The Croft Primary School

The Croft Primary School Inspection report

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115568 Unique Reference Number Gloucestershire Local Authority 290260 Inspection number 26 June 2007 Inspection date Melvyn Hemmings 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 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 142 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Chris Hall Chair Janet Hoyle Headteacher 1 May 2001 Date of previous school inspection Churchill Way School address Painswick Stroud GL6 6RQ

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01452 812479 Telephone number 01452 812479 Fax number

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4 °11 Age group 26 June 2007 Inspection date 290260 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 one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This is a smaller than average primary school. Most children's attainment on entry is above that expected for their age. The majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds. The percentage of pupils 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: The Croft Primary School, 26 June 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school that provides its pupils with a wide range of stimulating experiences. Good leadership and management are at the heart of the school's success. The headteacher and her deputy have formed a strong partnership and a clear vision for school improvement that is shared by all those involved in the school. Despite a track record of consistently high standards in recent years, the school is not complacent. This is shown in its desire to drive up standards further, particularly in writing. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school and rightly proud of its performance. One parental comment captures the views of many: 'There is a wellbalanced combination of good teaching, underlying discipline and real kindness, coupled with the nurturing of the individual needs of every child'. Achievement is good through the school. Children make good progress in the Reception class and, by the time they enter Year

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Grade: 2

1, are working beyond the levels expected for their age. Good progress is maintained in the rest of the school and, by the end of Year 6, most pupils reach standards in English, mathematics and science that are well above average. Although achievement in English is good, writing is a weaker aspect of the subject. A range of strategies has been put in place to bring about improvement and these are beginning to have a positive impact on pupils' performance. However, they have not yet been consistently implemented across the school and so some pupils are not benefiting fully from them. Achievement in information and communication technology (ICT) has risen since the previous inspection and standards in the subject are now within national expectations. Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. Pupils behave very well, are polite and willing to help others. They show much enjoyment in coming to school, which

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Grade: 2

is reflected in their above average attendance rate. Pupils grow in confidence and maturity as they pass through the school and are well prepared for their future lives. Good teaching and learning are central to the progress that pupils make. Pupils respond positively to the high expectations that all staff have of them. Relationships are very good and lead to classrooms being calm and friendly places in which to work. As one pupil commented, 'Teachers make lessons fun'. Marking is used well to guide pupils to improve their work. However, teachers' skills in helping pupils to assess for themselves how they are doing, and what they need to do next to improve, are not well developed. A wide range of out-of-school clubs very effectively enriches the good curriculum. There is a high take-up of the extra-curricular sporting activities, which contributes positively to pupils' personal development. The care, guidance and support

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Grade: 2

of pupils are good. Pupils say they feel safe and secure in school and are looked after well by adults. There are strong links with outside agencies to provide extra support for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. As a result, they make the same good progress as other pupils. There has been effective improvement since the previous inspection, for example in the curriculum for children in the Reception class and the provision for ICT through the school. There is good capacity for further improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

• ensure recent developments to improve writing are implemented consistently across the school • improve teachers' skills in showing pupils how to evaluate for themselves how well they are doing and how they could improve. 4 of 10 Inspection Report: The Croft Primary School, 26 June 2007

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Grade: 2

From their starting point on entering school, pupils achieve well and by the time they leave in Year 6, their standards that are well above average in English, mathematics and science. The good induction procedures in the Reception class mean that children quickly settle into everyday school routines, which has a positive impact on the progress they make. Writing has been a weaker aspect of pupils' performance in English in Years 1 to 6, with standards below those of reading. The action taken by the school to deal with this issue is proving successful and the gap between reading and writing is narrowing. There has been a trend of girls achieving considerably better than boys in Years 1 and 2. A range of strategies has been put in place to improve the performance of boys, such as using a visual stimulus as a starting point for learning. As a result, boys have been seen to be more engaged and interested in their work and this year

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Grade: 2

have achieved equally as well as the girls.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good overall. Pupils show a caring attitude to others and play and work very well together. They clearly know right from wrong and act responsibly in and around school. Their cultural development is not as strong as the other aspects. As a result, pupils do not have as clear an understanding as they could of life in a culturally diverse society. Pupils happily take on responsibilities such as being a member of the school council. They also make a positive contribution to the local community by inviting elderly people to lunch and by catering for charity lunches. Pupils show a good understanding of the need to live a healthy lifestyle. This is seen in the healthy choices they make at lunchtime and their participation in the after-school sporting activities. They also have a good awareness of how to stay safe, as seen in the orderly way they move around school and play responsibly

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Grade: 2

Adults in the Reception class are very aware of the needs of children of this age. Consequently, activities are tailored well to children's different abilities and they make good progress. Through the rest of the school, teachers plan their lessons well so that activities build effectively upon previous learning. They have good subject expertise and so are able to ask relevant questions to probe pupils' knowledge and understanding. This was evident in a literacy lesson for pupils in a Year 5/6 class in which they were learning how to vary their sentence types in a piece of writing. The recently introduced strategies to improve writing are not yet used consistently across the school. Pupils have good attitudes to their learning and this has a positive effect on the progress they make. Teachers' skills in showing pupils how to evaluate their own performance are at an early stage of development. Teaching assistants give valuable support to all pupils,

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Grade: 2

especially those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. 5 of 10 Inspection Report: The Croft Primary School, 26 June 2007

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Grade: 2

The curriculum in the Reception class places strong emphasis on learning through practical activities that help develop children's skills in becoming independent learners. The curriculum is planned well to provide a good balance between developing academic skills for pupils in Years 1 to 6 and improving their creative talents. The school has begun to modify the curriculum to enable better links between subjects. This would allow pupils to use skills gained in one subject to enhance work in other subjects. The provision for ICT has been much improved since the last inspection by the creation of a computer suite and purchase of up-to-date resources. As a result, pupils now make better progress and their achievement is satisfactory. There are good links with local sports clubs that effectively extend pupils' sports skills.

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Grade: 2

There is very strong pastoral support and care for pupils that is much appreciated by parents. As one commented, 'All staff at the school provide a very supportive and caring environment that leads to happy children who want to learn'. All staff are firmly committed to ensuring pupils' health and well-being. Child protection arrangements are comprehensive, with all staff knowing the procedures to follow if they have any concerns about a pupil. Risk assessments are robust, both in and around school and also during off-site educational visits. There is a good level of supervision during break and lunchtime to ensure pupils' safety. There are thorough procedures for checking the progress that pupils make. The information collected is used well by teachers to set challenging work for pupils. The guidance for pupils to enable them to evaluate and improve their own performance is at an early stage of development.

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Grade: 2

The monitoring and evaluation of the school's performance are good. Because of this, the school has correctly identified and prioritised areas for improvement such as pupils' skills in writing. Senior leaders regularly observe lessons and give feedback to staff to help them improve teaching and learning. Performance management effectively links staff professional development with school priorities for improvement. There are good links with other providers, such as the onsite playgroup that ensures a continuity of care that is appreciated by parents. The literacy and numeracy co-ordinators are effective leaders and have provided training to improve staff expertise in teaching English and mathematics. The leadership role of other co-ordinators is not as well developed and training is being provided to extend their skills. Governance is good, with governors being supportive of the school and willing to ask questions about proposals

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Grade: 2

put forward by the senior management team. They are keen to develop their role by being more actively involved in long-term planning for future school improvement. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: The Croft Primary School, 26 June 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: The Croft Primary School, 26 June 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 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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: The Croft Primary School, 26 June 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: The Croft Primary School, 26 June 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• 27 June 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of The Croft Primary School, Painswick GL6 6RQ Thank you for the very warm welcome you gave me when I visited your school. You were very friendly and I really enjoyed my time with you and consider your school to be a good one. It helps you to achieve well and reach standards that are well above average in English, mathematics and science by the time you leave Year 6. Although you achieve well in English, you reach higher standards in reading than you do in writing. The school has developed some new ways of helping you improve your writing, but these are not yet used fully in all classes. Your personal development is good and you behave well. You are caring to others and willing to take on responsibility, such as being a member of the school council. Teaching and learning are good and one of you told me that teachers make lessons fun. Teachers mark your work well to help you improve what you do. They are keen to develop their skills further to show

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

you how to evaluate for yourselves how well you are doing. All the adults in school take good care of you, which really pleases your parents. All of you feel safe and secure in school and one of you said, 'We like this school because it is fun and friendly'. You told me you enjoy the good curriculum, especially the many sporting activities you can take part in. You enjoy coming to school and this is shown in the above average attendance rate. The adults in charge of managing the school do a good job and are helping it to improve further. I would like to give a special word of thanks to the two pupils who gave me some produce from the school's vegetable garden. They made a really tasty salad! You are both a credit to your school. What I have asked your school to do now: • make sure that all of you benefit from the recent changes made to help improve writing • develop teachers' skills in showing you how to evaluate for yourselves how well you are doing

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

and how you could do better. I hope you keep enjoying your learning and being kind to others. Best wishes Melvyn Hemmings Lead Inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: The Croft Primary School, 26 June 2007

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