Claverdon Primary School

Inspection Report Claverdon Primary School

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125507 Unique Reference Number Warwickshire LEA 281947 Inspection number 22 February 2006 to 23 February 2006 Inspection dates David Cox AI Reporting inspector

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

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Breach Lane School address Primary Type of school Warwick Community School category Warwickshire CV35 8QA 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01926 842403 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01926 843861 Fax number 168 Number on roll Mrs Gill Evans Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Cheryl Pilling Headteacher 10 January 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281947 22 February 2006 - 4 to 11 23 February 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Claverdon Primary School is a smaller than average primary school. Most of the pupils are from a White British background. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below the national average. The proportion of pupils who have learning difficulties is broadly average. The headteacher is currently on secondment providing support for another school. Her deputy is the acting headteacher.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Claverdon Primary School, 22 February 2006 to 23 February 2006

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Grade: 2

The inspectors agree with the school’s view that it provides a good education, with some outstanding features. Standards are above average and by Year 6, pupils achieve well. For a small number of boys who did not start school in Reception, writing is a relative weakness because in the past, the school has not always provided them with writing tasks that they valued or enjoyed. Teaching and learning are good overall. Provision in Reception is good. Pupils make good progress in Reception and in Years 1 and 2 as a result of good teaching. Pupils are exceedingly well cared for and safe. The school goes to good lengths to ensure that all pupils are treated equally. The curriculum is good and as a result they thoroughly enjoy their time at school. Pupils develop outstanding personal skills. Leadership and management are outstanding and leaders have shown that they can move the school forward. In achieving that, the headteacher and the acting headteacher

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Grade: 2

have played a major role. Standards continue to improve and the school has addressed the issues identified at the last inspection. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

•Remedy the weaknesses in boys’ writing by providing them with more writing tasks that they enjoy and further opportunities to develop their writing skills.

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Grade: 2

Standards are above average by the end of Year 6 and pupils achieve well from their time on entry into the school. Pupils achieve well in meeting challenging targets because teaching is good. Results in the national tests in 2005 for Year 6 pupils were above average in English, mathematics and science. By the time pupils reach Year 6, listening skills are good, and pupils are very articulate. They are inquisitive and enjoy expressing their views. For example, in a Year 6 mathematics lesson, they freely discussed a number of methods of how to work out the perimeter of complex shapes. Pupils with learning difficulties are well supported by teaching assistants so they make good progress. When pupils start school most have slightly better skills and knowledge than is typical of four-year-olds. During their time in the Reception, pupils make good progress, with many achieving beyond what they are expected to reach by Year 1. Pupils continue

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Grade: 2

to make good progress in Years 1 and 2 so that by the end of Year 2, standards are above average. A small number of pupils, especially boys, who did not start school in Reception show standards of writing that are not always as high as those who did. They do not always see the value of being able to write well. The school is now employing a range of strategies to help motivate these pupils and raise their standards. These measures have not been in place long enough yet to have a full impact. 2 Inspection Report: Claverdon Primary School, 22 February 2006 to 23 February 2006

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Grade: 1

Pupils’ personal development is outstanding. Behaviour and attitudes to learning are excellent, as is attendance. Pupils enjoy their lessons, are alert, keen and contribute readily. Inside school and around the grounds they work and play harmoniously. They are extremely polite, well motivated and enthusiastic. They fully live up to the school’s expectations enshrined in its ‘ten key qualities’, displayed around the school following full consultation among pupils, parents, staff and governors. All pupils are enthusiastic about their school. ‘I like everything about it’, said one school councillor. ‘Our school is fab’, wrote another pupil. Pupils enjoy taking part in sporting activities and the school council actively promotes a safe and healthy lifestyle. Pupils contribute significantly to the community through a very well organised, active school council. Pupils have raised money for children in Africa and are developing their own playground area. Their good level of basic skills

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Grade: 1

prepares them well for life when they leave school. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are good. Pupils’ ability to work in teams and their sense of responsibility are outstanding because of the school’s excellent arrangements for their moral and social development. The school provides good opportunities to widen pupils’ understanding of the diverse society they live in. Displays in the entrance hall and classrooms show pupils’ good understanding of rules and enthusiastic participation in reward schemes. Year 2’s ‘Friendship Box’ and ‘Tree of Triumph’ involve pupils imaginatively in developing and recognising personal qualities in each other. Pupils successfully develop an unusually high awareness of their own learning styles and personal qualities, following Warwickshire’s University of the First Age (UFA) approach.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good overall and there are examples of outstanding teaching. As a result, the pupils are making good progress. In the Reception class, teachers provide interesting activities that meet pupils’ needs well. For example, they set up a greengrocer’s shop and use this to develop pupils’ basic numeracy skills. They make effective use of the outdoor play area and as a result, pupils’ creative and physical development is good. In Years 1 to 6, teachers know their pupils well and use the effective assessment systems to match work carefully to pupils’ needs. When teaching is at its best, each lesson successfully builds on what the pupils have learnt before. Teachers’ high expectations are reflected in the challenging work set for pupils, to which they respond very positively. Teachers enable pupils to consider how they learn and not just what they learn. Marking is of a consistently high quality and pupils are encouraged to use

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Grade: 2

3 Inspection Report: Claverdon Primary School, 22 February 2006 to 23 February 2006 teachers’ comments to set and evaluate their own progress against individual targets. The pupils’ behaviour is managed skilfully by staff and this ensures that they listen attentively and concentrate hard. Whilst teaching is normally good, a small number of boys are not always sufficiently motivated by the tasks set to develop their full range of writing skills.

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Grade: 2

The school makes good provision for pupils through its curriculum and additional activities. The curriculum for pupils in the reception class gives good attention to all areas of learning, making imaginative links between them, ensuring that children make good progress. The curriculum in Years 1 to 6 is broad, balanced and interesting. Pupils enjoy learning because staff make lessons relevant through links between subjects. Two examples of the way staff have developed a curriculum personal to the school, stressing the development of confidence and self-esteem, are the arrangement for all pupils to prepare a ‘presentation’ (‘talk time’ for the youngest) and the participation by all in annual performances. The school has correctly identified the need to improve the writing skills of some boys by providing them with more exciting tasks and more opportunities to practise their writing skills. However, these strategies have not been

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Grade: 2

in place long enough yet to have a full impact. The school has made excellent improvement to its accommodation, grounds and facilities since the last inspection, including the addition of an information and communication technology suite. The improvements have had an extremely positive effect on the curriculum and staff morale and contributed significantly to the quality of education and sense of community. The school provides a wide selection of additional activities for all age groups, enriching its provision, stimulating pupils’ interest and resulting in good levels of take-up.

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Grade: 1

The school gives outstanding care, guidance and support to its pupils. All statutory requirements for child protection, health and safety are in place. Pupils in all classes feel safe and happy. They like their teachers and know that they can turn to any member of staff for help. Support staff such as the lunchtime supervisors, office administrators and the canteen staff are an important part of the mentoring system, often providing pupils with the opportunity to discuss any problems they might have. The ‘buddy’ system and spelling partner arrangements successfully involve pupils in caring for each other. ‘Clover awards’ involve pupils in recognising the care they give each other. The school tracks pupils’ progress carefully and has improved its systems for setting targets to help pupils achieve at their optimum rate. Staff provide very good support for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities. Teaching assistants are well deployed

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Grade: 1

in all classes and individual targets are shared with pupils and their parents. Good 4 Inspection Report: Claverdon Primary School, 22 February 2006 to 23 February 2006 relationships with external agencies ensure additional support is provided where needed. There are excellent opportunities for children and parents to become familiar with the school before they start and pupils receive clear information about secondary school choices.

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management of the school are outstanding. The headteacher and the acting headteacher provide outstanding leadership. Together with other leaders in the school, they form a strong team that is forging ahead with innovation and consolidation of good practice. This team has an excellent grasp of the strengths of the school and the areas for development. They have worked hard to develop consistency and high expectations across the whole school in order to raise standards. The headteacher has involved the whole of the school community in setting the school’s priorities for improvement. The fruits of all this hard work can be seen in the pupils’ above-average standards and outstanding personal development. The school’s evaluation of its performance is mostly accurate, although it undervalues itself with respect to the pupils’ personal development and the care it provides for pupils. The school is not complacent and is always looking for ways to improve. The school

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Grade: 1

has already identified that the standard of a small number of boys’ writing needs to be raised. The literacy coordinator has set in motion a series of training events to support staff to bring this about. The school has a knack of appointing high quality staff who quickly adapt to the ‘Claverdon’ way of doing things. New staff are provided with excellent support. Through rigorous monitoring and support, all staff are always looking to improve. This has resulted in an improvement in standards, achievement and attendance since the previous inspection. Parents speak very highly of the school and the good support their children receive. Parents feel fully involved and appreciate the opportunities to be part of the school. However, a small minority of parents are concerned that the headteacher spends too much of her time supporting other schools. The work of the governing body is excellent. Governors give the school excellent

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Grade: 1

support, and make sure statutory requirements are met. They too have rigorous ways of monitoring the school. For example, each governor is linked to a class and monitors the work of that class. 5 Inspection Report: Claverdon Primary School, 22 February 2006 to 23 February 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: Claverdon Primary School, 22 February 2006 to 23 February 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 1 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 1 The behaviour of learners NA 1 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 1 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 1 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 1 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 1 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

As you know, we visited your school recently to find out how well the school is doing. We would like to thank you for looking after us so well. Thank you also for talking to us about your school, the work you have done and how much you enjoy coming to school. Many thanks to those of you who offered to share their breakfast with the inspectors. What we liked about your school •You behave extremely well and you enjoy being at school a great deal. •Most of you do well at school because of the good teaching. •Your school is a healthy and safe place to be and you get on well with each other. •Teachers and other staff in the school look after you well. •The headteacher is making sure that you have lots of extra activities to do, especially in the mornings before school and in the evening. •The people who run your school know what it does well and what needs to get even better. What we have asked your school to do now

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

•Help some of the boys to improve their writing.

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