Kentisbury Primary School

Inspection Report Kentisbury Primary School

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113157 Unique Reference Number Devon Local Authority 289528 Inspection number 11 October 2006 Inspection date Michael Barron 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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Kentisbury School address Primary Type of school Barnstaple Community School category EX31 4NG 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01271 883263 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01271 883263 Fax number 24 Number on roll (school) Paul Reynolds Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Jayne House Headteacher 12 February 2003 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 289528 11 October 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 one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Kentisbury Primary School is a very small primary school serving a rural area of Devon. The school is going through a period of change and is presently preparing to become part of a federation of three small primary schools. The previous headteacher retired in July 2006 after 26 years and has been replaced by the headteacher-designate of the new school federation. An above-average number of pupils usually leave or join the school each year within term time. All pupils are from a White British heritage and no pupils have a first language other than English.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Kentisbury Primary School, 11 October 2006

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Grade: 3

and gives pupils a sound start to their education. In the short time since her appointment, the headteacher has led the school with drive and determination. She ensures that both staff and governors share the vision of a school which helps pupils to attain their full potential. Her changes have brought about improvements in pupils' attitudes to learning and achievement. These measures have already resulted in rising standards. Pupils enjoy school and value the school's family atmosphere that provides the firm foundation for their good behaviour. Pupils describe their school as a 'fun' place and say that they feel safe. Parents appreciate that the school offers pupils a 'happy and caring' environment in which to learn, whilst pupils describe their teachers as 'friendly' and 'helpful'. As a result, pupils work hard and try to do well. They display responsible attitudes, have a good community spirit and learn how to make sensible and healthy

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Grade: 3

choices. They learn respect for others and are prepared satisfactorily for their future life. Children enter the Foundation Stage with average skills. They make good progress and reach or exceed the expected standards in all areas of learning by the time they enter Year 1 because staff offer good support and make learning interesting. Pupils make sound progress throughout the rest of the school. By Year 6, overall standards are similar to those attained nationally. However, pupils of higher ability do not always do as well as they should. Teaching is satisfactory and ensures that most pupils, including those with learning difficulties, make satisfactory progress, even though marking does not always tell pupils how to improve. The curriculum is satisfactory and is enriched by a range of additional activities that further develop pupils' skills and their enjoyment of learning. However, opportunities for pupils to develop their awareness and understanding of multi-cultural British

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Grade: 3

society are limited. Procedures for care, guidance and support are good and contribute to pupils' progress and their sense of well-being. The governing body supports the school effectively but doesn't always provide enough challenge.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure higher-ability pupils attain their full potential. • Make sure the governing body develops its role of challenging the school when appropriate. • Ensure marking helps pupils to understand how to improve their work. • Increase pupils' awareness and understanding of the multi-cultural nature of modern British society. 2 Inspection Report: Kentisbury Primary School, 11 October 2006

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Grade: 3

The school has worked well to reverse the decline in pupils' achievement in reading over the last year. However, throughout the school, pupils' progress in writing, and in particular the skill of writing for a specific audience, lags behind their progress in other subjects. The school recognises this and has developed various strategies to improve matters, including using the school's good links with other schools to let teachers share their expertise. Pupils' achievement, whilst good in the Foundation Stage, is overall satisfactory and this reflects the quality of teaching. Whilst teaching caters effectively for the needs of most pupils, the work for more-able pupils is sometimes too easy and their progress suffers. Pupils with learning difficulties make at least satisfactory progress in learning because of the effective level of support they receive, both in and out of the classroom.

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Grade: 2

Attendance is good because pupils enjoy school and are keen to learn. Their good attitudes, behaviour and relationships contribute to their well-being. They have developed a good understanding of how to keep healthy and fit because of, for example, the school's healthy eating initiative and the well-attended out- of-school-hours sports activities. Pupils of all age groups are beginning to make informed choices about how they exercise and what they eat. Pupils have also developed a strong sense of community and work and play well together. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is good overall. Pupils have a good understanding of right and wrong and their spiritual and social development is enhanced through visits, visitors and strong links with organisations such as the National Trust and Kentisbury Church. Residential visits provide older pupils with experiences of life outside their isolated locality. However, during discussions with pupils, it became

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Grade: 2

evident that they have yet to develop a realistic understanding of the multi-cultural nature of modern British society

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Grade: 3

Teaching in the Foundation Stage is good and provides children with exciting activities that effectively blend independent learning and teacher-directed tasks. Teaching is well organised and children feel safe and secure. As a result they make good progress. Teaching in other year groups is satisfactory. Whilst teachers' sound subject knowledge and variety of teaching approaches help to make lessons interesting and keep pupils attentive, on occasions more-able pupils are insufficiently challenged. This affects their overall progress. Pupils are keen to learn, attentive and work hard but do not 3 Inspection Report: Kentisbury Primary School, 11 October 2006 always present their work well. Teachers' marking varies and does not always give pupils an understanding of how to improve their work. Teaching assistants effectively contribute to pupils' learning, especially in the Foundation Stage and when supporting

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Grade: 3

pupils with learning difficulties in Year 1 to Year 6.

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Grade: 3

The school's curriculum is well balanced and meets the needs and interests of pupils soundly. Provision in the Foundation Stage is good. Children are provided with an interesting range of experiences which fully reflects their needs in all areas of learning. As a result they make good progress. Pupils in other year groups make satisfactory progress in building up key skills in subjects such as literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) and this helps them to prepare soundly for the next stage of their education. Good planning and provision for personal, social and health education ensure that pupils are aware of the importance of fitness and well-being. Pupils are encouraged to feel valued as individuals and show respect towards adults and towards each other. Interesting visits and visitors to school increase pupils' enjoyment of learning. Pupils also have regular opportunities to take part in a

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Grade: 3

range of out-of-school activities, including sports clubs. However, opportunities for pupils to increase their knowledge and understanding of the multi-cultural nature of modern British society are limited.

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Grade: 2

Procedures for care, guidance and support are good and contribute to pupils' progress, sense of well-being and enjoyment of learning. Good quality care is evident in the school's focus on ensuring that every child matters and parents are positive about the good quality of care their children receive. Child protection procedures are understood and followed by all staff and pupils feel safe and know who to approach if they have a problem. Health and safety routines and risk assessments are fully in place and the school has established a Single Central Record in line with government requirements. Good induction and transfer arrangements help pupils to settle quickly into new routines and pupils with learning difficulties receive an effective level of support. However, teachers' marking of pupils' work often consists of words of encouragement rather than telling pupils what they need to learn next. As a result pupils are unsure

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Grade: 2

of how to improve and this affects their progress.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management of the school are satisfactory. The new headteacher is a strong leader. Since her appointment she has developed formal systems to analyse and evaluate provision in order to identify what the school needs to do to improve. 4 Inspection Report: Kentisbury Primary School, 11 October 2006 Her new initiatives have already encouraged teachers to make lessons more relevant and this has helped pupils to improve. Governors have good links with the school and have a sound idea of areas of strength and weakness. They are involved in all major decisions. However, the school's management structures do not clearly set out and separate the roles of staff and governors and, although the governing body is helpful, it isn't sufficiently critical in its support. The school works closely with parents, seeking and taking account of their views regularly. Links with external agencies support pupils' learning well, particularly

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Grade: 3

those with learning difficulties. However, more-able pupils are not fully catered for. Resources are satisfactory and are used efficiently. Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements. The school presently gives sound value for money and has a satisfactory capacity to improve. 5 Inspection Report: Kentisbury Primary School, 11 October 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: Kentisbury Primary School, 11 October 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? 2 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: Kentisbury Primary School, 11 October 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: Kentisbury Primary School, 11 October 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for making me feel very welcome when I visited your school. I really enjoyed my day at Kentisbury Primary School and especially enjoyed talking to you about your school and seeing you work in lessons. • Here are some of the things I particularly like about your school: • I was impressed by how friendly and well behaved you were. • I was also impressed by the way you played well together in the playground. • I liked how your new headteacher and teachers take good care of you and work hard to make sure you enjoy coming to school. • I think your headteacher and teachers can do some things to make your school even better. I have asked them to: • Make sure that the more able pupils amongst you do the best they can. • Make sure that when teachers mark your work you get an idea of what you have to do to improve. • Try to make you more aware of the wider world and the fact that people from different

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

cultures live in modern-day Britain. • Make sure that school governors ask more questions about what the school does. You can help your school to get even better by working hard in lessons. I wish you the very best for the future. 9 Inspection Report: Kentisbury Primary School, 11 October 2006

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