Paddox Primary School

130885 Unique Reference Number Warwickshire Local Authority 293655 Inspection number 21 °22 November 2006 Inspection dates David Westall 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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Fareham Avenue School address Primary Type of school Rugby Community School category CV22 5HS 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01788 572340 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01788 541659 Fax number 391 Number on roll (school) Steve Timpson Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Brenda Oaks Headteacher 10 September 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 293655 21 °22 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school serves an area of privately owned housing and few pupils are known to be eligible for free school meals. The percentage of pupils identified as having learning difficulties is average. A very small percentage of pupils are currently learning English as an additional language. Overall standards on entry to the Reception classes are above average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Paddox Primary School, 21 °22 November 2006

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory and improving school. The headteacher is a key strength and is the driving force for change. She has high expectations for pupils' personal and academic development, and communicates her vision clearly so that staff and pupils know what is expected. Because she uses a range of rigorous procedures to check the school's performance, she has an accurate view of its strengths and weaknesses. Her skills in motivating staff, together with her tenacity and determination, have helped the school to improve since her appointment in September 2005, when the school was at a low ebb. Provision for children in the Foundation Stage has become more effective and there is more good teaching across the school. As a result, standards have risen. However, the headteacher is keenly aware that there is still work to be done to make the teaching more consistently good and to raise standards further. Despite the

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Grade: 3

exemplary work of the headteacher, leadership and management are satisfactory rather than better. This is because the senior management team is recently established and subject leaders have not developed their roles enough. While the new members of the management team have made a good start, and subject leaders are improving fast, too much responsibility for setting and achieving the school's goals currently rests on the headteacher's shoulders. Pupils' achievement and the quality of teaching and learning are satisfactory. Children make a flying start in the Foundation Stage, where provision is good. As a result of good teaching, nearly all reach the nationally expected standards at the end of the Reception period and many do better. Pupils' standards rose in 2006 and are above average in English, mathematics and science in Years 2 and 6. These standards reflect pupils' satisfactory achievement from their above-average starting points on entry to

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Grade: 3

Reception. However, they mask notable differences in pupils' progress across Years 1 to 6. Progress is good in just over half of all classes but is satisfactory in the remainder. This reflects variations in the teaching. In particular, the lack of sufficient challenge for pupils in some lessons restricts their standards from being higher. The curriculum is satisfactory, and pupils benefit from a good range of additional learning opportunities that enrich their learning. Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. This significant strength stems from the very supportive relationships that exist across the school. Pupils know that staff have their best interests at heart and develop good self-esteem because they know they are valued as individuals. Pupils' behaviour and attitudes are first-rate. They are polite, readily listen to others and accept differences of opinion. Care, guidance and support are good, and parents are justifiably confident that their children

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Grade: 3

are well looked after. The school has made satisfactory progress since its previous inspection. Progress had been limited before the headteacher's appointment but has accelerated in the last year. The school is soundly placed to improve further. 2 Inspection Report: Paddox Primary School, 21 °22 November 2006

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve the quality of teaching from satisfactory to better by ensuring that teachers' expectations are always sufficiently high, lessons move at a good pace and effective use is made of questions and answers to check pupils' understanding and develop their thinking. • Ensure the senior management team and subject leaders play a bigger part in raising pupils' standards.

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Grade: 3

Pupils achieve well in all areas of learning in the Foundation Stage. Standards in Years 2 and 6 are above average and represent satisfactory achievement, given the significant number of capable pupils in the school. There is a rising trend in pupils' standards that reflects improvements in the teaching. For example, while the national tests in Year 6 in 2006 were above average in English, mathematics and science, they were only above average in science in 2005. The school met its statutory targets in 2006, and these were reasonably challenging. The school's tracking records for pupils in Years 1 to 6 show they do well in some classes but their progress is only adequate in others. This variation stops their overall achievement from being good. Pupils with learning difficulties, and the few who are learning English as an additional language, achieve well because they are given good support. The progress of the most

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Grade: 2

Pupils enjoy school and their attendance is very good. The school is a happy and harmonious community where relationships between adults and pupils are positive and pupils get on well together. A parent's comment exemplifies the situation well: 'My son can't wait to get to school, has lots of friends and likes his teacher'. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils work together amicably and have a well-developed sense of fair play. They respond positively when given responsibility, for example, as members of the active school council, as prefects and as mediators for pupils who require support at break or lunchtimes. Pupils are safety conscious and are concerned for the welfare of others. Paddox has achieved the Healthy Schools award, and pupils are aware of the importance of healthy eating and exercise. They have a strong community awareness, willingly help to raise

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Grade: 2

funds for charities and contribute to initiatives such as 'Rugby in Bloom.' Pupils' good skills in working together and their satisfactory academic progress mean they are soundly prepared for their futures. 3 Inspection Report: Paddox Primary School, 21 °22 November 2006

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Grade: 3

The teaching is satisfactory, overall, but ranges from good to inadequate. This results in pupils' satisfactory, but variable, progress. Across the school, there are some common strengths. All teachers explain tasks clearly, manage pupils' behaviour well and create a positive working atmosphere in lessons. Teaching assistants are effective and help pupils with learning difficulties to do well. In the Foundation Stage, teaching and learning are good. The teachers have the knack of knowing the best way to introduce new ideas and accurately judge when children need help, so they make the most of practical activities, including play. In Years 1 to 6, good and satisfactory teaching is evident in similar measure. In the good lessons, skilful teaching enables pupils to do well. Progress slows in satisfactory lessons because teachers' expectations of pupils' potential achievement are not always high enough,

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Grade: 3

the pace of learning falters and opportunities are missed to probe and develop pupils' thinking through well-judged questions and the use of answers. Very occasionally, these weaknesses are so marked that teaching and learning are inadequate. Assessment procedures have improved since the last inspection, and are sound. Progress is now tracked carefully as pupils move through the school.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. Provision in the Foundation Stage is good where children benefit from a wide range of learning opportunities that help them to achieve well. In Years 1 to 6, statutory requirements are met and sound provision is made for pupils' literacy and numeracy skills. Provision for information and communication technology has improved since the last inspection, and pupils are now making sound use of computers to support their work in other subjects. Across the school, the school provides well for pupils' personal development and this is reflected in their positive attitudes and values. A good range of activities, including clubs, visits and visitors, enriches the curriculum and benefits pupils' learning. These are very popular with pupils. 'It was brilliant to learn about the different planets and it made me feel very tiny,' commented one pupil about a visit to the National Space Centre.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. Pupils feel safe and know they can talk to staff if they have any worries. Staff know the pupils well and provide well-judged advice and support for their personal development. Child protection procedures are thorough and regular health and safety checks are carried out. The school works well with external 4 Inspection Report: Paddox Primary School, 21 °22 November 2006 agencies to provide support for pupils when this is required. Well-thought-out procedures help children to settle in quickly to the Reception classes and to transfer confidently from Year 6 to the next stage of education. The support for pupils' academic development is sound. Pupils know their learning targets, but are not always given enough information about how well they are progressing towards them.

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Grade: 3

The school's self-evaluation procedures are sound. As a result, the strategic plan identifies the right areas for attention and the school has a clear sense of direction. The headteacher's monitoring and evaluation procedures are very thorough so she has her finger firmly on the pulse of the school. The work of the senior management team and subject leaders is developing well. However, some key staff have only been in post for a short time and this restricts their contribution to school evaluation and improvement. The school's partnership with parents is sound, and parents recognise that the school is improving. 'The headteacher has made a big difference and things are getting better all the time,' wrote one parent. The work of the governors is sound. They welcome the detailed and accurate information they receive from the headteacher, and have improved their awareness of the school's performance by visits to see it in

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Grade: 3

operation. 5 Inspection Report: Paddox Primary School, 21 °22 November 2006 .

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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: Paddox Primary School, 21 °22 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 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? 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 1 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 1 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. 7 Inspection Report: Paddox Primary School, 21 °22 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: Paddox Primary School, 21 °22 November 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for welcoming us into your school and for being so friendly, polite and helpful. We think that Paddox is a satisfactory school which is getting better. Here are some of the things we found out. • You enjoy school, have lots of friends and like your teachers. • Your behaviour is excellent and you get on very well with other pupils and with adults. • The staff take good care of you and you know who to go to if you need some help. • The teachers make sure you make satisfactory progress with your work. • You are lucky to have such a very good headteacher who is helping the school to improve. We have asked the headteacher and governors to improve some things in the school. We want the teaching to be better in some classes so you can manage even harder work. We also want some teachers to play a bigger part in helping the headteacher to run the school and make sure you do really well. We enjoyed our visit very much. Thank you again for your help.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

9 Inspection Report: Paddox Primary School, 21 °22 November 2006

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