Kingsbridge Community Primary School

Kingsbridge Community Primary School Inspection report

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113205 Unique Reference Number Devon Local Authority 311153 Inspection number 10 °11 September 2007 Inspection dates Denise Morris 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 356 School The governing body Appropriate authority Kate Parsons Chair Peter Burner Headteacher 2 December 2002 Date of previous school inspection Belle Cross Road School address Kingsbridge TQ7 1NL 01548 852009 Telephone number 01548 857643 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 10 °11 September 2007 Inspection dates 311153 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a larger-than-average primary school. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is high.

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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: Kingsbridge Community Primary School, 10 °11 September 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school, which is improving. There are many strengths, the key one being the good personal development of the pupils, which results in their good behaviour, positive attitudes and their enjoyment of school life. Pupils are well cared for by the whole-school community. The support given to them both in and around the school is of a high quality. According to one parent, 'the school embraces all pupils regardless of their abilities', while another comments that 'every child is cared for as an individual'. The care, support and guidance provided by the school are good, which results in pupils being polite, caring and helpful to each other on a daily basis. Standards are above average by the time pupils leave Year 6. Pupils achieve well and make good progress during their time at the school. Although standards vary from year to year, in 2007 they were above average in English, mathematics and science. Good standards have been

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Grade: 2

maintained over the past two years. Standards are broadly average by Year 2 and are gradually improving; for example, they were above average in reading in 2007. Teaching is good and occasionally lessons are outstanding. This leads to high standards and good quality work. In lessons, pupils' skills are extended through open-ended questioning, which encourages good thinking skills. In a few lessons, pupils sit on the carpet for too long, limiting opportunities for active learning. The curriculum is good because it provides a rich and varied range of learning opportunities for pupils from Year 1 to Year 6. The many exciting additional experiences, including sports and the arts, ensure that each pupil's interest in learning is maintained. There are weaknesses, however, in the provision for information and communication technology (ICT) and these often limit the opportunities pupils have to develop their ICT skills across different subjects.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher, along with the supportive deputy head, has a clear vision for the future of the school. Although formal procedures for school self-evaluation are limited, informal ways of gathering evidence are productive. These have resulted in the school gaining a clear view of its strengths and a plan that accurately addresses the areas for development; this report confirms those priorities. The recent restructuring of staffing has had a positive impact on bringing about improvements. The good senior management team is committed to raising standards. Staff have clear roles and responsibilities and are diligent. Governors are helpful and challenging, carrying out their duties well. Parents are extremely supportive of the school. A very small minority would like more opportunities to offer their views.

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Grade: 3

Children behave well and quickly settle. Attainment on entry to Reception is average and children make satisfactory progress. They enter Year 1 broadly average. The accommodation and resources for these children are inadequate and limit the amount of independent learning that takes place as well as opportunities for children to take on more responsibility. This results in satisfactory rather than good achievement in the areas of learning for children of this age. Teaching is satisfactory. Relationships are good and adults are kind and caring. Teaching does not always provide sufficient choices to give children opportunities to learn to make decisions for themselves and promote their independence. There are good levels of adult support to keep 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsbridge Community Primary School, 10 °11 September 2007 children safe and secure. The use of the school's procedures for measuring children's progress

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Grade: 3

is inconsistent and not effective enough in informing their next steps in learning. The school is working closely with the local authority and the plans to improve provision are developing well.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve provision for children in the Foundation Stage so that they make better progress and can be more independent in their learning. ■ Improve access to ICT for all pupils, including those in the Foundation Stage, so that it supports their learning across the curriculum.

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Grade: 2

Children in the Foundation Stage make satisfactory progress and enter Year 1 with broadly average attainment. Pupils continue to make at least satisfactory progress in Years 1 and 2. This results in average standards in the Year 2 assessments in reading, writing and mathematics. Standards are improving and results rose slightly in 2007. In Years 3 to 6, pupils make good progress in all aspects of their learning. They benefit from consistently good teaching and challenging targets so that by the end of Year 6, standards are above average in English, mathematics and science. Standards have risen over the past two years. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those from ethnic backgrounds also achieve well and make good progress.

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Grade: 2

The pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils develop their good awareness of local culture through art and music but their understanding of life in multicultural Britain is more limited. Good behaviour enables effective learning to take place in classrooms and helps pupils to feel safe around the school. They have a good sense of safety and are competent at keeping themselves safe. Pupils enjoy school very much and show this by their general enthusiasm, for example, in their good response to helping children in Africa and in knowing how important it is to learn to swim. 'It's a brilliant place,' said one pupil. Their attitudes are positive and relationships are strong. The school is working towards 'Healthy School' status and pupils are very aware of the need for a healthy diet and to take sufficient exercise. The school council plays an important role in the school community. Several of their suggestions

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Grade: 2

have been adopted across the school, such as giving stickers for pupils seen eating fruit at break-times and providing play-boxes with equipment for play times. Many pupils understand that possessing skills in literacy, numeracy and ICT and being able to work well together with good attitudes will benefit them when they begin work. Pupils generally, but particularly the younger ones in the Reception class, could take more responsibility for their learning and become more independent. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsbridge Community Primary School, 10 °11 September 2007

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Grade: 2

Relationships in lessons are positive and lead to pupils enjoying their learning, having positive attitudes and behaving well; because of this they make good progress. Teachers have good subject knowledge. They plan lessons well with clear objectives that allow for regular assessment. Questioning is a strength of many lessons, helping to extend pupils' thinking and problem-solving skills. Pupils with additional needs are well supported and work is well matched to meet their needs. Teachers are committed to finding the best ways of teaching their pupils; for example, in order to find out how challenging it is for some pupils to learn, teachers themselves learnt to play the cornet. Targets are used effectively to focus attention and ensure that all pupils achieve as well as possible. Sometimes, opportunities to encourage younger pupils to work independently are missed. There is little evidence of pupils using ICT to develop

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Grade: 2

The good curriculum contributes well to pupils' good progress as they move through the school. Clear attention is paid to the core subjects of English, mathematics and science. Other subjects are being strengthened. Provision for ICT is limited by the lack of hardware, including interactive whiteboards, and the lack of access to appropriate ICT facilities for children in the Foundation Stage. The curriculum is creative, with a wide range of rich activities in music, art and PE. Provision for personal, social, health and citizenship education is particularly strong, resulting in much of the good behaviour and attitudes evident across the school. The very many extra-curricular clubs are well attended and ensure that pupils develop good social skills and extend their knowledge and understanding. Links with other local schools to share sporting and musical activities are good, particularly those with the local sports college. The curriculum

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Grade: 2

provides good opportunities to improve standards, particularly at Years 1 to 6, and pupils who are not doing as well as they might are carefully targeted to help them achieve well. As yet, these opportunities have not been extended to the Foundation Stage.

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Grade: 2

There is a strong ethos of care across the school resulting in good care, support and guidance for all pupils. The school fully complies with statutory requirements regarding health and safety. Child protection arrangements are well organised and reviewed regularly. Effective procedures are in place to enable pupils to feel safe and report any concerns. Outside agencies are used well to support pupils' learning and all necessary risk assessments are in place. There is good emphasis on pupils' development of healthy lifestyles. Support and care for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are good. Academic guidance for pupils is good, although procedures to measure the progress of children in the Foundation Stage are not always used well enough to gauge how well they are doing. Promising self-assessment by pupils is beginning across the school. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsbridge Community Primary School, 10 °11 September 2007

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Grade: 2

7 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsbridge Community Primary School, 10 °11 September 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: Kingsbridge Community Primary School, 10 °11 September 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? 3 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 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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 3 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsbridge Community Primary School, 10 °11 September 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsbridge Community Primary School, 10 °11 September 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Leaders are well aware of the school's strengths and weaknesses and have identified the most salient priorities for improvement, which are confirmed by this report. The headteacher, along with the deputy head, has put good procedures in place to bring about and measure progress. These have resulted in standards rising over the past two years, though less effectively in the Foundation Stage. A strong staff team has been developed. Challenging targets are set for staff as well as for pupils. The good team approach instigated by senior managers ensures that staff support each other well and focus rigorously on improving the quality of education for their pupils. Regular monitoring by subject leaders has ensured that there is a consistent approach to planning. Links with other schools are good and the strong links with the local college enable pupils to transfer to secondary school confidently. Governors are knowledgeable

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

and supportive. They regularly challenge leadership about their decisions and play a full and active part in the management of the school. Improvement since the last inspection has been good and parents are extremely supportive. The school knows what it needs to do next and has good capacity to do it and improve further. 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsbridge Community Primary School, 10 °11 September 2007

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Annex B

Inspection of Kingsbridge Community Primary School, Kingsbridge, Devon TQ71NL

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Annex B

Thank you for your help in our recent inspection of your school. We enjoyed meeting you and talking about the things you do at school. You told us that yours is a good school and we agree with you. This letter is to tell you some of the things we found during our visit.

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Annex B

Your school is giving you a good education. You enjoy school and you achieve well so that the standards you reach are above those expected for your age. You behave well and you showed us that you believe in keeping fit and healthy. The good teaching in most classes helps you to learn so that you improve your skills as you get older. Your teachers plan some exciting activities for you from the good curriculum. They mark your work well and help you to know how to do better. The many good after-school clubs are well attended by you. You told us that you do not have enough time to use ICT and we agree with you.

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Annex B

Your headteacher and other leaders and managers keep you safe and secure. They are always ready to help you. They carefully record how well you are doing as you move through the school. The accommodation and the resources are good except for those for the youngest children in Reception, where they are not good enough. This means that the youngest children do not learn to be as independent as they might.

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Annex B

There are two things that we are asking the school to improve so that your education is even better.

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Annex B

• Improve the provision for children in the Reception class by making sure they are able to be more independent in their learning.

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Annex B

• Make ICT more available to you so that you can use it to support your learning in all your subjects.

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Annex B

Thank you again for your help and good luck for your futures.

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