality of teachers’ marking so that pupils are given clear pointers for improvement • ensure that children in the Foundation Stage have more opportunities to learn using a variety of their senses.

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Grade: 3

Attainment on entry to Reception is average. Children make satisfactory progress in the Foundation Stage and attain the expected standards in all areas of learning by the end of the reception year, but higher attaining pupils could be achieving more. This is because opportunities are missed to use a variety of senses when they are learning. For example, worksheets are used to enable children to identify letter sounds and not enough opportunities are provided for painting and writing in the sand. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make good progress and are well supported in lessons by both teachers and teaching assistants. Pupils’ achievements 2 Inspection Report: Trefonen CofE Primary School, 26 September 2005 to 26 September 2005 are satisfactory overall throughout the school but they are good in mathematics. By the end of Year 2 and Year 6, pupils attain average standards in English, mathematics,

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Grade: 3

science and ICT, with the higher attaining pupils making very good progress in mathematics. Pupils make good progress in physical education and art and design. The quality of art displays throughout the school is outstanding. The link with the North West Shropshire Action Zone has been beneficial in raising standards in mathematics and ICT. Pupils meet their targets in English, mathematics and science. However, in some other subjects, higher attaining pupils are not consistently challenged well enough. Parents are happy with the progress that their children make in school but a small minority thought that higher attaining pupils could be challenged more in lessons. Grade 3

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and well-being are good. Pupils enjoy school because of the interesting range of activities provided. Because of this, attendance is good and pupils are keen to learn, so much so that some parents comment that their children are reluctant to leave school at the end of the day. Pupils are courteous, polite, have good attitudes to learning and are very proud of their school and what the school offers. As a result of the good provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, pupils have a keen understanding of how to behave well and they know the difference between right and wrong. Pupils are developing well as rounded individuals and, through the work of the school council, make a positive contribution to the local and wider communities. For example, the school council sells fruit and donates the proceeds towards the school’s sponsorship of a Tanzanian child. Pupils

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Grade: 2

learn effectively how to keep healthy through their lessons and by taking part in clubs. The very good provision for sport and sporting competitions has enabled pupils to grow in self-confidence. These activities help pupils to develop socially as well. Pupils have sound basic literacy and numeracy skills and they use ICT for learning in a variety of subjects – these things are important for their future economic well-being. Grade 2

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory with good features. All teachers have good relationships with their pupils. Pupils are very fond of their teachers and genuinely want to do their best because they know that their teachers will offer them the help that they need. The teachers impart information clearly and accurately and manage behaviour well. They make good use of interactive whiteboards and other aspects of ICT and this has 3 Inspection Report: Trefonen CofE Primary School, 26 September 2005 to 26 September 2005 a positive effect on pupils’ learning. Since the new headteacher has arrived she has worked very hard to help staff have a better understanding of how to use assessment data to target different groups of pupils. As yet, this practice is inconsistent among staff and so higher attaining pupils are not being sufficiently challenged, especially in writing. The quality of teachers’ marking also needs improvement. Whilst pupils’

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Grade: 3

work is marked regularly, teachers do not offer sufficient advice to pupils on how they can improve their work and this restricts progress. Individual target setting is at an early stage of implementation. This is largely because staff are still getting to know their pupils, although some good examples of individual target setting were seen in a literacy lesson in Years 3/4 when pupils were very clear about what they needed to do in order to improve their writing. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory with good features, but too few opportunities are provided for children to learn using a variety of their senses, such as writing letters of the alphabet with a finger in clay. This results in children occasionally losing interest and slows down their learning. Higher attaining pupils are, on occasions, insufficiently challenged because they are not presented with activities that stretch them. Parents

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Grade: 3

are delighted with their children’s teachers and they have good access to them at all times. Grade 3

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Grade: 3

The satisfactory curriculum is broad and balanced and is enriched well by a good range of extra-curricular activities, especially in sport, art and design and music. Good encouragement is given to pupils to know how to keep healthy and safe and the school’s participation in the Green Flag Environmental Award enhances pupils’ positive contribution and economic well-being. However, teachers’ planning does not always identify opportunities for writing in different styles across a variety of subjects. Since the previous inspection, the school has made satisfactory progress in developing opportunities for pupils to use ICT in a range of subjects and this is having a positive effect on learning. Parents are very pleased with all the activities that the school offers its pupils. Grade 3

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Grade: 2

The school provides good guidance, care and support. There are particular strengths in ensuring pupils’ safety, health and well-being. Good procedures are in place to ensure that potential hazards are dealt with and that procedures for child protection are firmly established. Regular health and safety checks are carried out by the governing body and arrangements for safeguarding pupils are good. A strong feature is the school’s willingness and ability to help pupils who have not succeeded well enough at other schools. In this school, pupils’ individuality is valued and they are well known to 4 Inspection Report: Trefonen CofE Primary School, 26 September 2005 to 26 September 2005 all staff.. Teachers encourage pupils to do their very best and overcome any limitations they might have. During the lunch hour the school administrator, whilst collecting dinner money, eagerly talks to pupils about their friends, hobbies and community

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Grade: 2

events. Within the school’s council, pupils are very confident speakers and they are able to present balanced arguments about changes to the school playground. Assessment procedures, although they identify in general terms how well pupils are doing, do not identify finely enough what individual pupils need to do to make better progress. The new headteacher has recognised that this is the case and the school is very close to setting individual targets for pupils. Parents are exceptionally pleased with the care, support and guidance given to their children and many of them travel from some distance to send their children to this school. Grade 2

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Grade: 3

The school evaluates leadership and management as satisfactory and inspectors agree with this judgement. Nevertheless, there are many strengths in the leadership and management of the school, especially in the accuracy of school self-evaluation. The newly appointed headteacher has already made a significant impact on the school in the short time that she has been in post. She has raised the staffs’ knowledge of school self-evaluation, revised the school development plan, and has won the hearts of the pupils who think that she is very fair, very kind and wants the best for them. She has forged good relationships with staff and the governing body, and she is leading the school forward in ensuring that the pupils have every opportunity to reach their full potential. There is evidence to suggest that staff are clearer in their approach to using assessment to plan work for pupils of different capabilities, especially those with

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Grade: 3

special educational needs, since the arrival of the new headteacher. As the inspection took place early in the autumn term, the impact of this is clearly seen in teachers’ planning but is not yet fully reflected in the end of year standards. Senior managers perform their duties effectively and do not shirk any responsibility in spite of the many that they hold in a small school. As yet the headteacher has not had the time to monitor teaching and learning but the work of the senior management team shows that this is evaluated accurately. Team spirit is high and the whole school community is excited at the prospect of working alongside a new headteacher who has the knack of reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and is committed to raising standards. Parents are very supportive of the new headteacher and they are kept consulted and well informed on all aspects of school life. The governing body knows the school’s strengths and areas for development well.

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Grade: 3

The school’s financial management is prudent. Resources are effectively deployed, especially the good range of computers to support learning, and this is having a positive effect on raising standards. The help given to pupils by the teaching assistants is both effective and efficient. All pupils have equal opportunities to help them achieve as 5 Inspection Report: Trefonen CofE Primary School, 26 September 2005 to 26 September 2005 well as they can. Good systems are in place to combat all forms of discrimination and disadvantaged pupils are given strong support. In the school’s self-evaluation, the headteacher and senior management team have demonstrated that they have an accurate knowledge of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and, as a result, the school is well placed in moving forward. The school gives satisfactory value for money. Grade 3 6 Inspection Report: Trefonen CofE Primary School, 26 September 2005 to 26 September 2005

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Grade: 3

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 Inspection Report: Trefonen CofE Primary School, 26 September 2005 to 26 September 2005

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Inspection judgements

16-19 School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Overall effectiveness

NA 3 How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? NA 3 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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Personal development and well-being

NA 2 How good is the overall personal development and well-being of the 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 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 3 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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The quality of provision

NA 3 How effective are teaching and learning in meeting the full range of the learners' needs? NA 3 How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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The quality of provision

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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Leadership and management

NA 3 How effective are leadership and management in raising achievement 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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Leadership and management

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 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 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

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Leadership and management

wider community 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

27 September 2005 Dear Children Thank you for making us feel so welcome in your school. Our particular thanks to the school council who gave up part of their lunch time to tell us about the wonderful way in which you care about your school, each other and the environment. We were particularly impressed with the way you manage meetings and keep records of your good work. You are rightly proud of your school and we saw many good things that are helping you learn, such as: you are good ambassadors for your school; you are polite, well behaved and have good attitudes to learning the school provides you with a good range of clubs and you are particularly good at sport and art and design you look after each other well and relationships in the school are good you obviously love your school and attendance is good your new headteacher has a good idea of what she needs to do with your teachers and governors in order to help you reach even higher standards

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

your school is a welcoming and safe place and teachers care about you very much. We think there are some things that your school needs to do to get even better than it already is. These are: you need more opportunities to write extensively in different subjects some of you could do harder work and need to be challenged more in lessons teachers need to give you more help in marking your work and telling you how to improve children in Reception need to use a range of different equipment so that they can learn using their senses. It has been a pleasure to inspect your school and we wish you all the very best for the future. Yours sincerely Ms Bogusia Matusiak-Varley Lead Inspector

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