Shifnal Primary School

Inspection Report Shifnal Primary School

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123424 Unique Reference Number Shropshire Local Authority 292657 Inspection number 5 °6 March 2007 Inspection dates Mike Capper 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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Curriers Lane School address Primary Type of school Shifnal Community School category TF11 8EJ 3 °11 Age range of pupils 01952 460500 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01952 463985 Fax number 253 Number on roll (school) Alison Brammer Chair The governing body Appropriate authority John Turnock Headteacher 7 October 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 292657 5 °6 March 2007 3°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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This school takes most of its pupils from the local town. The proportion of pupils identified as having learning difficulties is above average. Children's attainment when they start their education in the school's Nursery class is below average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Shifnal Primary School, 5 °6 March 2007

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school with good features. The school is particularly successful at welcoming pupils from a wide range of backgrounds and ensuring that their personal development is good. As a result, pupils learn to behave well and they become responsible citizens. They make a good contribution to the community by fundraising for charities and taking part in local events such as the Shifnal Carnival. They support each other well in lessons and are keen to do their best. Pupils enjoy school because the good curriculum provides every child with many exciting experiences. One pupil represented the views of many by saying 'Every day is different'. Pupils take part in a wealth of sporting activities that successfully promote healthy lifestyles. Vibrant displays of high quality artwork make the school a good place for pupils to work in. Satisfactory teaching means that pupils' achievement is satisfactory, although progress

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Grade: 3

is not even across the school. Throughout the school, teachers are enthusiastic and hardworking. They manage pupils' behaviour well and make good use of resources to make learning interesting. Teaching is most effective in the Nursery and Reception classes where children make good progress. In these classes, teachers ensure that differing needs are met particularly well. This good quality provision means that by the end of the Reception Year, most children are working at the expected levels for their age. Pupils make satisfactory progress in the rest of the school and by the end of Year 6, standards are broadly average. In Years 1 to 6, teachers' planning is thorough, but work does not always build well enough on what pupils already know. In some lessons, pupils are not given enough encouragement to work quickly, slowing the pace of learning. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The welcoming atmosphere in school

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Grade: 3

reflects the calm and caring leadership of the headteacher. Senior managers have established satisfactory systems for checking how well the school is doing but some of their evaluations lack accuracy. This is because senior managers, subject leaders and governors do not make enough use of information about pupils' learning to check that all are making sufficient progress from year to year. This makes it difficult for the school to be sure that all pupils are doing well enough or to check that initiatives are having the desired effect. Care, guidance and support for pupils are satisfactory, with particular strengths in the quality of pastoral support. Parents value the school and are very supportive. They are right when they say that all adults take good care of their children's individual needs. One parent summed up the views of most: 'I am pleased to send my child to this school because I know he will be happy and safe'.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Make more effective use of information about pupils' progress to improve the rigour and accuracy of self-evaluation and to check that initiatives are having the intended effect. 2 Inspection Report: Shifnal Primary School, 5 °6 March 2007 • Improve pupils' progress by ensuring that teachers always encourage them to work quickly and consistently plan work that builds on their previous learning.

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Grade: 3

Pupils' achievement is satisfactory. Children get a good start to their education in the Nursery and Reception classes. By the end of the Reception Year, most children are working at the levels expected for their age. They make especially good progress in personal, social and emotional development, quickly developing good confidence and self-esteem. Pupils make satisfactory progress in Years 1 to 6. Standards are broadly average by the end of Year 2 and Year 6 in English, mathematics and science, although there is some variation from year to year because of differences in the number of pupils with learning difficulties in each class. Test results in writing have lagged behind those in reading in recent years, but the success of new initiatives can be seen in the generally improved quality of writing in pupils' current workbooks. Pupils with learning difficulties make the same progress as others in most lessons,

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Grade: 3

although they often make good progress when being given extra support outside lessons.

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Grade: 2

Children settle into school routines quickly in the Nursery and Reception classes. They quickly learn to share and take turns. Throughout the school, pupils are polite and friendly and they behave sensibly in and out of lessons. Good attendance demonstrates their enthusiasm for taking part in the wide range of interesting activities offered. Pupils are very pleased to discuss their work with adults and they take care to present their work neatly. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils are keen to take responsibility for tasks such as looking after others at playtime. They happily celebrate each other's achievements in lessons and assemblies and have a good understanding of how to stay safe and healthy. They are active at playtime and happily eat fruit and milk. They know that 'fruit gives you energy' and 'you drink milk to make your teeth stronger'. Pupils take part in elections for the school council

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Grade: 2

and they learn to manage small budgets by selling cakes to each other. Activities such as these, as well as pupils' generally secure basic skills, prepare them satisfactorily for the next stage of their education and eventually for later life. 3 Inspection Report: Shifnal Primary School, 5 °6 March 2007

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Grade: 3

There are good features to teaching across the school. Adults have good relationships with the pupils, enabling them to manage behaviour well. Praise is used well to encourage the pupils to work hard. In the Nursery and Reception classes, good teaching helps children to improve skills quickly. Adults give children sensitive and friendly help, with personal, social and emotional development being especially well supported. In Years 1 to 6, the good use of resources, including interactive whiteboards, helps pupils to take an interest in their work but there are occasions when a lack of urgency in lessons results in there being too slow a pace to learning. Teachers do not always plan closely enough for the wide range of needs in each class. When pupils are not challenged to do hard enough work, they become less involved and progress slows. Pupils with learning difficulties receive good support outside lessons from skilled

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Grade: 3

teaching assistants as they work towards achieving their individual targets.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is broad and balanced and helps to make learning exciting both in and out of lessons. There are a good number of clubs, and many visits and visitors that are used well to link subjects. For example, pupils study local history and geography as well as science on a field trip to Wales. Good links with the local secondary school significantly extend pupils' skills in sports such as tennis, netball and football. Activities such as these help pupils to learn about staying healthy, although in Year 6, pupils spend a lot of time preparing for national tests, limiting the time available for physical education in some terms. There is a good curriculum for children in the Foundation Stage where adults plan an imaginative and exciting range of activities. In Years 1 to 6, there is a clear focus on developing basic literacy and numeracy skills but teachers' planning is insufficiently detailed to ensure that all pupils make fast enough progress. Older pupils like being

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Grade: 2

able to learn French because 'it helps us when we go to secondary school'.

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Grade: 3

Members of staff are highly committed to the pastoral care and well-being of the pupils. As a result, this is a happy school with a welcoming atmosphere where pupils feel safe and secure. The school works well with parents and outside agencies to safeguard pupils' well-being. Pupils say that they are well looked after and they are happy with the way the school deals with any minor concerns that they may have. A learning and behaviour mentor helps pupils who are finding school difficult to take a 4 Inspection Report: Shifnal Primary School, 5 °6 March 2007 full part in school life. Pupils are particularly pleased with the way that the mentor has helped to make playtimes more enjoyable by providing new play activities. Academic support is satisfactory. In the Nursery and Reception classes, thorough assessment arrangements are used well to support the children's learning. In Years 1 to 6, there are satisfactory procedures to assess learning in all subjects. All pupils are

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Grade: 3

given clear targets to help them understand how to improve their work but these are not always challenging enough. Throughout the school, pupils with learning difficulties are identified early and provided with appropriate support.

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Grade: 3

Day-to-day management by the headteacher is efficient and this helps to ensure that the school runs smoothly. Senior managers and subject leaders are hardworking and committed to school improvement. There have been many good initiatives over the last few years and these have helped to improve the breadth of the curriculum and have enhanced pupils' behaviour and their levels of enjoyment. The headteacher has also worked effectively to increase the involvement of parents in their children's education. These developments, as well as the way that members of staff are successfully working to raise standards in writing, demonstrate the school's satisfactory capacity to improve. There are satisfactory systems for evaluating how well the school is doing although some judgements are inflated and do not match the findings of inspectors. This is because senior managers and subject leaders do not analyse assessment information

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Grade: 3

well enough to identify whether all groups of pupils are making enough progress or to check that initiatives are having the intended effect. Governance is satisfactory. Governors are supportive and take a good part in school life. They work hard to hold the school to account but do not yet look closely enough at the progress being made by pupils from their different starting points. 5 Inspection Report: Shifnal Primary School, 5 °6 March 2007 .

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Grade: 3

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Shifnal Primary School, 5 °6 March 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 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 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 3 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: Shifnal Primary School, 5 °6 March 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? 8 Inspection Report: Shifnal Primary School, 5 °6 March 2007

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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 showing us your work. You were very polite and friendly. At the moment, your school is providing a satisfactory education. This means that we found some good things in the school but also some things that need improving. Some of the things we found out about your school. • You make good progress in the Nursery and Reception classes, where teaching is good and then steady progress in the rest of the school. • You behave well and are keen to take responsibility. We like the way that the school council works together to improve the school. • Teachers make sure that you enjoy school by providing lots of interesting things for you to do both in and out of lessons. We are particularly pleased that you take part in lots of sports and it is super to hear that the youngest children are being taught tennis skills! • All adults in school are very kind and caring and they look after you well. They are beginning

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

to set you helpful targets for improvement • Your headteacher and governors are working hard to make the school even better. What we have asked your school to do now. • Make sure that teachers help you to learn even more quickly by giving you work that is consistently pitched at the right level for you. • Check more carefully that you are all doing well enough. We thoroughly enjoyed talking to you about your work and watching you learn and we wish you all well for the future. We hope you continue to help your teachers by working hard and trying your best. 9 Inspection Report: Shifnal Primary School, 5 °6 March 2007

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