Trimley St Martin Primary School

Inspection Report Trimley St Martin Primary School

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124614 Unique Reference Number SUFFOLK Local Authority 293053 Inspection number 8 °9 January 2007 Inspection dates Ruth Frith 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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Kirton Road School address Primary Type of school Trimley St Martin, Trimley St Martin Community School category

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Suffolk IP11 0QL 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01394 448313 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01394 448422 Fax number 169 Number on roll (school) Mr D Kemp Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mr P Lamb Headteacher 1 July 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 293053 8 °9 January 2007 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 over two days.

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Description of the school

This is a smaller than average school which serves the villages of Trimley St Martin, Kirton and Falkenham. Pupils come from a range of socio-economic backgrounds and the percentage receiving free school meals is below average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties is below average and three pupils have a statement of special educational need. Nearly all pupils come from White British backgrounds. A few pupils are looked after by others than their immediate family. There is a higher than average proportion of pupils leaving or joining the school during their primary education. The school has been without a deputy headteacher for three years.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Trimley St Martin Primary School, 8 °9 January 2007

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Grade: 3

The school provides a satisfactory standard of education. Staff are successful in creating a friendly environment in which children enjoy school and attend regularly. The quality of provision in the Foundation Stage is good. Children settle well and make a good start because the activities are interesting and motivate them to learn. Pupils' progress throughout the rest of the school is satisfactory, although due to recent improvements in teaching and the curriculum for writing, pupils in some years make better progress than this. The quality of teaching is satisfactory, but there are some good features such as the positive atmosphere and teachers' clear expectations in lessons. These features encourage pupils to behave well and develop good attitudes to learning. In some lessons the effective teaching ensures that all pupils are well challenged and make good progress. The good rate of learning ensures that no time is wasted and pupils

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Grade: 3

achieve well. This quality of teaching is not consistent throughout the school, with the result that overall pupils make satisfactory rather than good progress. Pupils' standards in the Year 2 and Year 6 national assessments are broadly average in English and mathematics and in some years are slightly above, depending on the ability of the children. Pupils consistently make good progress in science and reach above average standards. The curriculum is satisfactory but the lack of a cohesive programme for personal, social and health education restricts pupils' progress to satisfactory in several areas. Pupils are informed about how to live healthy lives and this is beginning to influence what they do. Many are keen to take part in physical activities and enjoy using the school's swimming pool. Pupils' personal development and well-being are satisfactory. Some aspects of pupils' pastoral care are good, such as rewards for good behaviour. Pupils

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Grade: 3

know how to keep safe. For example, they understand what to do if they have a problem. Their academic care and guidance are not as thorough. Whilst some pupils are clear about their literacy and numeracy targets, others are not and consequently do not know how to improve. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The school's systems for checking its performance are satisfactory and staff and governors have an understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development. New systems to monitor and evaluate pupils' progress, teaching and learning are sound but the feedback given to staff does not always bring about prompt improvement. Actions are not always clearly targeted and the pace of change is sometimes slow. Consequently the school's capacity to improve is only satisfactory. The school provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure good pace and challenge in all lessons so that pupils make consistently good progress. • Ensure that all teachers effectively use the newly introduced systems for tracking pupils' progress and setting challenging targets. 2 Inspection Report: Trimley St Martin Primary School, 8 °9 January 2007 • Allocate leadership and management tasks more clearly so that monitoring and evaluation of the school's effectiveness lead to a greater rate of improvement.

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Grade: 3

From broadly average starting points children make good progress in the Foundation Stage. By the time they enter Year 1, most have reached the goals set nationally for children of this age and some achieve beyond them. Over recent years pupils have made satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1 so that the standards achieved in the Year 2 national assessments have been average to slightly above average. Pupils achieve satisfactorily in Key Stage 2, although the rate of progress is slower in Years 3 and 4 and then picks up. In the Year 6 national tests pupils reach average to above average standards in English and mathematics year on year. Standards have been consistently above average in science and pupils make good progress. Standards in writing are improving. The school generally exceeded its targets last year, which has encouraged staff to identify more challenging targets in the future. A focus on raising the expectations of what pupils

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Grade: 3

can do is beginning to have an impact. For example, an increasing number of pupils gain higher than the nationally expected standards in end of year tests. Different groups of pupils, including those with learning difficulties, achieve as well as their peers.

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Grade: 3

Pupils show good attitudes to their work, and relationships with one another and with staff are also good. They behave well and respond positively to the school's effective systems that encourage good behaviour. Most pupils attend well and enjoy coming to school. They say they feel safe and happy. A recent focus on relationships has contributed to a significant reduction in bullying and more awareness of its causes. Pupils have a satisfactory awareness of the need to stay healthy and to keep fit. Pupils participate enthusiastically in physical education and sports clubs. The school council helps pupils to have a voice in some school issues. Pupils' awareness of the skills and knowledge they need for their future education and beyond is limited by their satisfactory rather than good achievements in literacy and numeracy. However, older pupils do learn about teamwork and taking responsibility through events such as the

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Grade: 3

successful residential trips. Pupils' social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is satisfactorily promoted in 'circle time' class discussions, assemblies and religious education. 3 Inspection Report: Trimley St Martin Primary School, 8 °9 January 2007

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning, though satisfactory, have improved and the proportion of good lessons has increased. Where teaching is more successful, for example in the Foundation Stage and in Years 5 and 6, there is a greater confidence in the planning of activities. Lessons engage pupils' interests and provide them with the challenge to improve and to succeed. Clear targets which pupils understand are identified to support their learning. Tasks are set for individuals or groups which match their abilities. Teachers are consistent in their approach to marking and to evaluating pupils' progress. They share with pupils how they can improve their work. In the majority of lessons which are satisfactory all these elements, such as quick pace and pupils' knowledge of their targets, are not as well established and pupils make less progress. A successful feature of all teaching is the good relationships with pupils and this in turn supports the good

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Grade: 3

management of their behaviour. Teaching of pupils with learning disabilities and difficulties is also successful and helps them to make similar progress to others in the class.

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Grade: 3

The Foundation Stage curriculum is good because sessions are planned well around an interesting topic and give children opportunities to develop their learning through a good balance of play and teacher led activities. Children enjoy what they do and this helps them to develop good attitudes to learning. In Key Stages 1 and 2, although the curriculum is satisfactory, it does not support consistently good progress, particularly in English and mathematics. Not enough work has been done on making links between subjects to ensure the systematic development of pupils' cross subject skills to make the best use of teaching time. School visits and visitors add a positive dimension to pupils' learning since they frequently provide a more 'hands on' approach to work. A good example of this is the work of the thriving Young Engineers Club, which is led by a voluntary helper and has achieved much success in national competitions.

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Grade: 3

There is a supportive system of pastoral welfare provided by staff. The school's procedures for safeguarding pupils are thorough and effective. Regular risk assessments and health and safety checks are made. There are successful systems to monitor and reward good behaviour. The school liaises effectively with other agencies and professionals, especially in providing support for pupils with learning and social difficulties and disabilities. Sound support is provided for pupils in transition to secondary education. Although a new system for analysing pupils' standards of work and tracking their progress has recently been introduced, this is not being used to its 4 Inspection Report: Trimley St Martin Primary School, 8 °9 January 2007 full potential. It does not yet consistently inform teachers' planning or help to improve pupils' progress.

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Grade: 3

The headteacher successfully recognises teachers' individual skills and their ability to use these to bring about school improvement. This can be seen, for example, in the recent improvements in pupils' writing. There has been a focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning in order to raise standards, and several worthwhile new developments are in place. The introduction of a new system for tracking pupils' progress and setting challenging targets is used effectively by some staff but not all. While judgements about teaching are shared with staff the impact of what they are doing is not always made clear. Although staff and governors know what needs to be done to improve the school, management and leadership tasks are not always clearly delegated so progress towards achieving them has consequently been slow. The school does not have a deputy headteacher to help the headteacher and staff carry out change. Governors gain a

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Grade: 3

satisfactory understanding of the school through their monitoring but are not fully involved in school development and evaluation. Most parents are positive about the school. 5 Inspection Report: Trimley St Martin Primary School, 8 °9 January 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: Trimley St Martin Primary School, 8 °9 January 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?

3 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 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 3 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: Trimley St Martin Primary School, 8 °9 January 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: Trimley St Martin Primary School, 8 °9 January 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

10 January 2007 Dear Children Trimley St Martin Primary School, Kirton Road, Trimley St Martin, Ipswich, Suffolk IP11 0QL Thank you for making us feel welcome when we visited your school recently. We enjoyed talking to you and finding out about your work. We were pleased to hear that you enjoy school and feel you learn a lot. We have written below some of the things we liked about Trimley St Martin School. • You are trying hard and your writing is improving. • You do particularly well in science. • Because the teaching is improving you are beginning to make better progress. • You behave well and look after each other through, for example, being buddies. • You think school is fun because you do interesting things. You particularly like the interactive whiteboards and using computers. • Staff look after you well and you feel safe. We were pleased to hear that you would go to a member of staff if you had any problems.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We have spoken with Mr Lamb, the staff and governors and have agreed that you would do even better at school if teachers made sure that you understood your targets in English and mathematics and knew more clearly how to improve your work. Also, we have asked them to ensure that the work you do is more challenging and helps you to learn more quickly. We are asking Mr Lamb to look at the way things get done and to involve more people so that the school improves faster. We wish you well in the future. Ruth Frith Lead Inspector 9 Inspection Report: Trimley St Martin Primary School, 8 °9 January 2007

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