West Pennard Church of England Primary School

123780 Unique Reference Number Somerset LEA 281559 Inspection number 28 September 2005 to 29 September 2005 Inspection dates Ian Hodgkinson 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 Lane School address Primary Type of school West Pennard Voluntary controlled School category Glastonbury, Somerset BA6 8NT 4 to 11 Age range of pupils

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01458 832866 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01458 834662 Fax number 209 Number on roll Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs A J Scourfield Headteacher 28 September 2005 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281559 28 September 2005 - 4 to 11 29 September 2005 Inspection Report: West Pennard Church of England Primary School, 28 September 2005 to 29 September 2005

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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

The school serves the village of West Pennard in a beautiful pastoral setting a few miles east of Glastonbury, but many pupils come from further afield. The pupils are drawn from a diverse local rural community but, generally, family circumstances are prosperous. There are very few children from minority ethnic groups. Three children are from Traveller families with permanent bases in the area. The proportion of children designated with learning difficulties and disabilities is close to the national average. However, no pupils have statements of special educational need, although two pupils have needs beyond those which can be provided for solely by the school. The school has 50 per cent more boys than girls on roll. The curriculum is considerably enriched by the school’s very close links with the adjacent Anglican church.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: West Pennard Church of England Primary School, 28 September 2005 to 29 September 2005

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Grade: 2

West Pennard is a good school with a number of outstanding features. It offers particularly good value for money given its relatively low income. In making these judgements, inspectors agree with the school’s evaluation of its effectiveness. All pupils achieve well, including those in the Foundation Stage. They join the school with above average standards and leave with standards which are consistently well above-average. This is largely because their progress is very closely watched, support is given when needed and teachers make lessons very interesting. There could, however, be more activities to challenge the most able in some lessons. Pupils’ personal development is strong and this is the result of the high level of care and support provided by all staff. Some improvements could be made to the school site to further ensure pupils’ well-being. Pupils really enjoy their education, behave well, and get

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Grade: 2

fully involved in the school’s many activities. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent, and is helped by the strong links the school has with the adjacent church. The school’s curriculum is well designed to develop pupils’ basic skills and give them good opportunities to learn in a range of subjects. The school is well led and managed and is given excellent direction by its headteacher. The school’s leadership has ensured that standards remain high while promoting a love of learning among the pupils. The school is well placed to sustain such standards further.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that lesson plans and activities always offer sufficient challenge to the more able pupils. • Make improvements to the school’s site which further ensure the well-being of the pupils.

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Grade: 2

When pupils join the school in the Reception class, their standards are above average. They make strong progress through the Foundation Stage and Years 1 and 2, so that their results in the national tests at the end of Key Stage 1 are well above average in reading, writing and mathematics. They continue to make good progress across Years 3 to 6, so that test results in English, mathematics and science are still further above average. The school’s test results have consistently been significantly better than the national average every year since the last inspection. Pupils of all abilities achieve well in the school, with most meeting or exceeding their carefully set targets in national tests. The school’s close attention to the needs of individual pupils has led to some striking successes, including with pupils of low initial attainment, those with special educational needs, and pupils from the Traveller

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Grade: 2

community. In 2004 national tests, all pupils achieved at least the expected Level 4 or 2 Inspection Report: West Pennard Church of England Primary School, 28 September 2005 to 29 September 2005 above and a high proportion gained a Level 5. Higher-attaining pupils also do well, although as a group their rate of improvement has not been as strong as for other groups.

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Grade: 2

The personal development of pupils is good. They really enjoy coming to school and this is exemplified by the whole-hearted enthusiasm they show for their lessons. They are developing good study skills and work sensibly and safely in pairs or small groups. All pupils understand the reasons for school rules and their behaviour is generally good, although sometimes a little boisterous when they move around the school. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. They gain a good awareness of the diversity of cultures in Britain today. Pupils have a keen awareness of their responsibilities for each other in school, and for the wider community beyond. The work of the school council is of a high order and pupils have organised fundraising events, such as a games day to support the Tsunami appeal. The school’s efforts to encourage a healthy lifestyle have been outstandingly successful and even

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Grade: 2

the youngest pupils are well aware of the benefits of healthy eating and regular exercise. Already confident and articulate, the pupils are gaining the necessary numeracy, literacy and computer skills that they are likely to need in the future for successful economic well-being. Attendance is satisfactory. The school has a number of pupils with medical conditions causing prolonged absence. However, there are still too many families taking holidays in term time.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is good and shows good awareness of the needs of young children across all learning areas. Throughout the school, teachers are confident and have good subject knowledge. They use a range of resources and methods which pupils say make learning interesting and exciting. Teachers are keen to further develop their skills and have responded particularly well to the challenge of using new technology in the classroom, such as interactive whiteboards. Other strengths lie in planning, in the quality of support for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, and the use of questioning to assess the level of pupils’ understanding. Pupils learn effectively because they are attentive and well behaved. They are eager to learn, like and respect their teachers and respond well to skilful questioning. Work is generally matched well to pupils’ capabilities but more

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Grade: 2

able pupils are not always sufficiently challenged by the tasks they are set. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities learn effectively because their individual needs are taken into account when work is planned, enabling them to make progress towards 3 Inspection Report: West Pennard Church of England Primary School, 28 September 2005 to 29 September 2005 the targets on their individual education plans. Teaching assistants play a very effective role in supporting pupils’ learning and are taking a prominent role in extending the range of curricular and extra-curricular activities on offer.

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Grade: 2

This carefully-constructed curriculum is good. It helps pupils develop strong basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics while providing many opportunities to develop skills and understanding in other subjects. Statutory requirements are fully met. A strong programme for religious education helps to build pupils’ moral, spiritual and cultural awareness. The very new Enrichment Programme offers pupils the chance to work in a broad range of activities and subjects (including French) with external specialists and teaching assistants while their teachers plan and prepare lessons. There are sound opportunities for gifted, talented and more able pupils to broaden and deepen their understanding of topics when taught on occasions as a special group, and through a good range of extra-curricular clubs and activities. The high priority placed on getting pupils involved in activities, especially in music and physical activities,

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Grade: 2

does much to promote pupils’ enjoyment of school and support their healthy lifestyles.

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Grade: 2

The school takes good care of its pupils and its attention to pupils’ welfare and safety is good. When interviewed the pupils say they feel safe at school ‘because the teachers take good care of us’. The site, developed around a charming old Victorian building, is rambling and some improvements could be made to ensure further the well-being of children. Good child protection procedures are in place and staff are fully conversant with these. The school monitors pupils’ academic and personal development very well. Targets are challenging and pupils know what they have to do to make good progress. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are very well supported and parents are fully involved in the arrangements. The school works successfully with a wide range of outside agencies to provide the best support it can. Incidents of bullying or racial harassment have been addressed by the school and there are good procedures in place

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Grade: 2

The school is well led and managed. It is given excellent direction by the headteacher, who has been successful in maintaining the school’s high standards over a long period of time. The leadership team has further created an environment where most pupils love coming to school and derive enormous enjoyment from their education. The governing body gives good support. It has highly effective systems for gathering 4 Inspection Report: West Pennard Church of England Primary School, 28 September 2005 to 29 September 2005 information on the performance of the school and is fully involved in strategic planning. The school is in a very good position to sustain its improvement. The school uses data well to check its own performance, so that it has a very clear idea about its strengths and weaknesses. It shares its evaluation of these strengths and weaknesses widely in order to encourage further improvement. This promotes a strong

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Grade: 2

sense of teamwork among the staff. The school listens carefully to the views of parents and pupils and takes action to respond to their requests when they are considered to be appropriate. Assessments of pupils’ performance are rigorously analysed to ensure that the teaching and support provided are mostly well designed to ensure that pupils make good progress. 5 Inspection Report: West Pennard Church of England Primary School, 28 September 2005 to 29 September 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: West Pennard Church of England Primary School, 28 September 2005 to 29 September 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 1 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 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 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 1 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 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

Thank you very much for welcoming us when we visited your school. We so much enjoyed meeting you and looking at your work, and were very impressed with many things about the school. You and your parents left us in no doubt that most children enjoy going to the school very much, and that they learn a lot when they are there. These are some of the things we liked best: The school helps you to become very confident in talking to others. You think a lot about the important things in life, such as about God, about what’s right and what’s wrong, and about working with other people. The school keeps you very active and encourages you to stay healthy. Every year the school’s results in SATs tests for Year 2 and Year 6 pupils are very high. The headteacher and staff make sure that you really enjoy your learning at the same time as getting very good results. There are some ways in which we think the school could get even better:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

In lessons, we think that those who understand a subject more quickly should be given harder challenges more often, to keep them learning. We have asked the school to make some changes to the school’s grounds, which could make them safer. Once again, thank you for helping us during the inspection. Very best wishes for the future.

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