St Mark's Church of England Primary School

Inspection Report St Mark's Church of England Primary School

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131450 Unique Reference Number Hampshire LEA LEA 282212 Inspection number 8 February 2006 to 9 February 2006 Inspection dates George Rayner AI Reporting inspector

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

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Danebury Road School address Primary Type of school Hatch Warren Voluntary aided School category Basingstoke RG22 4US 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01256346111 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01256346121 Fax number 525 Number on roll Mrs F Jackson Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs S Galloway Headteacher 6 December 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 282212 8 February 2006 - 4 to 11 9 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 three additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school is considerably larger than average. There has been significant expansion since the last inspection, with a major building extension and pupil numbers almost doubling. The area is one of generally advantaged socio-economic circumstances. Relatively few pupils come from minority ethnic groups, or are at an early stage of speaking English. Pupils enter the school with standards that are broadly average. The proportion with learning difficulties is below average. The school has recently set up a unit for pupils with behavioural and emotional difficulties.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: St Mark's Church of England Primary School, 8 February 2006 to 9 February 2006

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Grade: 3

The inspectors agree with the school's view that its overall effectiveness is satisfactory and that provision in the Foundation Stage is good. Pupils' achievement is satisfactory overall. Year 6 results in 2005 show that there has been underachievement by higher attaining pupils in mathematics. Strategies to improve this through providing better opportunities for using skills in real-life situations, are beginning to have an impact. Pupils make good progress in the Foundation Stage because of a good range of well-planned work. Pupils' personal development is good. They behave well and enjoy coming to school. Teaching is satisfactory. Teachers usually plan interesting lessons. In mathematics teachers do not use assessment well enough to plan work that matches pupils' prior learning. Marking does not provide enough guidance to pupils on how to improve. Care is satisfactory overall. Although the school provides good pastoral care

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Grade: 3

for pupils, the guidance and support for their academic progress is satisfactory. Leadership and management are satisfactory. There is appropriate focus on areas in need of improvement. However timescales for evaluation do not ensure that the pace of improvement is fast enough. Improvement since the last inspection and the capacity for future improvement are satisfactory. The school provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

* Make better use of assessment to plan work in mathematics that builds well on pupils' prior learning.* Use marking more effectively to guide pupils in improving their work. * Build regular evaluation into improvement planning to ensure that the pace of improvement is as fast as possible.

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Grade: 3

Achievement is satisfactory overall. In the Foundation Stage pupils make good progress. This is because staff provide a good range of activities to promote all areas of learning and consistently assess how well children are doing in order to plan the next stage in their learning. In other years, most pupils maintain their standards at expected levels. Achievement is strongest in English, where pupils reach above average standards by Year 6. However, in Years 1 and 2, the most able pupils did not fully meet their expectations in writing in 2005. The school's records and analysis of pupils' work show that action taken by the school has had a positive effect, so that the achievement of the more able pupils now matches that of others. Older pupils benefit from having their classes organised in ability groups, because these ensure that work is matched to their needs. This results in progress often being good in these lessons. In

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Grade: 3

mathematics, the 2005 national test results for Year 6 showed some underachievement, particularly by more able pupils. Measures put in place, including improving opportunities to use skills in different real-life situations, are beginning to have an 2 Inspection Report: St Mark's Church of England Primary School, 8 February 2006 to 9 February 2006 impact, although the standards of a few of these pupils are still not as high as they could be. There is no major disparity between the achievement of other groups.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being are good. Pupils enjoy coming to school and their attendance is good. They are fully involved in setting school rules and enjoy 'Golden Time', a reward for behaving well and working hard. Pupils work and play happily together. They say that they feel safe in school and are confident that their teachers will listen to them if they have any personal worries or problems with work. In one lesson pupils spontaneously praised their teacher for her kindness and help. In the Foundation Stage, due to good provision, children are independent, confident and happy learners. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good and the school's caring ethos strongly supports this. Outstanding acts of collective worship contribute immensely to the sense of community and spiritual development. Pupils celebrate and learn about cultural diversity through activities such as Chinese New

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Grade: 2

Year and visitors from other cultures. Extra-curricular clubs promote social development. The very good school choir enables pupils to make a valuable contribution to the community through public appearances in the local theatre. The school council ensures that pupils have a say in their school and members are proud of their efforts to save water by ensuring all taps are turned off after use. Pupils have good opportunities to take on responsibilities, for example, they sell books, count dinner money and set up the hall for collective worship. These activities help to equip them with the skills they will need in later life.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall and good in the Foundation Stage. Throughout the school, teachers make their lessons interesting and explain well to pupils what they are going to learn. Therefore, pupils are involved in their work and enjoy their learning. Teaching is good in the Foundation Stage because teachers make frequent notes about what children have achieved and use them effectively in planning the next steps of their learning. In the rest of the school, the use of assessment in planning to meet the needs of all pupils is inconsistent, especially in mathematics. Pupils of differing abilities are often given the same work, which is sometimes too easy for higher attaining pupils and occasionally too difficult for others. Teachers mark all pupils' written work, but they do not give enough guidance on how their work might have been better and what they need to do to improve. 3 Inspection Report: St Mark's Church of England Primary School, 8 February 2006 to 9 February 2006

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory overall with some strengths. Pupils have good opportunities to use their ICT skills in all subjects. This enhances their learning and improves their computer skills. Provision for personal and health education is woven into the curriculum from an early age so that pupils learn to discuss and express their feelings. They also learn about growing up and know how to be fit and healthy. Enrichment of the curriculum is good. The school adds excitement through special weeks, such as the 'Elgar Week', which broaden pupils' experience well. School trips out and visitors to the school help pupils to see the relevance of learning in their lives as a whole.The curriculum is satisfactory in meeting the needs of all pupils. The organisation of older pupils into groups of similar ability for some subjects is improving this, especially in English. Planning in mathematics, to enable better achievement for

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Grade: 3

all pupils is a current improvement focus, but its impact on lessons is not yet consistent.

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Grade: 3

Care, guidance and support are satisfactory. The school gives pupils good pastoral care so that they are secure and have good attitudes to work. However, assessment information is not yet used well enough to meet pupils' needs, especially in mathematics, and this is hindering progress. Pupils with learning difficulties are supported well and good attention is given to their specific needs so that they can take part fully in school activities. Their progress is monitored regularly to ensure that support is well targeted. The unit for pupils with behavioural and emotional difficulties is beginning to provide a valuable service to the community. The pupils are given effective specialist help, which includes support in returning to the normal classroom. This sometimes presents teachers with additional challenges in balancing the needs of these pupils and others in the class. Generally, these challenges are being met well.

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Grade: 3

Staff ensure that pupils know about safe use of equipment and tools and appropriate risk assessments are made before trips so that safety is assured. Child protection procedures are fully in place and the needs of vulnerable pupils are sensitively handled.Pupils know the importance of exercise and enjoy physical education and sporting tournaments in rugby and hockey. They were happy to talk about the importance of eating a healthy lunch and know the value of fruit and vegetables to their diet.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. Since the last inspection the school has undergone major building works and a very significant increase in pupil numbers. The turbulence this caused has presented considerable challenges in for example, coping with the arrival of significant numbers of pupils after the start of courses and ensuring consistency in teaching with the arrival of many new staff. This was a significant factor 4 Inspection Report: St Mark's Church of England Primary School, 8 February 2006 to 9 February 2006 in the decline in results during this period. With the completion of these developments the school is successfully establishing a capable, well-organised leadership team. It has identified the key areas in need of improvement and has put strategies in place to secure these. Planning is appropriately focused, but does not have short enough timescales for evaluation to ensure that the pace of improvement is fast enough. The

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Grade: 3

governing body has recently undergone substantial expansion to match the growth of the school and new governors are benefiting from good induction training, which is improving their capacity to support and challenge the work of the school. Finances are managed efficiently with careful regard for the needs of the curriculum. This has resulted for example, in effective updating of the school's computer resources. The school does not have regular surveys of the views of parents, but does seek their views on specific matters. Most parents believe that the school takes proper notice of their views and concerns. Overall, the school has a satisfactory capacity to improve. 5 Inspection Report: St Mark's Church of England Primary School, 8 February 2006 to 9 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: St Mark's Church of England Primary School, 8 February 2006 to 9 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 3 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 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 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 3 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 3 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 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 being so helpful when we visited your school. We have decided that your school is satisfactory. This means that it does some things well, but could do some things a little better.We think that you do fairly well in most of your work. Most pupils do best in English. A few of the most able children have not done as well as expected in writing and mathematics though. The teachers are improving lessons to make this better. One reason that pupils do not do so well in mathematics is that teachers do not always look as carefully as they could at how well you are doing, to make sure that they give you the best work. We have said that they need to improve this. Teachers also need to give you more tips on how to improve when marking your work. The school knows which things it needs to improve and has good plans for this. It does not always check often enough to make sure that it is improving as fast as it could do

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

though. Many of you told us how much you enjoy learning. Some of you told us how helpful and kind your teachers were when you need extra help with your work. It is clear that you are well looked after. You behave well and all get on well together. You and your parents help the school by making sure that you attend regularly. We heard that you really enjoy Golden Time. It is a well deserved reward for your good behaviour and hard work. We thought that the very best of your school was seen in the worship assemblies. Everybody had a great time joining in with the singing. During the prayers, you were very quiet and respectful. Pupils did important things, such as standing at the front to read prayers, very well. You all behaved extremely well coming in and going out. These all made the assemblies special occasions.Well done and good luck for the future.

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