Wrockwardine Wood Church of England Junior School

Inspection Report Wrockwardine Wood Church of England Junior School

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123520 Unique Reference Number Telford and Wrekin Local Authority 295826 Inspection number 17 °18 January 2007 Inspection dates Mary Hamby HMI Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 which gives Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools the authority to cause any school to be inspected. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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Church Road School address Junior Type of school Trench Voluntary controlled School category Telford TF2 7HG 7 °11 Age range of pupils 01952 387880 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01952 387884 Fax number 257 Number on roll (school) Louise Inwood Chair The governing body Appropriate authority William Wade Headteacher 14 October 2005 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 295826 17 °18 January 2007 7°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 one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

When this school was inspected in October 2005 it was not effective enough and required special measures. Since then, the school was led by an acting headteacher, the former deputy headteacher, and a consultant headteacher who worked on a part time basis in the school. A permanent headteacher was appointed from 1 September 2006 and the new deputy headteacher started in January 2007. The teaching staff are largely those present at the last inspection. The pupils are mainly from White British backgrounds with small groups of pupils from a variety of other backgrounds. The percentage of pupils entitled to receive free school meals is slightly higher than usual, as is the proportion with learning difficulties and disabilities.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Wrockwardine Wood Church of England Junior School, 17 °18 January 2007

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Grade: 3

In accordance with section 13(4) of the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures. The school has made significant strides during the past year. The headteacher leads the school with determination and vision and, supported by staff and governors, has put the school back on the right track. The school is well placed to sustain its recent progress because of the commitment to improvement from all the staff and governors. The impact of improvements is plain to see in the better quality of teaching, leadership and the care and guidance given to the pupils. The school has made very good use of advice and resources from the local authority (LA) which have helped to establish an effective programme of evaluation. The school now provides a satisfactory quality of education. One of its main strengths is that the personal development of the pupils is good. The consistent approach from

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Grade: 3

the whole staff team and the clear emphasis on spiritual, moral, social and cultural development ensure that the pupils develop into responsible young people who are keen to learn. They enjoy coming to school, get on well together, and their attendance is good. The pupils feel well cared for and so they should. The school's arrangements for their well-being are effective and the pupils are consulted appropriately in matters that affect them. They are developing their understanding of staying healthy and keeping fit and enjoy making a contribution to their community. The teaching and learning have improved in all year groups and are satisfactory with good features. There are examples of highly effective teaching but also other occasions when it is less effective. A consistently good feature is that all staff enjoy good relationships with the pupils and treat them fairly. The pupils are clear about what

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Grade: 3

they are learning and are given good guidance about how they can improve. However, some lessons are rather too slow in pace and so pupils do not learn as much as they might. Standards and achievement are satisfactory in most respects, with some good achievement in science. However, despite recent improvements, achievement in writing, speaking skills, and aspects of mathematics is still not good enough.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Increase the proportion of teaching which is good or better. • Improve achievement in writing, speaking and mathematics.

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Grade: 3

Standards in all year groups are improving and are close to the national average. The move from mixed age classes to single year groups has helped teachers to plan more effectively for their classes and set work that is better matched to their needs. This helps pupils to succeed in lessons and reach their targets. Although there is little difference between the standards reached by girls and boys, girls tend to be more 2 Inspection Report: Wrockwardine Wood Church of England Junior School, 17 °18 January 2007 responsive in lessons and their work is neater. The small proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds achieve as well as other pupils in all aspects of their education. The pupils who have learning difficulties and disabilities make good progress because of the effective support they receive, but a small proportion of them do not have good enough spelling skills to help them write quickly and accurately.

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Grade: 3

The pupils achieve well in science and satisfactorily in most other subjects. However, achievement in writing, speaking and aspects of mathematics, although improving, is still not as good as it should be. The pupils do not develop their ideas well enough when answering questions in class and their vocabulary is limited. This has an impact on their writing, which is not sufficiently developed to engage the interest of the reader. Poor punctuation and handwriting hamper the speed and fluency of pupils' work and so pupils do not write to sufficient length in the time available. The pupils are developing their calculation skills, but have difficulty working with large numbers and do not apply their knowledge well enough when tackling problems.

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Grade: 2

This continues to be good and is a strength of the school. The pupils are polite, and friendly and well behaved in lessons and playtimes. They enjoy coming to school, relate well to adults and each other and think their school rules are fair. Pupils reported that they were not bullied but knew what to do if they had any concerns about such issues. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. In assemblies, the pupils contribute and know that for some people prayer and thanksgiving are special times. They sing joyfully and have opportunities to reflect on music and other arts. They participate in a range of activities that help them to understand the lives of people from different cultures and respect different beliefs. The opportunities for pupils to exercise responsibility help pupils to grow in maturity and they respond well to such opportunities. The school council enjoys its special role

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Grade: 2

and councillors confidently discussed their vision for the school with an inspector. They contribute to their community through such things as charitable collections and church attendance. Pupils have a good understanding of healthy eating, but do not always choose healthy options for snacks at playtime. They have a secure understanding of health and safety issues, such as using equipment appropriately in science, and know how to keep themselves safe. In most respects they are acquiring the skills which will help them to become good citizens. However, the slow development of writing and mathematical skills is a potential barrier to their future employment potential. 3 Inspection Report: Wrockwardine Wood Church of England Junior School, 17 °18 January 2007

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Grade: 3

The teaching has improved and is now satisfactory with some good features. All staff enjoy excellent relationships with the pupils, value their views, and treat them all fairly. This helps the pupils, particularly those with learning difficulties and disabilities, to develop self confidence and understand the importance of good behaviour. A consistently good feature of the teaching is that the pupils are clear about what is expected of them. One pupil reported, 'To help us be successful here we have learning targets and the marking ladders show us how to get there.' Most of the marking is effective, but there are still some instances where it does not give the pupils sufficient help to improve their work. The work set for pupils is now better matched to their ability, but some question and answer sessions still do not demand enough of the more able pupils. Most lessons are lively and enjoyable, but

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Grade: 3

occasionally not enough time is given to independent work or rounding the lesson off so that learning can be consolidated.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. The strong emphasis on music within the curriculum helps pupils to improve their listening skills, appreciate the arts, and develop self confidence. The school takes effective action to ensure that all pupils with disabilities are included appropriately in the curriculum and the emphasis on personal and social education helps pupils to understand each other's needs and concerns. Opportunities for writing in different subjects are now in place and these help pupils to understand that writing needs to be matched to different purposes. However, the overuse of worksheets hampers pupils' presentation skills and limits opportunities for them to be creative in setting work out for themselves.

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Grade: 2

This has improved and reflects the strong school commitment to caring for, guiding and supporting all its pupils. The school is a welcoming place for all with a strong emphasis on kindness and valuing the individual. Pupils of different abilities or from different ethnic groups are completely integrated into the life of the school. All the staff have a clear understanding of their role and the school works well with a range of outside agencies to secure the best arrangements for vulnerable pupils. Links with the local infant school and secondary schools are good and the projects that pupils undertake at times of transfer help them to settle in to their new schools. 4 Inspection Report: Wrockwardine Wood Church of England Junior School, 17 °18 January 2007 The school keeps full records of pupils' progress and has amassed a great amount of data for various groups. Currently there are various systems in place for logging this

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Grade: 2

data and so retrieving information is not as efficient as it might be.

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Grade: 3

The strong sense of teamwork in the school has helped it improve rapidly during the past year. Leadership from the senior staff in particular has come on well and has been much more focused on evaluation. This, together with the support from the LA, has ensured that strategic planning has been keenly targeted on the right issues to help the school improve. The support from the LA has been very carefully judged to help the school improve and to help it become self sustaining. The school now has good capacity to improve, demonstrated by the successful action it has already taken to eliminate weaknesses and the appropriateness of its plans for further improvement. The new headteacher shows determination to succeed and has helped the whole staff to feel part of the management team. Teachers are improving their subject leadership skills and are keen to contribute. Although they are not all yet fully effective in their

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Grade: 3

roles, they have a better awareness of the scope of their responsibilities. Governors are highly supportive of the school and make a good contribution to its development based on their accurate understanding of its strengths and weaknesses. They have drawn up a suitable plan to ensure that the deficit budget is eradicated in the near future. 5 Inspection Report: Wrockwardine Wood Church of England Junior School, 17 °18 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: Wrockwardine Wood Church of England Junior School, 17 °18 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? 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 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?

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: Wrockwardine Wood Church of England Junior School, 17 °18 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: Wrockwardine Wood Church of England Junior School, 17 °18 January 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

As you know I have been visiting your school during the last year to see how it is getting on. During my visits I have been pleased to see it improving because all the staff and friends of the school have worked very hard. Your school has improved so much that I won't be coming to check up on it any more. You now have an effective school with some good features. Thank you for sharing your work with me and my colleagues. It has been good to see you all trying hard and making the progress you should in most lessons. You still need to try harder with your writing in all subjects so that it really grips the reader's interest. Some of you, particularly the boys, need to develop your speaking skills so that you answer questions fully and use interesting words to help persuade others when giving a point of view. I have asked your teachers to encourage you to do this. I have also asked them to make sure they leave

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

enough time towards the end of lessons so that they can go over things and gauge how much more you need to learn. All the staff look after you very well and want the best for you. The school gives you the right opportunities to develop into responsible young people. You have lots of chances to learn about different cultures, through music and the arts, so make the most of them. I shall miss coming to see you and will take away many good memories of Wrockwardine Wood. Thank you once more for being so friendly and helpful. Best wishes for your future. Aim high! 9 Inspection Report: Wrockwardine Wood Church of England Junior School, 17 °18 January 2007

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