Woodbury Salterton Church of England Primary School

Woodbury Salterton Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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113441 Unique Reference Number Devon Local Authority 289626 Inspection number 16 May 2007 Inspection date Peter Clifton 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 Voluntary aided School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 96 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Vacant Position Chair Sian Lane-Boam Headteacher 21 May 2001 Date of previous school inspection Stony Lane School address Woodbury Salterton Exeter EX5 1PP

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01395 232649 Telephone number 01395 232649 Fax number

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4 °11 Age group 16 May 2007 Inspection date 289626 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a smaller-than-average school with four classes. Situated in the small village of Woodbury Salterton, most pupils attend from neighbouring villages or travel from the nearby city of Exeter. Pupils come into the school with a wide range of skills and abilities, which vary from year to year but, taken collectively, are broadly at the level expected. Nearly all pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is average. The current headteacher has been at the school since January 2006.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Woodbury Salterton Church of England Primary School, 16 May 2007

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Grade: 2

Woodbury Salterton Primary is a good school. The main reason for its current success is good leadership and management. Clear and determined leadership provided by the headteacher is enabling the school to improve provision and ensure that pupils achieve well. Co-ordinators provide good support; they readily take on new initiatives and are knowledgeable about what needs to be improved. Links with parents and the Church are good. Parents support the school well and rightly think that their children are safe and well cared for. Pupils readily give their opinion and say, for example, that 'sport is the best thing about school'. They also comment that the school is a 'good, happy and comfortable place'. Good care, guidance and support results in well-behaved and confident pupils. Their personal development and well-being are good. Pupils' behaviour in lessons is good overall, although on occasions a few pupils do not

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Grade: 2

listen well enough. Achievement is good and overall standards are well above average. Provision in Reception is satisfactory and improving and children enter Year 1 with standards that are broadly average. Achievement and progress is good in Years 1 and 2 and pupils reach above-average standards, and particularly so in writing. In Years 3 to 6, progress is good, although it is stronger for the older pupils. Pupils reach exceptionally high standards in English. The school's tracking of pupils' current progress shows a strengthening picture. The headteacher is providing a firm challenge to improve. She has identified the school's strengths and weaknesses and set about improvement with good support from governors. Monitoring is robust and teachers get regular and helpful feedback about their work; this has led to improvement in teaching, which is now good overall. Lessons are frequently interesting and there are good relationships. Teaching assistants make a valuable contribution to pupils'

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Grade: 2

learning through their work with individual children and in small groups. Leaders have successfully worked with teachers to ensure that lesson planning meets the needs of different pupils. However, teaching in one class remains inconsistent but at least satisfactory. In particular, the noise level occasionally gets too high and distracts pupils from their work. In most classes, the process of setting targets is very well established and pupils talk confidently about areas that they need to improve or what they are trying to achieve. Overall, the curriculum is good. There are many strengths. Creative subjects feature strongly and information and communication technology (ICT) is used widely to support learning in different subjects. Having identified gaps in pupils' knowledge and understanding, leaders have improved the science curriculum and there are signs that standards are improving because of this. After-school clubs offer a wide range of activities and are well attended. An initiative to

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Grade: 2

develop the curriculum in Reception is beginning to bear fruit and there are now more opportunities for the children to extend learning through play or take responsibility for their own learning. However, these changes are not yet securely embedded.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve provision in Reception by ensuring that there are sufficient opportunities for children to develop independence through play and child-initiated activities. • Improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Woodbury Salterton Church of England Primary School, 16 May 2007

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Grade: 2

Pupils make good progress to reach well-above-average standards. The progress of pupils from the Traveller community is similar to that of other pupils because the school adapts the curriculum well and provides additional help where needed. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities progress well because of the good individual support provided by teaching assistants. Children make satisfactory progress through Reception. By Year 1, the majority of children have achieved the goals expected for this age group and a few have exceeded them. Pupils' results in the Year 2 national tests were well above average in 2004 and 2005. In 2006, overall results were above average. In writing, standards were well above average, with the standards in reading being almost as good. Standards in mathematics were above average. Year 6 test results have been well above average for three of the past four years. In 2006,

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Grade: 2

exceptionally high standards in English resulted from development work to raise standards in writing. Mathematics standards were well above average. Standards in science have lagged behind those in English and mathematics. However, average standards in 2005 improved in 2006, close to the above average mark.

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Grade: 2

Pupils have a well-developed understanding of how to look after themselves, stay safe and keep healthy. They are eager to take on further responsibility. They move around the school sensibly and, although the playground is quite small for the number of pupils, they are quite careful in their play. The good range of activities and equipment provided ensures that most are active, although a few pupils prefer to sit quietly playing board games. They eat fruit regularly during break and lunchtimes. Social, moral, cultural and spiritual development is good. Good social skills and qualities such as self-confidence and being considerate have been successfully fostered by the school's personal, social and health curriculum. The school forum provides pupils with a satisfactory voice in the school and pupil representatives take their responsibilities seriously. Initiatives such as the 'Peer Mediation Scheme' and involvement in organising clubs provide pupils with

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Grade: 2

good opportunities to contribute to the work of the school. Pupils are being well prepared for the next stage in their learning because teamwork is successfully encouraged and key skills have been well developed. They grasp opportunities to show their enterprise skills, such as washing cars to raise money, making sure that they charge more for the larger ones.

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Grade: 2

Pupils are usually managed well and staff treat pupils with respect. Nearly all lessons provide a good level of challenge to pupils of different abilities and needs. Teaching assistants work patiently with pupils with specific needs, explaining work and checking on pupils' understanding. Praise is used well and strategies to help pupils develop their thinking through discussion are 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Woodbury Salterton Church of England Primary School, 16 May 2007 usually very effective. Pupils often work on computers to help with writing. Lessons are adapted well to ensure that new or key vocabulary is explained. In a few lessons, learning is slowed when pupils talking in groups interferes with the work of others because the noise levels become excessive. Some pupils find it difficult to be heard and a few lose concentration. It then takes some time for the teacher to gain and maintain the

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is enhanced by effective links between subjects and a growing use of the outdoor learning environment. There is a good range of visits and visitors, including a residential visit for Year 6 pupils each year. The recent trip to the Eden Project provided pupils with a good insight into the variety of uses for different plants. There are good ICT resources in every classroom and these are used well by teachers and pupils to widen access to different source materials. There is a very wide range of extra-curricular activities after school and at lunchtimes, some organised and run by the pupils themselves. Pupils say they particularly like football. The curriculum to support pupils' personal development is well established. The curriculum for Reception children is satisfactory. There are indications that, in the past, learning has been over-directed. The school is now developing a more suitable balance between

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Grade: 2

adult-led and child-led activities. Good use is being made of the outdoor learning environment.

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Grade: 2

Pastoral care and guidance are good and academic guidance is developing well, although the quality of practice is not as good in some classes as in others. The tracking systems that were established at the beginning of this academic year are used effectively to ensure that pupils who fall behind are quickly identified and supported. Most pupils know their targets well and respond to comments made by teachers. However, sometimes marking does not provide sufficient information about the next steps for learning. There are good systems in place to enable pupils to share their concerns and their feelings. Pupils, including vulnerable pupils, receive effective support to fulfil their personal needs. From the Reception onwards, children are successfully encouraged to develop confidence and self-esteem. Adults are good role models and promote positive attitudes and tolerance. Child protection procedures are thorough and meet requirements.

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Grade: 2

Since being appointed, the headteacher has undertaken a thorough evaluation of the school's strengths and weaknesses. Monitoring of teaching is clear and accurate. Teachers have been challenged firmly to improve their teaching and have been provided with good support and guidance to help them to do so. Although more work needs to be done, this has led to improvement and better pupil progress. The headteacher is utilising the skills of different staff 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Woodbury Salterton Church of England Primary School, 16 May 2007 well. Good teamwork is in place and there is an appropriate sense of urgency. The school shows good capacity to improve further. Governors know the school well because of their effective involvement in the school's self-evaluation. Communication between key governors and the headteacher is good and as a result, governors are able to provide effective support and challenge to the work that the school

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Grade: 2

does. The school is now generating good information which shows how well pupils progress from the time they enter the school on a term-by-term basis. This is analysed well and provides good information for staff about the achievement of different groups of pupils in the school. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Woodbury Salterton Church of England Primary School, 16 May 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. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Woodbury Salterton Church of England Primary School, 16 May 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 2 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 3 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Woodbury Salterton Church of England Primary School, 16 May 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Woodbury Salterton Church of England Primary School, 16 May 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Dear Pupils, Woodbury Salterton Primary School, Stony Lane, Woodbury Salterton, Devon EX5 1PP Thank you for our very warm welcome to your school. We enjoyed talking to you in lessons and during your playtimes and were very impressed with how friendly you were. You have clear views about your school and gave us a lot of valuable information and this was a great help to us. The curriculum, teaching and the care guidance and support provided are all good. We think your school looks after you well and your personal development is good. The school is giving you a good quality of education which enables you to make good progress and reach well-above- average standards. The school is led and managed well. What we most liked about your school • The way your headteacher is improving how and what you are taught. • The high standards you reach in English. • Your teachers make sure that you are kept safe. • You have positive attitudes to learning and you behave well.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• You develop your skills well and learn more through visits to different places and in the after-school clubs. • You have a good understanding about how to stay healthy. • Your parents support the school well. We found that improvements are needed and have asked your headteacher and others to: • Ensure that the children in Reception have enough opportunities to play and choose their own learning activities. • Make sure all teaching is as good as it can be. We hope your school continues to improve. Yours faithfully, Peter Clifton Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Woodbury Salterton Church of England Primary School, 16 May 2007

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