Cockfield Primary School

Cockfield Primary School Inspection report

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114114 Unique Reference Number Durham Local Authority 311488 Inspection number 20 °21 September 2007 Inspection dates Gordon Potter 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 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 102 School The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Janice Hobson Chair Mrs Sally Baum Headteacher 1 February 2004 Date of previous school inspection Front Street School address Cockfield Bishop Auckland County Durham DL13 5EN 01388 718263 Telephone number 01388 718263 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 20 °21 September 2007 Inspection dates 311488 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 one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This small school serves an area of above average social deprivation. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is above average, as is the proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational need is above average. The nursery serves a number of villages and not all nursery children move into the main school.

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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: Cockfield Primary School, 20 °21 September 2007

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Grade: 3

Cockfield Primary School provides a satisfactory education for its pupils. It is a school at the heart of its community which cares for its pupils who have a range of diverse needs. It has many good features and the new management team has a clear view of what needs to be done to raise standards. Pupils make satisfactory progress and their achievement is satisfactory. By the end of Year 6 standards are below the national average. The unvalidated results of the 2007 national tests show that, while results remained below average, the school exceeded the targets set for it in discussion with the local authority. Standards at the end of Key Stage 1 were below average in 2006, particularly in writing. Unvalidated data for the 2007 tests indicate an improvement in mathematics scores but there remain weaknesses in writing. Boys achieve less well than girls. The school has taken steps to improve writing and work seen during the

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Grade: 3

inspection shows that this is improving. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities receive good pastoral support and they make satisfactory progress. There is scope to provide pupils with more challenging work throughout the school. Pupils’ personal development and well-being are good. Behaviour is good with very rare instances of poor behaviour being well-managed. Attendance is just below the national average. Pupils have a good understanding of how to remain healthy and safe. Their social, moral and cultural development is good, although spiritual development is not as well developed. Pupils enjoy coming to school and they develop self-esteem and confidence. Pupils care for one another and relish the opportunity to take on responsibilities within school and the community. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall and there is some good teaching. When it is most effective, teachers plan carefully to meet the needs of pupils with differing

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Grade: 3

abilities. All teachers share learning intentions with the class so pupils know what they are expected to learn but pupils are not always sufficiently challenged or given the opportunity to think carefully before responding to questions. There are too few opportunities for pupils to discuss their work or collaborate in groups. The curriculum is good and is being adapted so pupils see the links between subjects and to suit the learning needs of the pupils. Pupils say this has made their work more enjoyable. There are good opportunities for the enrichment of the curriculum, especially related to work in the local community, and good participation in out-of-school activities. The school cares well for its pupils with all statutory procedures for safeguarding and the care and welfare of pupils fully in place. This is demonstrated by the good personal development and well-being of pupils and the positive responses they gave when asked their views about

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Grade: 3

the school and the opportunities it provides for them. Pupils are given good guidance through the teachers’ marking of their work and they are aware of their learning targets and what they have to do to achieve better. However, these targets are not always challenging enough. The leadership and management of the school are good. The new senior leadership team has a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in the school and recent initiatives to improve learning have helped to raise standards in mathematics and writing. There is effective support from members of the governing body. The overwhelming majority of parents are supportive of the school. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Cockfield Primary School, 20 °21 September 2007

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Grade: 3

Children enter the nursery with skills, especially in communication, language and literacy, which are below that expected for their age. Good support helps them to settle quickly and to make choices about the available range of learning activities both indoors and outside. Children feel secure and quickly become confident and fully engaged in the work they do. They work well together and develop their social skills. Children make satisfactory progress in nursery and in Reception, where they continue to enjoy a range of activities and good care.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve standards and achievement especially for boys and in writing.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the quality of teaching and learning throughout the school by involving pupils more actively in their learning. ■ Ensure all pupils have sufficiently challenging targets and work.

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What the school should do to improve further

A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

Achievement is satisfactory and standards are below average. Pupils start in Year 1, having reached levels below those that are typical for their ages at the end of the Reception year. They make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1, at the end of which standards remain below those expected. The school’s results of assessments at the end of Key Stage 1 reflect the satisfactory progress made by the pupils and show that standards are below average. Nevertheless, the 2007 results show that standards in mathematics rose. Evidence in pupils’ work and in lessons shows that pupils make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1. Results of national tests at the end of Key Stage 2 have been below the national average in English, mathematics and science; they were well below average in English in 2006, especially in writing. While unvalidated data for 2007 indicate that pupils exceeded their targets, results remained below average. Progress through the school is satisfactory rather than good because

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Grade: 3

the work is not always sufficiently challenging. The school has identified that boys sometimes achieve less well than girls, particularly in writing, and has taken appropriate steps to improve achievement by adapting the curriculum to stimulate their interest. Evidence in pupils’ work and in lessons shows that this helping to raise standards in writing. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make satisfactory progress.

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Grade: 2

The personal development of pupils is good. Pupils say that they enjoy coming to school and are very positive about everything the school does for them. They feel safe and relate well to adults and to each other. Behaviour is good and any problems are quickly dealt with. Pupils interact well in classrooms and in the playground where buddies ensure they all play well together. They say that changes to the curriculum have made their lessons more enjoyable. Their attendance is satisfactory. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Cockfield Primary School, 20 °21 September 2007 Pupils’ moral, social and cultural development is good. There is less evidence of an understanding of issues of spirituality. They understand their own culture and that of others through a wide range of cultural activities such as projects on Travellers, visits from Zulus and through reading books from a range of cultures. They work well together in pairs, developing skills that will

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Grade: 2

help them in the future. They raise funds for a number of charities and are very involved in the life of the community through work with the local church and projects to develop local travel schemes. Pupils are aware of the need for regular exercise and a healthy diet and participate keenly in a range of sporting activities. The school council is well-developed and has brought about improvements especially in the outdoor play area and in lunchtime arrangements.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall although there is much that is good and recent initiatives are beginning to improve the quality of pupils’ learning. The best lessons ensure pupils know what they are to learn and what they have to do to achieve. Where teaching is good, lessons have a brisk pace and pupils are engaged in a range of activities. Work is usually planned well enough to meet the diverse needs of individual pupils, especially those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and marking tells pupils what they need to do to improve their work. Good use is made of the very skilled teaching assistants who support these pupils. However, in too many lessons pupils do not have the opportunity to work on tasks that are challenging enough. In these lessons, teachers do not ask enough probing questions which promote good thinking skills and there are few opportunities for pupils to be involved in their

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Grade: 3

learning through discussion and collaborative working.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good and recent changes are beginning to have an impact on pupils’ achievement and enjoyment in learning. The senior leadership team is remodelling the curriculum to make learning more exciting and relevant to pupils’ lives but this is not yet fully embedded. In the nursery and the mixed-age classes, activities are carefully planned to ensure continuity and progression. Literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology are taught as discrete subjects but are becoming more embedded throughout all learning activities. There are two hours of sports and physical education each week. The introduction of French and developments in art and music have broadened the curriculum. There is a wide range of activities which enhance pupils’ learning such as visits from story-tellers and work with local engineers. There are well-supported extra-curricular activities in traditional sports and in art, dance, magazine writing, cooking and computing. There are also musical and

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Grade: 2

cultural activities which many pupils enjoy.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. The health and safety of all children are paramount and all necessary child protection and safeguarding requirements are met. A good personal, social 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Cockfield Primary School, 20 °21 September 2007 and health education programme is effective in supporting pupils’ personal development. The school works very hard to meet the needs of all pupils, especially the high proportion of pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities or who are vulnerable. The school supports pupils well when they move between phases of their education. Close social and academic links with the local secondary school ensure pupils are ready for their new school. Reports for parents are clear and informative about pupils’ progress; they set targets for improvement. Processes for tracking pupils’ progress are robust and are used by all teachers and support assistants to plan work and to foster learning. However, while pupils know what

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Grade: 2

level they are working at, their targets are not always challenging enough.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher and the new senior leadership team have a clear view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and have already implemented changes to the curriculum and to teaching which inspection evidence indicates are beginning to improve standards. They regularly monitor the quality of teaching and learning, including looking at pupils’ work, to ensure that the curriculum is appropriate to pupils’ needs. The school improvement plan identifies appropriate areas for development which will enable the school to improve further. Self-evaluation is therefore good and the school has a good capacity to improve. The school has addressed the key issues from the previous inspection. However it is aware that more still needs to be done to raise standards in writing. Also, while there is an increasing use of data to inform planning and to set targets for pupils, these targets are not yet challenging

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Grade: 2

enough. Governors contribute to the development of the school by supporting its work, playing a role in its self-evaluation as well as providing a satisfactory level of challenge for school leaders. Parents overwhelmingly support the work of the school. The school provides satisfactory value for money. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Cockfield Primary School, 20 °21 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: Cockfield Primary School, 20 °21 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

3 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 3 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: Cockfield Primary School, 20 °21 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 3 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: Cockfield Primary School, 20 °21 September 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

22 September 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Cockfield Primary School, Durham, DL13 5EN Thank you so much for making me welcome when I visited your school to see how well you are learning. Cockfield Primary School has many good features and there are plans to make it even better. Your teachers care for you very well and are looking at ways to make your lessons more interesting. I was pleased to see that you work hard and do your best. You come to school regularly and on time and the vast majority of you behave well in lessons and in the playground. I found that you are very polite and helpful and I enjoyed talking to you about your school. You told me that you enjoyed coming to school and that you liked your teachers. You said you appreciated the activities the school provides for you such as the visit of the Zulus and the work you have done that will improve the playground. Your parents and carers like the school very much, especially the way your teachers care for

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

you. There are some things the school could do better and these are to:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ help all of you to reach higher standards, especially in writing

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ provide more opportunities for you to discuss your work and work with one another more often ■ make sure the work you do is really challenging.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for all your help and I wish you every success in all you do in the future. Yours sincerely Gordon Potter Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Cockfield Primary School, 20 °21 September 2007

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