Mawdesley St Peter's Church of England Primary School

Inspection Report Mawdesley St Peter's Church of England Primary School

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119477 Unique Reference Number Lancashire Local Authority 291431 Inspection number 5 °6 October 2006 Inspection dates Shirley Herring 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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Hurst Green School address Primary Type of school Mawdesley, Ormskirk Voluntary aided School category Lancashire, L40 2QT 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01704 822657 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01704 823369 Fax number 90 Number on roll (school) Rev. Reynolds Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Fiona Cottam Headteacher 1 April 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 291431 5 °6 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

Mawdesley St. Peter’s is a smaller than average village school serving an affluent, rural area. Pupils are taught in three mixed age classes. Almost all pupils are from a White British background and no pupil is at an early stage of learning English. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is lower than average but the number with a statement of special educational need is above average. There is a pre-school group and breakfast and after school clubs on the site. At the time of the inspection the headteacher had been in post for only four weeks, having previously been the deputy headteacher.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Mawdesley St Peter's Church of England Primary School, 5 °6 October 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school that rightly prides itself on valuing and including all pupils in all it has to offer. The school works well in partnership with others, for example, the Little Acorns pre-school group, to promote pupils’ well-being. Leadership and management are good. The school’s self-evaluation is accurate in most respects and the headteacher has soon identified the areas for development. Pupils feel safe in school and know that they can talk to any adult if they have a problem. Parents appreciate the secure environment where all adults know every child’s name. Pupils adopt a healthy lifestyle and join in well with the good range of physical activities on offer. They enjoy coming to school and talk enthusiastically about the sports coaching and the popular school trips. They make a good contribution to the school community by acting as playground buddies and contribute to the wider community through contributions to charities and in their involvement in a recycling

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Grade: 2

project. Pupils learn good literacy and numeracy skills and develop good attitudes to work, which prepares them well for later life. Children start school with a range of skills, but overall they are above those usual for their age. Provision for children in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. The children make satisfactory progress and the majority achieve the goals set nationally for their learning by the time they enter Year 1. Assessment procedures are good, but the information is not used well enough in the Foundation Stage to move children on to the next stage of learning promptly. Consequently, the high attaining children do not achieve as well as they could at this stage of their education. Pupils achieve well in Key Stage 1 and standards are above average at the end of Year 2. The pupils also achieve well in Key Stage 2 and attain standards at the end of Year 6 that are well above those expected nationally for 11 year olds. The school’s results in

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Grade: 2

the 2005 and 2006 national tests for Year 6 pupils confirmed this picture. This is because of good teaching and the careful analysis of results by the headteacher to identify those areas where pupils need extra help. The strong emphasis on teaching the basic skills enables all pupils to achieve a high standard. However, there are limited opportunities for pupils to use and extend their skills in solving problems and in writing for a range of purposes in different subjects. The good provision in school enables all pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those with a statement of special educational need to achieve as well as they can. There has been a good improvement in personal development and in the level of challenge for older pupils since the last inspection. This indicates that the school has a good capacity to improve further. The school gives good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Increase opportunities for pupils to use their numeracy and writing skills in other subjects and to solve problems. • Use the good assessment information to move Reception children on to the next stage more quickly. 2 Inspection Report: Mawdesley St Peter's Church of England Primary School, 5 °6 October 2006

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Grade: 2

Standards are well above average and achievement is good. Children start school with skills that are better than is usual for their age. They make satisfactory progress in the Reception class and most pupils reach the goals set nationally for their learning by the time they enter Year 1. However, children are not always moved on to the next stage promptly when they are ready, particularly those children who start school with above average skills, and so they do not achieve as well as they can. Pupils make good progress in Key Stage 1. In the 2005 national tests, standards were above average overall at the end of Year 2. The proportion achieving the higher Level 3 was well above average in reading and above average in mathematics and writing. The pupils continue to make good progress in Key Stage 2. The school’s results in the 2005 national tests for 11 yearolds show that standards were well above average. The school’s

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Grade: 2

own records show that these pupils and the small number who took the tests in 2006 achieved well during their time in school. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, including those with multiple and profound disabilities, achieve well because of the good level of support they receive.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being are good. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good and is firmly guided by the school’s Christian tradition. All adults treat each other and the pupils with respect and provide a good role model for pupils to follow. Pupils respond well to the high expectations in the code of conduct and behaviour is good. They learn about life in a culturally diverse society through studying world religions and through the literature and music of other countries. Pupils say they enjoy school and this is evident in their attitudes in lessons and good attendance. They feel safe in school and are confident that occasional instances of unkind behaviour in the playground are dealt with promptly. Pupils adopt a healthy lifestyle in learning about a healthy diet and participate in a good range of physical activities, including the lunchtime running club. They make a positive contribution to

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Grade: 2

the community by serving on the school council and by joining in parish activities. Pupils acquire a good level of basic skills and a good attitude to work and this prepares them well for later life.

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Grade: 2

Teaching is good and pupils learn well. Lessons are well planned to meet the needs of different age groups in each class. Teachers give clear explanations and demonstrations 3 Inspection Report: Mawdesley St Peter's Church of England Primary School, 5 °6 October 2006 so that pupils know what to do and they get on quickly. Basic literacy and numeracy skills are taught well so pupils reach a good standard. A strong feature in all lessons is the good contribution from the skilled learning assistants who support individuals well and also work in partnership with the teacher to provide guidance for different groups. Procedures for assessing pupils’ progress are good. However, the information is not always used promptly enough to move children in the Foundation Stage on to the next stage of learning.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. The school takes every care to devise a rolling programme over two or three years to ensure that all subjects are covered whilst no topic is duplicated in the mixed age classes. There is good provision for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. They have good access to all activities and this contributes well to their personal and academic development. The school works closely with the local authority to gain specialist advice and support for individuals. There is a good emphasis on developing basic skills and pupils reach a good standard, but the curriculum does not provide enough opportunities for pupils to develop these skills further by using them in other subjects, for example writing in history. There is a good range of additional sporting and musical activities on offer to extend learning outside lessons. Pupils talked with anticipation about the residential trip for older pupils.

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Grade: 2

Pupils are cared for well and all recommended procedures are in place to ensure their safety. The school is meticulous in assessing risks on trips outside school and makes every effort to ensure there is disabled access where needed. This strong culture of inclusion supports pupils’ personal development well. Pupils receive good guidance. Teachers take time to mark work carefully and to give advice to help pupils improve. Pupils have targets to help them improve their literacy and numeracy skills, though these are sometimes framed in language that is difficult for some pupils to understand fully. The school has a generous number of skilled learning assistants who help to provide a good level of support to individuals and groups so they can achieve well.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher provided stability over the last year when the previous headteacher was seconded to other schools. The calm, welcoming atmosphere emanates from the strong Christian ethos that guides the school’s work and makes a good contribution to pupils’ personal and academic development. The school’s clear priorities are based on a thorough analysis of its work 4 Inspection Report: Mawdesley St Peter's Church of England Primary School, 5 °6 October 2006 to bring about improvement. For example, identification of the need to raise expectations of more able pupils led to an improvement in the number of pupils achieving the higher Level 5 in the national tests. There has been good improvement since the last inspection. Governance is good. In a strong commitment to inclusion, the headteacher and governors have invested in a generous number of learning assistants and this has made

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Grade: 2

an important contribution to the good standards, care and support in school. The provision for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is managed well. The large number of support staff are deployed to good effect. Pupils’ progress is reviewed regularly and parents are fully involved and appreciate the school’s work. 5 Inspection Report: Mawdesley St Peter's Church of England Primary School, 5 °6 October 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: Mawdesley St Peter's Church of England Primary School, 5 °6 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? 3 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. 7 Inspection Report: Mawdesley St Peter's Church of England Primary School, 5 °6 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: Mawdesley St Peter's Church of England Primary School, 5 °6 October 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Mawdesley St Peter's Church of England Primary School Hurst Green Mawdesley Ormskirk Lancashire L40 2QT 9 October 2006 Dear Children Thank you for making me so welcome when I visited you in school recently. I enjoyed talking to members of the School Council who are taking their responsibilities seriously. They told me how much you enjoy school, particularly the sports and the visits. I know the older ones are looking forward to their residential trip to Snowdonia. There is a very friendly atmosphere in your school and I particularly like the way all the children join in all the activities and you respect and look after each other. The teachers take a lot of time to plan interesting lessons that are suitable for the different age groups in each class. All the adults take good care of you and help you to learn. You make good progress during your time in school and you have good literacy and numeracy skills when you move on to the High School. To help you improve even further I have asked

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Mrs. Cottam and the teachers to give you more opportunities to solve problems in mathematics. You can help by having a try yourself when you get a new problem, before you ask an adult. You might surprise yourself by how well you do. I would also like your teachers to give you more writing to do in subjects such as history and geography. Remember to check your spellings and to take note of what the teacher says when they mark your work. I joined the Reception children in the gazebo, which is a wonderful place. They were clearly enjoying school in their first few weeks. It is important for young children to play inside and outside as this is part of their learning. They can then move on quickly to other tasks when they are ready. Best wishes Mrs Shirley Herring Lead Inspector 9 Inspection Report: Mawdesley St Peter's Church of England Primary School, 5 °6 October 2006

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