St Mary's Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Chipping Norton

St Mary's Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Chipping Norton Inspection report

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123227 Unique Reference Number Oxfordshire Local Authority 292616 Inspection number 3 °4 July 2007 Inspection dates Jeffrey White 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 aided School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 328 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Dr Helen Segal Chair Mrs Yvonne Barnes Headteacher 15 October 2001 Date of previous school inspection The Green School address Chipping Norton OX7 5DH

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01608 642673 Telephone number 01608 641568 Fax number

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4 °11 Age group 3 °4 July 2007 Inspection dates 292616 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. 3 °4 July 2007

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school is larger than average. Most pupils are White British. A very small minority of pupils, including Traveller pupils, come from other ethnic groups and this number is increasing. A below average number of pupils take a free school meal. The school serves an area in which there is some social deprivation.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: St Mary's Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Chipping Norton, 3 °4 July 2007

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Grade: 3

The school provides a satisfactory education for its pupils and has some significant strengths. Pupils' achievement and progress are adequate overall and good in Key Stage 2. Standards are below average but are rising again after a period of some instability in staffing. The Foundation Stage gives pupils a competent start and they make adequate progress. Their achievement is good in personal, social, and emotional development and in communication, language and literacy. Progress in other areas of learning is satisfactory. The level of challenge for pupils in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 is not always as high as it could be so achievement is no more than satisfactory. Pupils' personal development and well-being are good and contribute significantly to their learning. Pupils are happy and feel valued. They behave well and have positive attitudes. Consequently, they are keen to learn. Pupils very much enjoy having a say and they talk well

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Grade: 3

about how to stay healthy and safe. They appreciate that their views are acted on. They contribute positively to the community, for example, through a good range of fund-raising activities. Pupils very much enjoy the good curriculum that excites their interests and speak highly of the wide and varied extra-curricular opportunities. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall and none is unsatisfactory. Much of the teaching in Key Stage 2 is good. All teachers promote pupils' personal development well. In the lessons that are satisfactory the pace and challenge in pupils' work are not always sustained throughout so pupils tend to lose interest. Teachers miss chances to ensure that pupils take enough care with their spelling, handwriting and presentation of work, which are often erratic. Care, guidance and support are good and ensure throughout the school that pupils feel looked after and know who to turn to if they need help. Pastoral care is strong. Academic guidance

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Grade: 3

for pupils is improving especially now that the tracking of their progress is more rigorous. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher and staff are united in their drive to improve achievement and raise standards. Good attention has been given to improving pupils' performance in Key Stage 2 and more urgency is now needed to improve the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. Governors give sound support but are not as involved as they could be in monitoring and evaluating the school's work.

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What the school should do to improve further

• In order to raise standards in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, give pupils greater challenge in their work. • Ensure that governors are more actively involved in monitoring and evaluating the school's work. • Improve standards in pupils' spelling, handwriting and presentation of work. A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: St Mary's Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Chipping Norton, 3 °4 July 2007

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Grade: 3

Standards are below average and improving, and achievement is satisfactory. Pupils enter the Foundation Stage with skills that are considerably less well developed than is expected for their age especially in personal, social and emotional development and in communication, language and literacy. They make good progress in these areas and satisfactory progress in the others. Progress remains satisfactory in Key Stage 1 because of some past instability in staffing. Standards are below average by the end of Year 2. Progress is good in Key Stage 2 so that by Year 6 standards have risen closer to average, due in no small part to the contribution of the headteacher. All pupils, including those from minority ethnic groups, are now making good progress in lessons. Pupils' achievement towards reaching their learning targets is satisfactory overall but good in Key Stage 2. Pupils' speaking skills are developed well and they talk

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Grade: 3

confidently, especially when explaining their thinking. Although there has been some improvement in writing, it remains the weakest aspect of English, particularly in pupils' spelling, handwriting and presentation of work.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. The faith-based ethos of the school has a positive impact on pupils' personal and academic development. Parents say that their children enjoy school and this is supported by the pupils' comments. They are friendly, thoughtful and considerate to each other and very courteous to visitors. One parent noted the politeness of all children purchasing refreshments at the school fete. Pupils work well with one another and enjoy good relationships with teachers. They are proud of the wide range of sporting and musical additional activities offered to them and of the many and varied charitable fund-raising activities such as that for Water Aid. Pupils contribute well to the school through the school council in which they play a mature part in discussing school issues. They have made significant contributions to the introduction of healthy and well-presented school meals.

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Grade: 2

Attendance is good and illustrates pupils' eagerness to learn. Pupils are prepared satisfactorily for the next stage of their education and the school acknowledges that the pupils' basic skills in literacy and numeracy could be better. However, their good personal development prepares them well for their future life.

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Grade: 3

Teaching in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 is satisfactory and leads to pupils' satisfactory achievement and progress. However, there is not always enough challenge in the work to improve achievement and raise standards. In Key Stage 2, pupils make good progress because teaching is good. Lessons are well planned and a significant feature is the good challenge for the most able pupils, which has helped their attainment to rise. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are well supported by teaching assistants throughout the school. They sensitively ensure that pupils are concentrating well, for example, when the teachers are instructing the whole class. A quiet word in a pupil's ear is often very effective. Consequently, these pupils make good progress. All teachers promote pupils' personal development well and pupils are 5 of 11 Inspection Report: St Mary's Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Chipping Norton,

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Grade: 3

3 °4 July 2007 keen to learn. They work confidently alone and in pairs and groups. Pupils in Key Stage 2 say that their learning is now more active than it was. In an excellent lesson lively teaching kept pupils on their toes as they solved challenging and enjoyable mathematical problems.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enjoy the good curriculum that captures their interests throughout the school. In the Foundation Stage, activities are well organised to enable pupils to develop good skills of working alone and sharing with others. These personal skills continue to develop well across the school. Good links are made between subjects such as art, history and literacy and the work in art and design is often of a high standard. Information and communication technology (ICT) is used well, for example, in mathematics. The pupils especially enjoy a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including sport, music and drama. Pupils regularly report on their experiences in the school's newsletter, which is thoroughly enjoyed by pupils and parents. Good links are made with the local secondary school as part of the extended school provision. Recent developments in the use of assessment are having a beneficial impact on pupils' progress especially in Key

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Grade: 2

Stage 2. There is scope for more academic challenge in the activities in the Foundation Stage and in Key Stage 1.

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Grade: 2

The school provides pupils with good care, guidance and support. Systems for safeguarding their health, safety and well-being are good. The school provides good support for Traveller pupils who often join the school mid-year. The needs of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are met well and the school works productively in partnership with a range of agencies and specialists to help these pupils. Pupils say they feel safe in school, with little bullying. When incidents do occur pupils can talk to staff in confidence and seek help in the 'Talking Shop'. One parent wrote, 'incidents of bullying are well handled and parents' concerns respected'. While guidance to pupils about their work is improving, they do not always fully understand the targets they have been given, and are therefore sometimes unsure about how they can best improve. Parents are kept well informed about their children's progress through regular

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Grade: 2

meetings, home/school contact books, newsletters and annual reports.

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Grade: 3

The school's leadership is focused on improving pupils' standards and achievement. The headteacher has improved procedures to track pupils' progress and they are now more rigorous than they were. The staffing is now more stable after a period of high turnover. The newly formed senior management team is developing its role and has helped communication with staff so that all are working well together. The school runs smoothly. Monitoring and evaluation of pupils' performance are improving and some effective whole school action has been taken to raise standards, for example, in mathematics. Partnership with parents is good and most value the headteacher's leadership. Governors discharge their responsibilities satisfactorily. They are not involved enough in monitoring and evaluating the school's performance so the school's self-evaluation is satisfactory. The school works well in partnership with others, including

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Grade: 3

the Local Authority and the local secondary school to promote learners' well being and raise 6 of 11 Inspection Report: St Mary's Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Chipping Norton, 3 °4 July 2007 standards. Although overall improvement since the last inspection is satisfactory, the school has addressed most of the issues well. The headteacher is well aware of the need to improve the satisfactory provision in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. The school's capacity to improve further is good because the headteacher has appointed capable staff and recent initiatives to improve standards and achievement are beginning to bear fruit. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: St Mary's Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Chipping Norton, 3 °4 July 2007 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: St Mary's Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Chipping Norton, 3 °4 July 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? 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

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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 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?

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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: St Mary's Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Chipping Norton, 3 °4 July 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: St Mary's Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Chipping Norton, 3 °4 July 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

13 July 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of St Mary's Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Chipping Norton,Chipping Norton,OX7 5DH Thank you for your help on our visit to your school. Your school gives you a sound education and your personal development is good. By Year 6, you achieve similar standards in national tests to children in other schools. Your headteacher and staff look after you well and they work hard to help you make progress in your work. Some of you make good progress and some of you make satisfactory progress. I have asked your headteacher and teachers to help all of you make the best progress you can. You all behave well and you told us how much you enjoy your school, for example, in learning how to stay safe and healthy. A lot of you have improved your writing and you now need to take more care in your spelling and handwriting and with the presentation of your work. You especially enjoy the wide opportunities you have in sport, drama

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

and music. I have also asked the governors of your school to check more frequently how well your school is improving. With best wishes Jeff WhiteLead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: St Mary's Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Chipping Norton, 3 °4 July 2007

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