St Faiths CofE Primary School

Inspection Report Horsham St. Faith CofE First School

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121082 Unique Reference Number NORFOLK Local Authority 291998 Inspection number 2 °3 October 2006 Inspection dates Richard Cheetham 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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25 Manor Road School address First Type of school Horsham St Faith, Horsham St Faith Voluntary controlled School category

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Norwich, Norfolk NR10 3LF 4 °8 Age range of pupils 01603 898353 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01603 898353 Fax number 61 Number on roll (school) Rev Andrew Beane Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Elizabeth Hurrell Headteacher 15 January 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 291998 2 °3 October 2006 4°8 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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This small school has had a change of headteacher and staff since the previous inspection. It is due to be reorganised as a primary school from 2007 and building work has started. The number on roll is less than at the previous inspection. All children are from White British backgrounds. The proportion entitled to free school meals is below average as is the percentage of those with learning difficulties or disabilities. Fewer than average children start or leave the school at times other than usual.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Horsham St. Faith CofE First School, 2 °3 October 2006

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Grade: 2

This is an effective school that provides good value for money. The school agrees with this view of itself. It is regarded very well by the parents and carers and few have concerns. One parent commented, 'This is a joyful school.' Through the good leadership of the headteacher, it has dealt effectively with changes to staff and pupil numbers, and now stands on the threshold of a significant challenge as it grows into a primary school. The school has made good progress since the previous inspection and has a good capacity for further improvement. Children's standards of attainment have risen, particularly in mathematics and more steadily in writing. There is more information and communication technology (ICT) equipment and there is better curriculum guidance. Governors report on their visits to school and child protection measures meet requirements. These developments have come about against a backdrop of major

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Grade: 2

building work that has demanded much of the headteacher's and governors' attention. With the staff team, the headteacher has chosen the right priorities to take the school forward. These are shared with the governors who are firm supporters of the school and govern it soundly, although their evaluation of its progress with senior staff is not developed enough. The plans for development into a primary school are partly in place but need further detail. Children start school with broadly average standards although this varies and is distorted by the small numbers in each year group. They join the school with growing confidence because the school helps them cope with the change from home to school. During the Foundation Stage, children progress well and reach standards above those usually found. This good progress continues through Years 1 to 3 and by the time they leave, standards are very high in reading, high in speaking

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Grade: 2

and listening, and satisfactory in writing. Children reach high standards in mathematics and science, and they also progress well in both music and physical education to reach good standards. They reach the standard expected in ICT and make satisfactory progress. These generally good rates of achievement and progress are due to good teaching and learning, a clear focus on developing basic skills and their increasing use in all subjects. Teachers assess all children's work well and use the information to provide good support for children with learning difficulties as well as setting targets for all children for further improvement. Children's personal development is good, partly because of good guidance and support and because staff know the children well. The good curriculum helps all children learn well and they receive great enjoyment from their lessons and other activities. Children's behaviour is excellent; they are very

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Grade: 2

polite and their attendance is routinely above average. They have simple rules to guide them so they take care in moving around school and look after one another very well. They understand very well the importance of a healthy diet; they eat fruit at break times and exercise with gusto. They make a responsible contribution to the school community through their daily school tasks and increasingly through the school council. They play a large part in village life through concerts and church festivals. Through their progress in basic skills and their understanding of people's jobs, children are being well prepared for life after school. The school has an effective development plan which links improvements in provision and raising standards by increasing the rate of progress children make. However the plan lacks specificity for more than one year. 2 Inspection Report: Horsham St. Faith CofE First School, 2 °3 October 2006

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Grade: 2

Governors take their involvement seriously and their recent self-audit helped them see areas for improvement but they do not challenge the school sufficiently or evaluate its provision systematically.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Improve children's progress in writing to reach above average standards. - Ensure school development planning covers more than one year and, in particular, prepares in greater detail for the forthcoming significant change in the school's character. - Ensure that governors are more directly involved in the evaluation of the school's improvement.

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Grade: 2

Children make good progress and achieve well in the Foundation Stage because their development is carefully measured during the first few weeks and then a curriculum, tailored to their needs, is well taught. They make good progress towards all the early learning goals although their attainment in writing is sometimes lower than other aspects. By Years 2 and 3, children are becoming avid readers, confident speakers and careful listeners. By comparison, their writing, though improving does not match their verbal expression in complexity and range. This is partly because teachers' marking comments do not focus precisely on these features for improvement. Children are proficient in most aspects of mathematics but measurement of length and capacity are relative weaknesses. They attain well in all aspects of science and have made most gains in investigative work. Children with learning difficulties make good progress

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Grade: 2

because their needs are accurately assessed and met. Most aspects of ICT are satisfactory but a weakness is how well they use computers to handle data.

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Grade: 2

Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They respond sensitively to music and art and empathise well with people less fortunate than themselves. They take the initiative by suggesting charity events and regularly support the East Anglian Hospice. They have a strong sense of right and wrong and mix easily. They have a good understanding of the ways other people live and work. Children become increasingly self-assured as they progress through the school. They accept responsibilities well. They are keen to volunteer and they enjoy all aspects of school life; particularly those where they have an element of choice. They know why they choose healthy diets and they take part in sports enthusiastically. They diligently help the school run smoothly and older children take care of younger ones very well. They work well together and value what others say. 3 Inspection Report: Horsham St. Faith CofE First School, 2 °3 October 2006

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Grade: 2

Teachers know their children well and work very effectively with their teaching assistants to include all children in school life. Teachers have good subject knowledge so that they lead most lessons confidently and assess children's work carefully. Lessons have a good structure and children know what is expected of them. There is an effective balance of individual, group and whole class teaching that meets children's needs well. Additional expertise in music and physical education helps to improve the quality of teaching and learning. So that pupils sing tunefully, expressively and with obvious enjoyment. In physical education children grow in confidence, are agile and controlled in movement and good at evaluating their performance. Staff make good use of drama lessons to generate more ideas and improve the quality of creative writing. However, teachers do not always make clear how children can make specific improvements in

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Grade: 2

their written work beyond grammar and presentation, and some children are not sure how to improve.

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Grade: 2

Through well co-ordinated school planning, help from parents, governors and extra teaching support, the school provides a curriculum that captures children's interests. The school has started to develop basic skills in other subjects so that children can practise them to more effect. An example of this is the travel project in class two. This links the National Curriculum subjects and religious education to regular English and mathematics lessons. The school plans to develop this approach further as the school grows. There is a good range of school visits and visitors that broaden the curriculum and give it immediacy and fun. For instance, 'Bob the Builder Day' was used well to develop children's ability to link fiction and fact. It gave opportunities for children to learn about the new building, to keep safe and to have fun.

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Grade: 2

The school's arrangements for safeguarding the children are thorough; they meet current requirements and children feel safe. Staff work as a team to share their understanding of children's needs. For instance, the progress of children with learning difficulties is a standing item at staff meetings so that staff can support these children, irrespective of age group. They have accurate individual education plans and targets matched to their pace of learning. External professionals provide extra support to meet the range of needs. The Foundation Stage teacher keeps accurate records in the children's progress to plan to support them well. There are accurate records of older children's progress in English and mathematics to help teachers plan for improvement 4 Inspection Report: Horsham St. Faith CofE First School, 2 °3 October 2006 and for the school to judge how well it is doing. Other records meet the school's current

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Grade: 2

needs and staff plan to develop these as the age range increases.

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Grade: 2

Staff are appropriately deployed and work well as a team to support the school's effectiveness. Staff carry out their delegated responsibilities well and support one another well. The headteacher has developed an effective system for monitoring the work of the school. This ensures that no child is overlooked; children are well cared for and helped to achieve well. The headteacher is given good support by the senior teacher. They set a clear school direction through the development plan which has links to planned improvements in provision and children's progress. This is effective for the current year but while there are some projections for the next two years, these lack sufficient detail. Governors take their involvement seriously and their recent self-audit helped them see areas for improvement. They help to ensure that funds are spent prudently but do not yet ask enough questions of the school or evaluate its

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Grade: 2

provision systematically. 5 Inspection Report: Horsham St. Faith CofE First School, 2 °3 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: Horsham St. Faith CofE First School, 2 °3 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? 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 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 1 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: Horsham St. Faith CofE First School, 2 °3 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: Horsham St. Faith CofE First School, 2 °3 October 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

4 October 2006 Dear Children Horsham St Faith C of E First School, Manor Road, Horsham St Faith, Norwich, Norfolk NR10 3LF Thank you for welcoming me to your school and telling me what you think about it. I thought you looked splendid in your colourful wellies. I enjoyed listening to what you had to say, looking at your work and watching you learn. This letter is to tell you the good things I learned about your school and some ideas for how it can get better. Mrs Hurrell organises the other adults well to take good care of you and help you all do as well as you can. You really enjoy your time in school, especially when you sing so well and when you do drama and physical education. You behave excellently because you do as you should and you look after others. You take care when moving around the school and the new building. You know about eating the right food and keeping healthy. You are good at mathematics and

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

science and you read very well. I have asked Mrs Hurrell and the other adults to help you improve your writing. You can do your bit by trying to write longer, interesting sentences that tell the reader your good ideas. The adults also need to work together to check on how well the school is doing and plan carefully for the new school. You already play a big part in the school and you are vital to its future. I wish you all very well. Best wishes Richard Cheetham Lead inspector 9 Inspection Report: Horsham St. Faith CofE First School, 2 °3 October 2006

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