Cutcombe Church of England First School

Inspection Report Cutcombe Church of England First School

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123831 Unique Reference Number Somerset LEA 281572 Inspection number 10 November 2005 to 10 November 2005 Inspection dates David Clegg RISP Reporting inspector

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

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Wheddon Cross School address First Type of school Minehead Voluntary aided School category Somerset TA24 7DZ 4 to 9 Age range of pupils 01643 841462 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01643 841462 Fax number 23 Number on roll Mr Sean Walsh Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Maureen Best Headteacher 24 January 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281572 10 November 2005 - 4 to 9 10 November 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 one additional inspector.

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Description of the school

The school is very small and serves an isolated rural community. Pupils are taught in two mixed-age classes. In the past year a larger than usual proportion of pupils have left or joined the school at different times

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Cutcombe Church of England First School, 10 November 2005 to 10 November 2005

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Grade: 2

This is a good school in which pupils thrive and do well. The small number of pupils, and the very favourable number of adults, results in pupils having plenty of individual attention. Good quality provision makes sure that children in the Reception Year do well. Virtually all children reach, or exceed, the expected levels by the time they start Year 1. The good progress continues throughout the school and by the time pupils leave at the end of Year 4 they are well prepared for the next stage. They have a good level of basic skills in literacy and numeracy. Pupils are also well prepared personally. For the most part they enjoy school and have positive attitudes to work. However, the attendance level of a small group of pupils is too low despite the school’s efforts to encourage better attendance. The teaching is good. Lessons are carefully planned to meet the needs of pupils, whatever their ages and abilities. There is a deep level of understanding about the

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Grade: 2

needs of each pupil and this guides the work of the school. However, marking is weak because it does not give pupils any indication about what they need to do to get better. Consequently, pupils are not clear about how well they are doing in meeting their learning targets. The school knows itself very well. Its own evaluation of providing a good quality education is accurate. The way the school is led and managed is well matched to the size of the school. There is a strong emphasis on teamwork and cooperation at all levels. The school is a happy and harmonious community. It has moved on successfully since the last inspection and made the necessary improvements. The costs of the school are high but the value for money is satisfactory.

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What the school should do to improve further

•improve the quality of marking so that pupils have a clearer understanding of what they need to do to get better •continue to improve the rate of attendance.

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Grade: 2

Children get off to a good start in the Reception Year. They make good progress from a reasonable base of skills and almost all reach the expected levels by the time they start Year 1. Many children go beyond the expected levels and have already started on Year 1 work before they have finished the Reception Year. The good progress continues and pupils achieve well. Although standards vary from year to year, it is rare for a child not to achieve at least average levels in reading, writing and mathematics. Often pupils reach good standards, particularly in reading and mathematics. In Year 3, pupils make steady progress that picks up speed in Year 4 so that pupils move on to their next school with a good grounding in the basic skills 2 Inspection Report: Cutcombe Church of England First School, 10 November 2005 to 10 November 2005 of literacy and numeracy. They are well equipped to take advantage of their new

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Grade: 2

schools and meet challenging targets. The capacity to give one-to-one support, and the effective use of trained assistants, particularly benefits pupils with learning difficulties and helps them to achieve well. There is a surprisingly high turnover of pupils, but the school copes well with new arrivals. They are quickly helped to settle in and start achieving well.

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Grade: 2

Pupils generally have good attitudes to school and most pupils spoke enthusiastically about how much they enjoy their lessons. Comments such as ‘I don’t want to leave’ and ‘teachers make lessons fun’ are testament to how much they like what the school offers. Attendance levels are generally good but a small minority of pupils have more erratic attendance which hinders their progress. Behaviour is good. One or two pupils find it difficult to settle down and get on with their work quickly, but these incidents are dealt with effectively. The school successfully helps pupils to mature and develop personally. The small number of pupils encourages a genuine ‘family feel’. They make successful relationships and have a strong sense of right and wrong. They have a good sense of the rural environment. Trips out, to places as far as Bristol, and visitors to school add to the cultural experiences pupils are given.

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Grade: 2

Most pupils have a good understanding about healthy eating. They know they should eat fruit and vegetables and they also have some awareness of keeping themselves safe. As it gets dark early one girl was very clear about the need to ‘wear something bright at night!’ Children make decisions about how the school is run through the school council. They also know about contributing to the local community and have recently produced a visitor’s guide to the local church. The children show a good range of skills for their future lives.

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Grade: 2

Good teaching is enhanced by the very favourable ratio of pupils to teachers and assistants. The high number of adults gives the school the capacity to respond rapidly to any signs of pupils not doing as well as they should. The experienced and trained teaching assistants are used very effectively to provide extra help to pupils who need it, often on a one-to-one basis. Teachers cope well with the mixed-age classes. They plan carefully to make sure that the work is meeting the needs of all pupils. When they teach, they focus attention on particular groups of pupils, making sure that the work is taking account of what pupils have already learned. There are particularly good assessment procedures that help teachers to keep a track of how well pupils are doing. The information is used sensibly to pick up on any concerns and target extra support. 3 Inspection Report: Cutcombe Church of England First School, 10 November 2005 to 10 November 2005

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Grade: 2

The good assessment procedures, however, do not include good marking. Marking is usually positive but there is not enough guidance given to pupils themselves about what to do to improve. This results in them not being clear about how to improve their work. The sensible use of teachers’ own interests and expertise makes the best use of resources. This helps to make sure that all pupils benefit equally from specialist teaching in subjects such as music and art and design. This results in lessons in these subjects being popular with the children.

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Grade: 2

The school offers a rich range of experiences. The work often picks up on the rural environment, making good use of it to study nature and the changing seasons. The school is also keen to widen pupils’ experiences and takes trips to places in the locality. The school welcomes visitors and has, for instance, worked with local artists. The school also works closely with other local schools and this helps to extend the range of opportunities open to pupils. The small number of pupils and relatively high number of adults means that the school offers specific work to meet individual needs. This is very helpful for pupils who may need to do some catching up and ensures that they do as well as they can.

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Grade: 2

All the staff know pupils very well. Children’s well-being is central to the work of the school. There is a very high level of understanding about the needs of individual pupils. Teachers are very good at keeping up with how each child is doing and what they need to do next. However, pupils have surprisingly little knowledge about how well they are doing and how they could do better. Despite them having learning targets, pupils struggle to talk about what they need to do to improve, beyond saying ‘doing more’. Procedures for ensuring pupils’ safety and well-being are secure. The nature of the school results in very close contact between home and school.

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Grade: 2

The manner in which the school is led and managed is completely in tune with the nature of the school. There is a strong sense of teamwork and collaboration. The fact that all the teachers, on occasions, teach all the pupils gives them a shared concern for the needs of each child. The school knows itself well and is frank and open about what may be improved. For example, the current work to improve some aspects of children’s writing is well founded. It was quickly picked up through the regular assessments of pupils. This work is resulting 4 Inspection Report: Cutcombe Church of England First School, 10 November 2005 to 10 November 2005 in teaching that is focusing sharply on the specific needs of individuals and is already leading to some improvements. The leadership and management are very aware of the potential difficulties that being such a small school can create. The small year groups and small classes can create

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Grade: 2

problems both in terms of pupils’ personal development and in limiting the experience that the school can offer. One reason for its success is because the school is awake to such problems, and takes successful steps to minimise them. Governors are supported and committed and play a full part in the life of the school. Resources are skilfully managed to take account of children’s needs. This results in, for instance, teaching assistants working with individual pupils to make sure that they achieve as much as possible. The school is in constant touch with parents and pupils. Parents play a vital role in the school and are overwhelmingly positive about what it offers their children. The following are just two comments made by parents: ‘I can honestly say that I couldn’t have wished to find a better school’ and the ‘school has made the first five years at school a pleasure’. 5 Inspection Report: Cutcombe Church of England First School, 10 November 2005 to 10 November 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: Cutcombe Church of England First School, 10 November 2005 to 10 November 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 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

Cutcombe First School Wheddon Cross Minehead Somerset TA24 7DZ 11 November 2005 Dear children, Thank you very much for helping me to find out about your school when I visited earlier this month. I enjoyed my day in school. I am writing to you to let you know what I think about how well you are doing. These are the main things about the school that I found were good: •it is good that so many of you enjoy your lessons and work hard •I think your lessons are helping you to do well. Some of you told me you were learning as much as you could •most of you behave very well and it was so nice to see you working and playing together •you told me, and I agree, that you are safe and well looked when you are at school •the people who run the school are doing a good job. For the school to get even better I think there are two things that need to be done: •you need to be told more about how well you are doing and what you need to do to improve

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

your work •some children need to try to attend school more regularly so that they do not miss out on lessons. Yours sincerely, David Clegg Visiting Inspector

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