Cawood Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Inspection Report Cawood Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

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121625 Unique Reference Number North Yorkshire Local Authority 292181 Inspection number 29 °30 November 2006 Inspection dates Lesley Clark 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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Broad Lane School address Primary Type of school Cawood, Selby Voluntary aided School category North Yorkshire YO8 3SQ 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01757 268368 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01757 269369 Fax number 142 Number on roll (school) Ms Jackie Grey Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Andrew Smith Headteacher 23 September 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 292181 29 °30 November 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This small village school serves Cawood, Ryther and some outlying farms, with roughly a quarter of pupils coming from outside the immediate catchment area by school bus or taxi. The locality is socio-economically advantaged. Attainment on entry is broadly average with an average proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and an above average number with statements of special educational need. An above average proportion of pupils enters or leaves school at other than the usual times. Year group sizes vary considerably. There have been significant changes in staffing in the last two and a half years. The former deputy headteacher was appointed headteacher in January 2006. A new deputy headteacher was appointed at the start of September 2006.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Cawood Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, 29 °30 November 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school. It effectively lives out its stated mission and this contributes well to pupils' good personal development and underpins the concern for individuals, which is its hallmark. The school has a happy, family feel to it and pupils rapidly grow in confidence and self-esteem, as they know they are valued. Behaviour is good and attendance is above average. Pupils have a real say in what goes on at school and they know that their views matter. This means that they take on responsibilities willingly and work and play with equal enthusiasm. The school is well led and managed; consequently, significant staffing changes have been handled well, with minimum disruption. Sensible arrangements for the change from one headteacher to the next have ensured a smooth transition period. The school's self-evaluation is accurate and the areas for development are the right ones for the school. However, some aspects are satisfactory with good features rather than good,

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Grade: 2

as the school believes, because they are still developing. Pupils achieve well. Standards are above average in English and science and test results of the last two years confirm an upward trend. This is because the school identified areas requiring some improvement and put effective measures in place to raise standards in writing and the use of scientific language. Results in mathematics lag a little behind those in English and science, largely because a smaller proportion of more able pupils reach the higher level 5 than in the other two subjects. Pupils have fewer opportunities to use and apply mathematical skills in other subjects whereas they use their literacy skills extensively. Pupils learn well because teaching is of good quality. Good teaching is characterised by lively discussions between teachers and pupils, interesting tasks, lots of opportunities for role-play and effective use of computerised

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Grade: 2

screens to make teaching points clear. However, in mathematics teachers occasionally do not set work at the right level for different ability groups, especially for older pupils. Good provision in the Reception class means that children learn well from a wide variety of interesting and stimulating activities both indoors and outdoors. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities or who are vulnerable, achieve well because they are given well-organised and very effective support in lessons. The curriculum is satisfactory, with good elements. It is creative and has enjoyable elements. These good features include provision for French in Key Stage 2, the Friday afternoon 'Chill out' sessions and extra-curricular clubs. In these sessions, pupils widen their range of interests to include such things as origami, drama and making music with hand bells. Many different educational visits and visitors to school further enrich

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Grade: 2

pupils' education. The school is currently developing links between subjects to stimulate further learning, particularly that of more able pupils. It has not, as yet, identified how pupils' use of computers in other subjects could be extended to further enrich learning. Pupils receive good quality care and support in terms of their personal and emotional development and so they blossom in the school's warmly supportive environment. The school is developing its academic guidance; this is to ensure that all pupils receive the best possible support and that the school's systems give a good overview of how well 2 Inspection Report: Cawood Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, 29 °30 November 2006 pupils are doing. However, the marking of pupils' work varies in quality. Pupils are not involved in setting their learning targets and so they do not always understand what they mean and what they need to do to improve their work.

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Grade: 2

The new headteacher, supported by governors, is building well on the previous strengths of the school and is giving fresh impetus to develop it further. The school has a real buzz about it and pupils develop into helpful, responsible people with good skills to aid them in their future lives. Parents are largely supportive but some parents of older children express understandable concerns about the impact of large mixed age classes and different teachers on their children's learning. The school has already identified this as a potential problem and has suitable plans in place for the immediate future. The school has made good progress since it was last inspected and has good capacity to improve. It gives good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards and improve achievement in mathematics, particularly for the more able pupils. • Ensure that marking is consistent and that pupils are fully involved in checking their work against simply worded, achievable targets. • Give pupils more opportunities to use computers to enrich their learning in all subjects.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good and standards are above average by the end of Year 6. Standards tend to be better in English and science than in mathematics, as confirmed by recent results in national tests. The proportion of pupils exceeding national expectations in these two subjects has increased, most notably in science with two-thirds of pupils attaining the higher level 5 in 2006. In mathematics, the proportion of pupils attaining the higher level 5 is relatively small. Standards in mathematics therefore are closer to average. The same is true at the end of Year 2, with results in mathematics a little lower than those in reading and writing. A focus on problem solving throughout the school is helping more able pupils to use and apply their skills but there is still some way to go. Children get off to a good start in the Reception class and are well placed at the start of Year 1 to develop literacy and numeracy skills. The trend in the school's

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Grade: 2

results is upward and it usually meets its targets.

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Grade: 2

Pupils behave well, attend well and enjoy all their school has to offer them. They are active, resourceful and busy and have a happy time at school. The school council is well organised and its members are justifiably proud of their job. The playground 3 Inspection Report: Cawood Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, 29 °30 November 2006 games they helped introduce contribute well to pupils' good levels of fitness and pupils are well aware of how important it is to lead healthy lives. Pupils are keen to take on the role of playground 'buddies' and initiatives such as older and younger pupils reading together contribute well to pupils' confidence and sense of responsibility. They learn business enterprise skills through the gardening club and managing the school garden, producing vegetables for home, school and for sale to the community. For example, recently they raised money through the sale of produce to enable a school in China

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Grade: 2

to grow their own vegetables and tea. They show admirable qualities that will stand them in good stead for their future lives. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good and their high quality artwork shows sensitivity and perception.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning are good. There are particular strengths in English and science where practical approaches involving role-play and investigation clearly pay off in terms of good standards. Much of the teaching in mathematics, too, is good, with the best lessons being lively, stimulating and fun, while at the same time posing challenges that really make pupils think. However, in a small minority of mathematics lessons, some more able pupils miss out as the work is not challenging enough and there is an element of repetition. In the Reception class, a mix of taught and independent activities works well as children find their own level and learn effectively with a sense of excitement through finding out for themselves. Throughout the school, teachers use information and communication technology well to make teaching points clear. Relationships are good and so pupils are attentive and grow in confidence.

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Grade: 2

Teaching assistants give very good quality support to learning in all classes. Marking usually acknowledges success but does not always help pupils to identify how they could improve their work.

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Grade: 3

The school's satisfactory curriculum is diverse, creative and has enjoyable elements such as a 'fit for fun' and a Tudor day with Tudor Minstrels visiting. Recent developments have begun to break down barriers between subjects to make learning more relevant, though this is at an early stage at present. The curriculum for Reception children is good and provides many interesting and exciting activities to encourage them to learn independently. There are frequent opportunities for pupils to use their literacy skills through other subjects but relatively few times to use and apply their mathematical skills. Although classrooms are well set up with computers, pupils do not use them extensively to support their learning in other subjects. Personal and social development is given a strong emphasis and lies at the heart of the school's work. Educational visits and visitors to school develop pupils' awareness of other

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Grade: 3

4 Inspection Report: Cawood Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, 29 °30 November 2006 cultures and help to bring learning to life. Links via pen friends have been started with the Year 5 and Year 6 class with children in schools abroad.

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Grade: 3

There is good provision for pupils' welfare and child protection procedures are robust. Pastoral care is of good quality and keeps pupils safe and happy. Enterprising projects help pupils to develop into mature and responsible people. Support for pupils with learning difficulties is well organised and effective, with experienced and committed teaching assistants helping pupils to learn. Academic guidance is satisfactory. The school's assessment systems give a good overview of how well pupils are doing as they move through the school. The school has recently introduced targets for learning but some of these are not as clear as they could be and so they are of limited use in helping pupils to improve their work.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher provides calm, consistent and systematic direction, which has minimised potential disruption caused by extensive staffing changes. The sense of teamwork among staff is strong and the shared enthusiasm is led from the top. A lot has been achieved in a short time and there is measurable progress in the last two years in terms of improved standards, particularly in writing and science. Under-achievement by more able pupils in mathematics has been identified and a focus on problem solving is helping them to make better progress. The school improvement plan sets out clearly what needs to be done next, based on thorough checking of teaching and learning throughout the school. The priorities for development are the right ones and the school is improving rapidly. Governance is warmly supportive as well as challenging and the school is well managed financially. The school has good links with parents and the majority are very supportive of what the school does.

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Grade: 2

5 Inspection Report: Cawood Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, 29 °30 November 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: Cawood Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, 29 °30 November 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 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?

3 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: Cawood Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, 29 °30 November 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: Cawood Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, 29 °30 November 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for welcoming us to your school and for talking to us so openly about what you like and what you would like to see improved. Your school is a good school and helps you to grow into responsible and mature young people. You look after each other well at playtimes and the school council does a good job representing your views and helping to make changes that are important to you. All the adults in your school work hard to make lessons interesting and relevant and they give you lots of opportunities to carry out investigations or to learn through doing role-play. This is why you do well in English and in science. We were impressed by your good attendance and behaviour and think you try hard in lessons. We know everyone wants to do even better and we have suggested several things that will help. • The work you are set in mathematics needs to be more closely matched to your different abilities. This would give those of you who find learning easy the chance to do work which

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

will challenge you. You have lots of occasions to use your literacy skills but we want you to have just as many times to practise your numeracy skills. • Although it is good that your teachers praise your work, they must also tell you what to do to improve it. You need to be involved in setting your targets for learning so you understand what they mean and what you need to do to improve your work. • You need to use the computers more often to enrich your learning in all subjects. These things will help you know what you are aiming for and will make your education even more enjoyable. We hope you continue to have fun as well! 9 Inspection Report: Cawood Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, 29 °30 November 2006

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