Radnage Church of England Primary School

Radnage CofE Infant School Inspection report

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110467 Unique Reference Number Buckinghamshire Local Authority 310320 Inspection number 18 October 2007 Inspection date Steven Hill 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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Infant Type of school Voluntary aided School category 4 °7 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 42 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr P Cole Chair Mrs E Ramm Headteacher 29 April 2002 Date of previous school inspection City Road School address Radnage High Wycombe HP14 4DW 01494 482167 Telephone number 0 Fax number

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4-7 Age group 18 October 2007 Inspection date 310320 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 an Additional Inspector. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues:

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Introduction

■ pupils' achievement, particularly in English

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Introduction

■ pupils' personal development and well-being

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Introduction

■ the tracking of pupils' progress and how well this information is used to help them achieve

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Introduction

■ how well the school is led and managed.

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Introduction

Evidence was gathered from observing lessons and break-times; talking to pupils and staff; checking the school's records of pupils' progress and from the results of questionnaires returned by parents. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This is a small village school with three classes; Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. Classes operate as separate year groups in the mornings and, in the afternoon, Reception and Year 1 work together as one class. Pupils' social and economic circumstances, whilst varied, are above average overall. The vast majority of pupils are of White British origin, and very few have a home language other than English; none is at the early stages of learning the language. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is below average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Radnage CofE Infant School, 18 October 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school where pupils are happy and thoroughly enjoy their education. Right from their smooth introduction to school in the Foundation Stage, they make good progress and their personal development is good. Their excellent relationships with each other and with staff underpin much of their success. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. The school has worked successfully to improve pupils' understanding of a wide range of cultures since the last inspection. Behaviour is good, and pupils are caring and thoughtful about others, particularly their younger schoolmates. Their attendance is excellent. They have a good understanding of healthy lifestyles, joining in physical activities with enthusiasm, both in lessons and in the playground. Pupils in Year 2 have a secure understanding of balanced diets, and all pupils look forward to eating their fruit each morning. Pastoral care is good and the school

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Grade: 2

takes great care to treat pupils as individuals and to meet their particular needs. All members of staff work successfully to enhance pupils' self-esteem and independence so that, by the time they leave, they are well prepared for their junior schools and their future lives. Pupils achieve well throughout the school and standards are consistently above average. Standards in mathematics and reading are particularly high. Achievement in writing, whilst good, is not as strong. This year the school is working to improve this, particularly through using role-play and drama to enthuse pupils and to get them to organise their ideas before they write. Other good plans are in place; this term the school is planning to introduce joined handwriting to children at a much earlier stage, so that they become fluent more quickly. The school is also boosting pupils' reading and writing skills through dedicated 'phonics' sessions

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Grade: 2

four days each week, when all pupils work in small groups on the relationship between sounds and letters. These sessions are very well organised, and pupils are making good progress during them. There is evidence of high standards in some other subjects, and pupils' achievements in art and singing emerged as clear strengths during the inspection. Pupils who have learning difficulties or disabilities make excellent progress. This is because the provision to help them is managed extremely well, so that teachers match work carefully to their individual needs. Patient help from the skilled support staff also makes a major contribution to their success. More able pupils make good progress, and the school is introducing extra provision to challenge them further. The main factor in pupils' achievement is good teaching. Classes are managed very well, with routines clearly established and understood, and relationships very strong. As a result, lessons

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Grade: 2

have a good pace and pupils work hard, concentrate well and are keen to succeed. Teachers make good use of the school's thorough systems to track each pupil's individual progress to prepare work that meets their needs. They present the school's good curriculum in a lively manner that engages pupils' interest and helps them learn. Teachers make some good use of links between subjects, such as the literacy lesson in Year 1 on the 'Teddy Bears' Picnic', which also developed pupils' scientific understanding, and their singing skills. Such lessons are particularly meaningful to pupils and strongly support their enthusiasm and interest. However, the school does not have a structure to support such links across all subjects, but there are plans to address the issue this year. The high level of adult attention and help, from both teachers and the skilled learning support assistants, is a major factor in the school's success.

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Grade: 2

The care, guidance and support provided for pupils are good. The good pastoral care is enhanced by the strong systems to support individuals academically, based on thorough tracking of their 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Radnage CofE Infant School, 18 October 2007 progress. Pupils are set targets to achieve, which they understand and try to meet. The marking of pupils' work is good, showing them why they have succeeded, and giving them clear pointers to do even better in the future. Excellent use is made of a range of different people to promote pupils' well-being. This is particularly true in obtaining extra help and advice for pupils who have learning difficulties. The school has excellent relationships with parents and is keen to involve them in their children's education. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school, and provide good support, including raising large sums of money. Leadership and management are good, with teamwork a particular strength. The headteacher,

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Grade: 2

and all the staff with management responsibilities, give clear direction to colleagues, and useful advice to help them improve their practice. The close working relationships of the staff team, a unified approach, and informal systems to share information, provide a firm foundation for the school's success. Self-evaluation is accurate, giving a clear picture of strengths and weaknesses. Effective action is taken to address the latter. All teachers are fully involved in monitoring each other's lessons and sharing good practice. The tracking of individual pupils' performance is good. However, until this term, there has been no system to make it easy for managers to get a clear view of pupils' progress overall. The headteacher has just introduced a computer-based system to provide more incisive analysis of the data the school collects. Governors have a clear understanding of the school and provide a good level of support.

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Grade: 2

Reception children really enjoy school and make good progress because they are provided for well. They receive a curriculum that is firmly practically based and which interests and enthuses them. Teaching is good. The skilled adults quickly form good relationships with children so they are very happy in school and can concentrate on learning. Adults intervene well in children's learning, successfully encouraging them to think and talk about what they are doing, which greatly enhances their understanding. Good use is made of the greatly improved outdoor area to enhance learning. In the afternoon sessions with Year 1, Reception children benefit from working alongside the same skilled learning support assistant who is with them in the mornings. With her help, the teacher ensures that the children's particular needs are catered for well, and they are settled and happy, continuing their good progress.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Implement the new system to track achievement, and use the information obtained to refine provision and raise standards further. ■ Develop a clear overall structure to develop links between different subjects. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Radnage CofE Infant School, 18 October 2007 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Radnage CofE Infant School, 18 October 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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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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 1 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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Radnage CofE Infant School, 18 October 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 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Radnage CofE Infant School, 18 October 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

2 November 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Radnage CofE Infant School,High Wycombe,HP14 4DW Thank you for all your help when I visited your school. I enjoyed chatting to you and watching you at work in lessons. You told me that Radnage is a good school, and I agree. This is why.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You learn a lot because the adults are good at explaining things to you. You are particularly good at mathematics and reading, but not quite as good at writing. ■ The staff are good at looking after you and making sure that you get the right kind of work, especially if you find things hard. ■ You behave well, get on very well together, work hard and really enjoy school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The school works very well with your parents, and they seem to like the school as much as you do. ■ The adults are very good at organising the school and keeping an eye on things, so they can make improvements. ■ You get lots of interesting things to do.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I have agreed with the teachers that to make the school even better they are going to do three things.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Help you to get better with your writing.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Use a new computer system to keep a more careful eye on how things are going.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Try to make more links between different subjects, so that you can learn more.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you again for your help. I am sure that Radnage will carry on improving, and you can help by keeping up your good behaviour, and trying hard with your writing. Best wishes, Steven Hill Lead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Radnage CofE Infant School, 18 October 2007

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