Toynton All Saints Primary School

Inspection Report Toynton All Saints Primary School

p.1

120483 Unique Reference Number LINCOLNSHIRE Local Authority 291752 Inspection number 4 °5 December 2006 Inspection dates Colin Henderson Reporting inspector

p.1

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.1

Main Road School address Primary Type of school Toynton All Saints, Toynton All Saints Community School category

p.1

Spilsby, Lincolnshire PE23 5AQ 4 °11 Age range of pupils

p.1

01790 752242 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01526 755653 Fax number 87 Number on roll (school) Mrs Eunice Moss Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Miss Maxine Crowson Headteacher 4 June 2001 Date of previous school inspection

p.1

Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 291752 4 °5 December 2006 4°11 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one Additional Inspector.

p.3

Description of the school

Children come from the local village and several other villages in the area. They come from a wide range of social backgrounds. All speak English as their first language. There are more pupils who have learning difficulties or disabilities than in many other schools of this size. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is below average. The level of pupil mobility is high, at over 50%, in some year groups.

p.3

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Toynton All Saints Primary School, 4 °5 December 2006

p.3

Grade: 3

The school judges its effectiveness to be satisfactory, a view confirmed by the inspection, and it gives satisfactory value for money. The school has undergone an unsettled period, with budget difficulties requiring a reduction in the number of staff. This, together with increased pupil mobility, more pupils who have learning difficulties, and some inadequate teaching, has led to a decline in standards in Year 6 to below average levels. Reception children attain nationally expected levels by the time they enter Year 1. Year 2 pupils attain average standards. Pupils' achievement is satisfactory overall, resulting from satisfactory, often good teaching and their positive attitudes to work. Achievement is improving, especially in Years 3 to 6, because the headteacher has resolved staffing difficulties and has improved teaching and learning and the curriculum. However the standards in the current Year 6 remain below average mainly

p.4

Grade: 3

as a result of some inadequate teaching earlier in their schooling and a high proportion of pupils with learning difficulties. In her first year, the headteacher has focused successfully on balancing the budget and improving the quality of teaching and learning. She provides strong leadership and is supported soundly by an improving team of staff and governors. She has introduced new assessment and tracking procedures that check pupils' progress carefully and identify weaknesses in their learning. Teachers use this information to plan a good range of activities. They mark pupils' work regularly to encourage their achievement, although they do not consistently check that pupils understand what they need to do to improve. Pupils' personal development is good. Staff know their pupils well and the day-to-day care for individuals is good, particularly for those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. This is valued highly by parents. One commented, 'we find the school is

p.4

Grade: 3

well run, with staff working closely together to help all children be happy and do well'. The academic guidance for pupils is satisfactory. Pupils have individual improvement targets, although teachers do not use them consistently to help pupils raise the quality of their work. Pupils enjoy school and are eager to learn. Most behave well and sustain their attention throughout lessons. Leadership and management are satisfactory overall. The headteacher uses development plans effectively to provide a clear lead, both in the short and longer terms, on how to improve the school. Although key staff and governors are increasingly involved in checking how well the school is doing, systems are not yet sufficiently rigorous to ensure consistent and reliable evaluations. An effective system to evaluate and manage staff performance has been limited by absence and is not developed fully. Good links with parents keep them well informed about what is happening in school and how well

p.4

Grade: 3

their child is doing. The links with other local schools and external agencies are particularly effective in supporting pupils' learning, especially those with specific educational, social and emotional needs. 2 Inspection Report: Toynton All Saints Primary School, 4 °5 December 2006

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that the consistent use of improvement targets and the marking of pupils' work help them to understand what they need to do next to improve. • Establish an effective system of managing the performance of staff to continue to improve teaching and learning and the contributions of subject leaders to school effectiveness. • Extend the involvement of governors in evaluating rigorously how well the school is doing and targeting improvement.

p.5

Grade: 3

The attainment of children entering Class 1 varies from year to year because of the small numbers. The achievement of most children in Reception is satisfactory overall. It is often good in some areas of learning, for example, mathematical development, when the teaching is good and supported by effective teaching assistants. Most children attain the learning goals expected of them by the time they enter Year 1. Careful planning, supported by satisfactory, often good teaching, helps Year 1 and Year 2 pupils to continue to make satisfactory progress. Year 2 pupils attain average standards overall in the national tests. Pupils make satisfactory progress in Years 3 to 6 and attain standards that broadly match expected levels in most years, except in Year 6. This group of pupils are now making satisfactory and often good progress in lessons but have not regained ground lost through their earlier underachievement so their standards remain below average.

p.5

Grade: 3

Pupils who have learning difficulties or disabilities benefit from some good support in lessons which helps them to achieve their targets. Better lesson planning provides activities to challenge more able pupils and most attain above average levels. Teachers are identifying and addressing underachievement more effectively so achievement is improving especially for older pupils.

p.5

Grade: 2

The school's focus on pupils' personal development helps them to enjoy school, get on well with each other and contribute effectively to the school and wider communities. Behaviour is good and attendance levels are broadly average. The school works hard at checking on the few pupils who are frequently absent or late. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. It has improved since the last inspection, especially pupils' understanding of living in a multi-cultural society. Pupils know how to keep safe and healthy and value the opportunities to participate in different sporting activities such as the netball and running clubs. Those elected to the school council take pride in improving the school, for example, by providing a 'Buddy Bench' for any pupils who need friends to play with at lunchtime. Older pupils are beginning to take increasing responsibility for their own learning, for example, by identifying their own

p.5

Grade: 2

3 Inspection Report: Toynton All Saints Primary School, 4 °5 December 2006 targets for improving their work. Pupils' economic well-being is promoted well through Enterprise Week, in which links with a local high school and a local business help pupils to set up their own enterprise and sell their products at a business fair.

p.5

Grade: 3

Teaching is satisfactory with some good features. The good relationships that teachers have with their classes are reflected in pupils' enjoyment of lessons and their eagerness to work. Teachers, working effectively with teaching assistants, manage their classes well to help pupils sustain their concentration. Teachers plan their lessons in detail and organise a good range of activities to meet pupils' different learning needs. Teachers tell pupils clearly what they are to learn so that they know what they are trying to achieve. However, there are inconsistencies in teachers' expectations of what pupils are capable of and in the pace of lessons. This does not ensure that all pupils achieve as much as they can within each lesson. Teachers use questions effectively to encourage pupils to contribute their ideas. They use praise well to reward pupils for their contributions. However, teachers do not use

p.6

Grade: 3

more challenging questions to extend pupils' knowledge and understanding often enough. Teachers mark pupils' work regularly and point out areas for improvement but do not consistently check on how well pupils have improved key weaknesses.

p.6

Grade: 2

The curriculum provides a good range of interesting and varied learning activities. Improved and detailed planning helps teachers to provide activities that support the achievement of pupils of different abilities. These improvements also provide more opportunities for pupils to use their basic skills to support learning in other subjects, although there is scope to use information and communication technology more effectively. The school enhances the curriculum well with day and residential trips and extra-curricular clubs. Plans are well developed to link with other local schools and extend the programme further, for example, the range of sporting activities.

p.6

Grade: 3

Overall care, guidance and support are satisfactory. However, the personal care given to pupils is good and as a result they enjoy school and gain in self-confidence. Careful attention is given to ensuring that pupils are safe and well-protected. Staff work hard to help every pupil to be involved, particularly those with learning difficulties. The school has very effective links with local schools and support agencies to ensure that staff are trained to meet these pupils' specific needs. This encourages them to try hard to succeed and helps them to achieve. The guidance given to pupils to improve their 4 Inspection Report: Toynton All Saints Primary School, 4 °5 December 2006 work is satisfactory. Recent initiatives on the use of targets for pupils to improve their work are not consistently developed in each class to promote higher standards.

p.6

Grade: 3

The strong and influential leadership of the headteacher is a key factor in improving provision and standards. She quickly addressed budget problems resulting from high staffing levels. Her evaluations of how well the school was doing identified some weaknesses in teaching and learning leading to some significant underachievement by older pupils. She has successfully tackled these weaknesses and improved teaching quality. The headteacher is beginning to be supported more by staff and governors and has improved the school's self-evaluation procedures. They are now satisfactory. For example, new procedures evaluate pupils' achievement carefully and identify pupils who need extra support or more challenge. As a result, standards and pupils' achievement are beginning to rise. Detailed action plans provide a clear direction for school improvement. However, some aspects of leadership and management, including performance management are not

p.7

Grade: 3

developed well enough yet. Although governors and subject leaders are more involved, they are not yet secure enough in their evaluation of how well pupils are achieving. However, the clear leadership of the headteacher, as evident in her overcoming the initial difficulties she faced, supported by an improving team of staff and governors, means that the school has a good capacity to improve further. 5 Inspection Report: Toynton All Saints Primary School, 4 °5 December 2006 .

p.7

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: Toynton All Saints Primary School, 4 °5 December 2006

p.8

Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

p.9

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 3 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

p.9

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

p.9

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

p.9

and interests of learners?

3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

p.9

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: Toynton All Saints Primary School, 4 °5 December 2006

p.9

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: Toynton All Saints Primary School, 4 °5 December 2006

p.10

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

6 December 2006 Dear Children Toynton All Saints Primary School, Main Road, Toynton All Saints, Spilsby, Lincolnshire PE23 5AQ Thank you for making me feel welcome when I visited your school. I enjoyed talking to you, looking at your work and watching you learn. A special thanks to those members of the school council and the Year 6 pupils who talked so openly about your school. What I found was good about your school was: • Your teachers and other adults care about you as individuals, make sure that you are safe and listen to your opinions about school. • You get on well together and are kind to each other. I particularly like the Buddy Bench to help anyone who is in need of a friend. • You behave well and clearly enjoy school. This means that teachers can get on with the job of helping you learn. • Teachers try to make your lessons interesting and all the adults put a lot of effort into helping you to learn. You try hard to do what your teachers ask.

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• The school puts on some interesting clubs and extra activities at lunchtime and after school that I know you enjoy. • Miss Crowson and her staff have good ideas about how to make your school better. They are working hard to make this happen. I think your school could be even better if you try hard to improve your work by achieving your own improvement targets and the points that your teacher tells you to do next when marking your work. I have also asked your school to provide more opportunities for teachers who are responsible for particular subjects and for governors to look carefully at how you are doing and see where they can help you to achieve even better. I hope that you continue to be happy at school and carry on working hard. Colin Henderson Lead Inspector 9 Inspection Report: Toynton All Saints Primary School, 4 °5 December 2006

p.11