Wreningham VC Primary School

Wreningham VC Primary School Inspection report

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121095 Unique Reference Number NORFOLK Local Authority 292005 Inspection number 10 May 2007 Inspection date John Foster 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 Voluntary controlled School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 97 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Mary Fairman Chair Mr Richard Burbage Headteacher 19 September 2002 Date of previous school inspection Ashwellthorpe Road School address Wreningham Norwich Norfolk NR16 1AW

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01508489355 Telephone number 01508489355 Fax number

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4 °11 Age group 10 May 2007 Inspection date 292005 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 over one day.

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Description of the school

The school is much smaller than average and serves the community of Wreningham and two adjacent villages. Almost all pupils are of White British descent and have English as their first language. When they start school, most children's attainments are broadly in line with those expected for their age. The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is below average. An average proportion of pupils experience learning difficulties. The percentage with a statement of special educational need is above 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: Wreningham VC Primary School, 10 May 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school giving good value for money, a judgement which closely matches the school's evaluation of its provision. Pupils achieve well. Children are taught well in Reception and make good progress. Pupils make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1 and by the end of Year 2 their attainment is broadly average. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 make further good progress with many reaching above average standards year on year. A major reason for pupils' good progress is the good teaching they receive, particularly in the Reception and Year 1 class and in the Years 5 and 6 class. Teachers' planning is clear and readily identifies tasks which are appropriate for pupils' differing abilities, thus work is challenging for all. The relationships between pupils and adults are good. This encourages pupils to work conscientiously and to aim to make the best progress they can. There is, however, inconsistent practice when teachers mark pupils' work. Teachers do not always give enough guidance on

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Grade: 2

how pupils' work may be improved. Pupils' personal development and arrangements for their care are good. Pupils' behaviour, reflecting teachers' high expectations, is exemplary. Pupils enjoy school enormously, attend regularly and have positive attitudes which help them to achieve well. Pupils have many opportunities to work together and cooperate. Their contribution to the community is strong. The school council is a particularly good example of this. It is involved in school life and represented the pupils well when, for example, councillors were involved in the appointment of the new headteacher. Pupils have a good awareness of the need for healthy lifestyles, taking an active part in the many sporting activities provided by the school. They are well prepared for future life through their learning in mathematics and English and the close links the school has with the receiving high school. The systems for tracking pupils' academic development are inconsistently applied within the

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Grade: 2

school. Recognising this, the headteacher has already introduced new systems to ensure that pupils who have not made enough progress are identified in the future. The school provides a good curriculum with a wide range of extra curricular activities to enhance the learning that takes place during school time. Parental support is good with almost all responses to the parental questionnaire being positive. As one parent wrote, 'Our children are extremely privileged to attend Wreningham School'. The newly appointed headteacher, who is well supported by the senior teacher and the other staff, has made a good and accurate evaluation of the school and produced an improvement plan highlighting the most important areas for development. Subject leaders for English and mathematics monitor their subjects well, but monitoring in other subjects is not as effective. The school improvement plan has identified this shortfall and identifies when monitoring is to

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Grade: 2

take place in the future. Governance is satisfactory.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Track pupils' progress more effectively and use the data gained to set individual and group targets. • Develop the role of subject leaders to enable them to monitor all subjects more effectively so that they build on the strengths and address the weaknesses identified. • Ensure consistency in the quality of teachers' marking throughout the school so that pupils have clear guidance about how they can improve their work. 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Wreningham VC Primary School, 10 May 2007

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Grade: 2

Pupils achieve well. Pupils make good progress overall from their starting points, so that by the end of Year 6 their attainment is above average. The percentage of pupils in Year 6 who reach the expected standard (Level 4) in national tests and also reach the higher Level 5 is greater than in schools nationally. The current Year 6, based on evidence from their work, make good progress and many are on course to reach above average results in their National Curriculum tests. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress at a similar rate to other groups of pupils. Children in Reception make good progress, with most reaching the expected goals for children of their age and some exceeding them. Pupils make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1, so that by the end of Year 2 their attainment is average. Pupils attain higher than average results in reading, and broadly average results in writing and mathematics.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They gain good experience of different cultures, including the mix of cultures in Britain. Pupils' social development is particularly good because they are encouraged to care for each other and the older pupils look after the younger ones very well. Pupils' behaviour and attendance are excellent. Pupils enjoy school immensely, playing well together and having good relationships with adults in school. The school promotes healthy lifestyles well. Pupils react well by eating healthily and taking part in the many physical activities provided. Pupils feel safe, knowing that there is always someone to go to should they have worries or concerns. Pupils on the school council are very positive about their role. They manage their own budget, raising funds for playground games through, for example, holding a 'Bring and Buy' sale. The eco council, where, makes a positive

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Grade: 2

contribution to pupils' development because pupils work together to protect and develop their environment. These aspects of the school help to prepare pupils for the future very well. Pupils' good involvement in the school community is extended to the community at large when, for example, villagers are invited to their Christmas celebrations.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good, enabling the pupils to achieve well. Children get a very positive start in the Reception class and are presented with a wide range of stimulating activities to help them to make good progress. Effective questioning helps to develop understanding and the children are encouraged to speak in front of others to develop their speaking and listening skills. Teaching is also particularly strong in Years 5 and 6. Teachers plan effectively to ensure that pupils of differing abilities have challenging work. Whilst teachers assess pupils' work and use the results in planning future work, the quality of marking is variable and does not always give the pupils enough guidance about how their work can be improved further. 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Wreningham VC Primary School, 10 May 2007

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Grade: 2

Pupils are provided with a good curriculum to help them develop skills and knowledge. In Reception, children have wide ranging opportunities to develop all aspects of their learning using the indoor and outdoor environments. Throughout both key stages visits and visitors, such as African drummers, are used well to support learning. The older pupils enjoy residential visits, which support their social development well. For its size, the school provides a good range of activities beyond the school day to help its pupils to develop fully. These include music and sporting activities in addition to gardening and computer clubs. The pupils benefit from visits by some of the staff from the receiving high school, who teach subjects such as design and technology. Information and communication technology (ICT), identified as a key issue at the previous inspection, has improved significantly. It is now good and is used well to support

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. Arrangements for child protection and safeguarding pupils' welfare are well established and staff are fully aware of what to do should they have concerns. Pupils say that they feel safe in school and are confident that there is always an adult to whom they can go to discuss it. Pupils' views are taken into account through the effective class, eco and school councils. Pupils who experience learning difficulties or have disabilities have high levels of support, enabling them to make good progress. Whilst older pupils know and discuss their anticipated levels in National Curriculum tests, the procedures for tracking pupils' progress and setting individual or group targets are not consistent throughout the school. The headteacher has already recognised this and has begun to identify pupils who have made insufficient progress in order to give them help to improve their progress.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher, well supported by the senior teacher and the other staff, has produced a school improvement plan which clearly displays a vision for moving the school forward. The plan displays clarity of vision for the school and is shared by staff. The school has a good capacity to maintain the strong features of the school, such as pupils' consistent overall good progress, because it knows what works and what needs to be improved. Over time, the school has successfully tackled the issues identified at the previous inspection. The governors visit the school regularly and support the headteacher and staff in their work, but they are not sufficiently involved in planning for the school's future. The governors, through the curriculum committee, are kept well informed about how each subject is progressing as the subject leaders give a presentation to them about their subjects. The checks subject leaders

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Grade: 2

have made on English and mathematics have been effective. Monitoring is less rigorous in other subjects and, as a result, is not used well enough to plan for developing all subjects fully. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Wreningham VC Primary School, 10 May 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: Wreningham VC Primary School, 10 May 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 1 The behaviour of learners 1 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 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: Wreningham VC Primary School, 10 May 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: Wreningham VC Primary School, 10 May 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

11 May 2007 Dear Children Inspection of Wreningham VC Primary School, Wreningham, Norfolk NR16 1AW As you know, I came into school yesterday to see how you were getting on with your work. I would like to thank you for the welcome you gave me and for the ways in which you helped me to do my work. This letter is to let you know what I found out about your school. Yours is a good school. You told me that you were happy and this was clear from the way you talked to me and the trust you have in the staff. The staff care for you greatly and this shows in the ways they plan your learning. They make sure that you are all given challenging work to help you to make good progress. You are given a wide range of activities to help you learn in lesson time and out of school. I was very impressed with your behaviour and by the ways that you look after each other. I was particularly pleased to be able to talk to your excellent school

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

council. They work hard to represent you and you can be proud of them. Although he is new to the school, your headteacher has already identified areas for improvement that will make what happens in school better. In order to make the school even better in the future, I have asked the staff and governors to: • make sure that you know your targets, so you learn faster • give the teachers more opportunities to check what is happening in each subject • make sure that when they mark your work, your teachers give you more help so that you know how to make it better. With all best wishes. Yours sincerely John Foster (Lead Inspector) 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Wreningham VC Primary School, 10 May 2007

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