Herne View Church of England Primary

Inspection Report Greenfylde Church of England First School

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123764 Unique Reference Number Somerset LEA 281554 Inspection number 1 March 2006 to 2 March 2006 Inspection dates Michael Burghart AI Reporting inspector

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

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Silver Street School address First Type of school Ilminster Community School category Somerset TA19 0DS 4 to 9 Age range of pupils 01460 52686 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01460 55780 Fax number 298 Number on roll Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr John Jefrrey Headteacher 28 February 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281554 1 March 2006 - 4 to 9 2 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a large first school at the heart of an ancient market town. A high percentage of pupils walk to school. Most pupils are White British and an average proportion has learning difficulties or disabilities. The attainment of children is below average when they first join Reception and has declined over recent years. It represents a wide range and varies from year to year. Recent changes in staffing mean that the majority of senior leaders and some curriculum coordinators are new to their posts of responsibility.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Greenfylde Church of England First School, 1 March 2006 to 2 March 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school, which gives good value for money. It takes good care of pupils and helps them to achieve well. Good provision in the Reception classes gives children a positive start and this is built on in personal and academic terms throughout the school. Pupils make good progress through the school and reach broadly average standards by the time they leave. A few pupils do better than this. Pupils respond to the good quality of education on offer with positive attitudes and excellent behaviour. They clearly enjoy their learning. Provision for those with learning difficulties and disabilities is outstanding. There is excellent consideration of how all pupils can be involved in all activities. However, there is more to do to improve the way in which teachers’ marking shows pupils how they can move forward, especially in writing. Procedures for checking on pupils’ progress are good in English and mathematics but

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Grade: 2

are not consistent in other subjects. Teaching and learning are good because the school is well run and successfully evaluates its own performance. There is a close match between what the school sees as its strengths and areas for development and inspectors’ findings. Improvement has been steady since the last inspection with good progress since the new senior leadership team was established. These are strong indicators that the school has a good capacity to improve.

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What the school should do to improve further

•Improve rates of progress by developing the use of assessment across the curriculum to help pupils understand the targets they are working to •Improve the marking of pupils’ work to show pupils how they can make improvements particularly with regard to writing and mathematics.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ achievement and standards are good overall. This reflects good progress from a below average start in Reception. Good progress in the Reception classes means that children achieve most of what is expected of them before joining Year 1. Most pupils do well in reading, writing and mathematics to reach broadly average standards at the end of Year 4 and a few do better than this. Standards, although broadly average in Year 2 national tests in 2005, were better than in 2004. Most pupils meet the challenging targets set for them. There are signs that pupils are performing as well as the school expects of them and the improvement is continuing this year. Standards are lower than in 2001 but this is explained by children’s attainment on entry declining and increased proportions of pupils with learning difficulties. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities achieve well, benefiting from outstanding support. Over

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Grade: 2

the past three years progress rates have varied and have been slower in some aspects than others. For example, the school identified that girls did better than boys in the Year 2 national assessments last year and that higher attainers did not do as well in 2 Inspection Report: Greenfylde Church of England First School, 1 March 2006 to 2 March 2006 mathematics as they did in reading and writing. Although there is still more to do, changes in the way these elements are taught are bringing about improvements.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and well-being are good. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Spiritual development is particularly strong, with Christian ideals supporting all the work of the school. Good moral development is evident from the outstanding behaviour seen in lessons and around the school. Pupils act responsibly. Parents indicate that their children enjoy school and this is clear from the good attitudes, which contribute to hard work and good overall progress. Healthy eating and living are emphasised in science and personal, social and health education lessons. Pupils respond well to this by eating and drinking healthily and many walk to school. Safety issues are covered well, for example, by helping pupils understand the dangers of the nearby building site. The school council is fairly new but is enabling pupils to make a good contribution to the school and wider communities. Councillors have

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Grade: 2

suggested improvements to the school playground and raised money for charities. Older pupils help younger ones on a regular basis and pupils take part in a number of activities in the community. Attendance is broadly satisfactory although the number of holidays taken in term time lowers the school’s figures. Pupils are developing basic skills for everyday life but there is room for more obvious planning in relation to their economic well-being.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. This is the result of weaknesses reported in the last inspection having been overcome. Teachers are well organised and plan their work effectively for the different abilities within in their classes. They know pupils well and use the good ratio of experienced teaching assistants very effectively to support learning. Very good relationships and good questioning encourage pupils to listen as well as contribute to class discussions. Teachers make work challenging, interesting and enjoyable. These factors contribute effectively to pupils’ progress, good response, and outstanding behaviour. Outstanding support and teaching for pupils with learning difficulties underpins good progress. A strong commitment in the Reception classes to learning through a variety of structured activities and play encourages children’s independence and personal development. It gives them a good start to their schooling.

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Grade: 2

The good assessment procedures in English and mathematics enable teachers to track pupils’ progress. However, in other subjects pupil targets are too vague and are not 3 Inspection Report: Greenfylde Church of England First School, 1 March 2006 to 2 March 2006 always written in language readily understood by pupils. Teachers’ marking is encouraging but does not highlight how work could be better.

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Grade: 2

The school offers a good, broad and balanced curriculum with links being developed between subjects. The use of the locality, very good links with the community and churches, and a good range of visits and visitors have positive effects on learning. The curriculum is well focused on making learning enjoyable and recent initiatives to improve the quality of pupils’ reading are driving up standards. The school now needs to improve the ways in which writing can be encouraged across the curriculum. There are good programmes to promote pupils’ understanding of being healthy and safe and to develop self-confidence. Extra-curricular sporting, arts and other activities, which were identified as weaknesses at the last inspection, are now good and are very well attended by pupils. The Reception curriculum is good. It uses the environment and seasonal changes effectively to help children to begin to understand the world in which they live. Learning

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Grade: 2

Pupils are cared for and supported well. There are some outstanding features such as the everyday love and care given to all pupils, the support for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, and the total inclusion of all pupils in all activities. Young children settle well into school life, helped by thorough preparation including home visits. Teachers know pupils well. Together with effective assessment procedures this enables early identification of any problems pupils may have. Staff make effective use of outside agencies where necessary and very good use of the well trained teaching assistants to support pupils’ learning. Marking to help pupils know and understand how they can improve is not consistent. The setting of clear individual targets for pupils is underdeveloped and restricts progress. Good systems are in place to ensure that children are safe and protected. These range from up-to-date child protection procedures to locking the school gates

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Grade: 2

during the day. Pupils know that any incidents of bullying will be dealt with by adults. ‘Someone will always listen’, explained a Year 3 girl. All necessary risk assessments are carried out. Parents are very supportive of the school and are pleased with children’s progress.

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Grade: 2

Good leadership and management have positive effects on achievement and ensure that the school adds value to pupils’ learning. Senior leaders (most of whom are new 4 Inspection Report: Greenfylde Church of England First School, 1 March 2006 to 2 March 2006 to their roles) and governors make accurate evaluations of how well the school is doing based on observations and reviews of teaching, standards and progress. There are highlights in the outstanding management of provision for those with learning difficulties and the good leadership of literacy and numeracy, as well as the leadership of work in Reception. Some curriculum coordinators have had insufficient opportunities for observing teaching and learning in their subjects and this restricts their capacity to identify where improvements can be made. Such monitoring is an area for development. The school’s management of procedures to ensure that all pupils,

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Grade: 2

regardless of any disability, are included in all activities, is excellent. Good quality self-evaluation results in the school’s view of its strengths and areas for development matching inspectors’ findings. The headteacher’s leadership is outstanding and his management is strong. He has fashioned the whole staff into a very good team and makes good use of contributions from all concerned to turn the school’s intentions into practice. This lays a good basis for the school’s future development. Good governance makes effective use of the budget to ensure money is well spent. Governors are prepared to challenge the school as well as give support. They report that the way communication with parents and the community is handled is very good and much improved. Parents are very supportive of the school. Comments like, ‘We have real confidence in Greenfylde’, show that parents agree with the inspectors’ judgement

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Grade: 2

that the school is well run. 5 Inspection Report: Greenfylde Church of England First School, 1 March 2006 to 2 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: Greenfylde Church of England First School, 1 March 2006 to 2 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 3 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 1 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 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 1 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

We really enjoyed our visit to Greenfylde. It is a good school. We can see why you like coming and why your parents are so pleased with the school. It was good to find that you are polite, get on well with each other, and care so much about being healthy. Your excellent behaviour in class and in the playground shows you respect your school and each other. These are some of the strengths of the school: •You make good progress from the time you first join to when you leave for the middle school because you are well taught and the school provides interesting work •Staff take good care of you and help everyone to learn, especially those who find learning difficult •The school is well run and is very successful in making sure all of you can join in all activities. We have asked your teachers to improve the ways that they find out how well you are doing in all subjects and to make these assessments as good as they are in English and mathematics.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

This will help you to make even faster progress and should raise standards. Teachers know that they need to set clearer targets for each of you and then follow these up in their marking to show you exactly how you can improve your work especially in writing and maths. Improving writing is an aim for everyone. We were very impressed that you are prepared to listen to each other and your teachers. This is one of the secrets of good learning. Good luck for the future.

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