St. Margaret's CofE Junior School

Inspection Report St Margaret's CofE Junior School

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125667 Unique Reference Number Warwickshire Local Authority 296173 Inspection number 7 °8 December 2006 Inspection dates Barbara Crane 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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Coppice Road School address Junior Type of school Whitnash Voluntary controlled School category Leamington Spa CV31 2JF 7 °11 Age range of pupils 01926 426216 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01926 450649 Fax number 359 Number on roll (school) Richard Suffern Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Alan Jones Headteacher 1 October 2000 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 296173 7 °8 December 2006 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This junior school is larger than average. Fewer pupils are entitled to free school meals than in most schools. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is broadly average. Two thirds of pupils come from White British families and almost a third of pupils come from Indian families, with a few from other ethnic groups. A higher than average number of pupils speak English as an additional language but none are at an early stage of learning English. Pupils' attainment when they start school is 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: St Margaret's CofE Junior School, 7 °8 December 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school with some outstanding features. The pupils are proud of their school and their parents are very pleased with the quality of education it provides. Pupils face the future confidently because the school sets them up very capably to deal with it, both in their work and the ease with which they form relationships with each other. Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding because they are at the heart of the school's caring ethos. As one parent put it, 'children love this school because it knows and nurtures them'. The school is a very harmonious community in which pupils from different ethnic groups enjoy being together and show a high level of respect for each other. Their behaviour is exemplary. Pupils have a strong sense of responsibility for helping their community to improve and for keeping themselves and others safe. Good teaching and learning and good levels of care, support and guidance underpin

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Grade: 2

pupils' good progress. Excellent relationships and exciting activities in lessons are major factors in pupils' enthusiasm for learning. Pupils' achievement is good and standards are well above average by the time they leave. Their progress is at its best in speaking and listening, mathematics and science because it is here that the high level of challenge in teaching is most consistent. There are times when pupils of all capabilities do not make the best possible progress in English. This is because their targets are not always clearly enough defined or sufficiently challenging. Additionally, teachers' marking does not consistently help pupils to understand how to improve their work in writing. An outstanding range of extra activities promotes pupils' excellent enjoyment of school and enriches the good curriculum. The curriculum for the arts is particularly exciting and leads to high standards in art and design, singing and drama.

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Grade: 2

Good leadership and management ensure that the school's Christian ethos is firmly upheld and reflected in its daily life. The staff and governors share the headteacher's vision to get the best for pupils and to provide everyone with an equal chance to succeed. Staff work well together as a team in pursuit of the school's aims. Rigorous self-evaluation and clear direction ensure that staff and governors know what needs to be done in order to improve the school further. The school's good capacity to improve is demonstrated by its success in improving boys' achievement in writing. Governors play a full part in helping the school to improve.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that teachers consistently set challenging targets for pupils in English and that their marking gives pupils better guidance on how to improve their writing.

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Grade: 2

Standards are currently well above average, as has been the picture over several years. Pupils' achievement is good. The picture of good progress is the same for pupils of all 2 Inspection Report: St Margaret's CofE Junior School, 7 °8 December 2006 capabilities and for those learning English as an additional language. Pupils make the most rapid progress in mathematics and science because teachers' expectations of what they can achieve are particularly high in these subjects. Boys' achievement in writing has been boosted by some good initiatives, such as choosing topics that appeal to their imagination and giving them opportunities to write about things that really interest them. Whilst most pupils do well in English, their rate of progress does not quite match that in other areas because teaching does not always establish realistic targets for pupils to aim for. Consequently, a few less able pupils are occasionally given

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Grade: 2

activities that are too difficult for them and some more able pupils find them too easy. Pupils reach high standards in art and design, singing and drama and relish the opportunities to perform, as well as showing pride in the celebration of their artwork around the school.

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Grade: 1

Pupils are proud of their school and happy that they go there. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Pupils' excellent enjoyment of school is reflected in their good attendance and application in lessons. Pupils are confident and respectful of each other. They get on extremely well together, regardless of background, gender or ability and enjoy helping each other. They show a very good sense of responsibility, for example, in organising their homework. Pupils play a big part in helping their community to improve through the school council. They enthusiastically raise funds for local charities and to aid an orphanage in Russia. Older pupils are excellent models for the younger ones to follow. Year 6 pupils, for example, organise 'huff and puff' activities to help Year 3 pupils see the fun in keeping fit. Pupils are very sensitive to issues of safety, both for themselves and others. Most eat

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Grade: 1

and drink healthily and the recent initiative of selling fruit as snacks at break time is steadily gaining in popularity.

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Grade: 2

Excellent relationships and exciting activities create a vibrant atmosphere for learning. Enthusiastic teaching means that pupils enjoy their lessons and achieve well. The teachers find ways to make learning fun, including using information and communication technology (ICT) in lessons to engage pupils' interest. They teach pupils how to organise their work, including homework, very well. Teachers promote pupils' speaking and listening very effectively so that pupils voice their opinions and ideas confidently. Questions are often used very skilfully to deepen pupils' thinking, as when pupils were prompted to consider who might be responsible for enforcing the rules they had devised to lead good lives. Teachers check carefully to make sure that pupils who are learning to speak English have a good understanding, especially when 3 Inspection Report: St Margaret's CofE Junior School, 7 °8 December 2006

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Grade: 2

they use technical vocabulary in science and mathematics. Teachers consistently aim high in their expectations of pupils of all abilities in mathematics and science and pupils rise to the challenges very well. In English, whilst there are times when expectations are equally high, there are also occasions when the work is not at just the right level of difficulty for pupils' different capabilities. Teachers' marking does not always show pupils clearly enough what they need to do to improve their writing. The feedback given through marking about what needs to be worked on next in writing is inconsistent in its helpfulness to pupils. Teaching assistants provide very good support for pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities. This helps them to take a full part in all activities.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' learning benefits from planning that often weaves subjects together so that pupils practise their skills in different situations. The school's initiative to promote writing across the curriculum has worked well in most instances. Younger pupils, for example, have created moving poetry about war that built on their learning in history but there are still a few occasions when opportunities are missed for pupils to use their writing in other subjects. There is outstanding enrichment of the curriculum through a very wide range of visits, visitors and extra activities. As pupils put it, 'there is so much for us to do', and they take full advantage of what is on offer. This includes a wide range of sporting activities and leads to success in competitions at both local and county level.The curriculum for the arts is very well planned to extend pupils' creativity and results in high standards. Pupils put into practice what they have learned

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Grade: 2

through themed weeks on how to keep safe. They are alert to situations around school and on the playground where extra care is needed, for example when using climbing equipment. The school has made a good start on identifying opportunities for extending the curriculum for pupils who are gifted and talented. Links with the neighbouring infant school to promote better continuity of learning are being strengthened and form a priority in the school's planning for improvement.

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Grade: 2

The staff know the pupils very well and the level of care provided on a day-to-day basis is excellent. Very good attention is paid to safeguarding pupils and so they feel secure. Pupils say that the staff treat them fairly and that adults listen to them and provide help if they need it. Pupils' individual learning needs are identified well and supported sensitively. Adults maintain a good balance between developing pupils' independence and keeping a careful watch for occasions when intervention is needed. Good support for pupils who are learning English as an additional language helps them to succeed as well as other pupils. The school has recently reviewed its system for setting targets for all pupils. Consequently, most pupils know what their targets are. In English, however, there are times when targets are too vague or numerous for teachers or pupils to know exactly what they are aiming for and to gauge progress.

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Grade: 2

4 Inspection Report: St Margaret's CofE Junior School, 7 °8 December 2006

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Grade: 2

Good leadership and management are evident at all levels. The headteacher's leadership effectively creates an open and supportive atmosphere in which the staff and pupils want to do their best for each other. There is a real sense of teamwork to achieve the school's aims. Self-evaluation is thorough and gives the school an accurate view of its effectiveness. There is a shared understanding of what needs to be improved because the staff and governors are fully involved in evaluating the school's performance. They have identified the right priorities from their mainly good checks on how well things are working and what needs improving. Most recently, monitoring has focused on how well teachers plan for literacy lessons but there is still work to do in checking that all teachers are fine-tuning the targets set for pupils, using the school's revised system. Governance has improved since the previous inspection. The governors influence the

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Grade: 2

school's work through good challenge and support and monitor its expenditure carefully to ensure that it provides good value for money. 5 Inspection Report: St Margaret's CofE Junior School, 7 °8 December 2006 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: St Margaret's CofE Junior School, 7 °8 December 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 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

2 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?

1 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 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 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: St Margaret's CofE Junior School, 7 °8 December 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: St Margaret's CofE Junior School, 7 °8 December 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for such a warm welcome when we visited recently. You were a big help to us and we thought your performances in the Christmas concerts were great! You have a good school and we were pleased to hear that you are so proud of it. This is what we found out about your school: • you do well in your work and reach well above average standards ° well done! • you are growing up as sensible young people who behave very well, enjoy being together and helping each other • lessons are interesting because of good teaching that helps you to get organised and talk about your ideas • there are plenty of extra things to do and you are keen to get involved with activities like sport, drama, art and music • you know a lot about how to keep yourselves and others safe and understand how to stay fit and healthy • everyone works hard to take care of you and listen if you have problems • your school is well run and people know what they need to do next to make things even

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

better for you. The people in charge want the best for you. We have asked them to make sure that your targets in English are just right so that you can do as well as you do in mathematics and science. We have also asked your teachers to make sure that they give you more consistent help to understand how to improve your writing when they mark your work. You can do your bit by taking notice of their comments. Thank you again for helping us with our work and good luck in the future. 9 Inspection Report: St Margaret's CofE Junior School, 7 °8 December 2006

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