Cheadle Village Primary School

Cheadle Primary School Inspection report

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106038 Unique Reference Number Stockport Local Authority 287393 Inspection number 25 °26 April 2007 Inspection dates Saleem Hussain Reporting inspector

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

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Primary Type of school Community School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 297 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Mark Tomlinson Chair Mrs Julie Hackney Headteacher 28 January 2002 Date of previous school inspection Ashfield Road School address Cheadle Cheshire SK8 1BB

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0161 4285026 Telephone number 0161 4285026 Fax number

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3 °11 Age group 25 °26 April 2007 Inspection dates 287393 Inspection number .

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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

This is an average size school situated in Cheadle, Stockport. The majority of pupils are of White British heritage and the proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is above average. A very small number of children are at the early stages of English language acquisition. The percentage of pupils taking free school meals is average. The percentage with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Cheadle Primary School, 25 °26 April 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school. Parental comments, reflecting the views of others include, 'our child is extremely happy and is proud of her school, she is doing very well and her teacher has got to know her personality including her strengths and weaknesses'. The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage are good. Pupils achieve well throughout the school. Most pupils make good progress and they leave with broadly average standards because the quality of teaching and learning is good. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those with English as an additional language progress well because of strong support in the classroom from teachers and teaching assistants. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding because there is very effective provision for personal development, much improved since the last inspection. The school is highly successful in contributing to the Every Child Matters outcomes.

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Grade: 2

For example, a group of Year 6 pupils engrossed in a timed problem solving exercise in mathematics explained why they enjoy learning so much. One pupil said, 'it's fun learning together, our teacher makes sure each of the groups in problem solving challenges is fair, and we love trying to work out the answers before the other groups do'. Pupils thrive on taking responsibility for others and make an outstanding contribution to the community. For instance, the school council is very pro-active in discussions with staff about school improvement and has made a good impact. The curriculum is much improved since the last inspection and is now good. Many chances for sport and exercise enable pupils to develop healthy lifestyles and pupils have excellent attitudes towards healthy eating. A week of activities was held recently on health and safety and this was effective in helping pupils to adopt good safety practices in every day

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Grade: 2

life. Good provision for literacy, numeracy and improving provision for information and communications technology (ICT) helps pupils to develop useful skills for the future. Leadership and management are good. The new leadership team has established itself well in a short period of time following reorganisation. Performance is monitored, evaluated and improved effectively to meet challenging targets and the impact can be seen in high standards of teaching and the progress made by most pupils. Although the school has addressed the concern of the last inspection regarding assessment, new procedures are in place and more time is needed to make best use of assessment information, especially to improve challenge for more able pupils. Care, support and guidance are judged as satisfactory overall because there is scope to develop academic guidance procedures so that pupils gain a better awareness of their learning targets. In view of improvements since the last inspection and rigorous

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Grade: 2

self-evaluation at all levels, there is strong capacity for further improvement. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Use assessment information more effectively to challenge the most able pupils to attain higher standards in English and mathematics. • Ensure that all pupils know and understand how to improve their work.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good. Children enter the Nursery with broadly average skills except in their communication and language where their attainments are well below average. They make good progress because of the good teaching and stimulating curriculum. Children at the early stages 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Cheadle Primary School, 25 °26 April 2007 of learning English as an additional language make good strides in understanding and speaking English because they are encouraged to talk as often as possible. Children's rate of progress is maintained in the Reception classes and by the time they leave the Foundation Stage, the majority are working securely within the expected early learning goals. Good teaching and good attitudes to learning from Years 1 to 6 ensure that most pupils continue to make good progress. Although the vast majority are attaining challenging targets, some of the most able pupils could

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Grade: 2

achieve more. The significant number of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities achieve well, coming close to reaching national expectations. Most pupils in Year 6 are attaining average standards in English, mathematics and science. Year 6 includes many pupils who joined school in Year 2 or later, and the proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above average. The school has maintained good progress since the last inspection.

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Grade: 1

Personal development is outstanding and makes a significant contribution to progress. The school nurtures confidence, self-esteem and maturity particularly well. Pupils' attitudes towards learning and their behaviour are excellent. Pupils like the yellow and red cards used to maintain discipline, especially the idea that the yellow cards can be withdrawn as soon as they behave well again. Pupils are very well mannered and welcoming to visitors. Relationships between pupils are excellent. Pupils say that any problems are dealt with and resolved quickly by the school. There is a real family feel about Friday afternoon 'golden time' because the pupils' activities are provided by staff, parents and governors. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. For instance, pupils marvel at facts in science and as they think about the beauty of the world around them. They also reflect on issues such as poverty, war

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Grade: 1

and conflict through assembly and circle time themes. Pupils love school, as shown by their good attendance and comments such as, 'the school is special and it's like a second home'. The school council held a competition recently to design a new school logo. A child friendly vision statement and new logo resulted with hands covering a globe with the words 'caring, growing and learning together'. The school has embraced the Every Child Matters agenda very effectively.

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Grade: 2

Pupils make good progress and learn well because of effective teaching. One Year 6 boy commented that, 'everyday you walk out feeling you have learnt something new today'. Teachers respond well to pupils' preferred learning styles and creative approaches to engaging learners are effective. For instance, music is often used as a calming backdrop in lessons and 'brain gym' refreshes pupils when needed. Pupils work hard in lessons. Behaviour is managed very well and relationships between adults and pupils are very strong, based on mutual respect. Basic skills are taught well. The best lessons are well presented, brisk and challenging. Teaching assistants make a good contribution in the classroom and through their work with targeted groups. The school has made good improvements to assessment procedures since the last inspection. However, the use of assessment information to challenge some of the more able pupils is

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Grade: 2

inconsistent. 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Cheadle Primary School, 25 °26 April 2007

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Grade: 2

The curriculum contributes well to pupils' personal development encouraging them to be confident and articulate. A strong component of this is circle time, which is timetabled twice a week for each class. Multicultural strands of the curriculum prepare pupils well for life in our diverse society. Academic provision is good and ICT skills are enhanced by regular visits to a local secondary school by older pupils. Good enrichment of the curriculum includes a wide range of educational visits, which are effective because they are well linked to topic work. Many visitors make a good contribution to the curriculum including dance and theatre groups. Pupils' achievements in performances and singing are recognised as strengths of the school. Thematic weeks are held from time to time, enabling pupils to experience cross-curricular learning in areas such as art, music and religious education.

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Grade: 3

Care, guidance and support are satisfactory with some good features. Typical comments from pupils included, 'there is always someone there to help you if you have any problems and adults are always very kind'. Procedures to ensure the health, safety and protection of pupils are in place. Personal development is monitored well and pupils receive good support where necessary. New assessment, tracking and target-setting procedures are in place. Although academic progress is easy to see, the school has yet to make best use of information to set targets for different groups of pupils. For instance, lesson plans can make better use of this information and pupils are not always clear about what to do to improve. Marking of work is satisfactory, but opportunities are occasionally lost to guide future work. The school works effectively with parents and other agencies to ensure that pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities

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Grade: 2

The hard work of the headteacher and new leadership team has led to several significant improvements in provision since it formed. The leadership is focusing on raising standards with growing success. Inclusion is at the heart of the school's work and its commitment is evident in the appointment of an inclusion manager and the good progress made by pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Determination and effective teamwork ensure that there is a common sense of purpose amongst staff. Leaders and managers at all levels have a good understanding of the school's strengths and priorities for development. This is evident in the school's self-evaluation. Over-caution and modesty are the reasons for the school not judging itself as highly as the inspectors have judged it. New strategies and interventions are making a good impact on raising achievement. For instance, targeted withdrawal work with pupils in

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Grade: 2

danger of underachieving is effective. Standards of teaching are high because senior leaders monitor effectively and provide good support and opportunity for professional development. The governing body is supportive, appropriately challenging and acts as critical friend to the school. Resources are well used and financial management is good. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Cheadle Primary School, 25 °26 April 2007 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Cheadle Primary School, 25 °26 April 2007

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Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Cheadle Primary School, 25 °26 April 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Cheadle Primary School, 25 °26 April 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Inspection of Cheadle Primary School, Ashfield Rd, Cheadle, SK8 1BB Thank you for all your help during the inspection of your school and for making inspectors so welcome. We could not have learnt so much about your school so quickly without you. We think that your school is good because you are achieving well. Your personal development is outstanding and I can see why your parents and staff are so proud of you. We were delighted to find so many smiling children in your school and you told us that this was because you enjoy school life so much. We are impressed by your good manners and think that your behaviour is excellent. We really liked how much you help each other in lessons and how you make sure no one feels left out at any time. The government says that 'Every Child Matters' and we can see that in your school this is very true. We think that you are developing the very best attitudes towards healthy living and your awareness of safety matters is good. Members of the school

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

council and other children who take up other responsibilities do super jobs. All of you make a great contribution to the community. We are pleased to see that teaching is good and so you learn well. We know that you will carry on working hard and make the most of all your good learning chances. It was great to see so many smiling adults in your school who care for you. Your school is in good hands. The headteacher and other adults are working hard to make sure you carry on doing well. We have given them a pat on the back because they deserve it. The full report about the school says all the things in this letter. There are two things to improve on. You can help by always doing your best. • Information about you could be better used to make sure you are all challenged in your work. • More could be done to improve your awareness of the next steps to take in your learning. Keep up all your good work children and thank you once again for making inspectors so welcome.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

10 of 10 Inspection Report: Cheadle Primary School, 25 °26 April 2007

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