Wilmcote CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School

Inspection Report Wilmcote CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School

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125696 Unique Reference Number Warwickshire LEA 281980 Inspection number 14 March 2006 to 14 March 2006 Inspection dates Peter Callow 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 Road School address Primary Type of school Stratford-upon-Avon Voluntary aided School category Warwickshire CV37 9XD 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01789 204395 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01789 204395 Fax number 97 Number on roll Mr J Howles Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Ms J Forsyth Headteacher 20 September 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281980 14 March 2006 - 4 to 11 14 March 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

The school is a smaller than average primary school where the majority of pupils live in the village and are White British. The percentage of pupils with learning difficulties is a little higher than average, but there are no pupils with statements of special educational need. There have been a significant number of staff changes in recent years including the headteacher. At the time of the inspection, she had only recently returned to work after five months’ absence through ill-health.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Wilmcote CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School, 14 March 2006 to 14 March 2006

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Grade: 3

Wilmcote is an improving school which makes satisfactory provision for its pupils and provides satisfactory value for money. The school’s effectiveness is improving as there is an increasing number of good features and pupils making good progress, particularly in Reception and Years 1 and 2. The school’s evaluation of its own effectiveness is accurate. Provision for the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. Pupils’ progress is mainly satisfactory but it is good in reading. They leave reception with standards that are broadly average overall. Although standards are above average in Years 2 and 6, pupils’ overall achievement is satisfactory because a significant number of higher attaining pupils are not making enough progress as they move through the school. Pupils’ personal development and well-being are good. Pupils are responsible, show mature attitudes and are happy coming to school. They respond with enthusiasm to

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Grade: 3

the opportunities provided in sport and music. Teaching is satisfactory overall. The teaching of reading is good in Reception and writing is taught well in Years 1 and 2. Not all planning takes full account of pupils’ previous learning or expects enough of what different groups of pupils can achieve. Teachers’ marking is good in some respects but pupils are not given enough guidance about how to improve their work. Satisfactory progress has been made since the last inspection. Standards at both Year 2 and Year 6 improved rapidly following the appointment of the present headteacher as a result of her good leadership and high expectations. She and the staff and governors are committed to improvement but they are not yet looking carefully enough at assessment information and pupils’ targets to ensure that all pupils make the progress of which they are capable. The headteacher has demonstrated her ability to bring

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Grade: 3

about successful change and the school has a secure capacity to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

•Make better use of assessment information to ensure that planned activities meet pupils’ needs and lead to good progress, particularly by higher attaining pupils •Check systematically to ensure that pupils’ targets are sufficiently challenging and that they are making the progress of which they are capable •Give regular feedback to pupils on how they can improve their work and help them to assess their own progress.

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Grade: 3

The achievement of pupils is satisfactory. Standards have risen as a result of the good leadership of the headteacher, who has high expectations of both teachers and pupils. Although the results of national tests are generally above average in Years 2 and 6, too few pupils throughout the school, particularly the most able, are making the 2 Inspection Report: Wilmcote CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School, 14 March 2006 to 14 March 2006 progress they are capable of, especially in Years 3 to 6. This is because the targets that are set for pupils to achieve are not sufficiently challenging, given the standards they achieved previously. The introduction of some good strategies to raise standards further, for example in punctuation in writing, is already leading to better progress. Pupils with learning difficulties make satisfactory progress overall, but a few make good progress as a result of clear targets in their plans.

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Grade: 3

When pupils start school they have the knowledge and skills expected for their age. They make good progress in reading and satisfactory progress in writing and mathematics and reach standards that are broadly average by the end of Reception. Progress is satisfactory and improving in Years 1 and 2 as the result of higher expectations of what all pupils can achieve.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are good. Pupils have a well-developed awareness of right and wrong and mature attitudes. They are polite and show good manners. They feel safe in school and are free from bullying. Relationships between pupils and staff are good and pupils are confident to ask questions or seek help. They enjoy coming to school and as a result their attendance is good. Pupils apply themselves well in lessons and sustain concentration even when they are not challenged in their learning. Behaviour in lessons is good but a small number of boys show a lack of self-discipline and awareness of others when playing outside. Pupils are aware of the need to adopt healthy life-styles. They readily explain what constitutes a healthy diet, and they recognise the importance of physical activity. They know what they should do to keep safe.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enjoy taking on responsible roles such as those of House Captain and many become actively involved in the local folk and music festivals. Pupils’ mature attitudes, combined with good standards of literacy and numeracy, ensure that they are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory and improving. There is good teaching of reading in Reception which results in pupils having a good understanding of letters and word building. The good teaching of writing in Years 1 and 2 results in pupils’ confident and accurate use of punctuation. Relationships between adults and pupils are good in all classes. Pupils maintain good attitudes to their work even when tasks do not challenge them. Teachers’ planning does not always build sufficiently on pupils’ previous learning so that expectations of 3 Inspection Report: Wilmcote CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School, 14 March 2006 to 14 March 2006 what different groups of pupils can achieve are not high enough. This is starting to be addressed, for example in pupils’ writing, by teachers planning activities which meet pupils’ needs much more accurately, particularly those attaining at a higher level. Together with skilful questioning by teachers which develops pupils’ understanding,

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Grade: 3

this is leading to better progress. At the start of each lesson, teachers make very clear to pupils what they are expected to learn. This helps pupils to know how well they are doing, especially as teachers often refer to it again when they mark pupils work. However, teachers’ marking often doesn’t show pupils clearly how they could improve their work.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory and there are some good features. More effective links between subjects are making learning more relevant and interesting for the pupils. For example, art and religious education have been brought together for pupils in Years 3 and 4 whilst making a model of a Sikh Temple. The curriculum makes a good contribution to pupils’ personal development and promotes safe and healthy lifestyles. Provision is satisfactory in the Foundation Stage and good use is made of the outdoor environment for learning. Arrangements for promoting literacy, numeracy and ICT skills are satisfactory. The curriculum is not sufficiently well-structured to provide activities which enable pupils to make consistently good progress, particularly the more able. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are identified at an early stage and work is usually matched to their needs. Despite its small size and the limitations of the accommodation the school does well

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Grade: 3

to provide a good range of musical and sporting activities which pupils enjoy.

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Grade: 3

The quality of care, guidance and support is satisfactory. Staff are committed to ensuring pupils’ welfare and this is reflected in robust procedures for health and safety and child protection. The school works well with parents and carers and uses other agencies to support pupils when necessary. Personal and social education lessons provide good guidance for pupils and promote good personal development. Pupils’ progress is regularly assessed but the information is not yet used effectively by teachers and senior managers to ensure that planned activities fully meet pupils’ needs and lead to good progress. Target setting has started, but not all pupils are sufficiently aware of their targets and of how they can improve their work. Education plans for pupils with learning difficulties are satisfactory overall. Some are good because they contain clear targets that are used effectively to promote pupils’ personal

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Grade: 3

development as well as their academic progress. 4 Inspection Report: Wilmcote CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School, 14 March 2006 to 14 March 2006

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Grade: 3

The leadership and management of the school are satisfactory. Before her absence, the headteacher was successful in her drive to raise standards as a result of her high expectations of both staff and pupils. Although the pace of improvement slowed while she was away, momentum has now picked up again because of her good leadership. For example the headteacher, the literacy coordinator and governors are working together to enable pupils to proof read their work more carefully. This follows an initiative which improved pupils’ progress in writing by focusing on the accuracy of their punctuation. These examples, together with the satisfactory progress made in tackling the issues from the previous inspection, illustrate the school’s capacity to continue to move forward and raise standards still further. However, leaders are not yet evaluating the effectiveness of improvement strategies by checking the level of

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Grade: 3

challenge in individual pupils’ targets and whether pupils are making sufficient progress. The governors play an important and effective role within the school and are fully involved with its self-evaluation. The school’s knowledge of itself is good in some areas of its work, but it has an over-generous view of its own effectiveness in others because it hasn’t sufficiently considered the impact of its actions on pupils’ progress. The school enjoys the good support of parents and takes account of their views in its self-evaluation, for example when developing the healthy snack policy. 5 Inspection Report: Wilmcote CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School, 14 March 2006 to 14 March 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: Wilmcote CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School, 14 March 2006 to 14 March 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 3 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 3 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 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 3 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 3 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 3 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 3 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 for answering all our questions when we visited your school recently. You were very helpful and we were impressed by your politeness and good manners. What we liked most about your school •The standards of your work are improving. •The headteacher is working hard with your teachers, governors and parents to improve your school further. •You have good attitudes to your work and behave well in class. •The youngest children are taught to read well and those in Years 1 and 2 are beginning to make better progress in their writing. •You appreciate the opportunities that you have to take part in music and sport and go on visits. •The adults care for you and make sure that you have a happy and safe school in which to learn. What we have asked your school to do now •Make sure that you are given work that helps you to make as much progress as you can •Check whether the targets you are given are challenging enough and that you are making good

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

progress •Tell you what to do to improve your work and help you to judge for yourself how well you are getting on.

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