Fritchley CofE (Aided) Primary & Nursery School

Inspection Report Fritchley Church of England VA Primary School

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112880 Unique Reference Number DERBYSHIRE Local Authority 289450 Inspection number 11 °12 December 2006 Inspection dates Michael Best 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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Church Street School address Primary Type of school Fritchley, Fritchley Voluntary aided School category Belper, Derbyshire DE56 2FQ 4 °11 Age range of pupils

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01773 852216 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01773 850281 Fax number 80 Number on roll (school) Mrs Di Fretwell Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Susan Spenceley Headteacher 17 September 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 289450 11 °12 December 2006 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

The school is smaller than average and the number of pupils in each year group varies considerably. Most pupils come from the local area, the prosperity of which is generally good. When they join the school in the reception class, children's skills and experiences are similar to those expected for their age. The proportion of pupils joining the school in Year 1 or later is average. The proportion of pupils speaking English as an additional language is below average. The proportions of pupils with learning difficulties, and those with statements of special educational needs, are broadly average. The school roll has recently fallen, in part due to families moving away from the area, resulting in a reduction in staffing.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Fritchley Church of England VA Primary School, 11 °12 December 2006

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory and improving school. The school accurately evaluates its effectiveness as satisfactory. Improvement since the last inspection, and the school's capacity for further improvement, are satisfactory. It provides sound value for money. The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage are satisfactory. Children settle quickly into school routines and most reach the standards expected in each area of learning by the time they start in Year 1. Standards at the end of Year 2 are average and at Year 6 are slightly above average. Achievement is satisfactory. Analysis of recent statutory test and assessment results indicates that standards in writing are lower than in other subjects and that the proportion of pupils gaining a higher level in mathematics should be greater. Those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make sound progress. Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. Parents are pleased

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Grade: 3

that their children enjoy school. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils have a good understanding of healthy lifestyles. They feel safe in school and say they can always find help and support. The school's preparation of its pupils for the next stage of their education and the world of work is good overall. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory with some good features. Staff manage pupils well and relationships are good. As a result pupils work responsibly, both individually and in groups. Support staff and voluntary helpers make a valuable contribution to pupils' progress in lessons. Assessment procedures are good overall but teachers' use of assessment information to help them plan the next steps in learning and challenge pupils to the full lacks consistency. The curriculum is satisfactory. Following a recent review, the school is broadening its provision with French and is

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Grade: 3

planning to broaden the range of visits and visitors to support learning. The school's emphasis on drama and music successfully supports pupils' confident public performances. Pupils enjoy an appropriate range of after-school activities, including chess, music and sport. The school makes good provision for pupils' care, guidance and support. It makes effective arrangements to safeguard children and promote good behaviour and attendance, and works well with external agencies. Teachers' annual reports to parents give a detailed account of each pupil's attainment and progress, and clearly identify appropriate next steps in learning. The effectiveness of leadership and management is satisfactory. The headteacher is highly committed to the school and promotes its strong Christian ethos. The hardworking staff team shares the headteacher's vision for the school's development. Monitoring and self-evaluation procedures are satisfactory. Subject leaders, some of

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Grade: 3

whom have recently assumed their responsibilities, are not yet sufficiently involved in setting targets and monitoring outcomes. The governing body is supportive and satisfactorily holds the school to account.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise pupils' achievement in writing and mathematics, particularly for those close to a higher level. 2 Inspection Report: Fritchley Church of England VA Primary School, 11 °12 December 2006 • Improve the use of assessment information to inform more precisely the next steps in pupils' learning. • Develop the role of subject leaders, particularly in monitoring and evaluating standards and the quality of provision.

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Grade: 3

Assessments made at the end of the Reception year indicate that most children make satisfactory progress towards the early learning goals. The exception is in the development of their knowledge and understanding of the world, where boys and girls have made less than expected progress. In assessments at the end of Year 2, results have been broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics since the last inspection. Compared with 2005, standards improved in 2006 in reading and mathematics but declined in writing for the most and the less able. Achievement is satisfactory in the Foundation Stage and in Key Stage 1. Inspection evidence confirms that the school has rightly identified, and is working to resolve, these shortcomings. Overall, results in the Key Stage 2 statutory tests at the end of Year 6 have improved steadily since the last inspection and are now slightly above, rather than below, the national average. Results in mathematics have tended to lag behind those in English

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Grade: 3

and science. Pupils' achievement in Key Stage 2 is satisfactory and improving. Observations and scrutiny of pupils' current work confirm this trend. The 2006 results were above average in English. The school exceeded its targets in English and met them in mathematics. Girls make better progress and outperform boys in Key Stage 2 but the gap between them is not particularly significant and, with small year groups, varies from year to year.

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Grade: 2

Pupils are friendly, polite and supportive of one another. Those who join the school other than at the usual time say they were welcomed and soon found new friends. Pupils have positive attitudes to work and property, and take on responsibility well. Most know what they need to do to improve their work, and discuss their efforts maturely. Pupils are self-assured in discussions and when meeting visitors. Their confidence in speaking in front of the whole school during assembly is excellent. Through recently established links with a school in India, pupils are starting to develop a wider understanding of different cultures. Pupils' behaviour in lessons and around the school is good. Occasionally, where lessons are not sufficiently challenging, pupils' concentration slips and they chatter too much. Pupils confirm parents' views that bullying is not an issue in the school and say that, should it occur, staff take prompt and effective action. Pupils' understanding of healthy

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Grade: 2

lifestyles is good, and reflected in their choices at lunchtimes and participation in 3 Inspection Report: Fritchley Church of England VA Primary School, 11 °12 December 2006 physical activities. The school council enables pupils to gain experience of decision-making and working together as a community. Pupils work well together in groups and teams and successfully develop the skills necessary for their future success in education and employment.

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Grade: 3

The headteacher's monitoring of teaching accurately identifies strengths and areas for development. In planning for the different groups in their classes, teachers generally identify achievable learning objectives in their plans and most share these with their pupils. However, they are less consistent in reviewing these objectives with pupils at the end of lessons. In the best lessons, teachers successfully challenge and extend pupils, but on other occasions, their use of assessment information is not precise enough and pupils' interest wanes when the work is either too easy or too difficult. In marking pupils' work, teachers regularly identify the individual's next steps in learning but do not always refer to the lesson's learning objectives or the pupil's individual target.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum reflects national strategies and guidance. Recent reviews of planning have ensured that pupils in mixed age classes do not repeat work and the school is working towards achieving better links between subjects. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities have full access to the school's curriculum. The school makes effective provision for pupils' personal, social and health education, and citizenship. Its promotion of pupils' spiritual, social, and moral awareness is good, and the school is actively filling identified gaps in the development of pupils' cultural awareness.

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Grade: 2

Staff know pupils very well and give high priority to their care and well-being. The school makes good use of expert advisers and outside agencies and has beneficial links with its partner schools. Links with parents are strong and parents find staff approachable. The parent-teacher association is thriving and provides much valued support. The school sensitively supports pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Health and safety routines and risk assessments, including all the checks required to ensure pupils' welfare, are fully in place. The school regularly gathers and analyses information about pupils' attainment and progress. Pupils generally know their targets for improvement but, in marking pupils' work, teachers do not habitually link these to lesson objectives. 4 Inspection Report: Fritchley Church of England VA Primary School, 11 °12 December 2006

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Grade: 3

The school is responding positively to the challenges resulting from falling pupil numbers. Reviews of the curriculum and changes in organisation are helping staff to focus more on meeting pupils' needs and developing their learning. Parents say that they welcome the improved level of consultation and feel their views are valued. The school is an inclusive community that satisfactorily promotes equality of opportunity for all pupils. Daily routines are well established and the school runs smoothly. The recently extended accommodation is well maintained and learning resources are good. The performance management of teachers is established. The school's development plans include suitable measures for checking its success in meeting its targets. The leadership's evaluation of the school's work is accurate, and demonstrates an increasingly critical awareness of the priorities facing the school. Many members of the governing body are recently in post and are still developing an

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Grade: 3

understanding of their role and responsibilities. They are well led by an experienced chair who regularly works in the school as a volunteer. Governors appreciate the involvement of subject leaders in helping them gain first-hand information about the work of the school. The school is working closely with the local authority to manage its agreed deficit budget. 5 Inspection Report: Fritchley Church of England VA Primary School, 11 °12 December 2006 .

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Grade: 3

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Fritchley Church of England VA Primary School, 11 °12 December 2006

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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? 3 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 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

3 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 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 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 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: Fritchley Church of England VA Primary School, 11 °12 December 2006

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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: Fritchley Church of England VA Primary School, 11 °12 December 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

14 December 2006 Dear Pupils Fritchley Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Fritchley, Belper, Derbyshire, DE56 2FQ Thank you very much for making me so welcome when I visited you earlier this week. I am most impressed by your confidence in asking and answering questions, and in the high quality contributions you make to assemblies. I congratulate on your good attendance and I am delighted to hear that you enjoy school. The staff take good care of you. They are helping you to grow up into interesting and responsible adults. You get on well with each other and know how to stay safe and live healthy lives. I enjoyed looking at your work. Most of it is neat and carefully set out. I think some of you could improve the quality of your writing in English and I am asking your teachers to help more of you to reach a higher level in mathematics. At the start of each lesson, your teachers usually tell you what they want you to learn. Much of the time, the work they plan is about right for

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

you. Occasionally, some of you find the work either too hard or too easy. When this happens, you lose interest and do not make as much progress as you should. Your teachers collect a lot of information about how well you are doing. I am asking them to make better use of this information in planning the next steps you take in your learning so that all your lessons are challenging. You tell me you work hard but admit you could work a bit harder - here's your chance! Yours is a small school. Mrs Spenceley and the staff work hard and they each have a number of different jobs to do. Some of these leadership roles are new to them and I think they could do with some help so that they make the best use of the time they have available. Keep working hard and continue to enjoy yourselves at school. Yours sincerely Mike Best Lead Inspector 9 Inspection Report: Fritchley Church of England VA Primary School, 11 °12 December 2006

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