Rodmarton Primary School

115535 Unique Reference Number Gloucestershire Local Authority 298558 Inspection number 19 June 2007 Inspection date David Curtis 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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Primary Type of school Community School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 60 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Roger Randall Chair Susan Pillinger Headteacher 6 June 2007 Date of previous school inspection Rodmarton School address Cirencester GL7 6PE

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01285 841284 Telephone number 01285 841284 Fax number

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4 °11 Age group 19 June 2007 Inspection date 298558 Inspection number .

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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.

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Description of the school

This is a small village school with three classes. Most pupils are of White British background, with a small number from Traveller families. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties is below the national average. Attainment on entry varies significantly from year to year because of very small numbers. Over time the trend is broadly average. The previous inspection issued the school with a Notice to Improve. It received a monitoring visit by one of Her Majesty's Inspectors in February 2007 when it was judged to be making good progress in addressing the areas the school was asked to improve.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Rodmarton School, 19 June 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school. It has made significant progress in addressing the issues from its previous report. The school's capacity for future improvement is good. The key to the school's success is good leadership and management. The headteacher has successfully forged a very strong team of staff and governors which is totally focused on school improvement. The school has worked very effectively with the local authority and partner schools in its journey of rapid improvement. Parents are very supportive of the school and value all that it offers their children. The most significant improvement has been in teaching and learning which are now good, as shown by pupils' good achievement. Pupils rightly say that teaching is much more exciting and interesting because teachers use interactive whiteboards well to teach them new things. Teachers' planning, founded in the good curriculum, is focused on the needs of each individual

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Grade: 2

so that work is matched closely to each pupil's needs. As a result, pupils know exactly what is expected of them and make good progress in lessons. Marking is very good and pupils say that it helps them to improve their work. Target setting for each pupil is a strength and pupils talk knowledgeably about their targets and what they need to do in order to reach them. Consequently, standards have improved significantly and are above average by the time pupils leave the school. Speaking and listening skills are exceptionally high as is shown by the confident and articulate way in which, for example, pupils explained how to solve a mathematical problem. Pupils' personal development and well-being are good and underpinned by good care, guidance and support. Pupils really enjoy school and are motivated and enthusiastic learners. Their attendance is good. Behaviour and relationships are good. Pupils take their responsibilities

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Grade: 2

seriously, especially the school prefects and the school council, and make a good contribution to the school community. They have a good understanding of the need to live healthily. Pupils are very well prepared for their future lives in society. Provision for children of Reception age is satisfactory and improving. They are taught in a mixed age class alongside pupils in Year 1. Reception children make satisfactory progress in their learning, although girls' progress is faster than that of boys. Nevertheless, children reach the standards expected when they start Year 1 and exceed them in personal, social and emotional development. However, within this mixed age environment, planning is not matched closely enough to the needs of these young children. Since the last inspection, the role of subject leaders has improved enormously and contributes to the good leadership and management. Their work in analysing the results of national tests

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Grade: 2

and assessments is good and information from this has been used successfully to amend planning and set targets for pupils. Currently, subject leaders do not have consistent means whereby they can measure how successfully their actions have impacted on standards and achievement. Their role in monitoring teaching and learning in their subjects is improving but not fully established. In accordance with Section 13 (5) of the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that planning in the Foundation Stage is linked closely to the 'stepping stones' for each of the six areas of learning. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Rodmarton School, 19 June 2007 • Embed the role of subject leaders in monitoring teaching and learning and in being able to measure the success of actions taken to improve standards and achievement.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good and standards are above average by the end of Year 6. Pupils' speaking and listening skills are exceptionally good. Pupils are articulate and confident in explaining their ideas. Work in the problem solving aspect of mathematics is particularly strong and pupils apply their knowledge of number quickly and confidently when doing calculations to solve a problem. Pupils are now on course to reach the more challenging targets set for them. Children of Reception age make satisfactory progress in the mixed Reception and Year 1 class, with good progress in their personal, social and emotional development. Girls make faster progress than boys in all six areas of learning. Most are on course to meet the goals they are expected to reach as they start Year 1. Pupils with learning difficulties make good progress as measured against the targets in their individual education plans. They receive good support in lessons from teachers and teaching

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Grade: 2

assistants. Pupils from Traveller families make good progress because of the good support they receive from the school and the local authority support service.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils reflect sensitively on issues which affect them. Their knowledge of other cultures is satisfactory. Interestingly, pupils say that they would like to learn more about the culture of the Traveller community within their village. Pupils are very confident in taking on roles and responsibilities in the school. They impress visitors when they give tours of the school so much so that one family chose the school for their children as a result of the quality of the tour. Children in Reception make good progress in their personal, social and emotional development and settle quickly and confidently into the day to day life of the school. Older pupils look after them well and this contributes to the sense of family in the school. Pupils feel safe in school and know that there are adults to whom they can turn with worries or concerns. They have a

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Grade: 2

thorough understanding of safe practices. For example, during the inspection, pupils handled tools and equipment safely and sensibly when they made sculptures with the artist in residence.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning for children of Reception age are satisfactory and improving. Relationships are good and there is a strong focus on developing children's confidence and independence leading to the good progress in this area. In Years 1 to 6, teachers make learning exciting because of their good subject knowledge and ability to demonstrate and explain new learning in a way which engages pupils. The use of interactive whiteboards is particularly successful. Pupils work exceptionally well on individual and group tasks because they know and understand exactly what they need to do. As a result, 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Rodmarton School, 19 June 2007 teachers can focus on small groups and give additional support and help where needed. Marking is very good and gives pupils detailed feedback on how well they are doing and, when they have reached their targets, what their next steps are.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum for children in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory, and improving. Within the mixed age class, there is insufficient emphasis on planning for the particular needs of the younger children. Good use is made of the playground to support outdoor play. In Years 1 to 6, the curriculum is good. The use of information and communication technology is good, for example in the use of 'virtual experiments' in science. Pupils benefit from the teaching of French. The school uses its links with other local schools especially well, such as providing opportunities for more able pupils to get together for a 'writing day'. The visit by an artist in residence during the inspection is a very good example of how the school enriches learning for its pupils. The imaginative and exciting sculptures of insects created by pupils in Years 2 to 4 will soon grace the school's newly built entrance hall. Pupils enjoy an impressive

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Grade: 2

range of after school clubs which are well attended, including the chance to go sailing at a nearby water park.

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Grade: 2

The school complies fully with all current requirements for safeguarding pupils. Child protection procedures are followed rigorously. The staff know pupils exceptionally well. Teaching assistants give good support to pupils with learning difficulties. Parents rightly feel that the way children are introduced to the school is excellent and really value the school's website as a means of information. The quality of academic guidance for pupils is excellent. In talking with pupils, it is a joy to hear how confidently and articulately they can explain their targets and what they need to do to reach them. They describe how they know when targets have been reached and have a very clear idea of what they must do next in order to improve their work.

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Grade: 2

Since the previous inspection, the headteacher and governors have worked tirelessly to secure school improvement and have taken everyone on board with them, including parents and pupils. The headteacher, staff and governors have analysed rigorously the school's performance and implemented successfully actions to secure improvements. No stone has been left unturned in the school's determination to tackle the issues from the last inspection. Teamwork and a common sense of purpose has led to good improvement. With the support of the headteacher, subject leaders have made a strong contribution to analysing the performance of pupils. A detailed tracking system is now in place which identifies quickly areas of individual underperformance. When this is identified, support programmes are put in place to get individuals back on track. Since the last inspection, subject leaders are more accountable for the standards pupils achieve, although the means by which they can measure

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Grade: 2

6 of 11 Inspection Report: Rodmarton School, 19 June 2007 success are not consistent. Leaders' roles in monitoring teaching and learning are improving, but are still at an early stage of development. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Rodmarton School, 19 June 2007 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Rodmarton School, 19 June 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 quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 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?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Rodmarton School, 19 June 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Rodmarton School, 19 June 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

June 20 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Rodmarton Primary School, Rodmarton, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 6PE Thank you so much for the warm welcome you gave us when we visited your school. In particular, I would like to thank the school council for the time they spent with my colleague. We also enjoyed meeting you in lessons and appreciated the very polite and confident manner in which you answered our questions. I am pleased to tell you that you go to a good school and how much better it is than when inspectors visited last year. These are the things which we thought were particularly good: • You work hard in lessons and make good progress in your learning. • You enjoy school and we were impressed by your good behaviour and the way you get on with each other. • You really enjoy lessons where teachers use the interactive whiteboards to teach you new things. • You enjoy after school clubs and other exciting things the school gives you to do, such as

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

working with the artist in residence. • You feel safe in school and know that adults will help you if needed. • Your headteacher and the other adults work very hard to make your school an enjoyable and exciting place to be. There are two things which we think would make your school even better. These are: • Those of you in Reception have your own special list of things that you need to learn. We have asked everyone to make sure that teachers plan your work so that you learn everything on this list. • Your teachers have targets in the same way that do .We have asked them to make sure they can check when they have met their targets rather like the way you know when you meet yours. Thank you again for an enjoyable day at your school. Yours sincerely David Curtis Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Rodmarton School, 19 June 2007

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