Worlingworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Inspection Report Worlingworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

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124750 Unique Reference Number SUFFOLK LEA LEA 281797 Inspection number 23 November 2005 to 24 November 2005 Inspection dates Mr. Robert McKeown LI Reporting inspector

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

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Worlingworth School address Primary Type of school IP13 7HX Voluntary controlled School category 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01728628397 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils Fax number 50 Number on roll Mr.Colin Wilkinson Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr. Nick Hawes Headteacher 13 November 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281797 23 November 2005 - 4 to 11 24 November 2005 Inspection Report: Worlingworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 23 November 2005 to 24 November 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 one of Her Majesty's Inspectors

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Description of the school

Worlingworth is a Church of England, voluntary controlled primary school situated near Woodbridge in Suffolk. Almost all children are from White British backgrounds. There are currently no children entitled to a free school meal. The number of children who have learning difficulties and disabilities is above average. From a broadly average starting point most children enter Year 1 achieving the level expected for their age. The current headteacher was appointed in September 2005, two months before the inspection.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Worlingworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 23 November 2005 to 24 November

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Grade: 2

Worlingworth Primary School is an improved school which provides children with a good education. It has the capacity to improve further. Parents comment positively on the education given to their children. The school listens to their views and works well with them. It achieves good value for money. Children make good progress. They have a good start in the Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception) and continue to achieve well in all three classes. This is the result of good teaching. Standards overall in Year 2 and Year 6 are above the expected levels. However, children do not achieve as well in writing as they do in reading and mathematics. Children with additional needs make good progress. Achievement in information and communication technology (ICT) is good; this is a significant improvement since the last inspection. The school cares well for all children. It supports their personal development and well-being

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Grade: 2

effectively. Children are very enthusiastic about school; they are eager to learn and behave well. They enjoy learning and are keen to take part in school activities during lessons and beyond the school day. Staff work very effectively together to ensure all children succeed. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher is recently appointed and has quickly gained the confidence of children, parents, staff and governors. He is still finding out about the school's overall effectiveness to produce a suitable school improvement plan. The work of staff in monitoring and evaluating the curriculum requires improvement. Teachers do not know enough about the standards and teaching approaches in other classes. One result of this is that children's progress is not tracked tightly enough as they move through the school, particularly in writing.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Raise standards in writing by drawing up a detailed action plan for improvement. - Provide teachers with training in the teaching of writing. - Establish a whole-school tracking system that records children's attainments as they move through the school.

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Grade: 2

Overall, children make good progress. From a broadly average starting point children achieve well in the Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception) and by the time they enter Year 1 most are achieving the level expected for their age. There are exceptions; children do less well with linking sounds and letters and in early writing. In Years 1 and 2 children continue to make good progress. In recent years, results in Year 2 have exceeded the national average standards in reading and mathematics but standards in writing were not as high. Children continue to make good progress from Years 3 to 6, although achievement in writing is not as good as in reading. Progress in mathematics is particularly good. Results at the end of Year 6 in 2005 were above the national average in mathematics and science but only average in English. Results in English were lower because fewer children reached the expected level in writing. Children with

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Grade: 2

2 Inspection Report: Worlingworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 23 November 2005 to 24 November learning difficulties and disabilities do well. Most children are confident and competent users of ICT and achievement is good.

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Grade: 2

The school supports children's personal development and well-being effectively. Children enjoy school; they have very good attitudes and are eager to learn. Children behave well and develop good relationships with adults and show care and consideration for each other. Incidents of bullying are rare and are dealt with effectively. A school council, the use of a suggestion box and questionnaires help children to put forward their ideas and take part in decision making. Older children are confident when expressing their views. Children learn about healthy lifestyles in science and personal, social and health education (PSHE ) lessons. The school encourages healthy mid-morning snacks and makes free fruit and water available. School lunches have improved recently as the providers work towards more nutritious menus. Children feel safe at school; for example, a very good link with the fire brigade has enabled them

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Grade: 2

to appreciate the importance of fire safety. The school provides well for children's spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development. Close links are maintained with the village community and the local church, and children regularly raise funds for a school in Zimbabwe. Attendance is satisfactory.

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Grade: 2

Teaching is good. Children make good progress in most subjects because they are taught well. The high standards achieved in mathematics are the result of effective teaching. Most teaching is lively and interesting and children work with commitment and enthusiasm in lessons. Teachers' planning is clearly focused on what children are expected to learn and suitable activities are provided for different ages and aptitudes. Teaching assistants give good support in lessons and around the school. Learning resources are used well in lessons to stimulate learning and to support understanding. For example, children had the chance to examine a number of artefacts as part of a history lesson. ICT is used effectively by teachers to enhance their explanations and children regularly use computers to extend their learning. Assessment in lessons is good. Teachers use questioning effectively to assess knowledge and understanding

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Grade: 2

and children are given regular opportunities to work together and discuss their learning. All children have useful learning targets which are shared with parents. The school has recognised the need to improve standards in writing, particularly from Years 3 - 6. Some good ideas have been introduced to engage children more with literacy, for example, the story bags for younger children and a theatre visit for older ones. However the current arrangements for teaching English are not securing the improvements desired. Children's work shows inconsistencies in handwriting and presentation and in teachers' marking. 3 Inspection Report: Worlingworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 23 November 2005 to 24 November

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Grade: 2

The quality of the curriculum is good. There is a wide range of well-planned activities to engage children's interest and support their progress. All subjects are covered and the school is beginning to link learning across subjects to make it more relevant. A particularly strong feature of the curriculum is ICT, which is used successfully by teachers and children to extend learning. Provision for music and physical education are enhanced by the visits of a specialist teacher for music and community sports coaches who teach weekly lessons to all classes. Guitar lessons are provided through a wider opportunities scheme. Older children have the chance to take part in a residential visit and the school enters teams for a number of sport tournaments throughout the year. Opportunities for outdoor learning have recently improved for Foundation Stage children and some adventure play equipment has been installed.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good level of care, guidance and support. Children feel confident about sharing their concerns with their teachers. Child protection and health and safety procedures are clear and well known by staff. The school has very good partnerships with parents and works well with outside agencies to ensure that individual needs are met. Parents value the way staff help their children enjoy school and make the most from their learning. Children with learning difficulties and disabilities receive good support, although some of the targets in their improvement plans are insufficiently sharp and detailed. Helpful targets focus children on the next stage in their learning. However, comments in teachers' marking do not always link closely enough to these targets and do not give enough guidance on what children need to do to improve. The arrangements for transfer from the Nursery into Reception are good, although the

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Grade: 2

school would welcome a more consistent approach to planning and assessment across the Foundation Stage.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The school's self-evaluation matched most of the judgements made in the inspection. However, the school improvement plan requires refinement and is insufficiently focused on the priorities identified for improvement. All the adults in the school work effectively together as a team. Everyone is committed to the children's academic and personal development and well-being. The views of parents are considered regularly, are listened to and acted upon. The work of staff in monitoring and evaluating the curriculum is less effective. Teachers do not know enough about the standards and teaching approaches in classes other than their own and children's progress is not tracked tightly enough. Governors give the staff their full support. They meet regularly in committees to discuss the work of 4 Inspection Report: Worlingworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 23 November 2005 to 24 November

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Grade: 3

the school and visit classrooms to observe lessons. They contribute to the drawing up of the school improvement plan and monitor its implementation. 5 Inspection Report: Worlingworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 23 November 2005 to 24 November .

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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: Worlingworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 23 November 2005 to 24 November

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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 3 The attendance of learners NA 1 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 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 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

I enjoyed the two days I spent with you in your school. Thank you for making my visit so successful. It was very thoughtful of you to put up a welcome poster in the car park to greet me when I arrived. All the adults at your school care for you very well and want you to succeed. I was pleased to see you working hard in all your lessons. Your teachers give you interesting work to do. I was impressed with your behaviour and the way you care for each other. Everyone was polite and helpful and you work and play well together. You are making good progress in mathematics and science and you use your computers well to help you learn. I like the idea of having targets to help you to improve your work. I enjoyed talking to you and the school council about the things you do at Worlingworth. There are lots of good things going on during the day and after school. You have several clubs and lots of sports tournaments to enjoy. I think

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

you are very kind to raise money to help other children. At the end of the inspection, I asked your teachers to look more closely at how well you are doing each year. I also asked them to help you to improve your writing. I hope you will also try hard to improve your writing. You have a lot to look forward to in the rest of this year, make sure you work really hard and do the best you can.

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