Kinoulton Primary School

Inspection Report Kinoulton Primary School

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122651 Unique Reference Number NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Local Authority 292466 Inspection number 16 October 2006 Inspection date Patricia Cox 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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Main Street School address Primary Type of school Kinoulton, Kinoulton Community School category Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG12 3EL 4 °11 Age range of pupils

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01949 81203 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01949 81477 Fax number 109 Number on roll (school) Mrs Sheila Hill Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mr John Savage Headteacher 4 March 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 292466 16 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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

The pupils in this small school are all of White British background and have English as their first language. The proportions of pupils with learning difficulties or who are entitled to free school meals are below average. Many pupils come from relatively advantaged backgrounds and their attainment on entry to the school is above national expectations. Few pupils leave or enter the school after Reception in most years, although the numbers increased by 10% in September because a local school had closed.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Kinoulton Primary School, 16 October 2006

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school which provides excellent value for money. The headteacher provides extremely good leadership and management and has very high expectations about what can be done. Self-evaluation is exceptionally thorough, although the school's assessment of itself as good is too modest. The work of the school is monitored very rigorously and highly relevant points for development are identified. There is a common sense of commitment and purpose and staff carry out their leadership responsibilities thoroughly. The school is in an excellent position to improve in the future. Pupils' achievement is exceptional. Children make good progress in Reception and standards are well above national expectations by the time they enter Year 1. Pupils make the expected progress in Years 1 and 2, and standards are well above national averages in English, mathematics and science at the end of Year 2. Progress accelerates

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Grade: 1

through the junior years and standards are exceptionally high by the end of Year 6. Standards in writing lag behind those in other subjects. Results reflect the frequently outstanding teaching. Teachers build carefully on pupils' knowledge and understanding. Because relationships are so good, lessons progress rapidly and the teachers use their wide subject knowledge to ensure that pupils' tasks are set at the right levels for their ages and abilities. Pupils respond by concentrating extremely hard and trying their best. Provision for pupils' personal development is outstanding. The consistent procedures for promoting moral and social development work extremely effectively, so behaviour is excellent and pupils are extremely well adjusted and treat others with respect. There are very few incidents of boisterousness or bullying. Pupils say that if these were to occur, they are confident that they would be dealt with immediately.

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Grade: 1

There are good arrangements for pupils to make a contribution to the life of the school and the community, through the work of the school council and links with charities. The school council has been involved in the exceptionally effective initiatives to ensure that pupils know how to be safe and to live healthily. Pupils apply what they know extremely well in their lives. Pupils take seriously the many responsibilities they have and enjoy the many opportunities the school gives them to express their views. Consequently, they grow into articulate and mature individuals with many skills who are ready for the next stage of their education. The curriculum is good and meets the needs of all pupils. There is an exceptional range of visits, visitors and activities outside the school day. The personal, social and health education programme enables pupils to make sensible choices regarding their own lives and the hazards they may face. The curriculum is particularly strong in teaching

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Grade: 1

pupils about their own and European cultures. The school takes good care of its pupils and exceptional care of their health and well-being. Academic guidance for pupils is satisfactory and there have been good developments recently in setting targets for pupils and in the marking of their work in English. Work is yet to begin on extending these procedures to other subjects. 2 Inspection Report: Kinoulton Primary School, 16 October 2006

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards in writing for the older pupils so that they are closer to those in reading. • Extend the school's target setting and marking strategies in English to other subjects.

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Grade: 1

Children in Reception make good progress and their standards at the beginning of Year 1 are well above average. Results were well above average at the end of Year 2 in 2005 and 2006. At the end of Year 6, standards were well above average in 2005. They were exceptionally high in 2006 and the very challenging targets were exceeded in all areas but writing. Over half of pupils reached the higher than expected level 5 in all subjects and over 80% did so in science. Pupils continue to work at this very high level. The school has already identified writing as an issue and has been working hard to raise standards. Results over recent years have indicated that pupils have made outstanding progress, as was the case in 2006.

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Grade: 1

Pupils thoroughly enjoy their time in school and their attendance is exceptional. Provision for their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. Their spiritual and cultural development has some outstanding features, such as in the way the school promotes pupils' knowledge of European cultures through a special project. There is less emphasis on the contribution that people from other cultures have made to British life. The school has high regard for pupils' opinions, sometimes discovered through questionnaires, and positive action is taken about the outcomes. The school council has been very closely concerned with improvements in school meals, to provide fruit for all and in moves to encourage pupils to bring healthy snacks. The new pupils have been helped by others to settle successfully.

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Grade: 1

Teachers plan their lessons most carefully for the range of ages and abilities in the classes so that the pupils learn rapidly and make outstanding progress. Lessons are interesting. Teachers use questions extremely well to promote thinking, to assess learning and to involve all pupils. Paired discussions enable pupils to explore their own ideas in depth. Teaching for the children in Reception ensures that they build well on the positive start they have from home and the activities are different from those of 3 Inspection Report: Kinoulton Primary School, 16 October 2006 the pupils in Year 1 in the same class. Classrooms are mostly attractive environments, helping to stimulate the pupils' interest and great desire to learn. Teaching assistants are prepared well for their work with target groups and individuals and make a strong contribution to those pupils' rapid progress.

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Grade: 2

Teachers have clear guidance about how to teach the skills in each subject for each age group in the class. There is an outstanding and imaginative range of activities outside the school day. Consequently, pupils progress extremely quickly both academically and personally. The school has close links with others, through which it has the equipment to give rowing lessons before the start of the day, and the expertise to teach French to all juniors. The quality of provision for pupils with learning difficulties leads to their exceptional progress. Their individual education plans are written in a way they can understand and pupils contribute to them. Information and communication technology (ICT) is used well in almost all subjects except design and technology (DT) and physical education (PE). Time is not used as efficiently as it could be, and therefore some subjects receive less attention than they might.

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Grade: 2

The school has exceptional regard for its pupils' health, welfare and emotional well-being. Pupils report that they feel safe in school and that there is an adult they can confide in if they have worries. Child protection procedures are rigorous and all necessary checks have been carried out. Academic guidance for pupils is satisfactory and procedures have been developed well recently. There is a good system for setting targets for pupils in English. They are familiar with these and know what they are expected to do next. Marking of their written work in English is very clear, showing them how well they have done and what they need to do to improve. There are few targets in other subjects and marking, although mainly satisfactory, is not as well developed.

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management are excellent. The headteacher has built well on the work of an already effective school. Although standards are exceptional, there is no hint of complacency and expectations are very high. The school has an extremely clear understanding of where improvement is needed. Planning for improvement is thorough, although the targets to show how successful actions have been are not always as precise as they could be. Action taken to tackle the school's priorities has a significant positive impact, and is reviewed and evaluated frequently through the year. Subject leaders use their assessments of pupils' progress well to judge whether standards are high enough and identify areas for improvement in their areas. 4 Inspection Report: Kinoulton Primary School, 16 October 2006 Governors fulfil their role exceptionally well and their involvement in monitoring and evaluating the impact of developments is extremely good. Links with parents are good

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Grade: 1

and their views are sought on a regular basis. A few parents expressed concerns about communication with them. The school sends regular newsletters, as does the governing body, whose communications are very informative. There are termly parents' meetings and other good opportunities for them to contact the school. 5 Inspection Report: Kinoulton Primary School, 16 October 2006 .

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Grade: 1

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Kinoulton Primary School, 16 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 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 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

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 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 1 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: Kinoulton Primary School, 16 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: Kinoulton Primary School, 16 October 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

17 October 2006 Dear Pupils Kinoulton Primary School, Main Street, Kinoulton, Nottinghamshire, NG12 3EL I enjoyed my visit to your school and particularly my discussions with you. I thought you might like to know what I found out about your school. I think you're very lucky to go to such a brilliant school and I agree with you when you say your teachers are nice to you. They teach you exceptionally well and so you make outstanding progress with your reading, mathematics and science. But many of you, especially the older ones, could do better with your writing. The school gives you lots of opportunities to use the computers and other equipment but I'm asking your teachers to help you to use these in design and technology and physical education as well. I noticed how particularly well you behave and how sensible you are around the school and in the playground. You get on really well and the school council is helping to make the school a

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

better place, such as by improving the toilets. The school takes really good care of you and there's always someone to talk to if you're worried or upset. I liked the way you have your reading and writing targets and the way teachers mark your writing shows you how well you're doing. So I have asked the school to help you even more by doing this in other subjects. Your headteacher and the staff do an excellent job in running the school. Thank you very much for the way you looked after me and helped me while I was with you. Best wishes Mrs Pat Cox (Inspector) 9 Inspection Report: Kinoulton Primary School, 16 October 2006

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