Leintwardine Endowed CE Primary School

Inspection Report - Amended Leintwardine Church of England Primary School

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116893 Unique Reference Number Herefordshire Local Authority 290671 Inspection number 25 September 2006 Inspection date Patricia Pothecary 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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Leintwardine School address Primary Type of school Craven Arms Voluntary aided School category SY7 0LL 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01547 540641 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01547 540577 Fax number 95 Number on roll (school) Sylvia Turner Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Ann Davies Headteacher 10 September 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 290671 25 September 2006 4 °11

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Amended Report Addendum

Report updated to resolve formatting inconsistency

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Amended Report Addendum

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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Amended Report Addendum

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

Leintwardine is a small rural school with four classes. Reception and Year 1 are taught together and the junior classes are mixed age. Almost all pupils are of White British origin. Pupils come from a wide mix of social backgrounds, with relatively high levels of deprivation. The number of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is average but quite a few have joined the school in the older age groups, where their numbers are high.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Leintwardine Church of England Primary School, 25 September 2006

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Grade: 2

Leintwardine is a good school which the pupils enjoy immensely and the parents value highly. As one parent said, it is 'caring, calm, professional and well run!' All pupils achieve well by the time they leave, both academically and personally, so that they have a good start to their secondary education and future lives. Staff support and guide this process well. Pupils enter school with broadly average attainment and, because teaching is good, standards are above average by the time they leave. This represents good progress. The rate of progress is rapid for pupils in Reception and for those aged 5 to 7, where teaching is of a consistently high standard. Progress slows a little for pupils aged 7-11 because some teaching is inconsistent in quality, although good overall. Teaching staff show considerable skill and knowledge in a wide range of subjects. Although satisfactory, the teaching of writing is the one area that is not effective enough to

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Grade: 2

bring pupils' achievements up to the good levels shown in most subjects, The senior team leads and manages the school well by keeping a close eye on how well pupils are doing and making sure that any areas which need improvement are quickly addressed. This has led to important gains both in pupils' achievement and in the quality of teaching. The system for using information on pupils' progress to monitor and improve their achievement is thorough, but it is not used sufficiently well to improve the consistency of teaching and so raise standards further. An excellent curriculum provides a wealth of opportunities to bring learning alive for pupils, with regular trips, residential experiences and good involvement with the community. Links with other schools and organisations are outstanding and contribute significantly to the good learning, personal development and well-being of pupils. Pupils demonstrate outstanding qualities in their awareness of spiritual, moral and

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Grade: 2

social issues. They feel and are kept very safe, their behaviour is excellent and they show considerable responsibility towards others and for their own learning. Although pupils contribute substantially to the school and to community causes, they do not have a formal voice with which to express their opinions and help bring about change. The school has a strong sporting tradition, which helps pupils keep fit and healthy but, despite some good work to encourage healthy eating, not all pupils bring healthy food to school.

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What the school should do to improve further

• • Improve the consistency of teaching and learning for pupils aged 7 to 11 by linking information on their achievements more closely with what goes on in the classroom. • Improve the progress pupils make in writing in all age groups. • Ensure that pupils have a more formal means of expressing their views on how the school works and what needs to be done to improve it further. 2 Inspection Report: Leintwardine Church of England Primary School, 25 September 2006

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Grade: 2

When pupils enter the school, their attainment is broadly average, but by the time they leave in Year 6, the standard of their work is above average. This represents good progress and achievement because all pupils, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities, do better than expected, given their starting points. There are considerable variations from year to year due to small pupil numbers and the individual circumstances of each year group. Pupils, including children in Reception, make a good start in the youngest two classes, rapidly gaining ground in all subjects. Achievements in writing, although good, lag behind reading and mathematics. From the age of 7, pupils continue to build on their earlier successes, although not quite so quickly. They usually make expected progress and several exceed expectations, but their achievement in writing is satisfactory rather than good. The school has identified writing as an area

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Grade: 2

for improvement and is already putting in place steps to address this. Pupils' progress and achievement in science are particularly strong.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' good personal development and well-being is evident in their confidence, maturity and excellent behaviour. They greatly enjoy coming to school and value their lessons and the high quality of their environment. They feel very safe and bullying is rare because, as they report, 'teachers sort things out quickly'. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding and they demonstrate a high degree of respect for other people's views and property. Pupils make a valued contribution in school, taking on various responsibilities and projects. They also support others, for example, by raising money for charity. They are delighted to have already raised enough money to buy sixteen goats to support an African community. However, there is no formal route through which pupils can have a voice and develop their decision making and democratic skills in supporting improvements to the school. This limits their

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Grade: 2

developing citizenship skills. The good quality of pupils' basic skills, including ICT, and their good personal development prepares pupils well for their future. In discussion, pupils have a good understanding of the importance of exercise and how to eat healthily although the lunches they bring do not always reflect this.

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Grade: 2

Good, lively and skilled teaching makes sure that pupils do well by the age of 11. For example, in one lesson, very supportive questioning from a teaching assistant gave pupils the confidence to take risks when solving a problem so that they quickly reached 3 Inspection Report: Leintwardine Church of England Primary School, 25 September 2006 the right conclusion. To quote one pupil, 'teachers are really friendly and very helpful'. Teaching is sometimes excellent, especially in the younger age groups where the good work of helping pupils do better than expected begins. The way teachers plan lessons and use assessment to guide them in what to teach next is very good. Work is usually carefully matched to the needs of individual pupils. Occasionally, learning slows in some lessons for the older pupils because either the work is not well suited to the least and most able in the class, or the range of strategies used to meet all pupils' needs is

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Grade: 1

An outstanding curriculum, with an emphasis on practical and creative work, helps pupils enjoy what they do and enriches their understanding so that they learn effectively. The curriculum in Reception is thorough and prepares children very well for Year 1. Visiting experts provide excellent opportunities for pupils to learn musical instruments and participate in a wide range of sports and games. The school takes every opportunity to improve provision. For example, a local specialist teaches French and there are excellent links with other schools and organisations to support pupils in developing a wide range of academic and social skills. A host of visits and visitors successfully broadens pupils' learning. Arrangements for supporting pupils' personal development are also very effective. Careful, flexible organisation ensures that the curriculum builds learning systematically for pupils in mixed-age year groups, those

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Grade: 1

with learning difficulties and disabilities and those with special gifts and talents.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good and ensure that pupils are kept safe and that they are guided well in reaching the standards set for them in their work and personal development. Pupils' work and progress are carefully tracked and the information is used well to help them meet their targets in reading, mathematics and science, but in writing there is a lack of consistency. Pupils and parents consider the welcoming, caring atmosphere the headteacher promotes to be outstanding. Parents of children in Reception are delighted that they settle so quickly into school routines and preparation for the move to secondary school is of a high quality.

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Grade: 2

The pupils make good progress because the senior team leads and manages the school well. A strong emphasis on teamwork is a key element in the success of the school in providing pupils with a good education. Good consultation with parents, governors and staff, alongside a clear focus on the results of pupils' learning, means that this is a better school than it was at the time of the last inspection and that pupils make better progress. The headteacher, well supported by staff and governors, has a good 4 Inspection Report: Leintwardine Church of England Primary School, 25 September 2006 view of what needs to be done and has systematically improved each area of the school. The environment is delightful, of high quality and supports learning well. Recent improvements as a result of action by leaders and managers include better use of computers by pupils and staff, more effective problem solving in mathematics and

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Grade: 2

enhanced skills for teachers and teaching assistants. This demonstrates a good capacity to continue improving. The leadership team makes good use of information on pupils' progress to set whole-school targets and keep standards relatively high. However, leaders and managers recognise that they do not link this information in enough detail with what teachers do in the classroom. This slows improvement in the consistency of teaching and in raising standards further, especially in writing 5 Inspection Report: Leintwardine Church of England Primary School, 25 September 2006 .

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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: Leintwardine Church of England Primary School, 25 September 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 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?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 3 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: Leintwardine Church of England Primary School, 25 September 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: Leintwardine Church of England Primary School, 25 September 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

26 September 2006 Dear Pupils Leintwardine Endowed Primary School, Watling Street, Leintwardine, Shropshire, SY7 0LL Thank you for being so welcoming to us when we visited your school. We enjoyed meeting you and joining you for lunch and seeing some of your lessons. We found your school to be successful, well run and caring. It is a good school, just like many of you told us it was. It helps all of you to make good progress. School leaders also do a good job in seeing that the school maintains such good quality work. You are sensible, work hard and behave exceptionally well. Your teachers and teaching assistants are good at helping you to do your best and they teach you well. There is room for improvement in the way teachers are helped to make all your lessons as good as the best and with the right help, we think that you could do even better in writing. Your understanding of spiritual, moral and social issues is

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

excellent and you clearly enjoy school. We were pleased to see that at least some of you try to keep healthy through exercise and sensible eating. You do work and play very well together and we think that this, alongside your good basic skills in literacy and numeracy, will stand you in good stead for the future. Your teachers see to it that you have an excellent range of activities and links to other schools to help you learn well and improve many of your skills. Despite the good work you do in helping around the school, we think that you need better opportunities to give your opinions on how well the school is run and what needs to be improved. The school is good at keeping you safe, at helping you become well-rounded people, in guiding you in reaching your targets and in making sure you are well prepared for secondary school. We wish you all the very best in the future. Yours sincerely, Lead Inspector

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

9 Inspection Report: Leintwardine Church of England Primary School, 25 September 2006

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