Barrington CofE VC Primary School

Inspection Report Barrington CofE VC Primary School

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110781 Unique Reference Number CAMBRIDGESHIRE Local Authority 288771 Inspection number 5 °6 February 2007 Inspection dates John Francis 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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Haslingfield Road School address Primary Type of school Barrington, Cambridge Community School category Cambridgeshire CB22 7RG 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01223 712273 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01223 712276 Fax number 118 Number on roll (school) Ms J Ravenhill Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs A Reeder Headteacher 23 September 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 288771 5 °6 February 2007 4°11 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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This small primary school serves the villages of Barrington and Shepreth but draws some pupils from further afield. The area has higher than average employment and the percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is low. There are many more girls in the school than boys, particularly in Years 3 and 4. Very few pupils come from minority ethnic families. A small number of pupils are at the early stages of learning English. Attainment on entry to the school is broadly average but children are weaker in their language skills. An average number of pupils have learning difficulties or disabilities. The school has an Activemark accreditation for the development of physical education.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Barrington CofE VC Primary School, 5 °6 February 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school that offers good value for money and has a deservedly good reputation locally. Continued improvements since the last inspection show a good capacity for further improvement. Pupils achieve well. Test results at Year 6 are consistently above average and the most recent tests in 2006, showed exceptional performance in mathematics. Teachers' assessments at Year 2 in 2006 showed standards were average, in spite of this being a year group that had a high number of pupils with learning difficulties. Leadership is good. Effective systems for monitoring the work of the school mean that evaluations are accurate and the knowledge gained is used to seek further improvements. Monitoring of teaching by the headteacher is regular and perceptive but subject leaders rarely monitor in classrooms to gain information that could further improve teaching and learning. Pupils' excellent personal development comes from good care, guidance and support.

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Grade: 2

Pupils know how to stay safe and healthy and enjoy the range of sporting opportunities available to them. They demonstrate good attitudes and behaviour, both in class and around the school and report that disagreements are rare and quickly dealt with when they do happen. Pupils greatly enjoy school, saying it is 'fun', 'friendly' and 'you are never on your own'. They grow in confidence as they progress through the school. Most parents recognise and appreciate this. The tracking of pupils' progress is well established and gives good quality information for the school to use when planning the curriculum or individual programmes for pupils. Excellent partnerships with other schools and outside agencies contribute well to the school's success in meeting pupils' academic, social and emotional needs. The good provision for children in the Reception class, which combines practical activities and more formal learning, leads to their good progress. Teaching and learning

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Grade: 2

are good across the school and lessons are generally well planned to accommodate the range of ages and achievement. The additional Year 4/5 class created each morning for English and mathematics is very effective in raising standards. However, pupils do not practise their writing skills sufficiently, and teachers do not always follow up rigorously on the comments they have made in their marking. The curriculum is good, enhanced by effective provision for music and art. The integration of information and communication technology (ICT) into everyday learning is done very well.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Further develop pupils' writing skills in English and across other subjects. • Follow up comments in marking more rigorously, and involve the pupils more in evaluating their own work. • Provide opportunities for subject leaders to monitor the quality of teaching and learning to identify the best practice and spread this across the school. 2 Inspection Report: Barrington CofE VC Primary School, 5 °6 February 2007

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good and pupils make good progress. The latest results for pupils at the end of Year 6 were above average overall. Results were particularly strong in mathematics where achievement was exceptional. The number of pupils attaining Level 5 in mathematics was twice as many as had been predicted and twice the national average. This was an outcome of the school's involvement in a local network of schools exploring what makes good learning in mathematics, particularly the use of ICT for solving problems. Girls outperformed boys. This was not only in English, which might be expected given the picture nationally, but also significantly in mathematics where they scored well above the national figure. This is because of a higher than normal numbers of boys who had learning difficulties, although they made progress at a similar rate to pupils nationally. Teachers' assessments at Year 2 in 2006 in reading, writing

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Grade: 2

and mathematics showed that standards were broadly average. However, because of the small numbers in each year group, results fluctuate year on year and in 2006 the proportion of pupils with learning difficulties was higher than usual and most of these were boys.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development is well supported by good spiritual, moral and cultural development and excellent social development. Good behaviour, enthusiasm for school and very positive attitudes all contribute to pupils' success. They greatly enjoy their lessons and the other activities organised for them. Pupils feel safe and are keen to come to school. Attendance is above average. A very good understanding of health issues generally leads pupils to make healthy choices for their snacks and lunches. Pupils also take part in a wide range of physical activities in and out of school, as recognised in the school's achievement of an Activemark accreditation for sport. Excellent opportunities for older pupils to take on additional roles, for example, as sports leaders, give them responsibility and encourage younger pupils to take part in energetic play at break times. Despite needing further opportunities to practise their

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Grade: 1

writing, their outstanding numeracy and ICT skills along with their exceptional social skills and the wide range of responsibilities they take on from an early age, prepares pupils extremely well for the future. The school council contributes well to the work of the school and there are strong links with the village and beyond. Because of this, pupils have a good awareness of their own and the wider community, learn to care about others and raise money both for the school and for good causes. 3 Inspection Report: Barrington CofE VC Primary School, 5 °6 February 2007

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Grade: 2

Relationships are good and there is a good atmosphere for learning. Teachers ensure that pupils work together and share ideas, and expect them to work hard and apply themselves. Teaching assistants work well to support pupils, particularly those with learning difficulties. Good lesson planning means that pupils work with others at a similar level in their class, often regardless of their age. Challenging targets are set for pupils, and teachers offer good guidance through their marking. However, the helpful comments and suggestions for improvements are not always followed up sufficiently well which leads to gaps in pupils' knowledge. The pupils in the additional morning class for Years 4 and 5 in English and mathematics are skilfully taught and regularly involved in evaluating their own achievement and success. This is helping to improve their progress and the school is working to extend the practice across all

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is well planned to ensure progression from year to year which helps progress in the mixed-age classes. There are a number of strengths in the provision, for example, creative and practical learning, and particularly the high quality provision in subjects such as music and art. The skilful use of interactive whiteboards by teachers brings an additional and exciting dimension to pupils' learning. Pupils are enthusiastic about the 'fun days' when subjects are given blocks of time to allow topics to be studied in depth. However, the curriculum does not always allow pupils sufficient time to apply or reinforce the skills they are being taught in English and improve their writing across all subjects. This prevents some pupils from making better progress. A range of extra-curricular sports clubs, visitors and visits enriches the curriculum and adds to the good provision for pupils' personal, social and health education. The school

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Grade: 2

also benefits from the close links and exchange of ideas with other schools in the area.

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Grade: 2

The care and welfare of pupils is taken very seriously and good systems ensure pupils are safe and healthy. Induction procedures for children entering the Reception class are good and they settle quickly into school life making rapid strides in their personal and social development. Pupils are secure in the knowledge that someone will listen to them if they are having problems. The whole-school systems for tracking pupils' progress are good and set generally challenging targets. Pupils' own targets in literacy and numeracy helpfully show them what they need to do to improve. The school is becoming increasingly skilful in the early identification of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities and has improved the support for them, both in school and 4 Inspection Report: Barrington CofE VC Primary School, 5 °6 February 2007 through outside agencies. There is good support for the children recently admitted

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Grade: 2

with English as an additional language. A small minority of parents do not feel they get sufficient feedback about the progress their children are making and what they can do to support the work of the school. However, the inspection found the school does a lot in this respect.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. Effective leadership by the headteacher provides a clear direction for development and good relationships encourage all to play an active role in the school's work. Governors are well focused on the strategic aspects of school development and have a clear view of how they want the school to improve. The school takes account of pupils' and parents' views through questionnaires and discussions, but a small minority of parents feel they do not receive sufficient feedback in response to their views. This is something governors are aware of and are considering further. The targets in the school's improvement plan are clearly based on the outcomes of accurate self-evaluation and provide a clear timetable for development. Well-planned and informative monitoring shows a commitment to continuous development. Evaluations by subject leaders include suitably rigorous and detailed analysis of data.

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Grade: 2

However, monitoring the quality of teaching is not a regular part of the subject leaders' role and limits their knowledge of strengths and weaknesses in teaching and learning across the school. 5 Inspection Report: Barrington CofE VC Primary School, 5 °6 February 2007 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Barrington CofE VC Primary School, 5 °6 February 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? 2 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 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?

2 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. 7 Inspection Report: Barrington CofE VC Primary School, 5 °6 February 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? 8 Inspection Report: Barrington CofE VC Primary School, 5 °6 February 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

7 February 2007 Dear Children Barrington C of E VC Primary School, Haslingfield Road, Barrington, Cambridge, CB22 7RG Thank you for making me welcome in your school. I was pleased that those of you I talked with were so keen on school and wanted to share your work and ideas with me. This letter is to tell you what I found out about your school and how it can be even better. You told me that everyone in school gets on well and cares for each other and I could see this through your good behaviour and the way you play together. I liked the way the games' leaders help so many of you to enjoy breaktimes and keep fit and the way the school council works together to improve your school. In the classes I visited I was impressed by the way you worked together. You told me that your lessons were interesting and in the lessons I saw this was certainly so, particularly the exciting way your teachers used their interactive whiteboards. I

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

was also impressed by your enthusiasm for information and communication technology (ICT). You do well in your work because most of you listen carefully to your teachers and do all that is asked of you. To make your school even better I have asked the teachers to do a number of things. • To let you practise writing skills more. • To look at each others' lessons to see what good ideas can be shared with everyone. • To make sure the teachers follow up on the things they write in your books when they mark them. This is one that you can help with by making sure that you take notice of what they say, and improve your work even more. I am sure you will continue to enjoy your school and all you do. Mr Francis Lead inspector 9 Inspection Report: Barrington CofE VC Primary School, 5 °6 February 2007

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