Brampford Speke Church of England Primary School

Brampford Speke Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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113347 Unique Reference Number Devon Local Authority 311224 Inspection number 11 December 2007 Inspection date Tom Simpson 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 Voluntary controlled School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 52 School The governing body Appropriate authority Jackie White Chair Stephen Powley Headteacher 23 September 2002 Date of previous school inspection Brampford Speke School address Exeter EX5 5HE 01392 841414 Telephone number 01392 841414 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 11 December 2007 Inspection date 311224 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 school serving a rural area. Nearly all the pupils come from a White British background. The proportion with learning difficulties and/or disabilities varies from year to year but is generally around average. The percentage eligible for free school meals is well below average. Attainment on entry is around the level expected for their age. The school has recently received the Healthy School award.

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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: Brampford Speke Church of England Primary School, 11 December 2007

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Grade: 2

This school provides a good education for its pupils. A particular strength is the very effective pastoral care it provides for its pupils. The pupils are very well known to the staff and this contributes significantly to their good personal development. The pupils enjoy coming to the school. There is a strong family ethos and they feel safe, well looked after, and able to have an impact on the school and wider community. Most parents comment positively about the provision the school makes for their children. One parent wrote, for example, 'My daughter's progress has been outstanding and she thoroughly enjoys her time at school.' Another commented, 'My children are both very happy and enjoy the family atmosphere provided by this village school.' Pupils' achievement is good, but it is brisker in English and mathematics than in science. Nevertheless, the standards reached by the time they leave the school are a little above average

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Grade: 2

overall, and significantly above average in English. Achievement is particularly strong in English, but weaker in science. This is mainly because strategies for assessing and tracking pupils' progress in science are not as well developed as in other subjects. Because of this, teachers do not provide a level of challenge in science which matches the differing needs and abilities in the class. In other subjects, the wide ranging needs of pupils in mixed age classes, including children in the Foundation Stage and those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, are provided for successfully through careful planning and a good level of support from both teachers and support staff. The curriculum is also enriched with a good number of out-of-lesson activities. Teachers ensure that lessons are consistently well managed, and that pupils' interest is maintained through a range of teaching styles and activities, including good use of resources.

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Grade: 2

The quality of care, guidance and support is good. Pupils are safeguarded well and they know their targets for improvement. However, the use of marking to ensure that pupils know what to do to raise the quality of their work is not consistent enough. The headteacher, staff and governors have a clear view of the school's strengths and developmental areas and a strong determination to raise standards and improve provision still further. The school's improvement plan, for example, is a good reflection of its current needs. There have been good improvements since the last inspection and the school has a good capacity to improve further in the future.

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Grade: 2

Provision for the small number of children in the Reception Year is good in most respects and they make good progress across most of the areas of learning. They are well taught and teaching assistants provide them with good support. The curriculum is planned well and effectively tailored to their specific needs within the mixed age class. Provision for outdoor play, however, is a relative weakness. Staff manage this situation as well as they can and minimise the impact, but it does constrain the children's physical development, and to a lesser extent their creative development. Their progress is still at least satisfactory even in these areas of learning, and the school has well advanced plans to develop the facilities. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Brampford Speke Church of England Primary School, 11 December 2007

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve achievement in science by providing tasks in lessons which match the different levels of ability of the pupils. ■ Improve the quality and consistency of marking.

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Grade: 2

Children make good progress in the Reception Year. By the start of Year 1, apart from a relative weakness in their physical skills, they are well prepared to embark on the rest of their education. Results of the Year 2 assessments have been rising steadily over the past few years and are now a little above average. The most recent results for pupils at the end of Year 6 were also a little above average overall. They were significantly above average in English, a little above average in mathematics and average in science. Evidence from the school's own tracking system, as well as from the national test data, indicates that most pupils, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, achieve well. By the time they leave the school, pupils are reaching average standards in science. However, some potentially higher attaining pupils are not doing as well as they could in the subject and this is particularly noticeable in Years 3 to 6.

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Grade: 2

The pupils are friendly. They behave well, enjoy coming to school and have positive attitudes towards their work. They told inspectors that they particularly appreciate the advantages of being in a small school where they feel safe and well looked after. There is a strong ethos of mutual support at the school and older pupils regularly help and play with younger ones. The pupils have a good understanding of healthy eating and enjoy the regular opportunities they have to take exercise through, for example, 'stretch and shake' activities. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. The pupils, for example, have a good understanding of major world faiths as well as Christianity. They enjoy contributing to the school and wider community. Members of the active school council, for instance, were involved in recent interviews for new staff. Pupils regularly contribute to the village magazine and take great pleasure in supporting

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Grade: 2

charities such as Children in Need. Through, for example, team building exercises that take place during residential visits and by developing good literacy skills, the pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education and for later life. Attendance has been well below average at times in the past but is now broadly satisfactory.

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Grade: 2

A particular strength of the teaching at the school is the effective way in which the pupils are managed. Discipline is positive and friendly. As a result, relationships are very good at all levels and lessons are productive learning experiences where pupils generally make good progress. Teaching assistants are very effectively deployed and provide well targeted support for pupils who have been identified as having specific learning needs. Teaching methods are varied well and this makes lessons interesting for the pupils. Resources such as interactive whiteboards are also used well to motivate the pupils and support their learning. An extensive range of 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Brampford Speke Church of England Primary School, 11 December 2007 procedures are in place to assess and track pupils' progress in most key areas. The data gained from these is used well to identify pupils who need extra support. However, in science, the

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Grade: 2

current system has not been in place long enough for the information provided to be fully reflected in the work set for pupils. In this subject, the work set is not tailored enough to ensure that pupils of different abilities are suitably challenged.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is well tailored to the needs of pupils in mixed age classes and supports their individual achievement well. For example, pupils are regularly grouped across age groups according to their specific needs and abilities. The curriculum is enriched well through, for example, modern foreign language teaching and a wide range of out-of-lesson activities. These include clubs, visitors and out-of-school visits. Older pupils have the opportunity to take part in a residential visit which effectively supports their personal development. The curriculum provided for children in the Foundation Stage is good because it is focused firmly on the children's development in their six areas of learning. The overall school environment is used well to broaden the children's experiences. However, the outside area for the children is not well enough developed. Work has already begun on a new 'early years' outdoor learning area

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Grade: 2

to address this. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are well provided for through carefully targeted intervention strategies. Good links with other local schools include the support of staff from the local secondary school in science teaching.

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Grade: 2

In this small school, the pupils are exceptionally well known to staff and are very well cared for. All staff go out of their way to enhance pupils' self-esteem and to provide them with good personal guidance. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are well supported by teachers and teaching assistants. The school also makes good use of external agencies such as the school health and educational psychology services to support pupils with specific needs. Robust procedures are in place for child protection, health and safety and safe staff recruitment. Good use is made of academic target setting and the pupils are very clear about what their targets are. There are regular discussions between pupils and teachers to ensure that pupils' progress is known and shared. However, while marking is used well to indicate what pupils have achieved, it does not always tell them the next step they need to take to improve their work.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher provides good leadership. All staff have a clear view of the school's strengths and areas for development and work well together to promote raised standards and further improve the quality of pupils' learning. There is an extensive cycle of monitoring and self-evaluation procedures in place and the results of these are used well to feed the school's developmental aspirations. For example, the school recognised that standards in writing were unsatisfactory and put in place a good number of successful strategies to improve them. Staff are now working hard to raise achievement in science. There is some comparison of pupils' work with that of pupils in different classes and in other schools in order to get a full picture of the standards being reached, but this area is still in its infancy. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Brampford Speke Church of England Primary School, 11 December 2007 Governors are very committed and supportive. They also have a very good understanding of

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Grade: 2

the school's needs. They fulfil their monitoring role well through, for example, a rolling programme of visits, although these have not always focused enough on school priorities such as the raising of achievement in science. Governors ask some challenging questions, are currently implementing a programme of focused visits and are working successfully to develop their role of critical friend. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Brampford Speke Church of England Primary School, 11 December 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: Brampford Speke Church of England Primary School, 11 December 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? 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 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: Brampford Speke Church of England Primary School, 11 December 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: Brampford Speke Church of England Primary School, 11 December 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

11 December 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Brampford Speke CE Primary School, Exeter, EX5 5HE Thank you for making us so welcome at your school. We enjoyed meeting you and hearing about your work. We found that your school provides you with a good education. Here are some of the things we particularly liked:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You are well behaved and you are developing good personal skills that are important for later life. For example, you know how to lead healthy lifestyles. ■ You are really well cared for by the adults at the school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You are provided with a good curriculum and given a good number of interesting things to do outside lessons. ■ You are taught well and most of you are making good progress in your work.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The headteacher and other staff are working hard to make the school even better.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Here is what we want the school to do now:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Make sure that you make better progress in science in Years 3 to 6.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Make sure that all your work is marked in a way that will help you to improve.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We hope that those of you in Years 3 to 6 will continue to work very hard to improve your science. Thank you again for your help. With best wishes Tom Simpson Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Brampford Speke Church of England Primary School, 11 December 2007

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Inspection of Brampford Speke CE Primary School, Exeter, EX5 5HE

Thank you for making us so welcome at your school. We enjoyed meeting you and hearing about your work. We found that your school provides you with a good education.

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Inspection of Brampford Speke CE Primary School, Exeter, EX5 5HE

Here are some of the things we particularly liked:

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Inspection of Brampford Speke CE Primary School, Exeter, EX5 5HE

• You are well behaved and you are developing good personal skills that are important for later life. For example, you know how to lead healthy lifestyles. • You are really well cared for by the adults at the school. • You are provided with a good curriculum and given a good number of interesting things to do outside lessons. • You are taught well and most of you are making good progress in your work. • The headteacher and other staff are working hard to make the school even better.

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Inspection of Brampford Speke CE Primary School, Exeter, EX5 5HE

Here is what we want the school to do now:

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Inspection of Brampford Speke CE Primary School, Exeter, EX5 5HE

• Make sure that you make better progress in science in Years 3 to 6. • Make sure that all your work is marked in a way that will help you to improve.

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Inspection of Brampford Speke CE Primary School, Exeter, EX5 5HE

We hope that those of you in Years 3 to 6 will continue to work very hard to improve your science.

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