Talbot First School

Inspection Report Talbot Community First School

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124093 Unique Reference Number Staffordshire LEA 281628 Inspection number 20 June 2006 to 20 June 2006 Inspection dates Anthony Dobell 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 First Type of school Kingstone Community School category Uttoxeter, Staffordshire ST14 8QJ 4 to 9 Age range of pupils

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01889 500273 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01889 500527 Fax number 34 Number on roll Dr A Johnson Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs S Wilson Headteacher 9 October 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281628 20 June 2006 - 4 to 9 20 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 one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Talbot is a very small first school serving the village of Kingstone, although some 30% of pupils come from outside the village because their parents choose this school. Children start in Reception with levels of understanding and learning skills which cover a wide range but are broadly average. All pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is average but the proportion with a statement of special educational needs is above average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Talbot Community First School, 20 June 2006 to 20 June 2006

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Grade: 2

Talbot is an effective school giving good value for money. Its costs per pupil are high, but not unusually so for a school of this size. It judges its own effectiveness generally in line with inspection findings, but in some respects too modestly. Pupils achieve well throughout the school and reach above average standards by the time that they leave. The quality of learning and standards reached in the Reception Year are good. Teaching and learning are effective and pupils benefit from good planning which uses learning activities in different subjects to develop the basic skills of literacy and numeracy. There is an excellent commitment to equality of opportunity and all pupils are valued for what they can offer. Pupils benefit from good levels of care and their personal development is good. They and their parents are rightly proud of their school. Leadership and management are good. There is effective teamwork between the

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Grade: 2

headteacher and her colleagues to realise her vision for all pupils. There is good capacity to improve further. Although pupils make good progress overall, standards in writing are not as high as in reading and mathematics. While pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development is good, their appreciation of life in a culturally diverse society is insufficiently developed.

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What the school should do to improve further

Take steps to raise standards in pupils’ writing. Increase pupils’ understanding of life in a culturally diverse society.

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Grade: 2

Children achieve well in the Reception Year and make good progress. Most exceed the levels expected for their age by the time that they move to Year 1. Pupils go on to make good progress in Years 1 and 2 and, for the last five years, overall standards in reading, writing and mathematics in the national tests at the end of Year 2 have been significantly above average. However, standards in writing have generally been lower than in reading and mathematics. The school has begun to develop strategies to improve writing that are beginning to raise standards but are not yet effective enough. Pupils continue to make good progress in Years 3 and 4 and their attainment is above expected levels when they leave the school. The school is particularly successful in helping pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities to make good progress and most reach the standards expected in the national tests at the end of Year 2.

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Grade: 2

Standards in speaking and listening are above average. Pupils listen attentively and express themselves clearly and precisely. Standards in information and communication technology (ICT) have improved well since the last inspection and are now at the expected levels. Throughout the school, pupils achieve well because they are given challenging but realistic targets so that they can build successfully on their existing levels of understanding. 2 Inspection Report: Talbot Community First School, 20 June 2006 to 20 June 2006

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. They learn the value of prayer and reflection in thoughtful assemblies and have a clear understanding of the difference between right and wrong. They develop good social skills and a good grasp of the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and ICT which will be valuable in their future lives. They have a good understanding of how to keep safe both in school and outside. They have an impressive appreciation of the needs of those less fortunate than themselves and often initiate fundraising activities for different charities. They have a good awareness of western culture, but their appreciation of life in a culturally diverse society is less effectively developed. In discussion with the inspector, pupils said that they enjoyed school because ‘it’s great’. They feel secure and do not see bullying as a concern. Their personal

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Grade: 2

development is enhanced by opportunities for responsibility, for example, on the school council, as monitors or as house captains. Older pupils accept looking after younger ones as a normal part of their school lives. Pupils have a good understanding of the need to eat healthy food and to exercise regularly. Pupils enjoy school so much that attendance rates are well above average. Behaviour is good in and out of class and relationships between pupils and between pupils and adults are very good. Pupils about to leave the school are mature and confident. They are looking forward to their next school but are ‘very sorry to leave this one’.

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Grade: 2

Throughout the school, the quality of teaching is good. An analysis of pupils’ previous work shows that learning activities are varied and build systematically on previous levels of understanding. However, at this stage, pupils’ progress is only tracked systematically in writing. In class, pupils work with good levels of interest and concentration and are happy to discuss and explain their work. For example, in a good mathematics lesson in Years 3 and 4, pupils were solving ‘real life’ problems expressed in words. These problems presented them with a good level of challenge so that they had to think about the question carefully. They were able to discuss different ways of tackling the problems – ‘would it be better to use an add or a times sum?’ This careful thinking resulted in good progress. Similarly, in a good Years 1 and 2 English lesson, effective use was being made of ICT to help pupils to clarify their ideas about different

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Grade: 2

authors. This fully engaged their attention so that they contributed well and achieved well. Pupils’ work is marked regularly with suggestions to help pupils to improve their work. Pupils say that they find marking helpful and that any problems will be discussed individually with the pupil. Pupils with specific difficulties are identified early and 3 Inspection Report: Talbot Community First School, 20 June 2006 to 20 June 2006 given highly effective support from teachers and teaching assistants that helps them to make good progress.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good curriculum that is well matched to the needs of all pupils. Good links between subjects increase pupils’ understanding and make their learning more meaningful. Pupils enjoy a wide range of visits and visitors, such as an African drummer, which give an extra reality to learning, but overall they are insufficiently prepared for life in a culturally diverse society. They enjoy learning French and having opportunities to use computers. They have good opportunities in music and parents express appreciation for the chance to learn an instrument. Pupils speak enthusiastically about their recent performance in Lichfield Cathedral when every pupil in Years 3 and 4 played the recorder. Three pupils had the opportunity to play by themselves. They also spoke enthusiastically about their ballroom dancing which culminated in a performance for parents. There is an impressive range of activities outside class for a

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Grade: 2

small school, including close links with the church. Effective social and health education helps pupils to grow in maturity and confidence. Good support for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities means that they have full access to all that the school offers.

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Grade: 2

Many parents express appreciation for the good levels of care and support which the school provides for their children. For example, they refer to the ‘family atmosphere’ in this small school in which all pupils are known and valued. Arrangements for child protection, first aid and safety procedures are secure and known to all adults. Good relationships mean that pupils are confident to approach adults with any problems. The school’s systems for assessing pupils’ standards and tracking their progress have been mainly informal and have worked satisfactorily because all pupils are so well known. The school has now started to make these arrangements more systematic and pupils’ progress in writing is now tracked formally and regularly. Plans are in place to extend this to reading and mathematics. The school recognises that this area is not yet rigorous enough.

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Grade: 2

The quality of leadership and management is good. The headteacher is a frequent and reassuring presence around the school and her ready availability is appreciated by both pupils and parents. She is committed to the progress and well-being of all pupils and the school’s provision for equality of opportunity is excellent. Parents write appreciatively of the good progress made by pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities because their learning is well managed. 4 Inspection Report: Talbot Community First School, 20 June 2006 to 20 June 2006 In this small school, teachers are an effective team and there is an obvious unity of purpose in their successful efforts to enable all pupils to make good progress. Subjects are managed effectively. The school evaluates its performance satisfactorily but often is too modest in judging how effective it is, for example, with regard to the quality of teaching and learning.

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Grade: 2

Governors, many of whom are relatively new, are a valued part of the team but are not yet fully effective. They have a sound grasp of the school’s strengths and areas for development, and manage the school’s finances well. They are proud of the school’s involvement with parents, of the success of the Talbot School Association, and of the school’s involvement with the village community. One governor summarised: ‘The school and the church are the heart of the village.’ Good leadership has enabled the school to improve well since its last inspection. Good teamwork gives it a good capacity to improve further. 5 Inspection Report: Talbot Community First School, 20 June 2006 to 20 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: Talbot Community First School, 20 June 2006 to 20 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 2 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 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 3 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 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

Thank you for welcoming me into your school, being so polite and friendly, and talking to me about your learning and your lives in the school. I think that yours is a good school in many ways. You are well cared for by adults and you feel confident and happy. You make good progress and reach good standards in your work. Your teachers try hard to make your learning interesting so that you concentrate well. You are all treated equally and valued for what you can do. Relationships are good, you behave well, support each other well and are rarely absent. You know that it is important to eat healthy food and to exercise regularly. Your headteacher and teachers lead and manage the school well and have plans to make it even better. All these things mean that you develop into confident young people, happy to say what you think in class and in assemblies. I have asked your school to do two things. To help you to write better. To help you to understand how people from different cultures live.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I enjoyed my day in your school very much and wish you well for the future.

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