Grayshott Church of England Controlled Primary School

Grayshott Church of England Controlled Primary School Inspection report

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116290 Unique Reference Number Hampshire Local Authority 312247 Inspection number 6 May 2008 Inspection date John Laver 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 206 School The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Linda De Ruiter Chair Mr Jon Hills Headteacher 4 May 2004 Date of previous school inspection School Road School address Grayshott Hindhead GU26 6LR 01428 605596 Telephone number 01428 607889 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 6 May 2008 Inspection date 312247 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: the achievement and standards of boys and traveller children; the quality of care, guidance and support for pupils' learning; and the quality of leadership and management, particularly at the level below senior leadership. Evidence was gathered from observations in lessons and observations of pupils around the school, a range of documents, assessment data, discussions with pupils, parents, the head teacher, other senior leaders and middle managers, and from analysing replies to the parents' questionnaire. 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 reported in its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this

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Description of the school

The proportion of pupils in this village school claiming free school meals is below average. The great majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds and the proportion of pupils with English as an additional language is well 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: Grayshott Church of England Controlled Primary School, 6 May 2008

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Grade: 2

Grayshott Primary is a good school. It has particular strengths in the outstanding quality of its provision in the Foundation Stage and in the strong sense of community which the school has nurtured. These comments from parents were typical of several: 'This is a wonderful village school. It gives the children a fantastic start in life. We especially love the fact that there is such an emphasis on morals, politeness and the community generally;' and 'I have been genuinely impressed by the way in which Mr. Hills and his team encourage and celebrate the development of every child in the school. Each child is made to feel that they make an important contribution to the school.' Children make an excellent start in the Foundation Stage, where they receive expert teaching and care. From the time they join Year 1 to their leaving in Year 6, pupils achieve well, the great majority reaching appropriately challenging targets and attaining standards above the national

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Grade: 2

average. Science is a particular strength, taught confidently and with an enthusiasm which pupils absorb from their teachers. Pupils also reach above average standards in mathematics. Although standards in English are above average, a small proportion of boys achieve less well in English than in other subjects, especially in writing, and compared to girls. The school is addressing this area of relative underachievement through strategies such as providing a wider range of reading materials and writing tasks throughout the curriculum. The gap in achievement in English between boys and girls has begun to narrow as a result. Pupils with a range of learning and emotional difficulties, and the most able pupils, share in the good progress and achievement of the school as a whole. A small number of traveller children underachieve, despite efforts by the school to provide extra support, mainly because of prolonged absence from school.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. Pupils behave well and have positive attitudes towards learning. They particularly enjoy the extra curricular clubs and varied activities in lessons, especially the use of computers. Pupils also enjoy the imaginative approach to teaching foreign languages, and appreciate the school's efforts to promote links between different subjects in the curriculum. These links are beginning to create more opportunities to improve the range and quality of writing. Overall attendance has improved and is now average. The school has good attendance procedures, but the infrequent attendance of some traveller children has a marked impact on attendance statistics. The school successfully promotes very good moral and social development: pupils cooperate with each other very well in lessons. Spiritual awareness is nurtured well, as was seen in an assembly partly focused on the recent

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Grade: 2

Burmese cyclone disaster. The school successfully promotes multicultural understanding and pupils learn about healthy lifestyles. Pupils' confidence and good speaking skills, along with above average standards, prepare them well for the next stage of education. A particular strength is the strong sense of community amongst pupils: they value their successful school council, and older pupils talk enthusiastically about opportunities to help younger children and to support charities. Pupils feel safe in school and are confident that any personal concerns will be resolved. Procedures to support academic progress, whilst good, are not as strong. The school regularly assesses pupils' progress, identifies potential underachievers and provides additional support to help them learn better, for example in literacy and numeracy groups. The school has good systems for tracking progress of individuals. However, teachers make limited use of the group

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Grade: 2

targets to influence learning in lessons, and some pupils are unclear about the targets. 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Grayshott Church of England Controlled Primary School, 6 May 2008 Teaching is good. It is characterised by good management of pupil behaviour, good subject knowledge, planning for the varied needs of pupils, and a focus on strategies to encourage independent and collaborative learning. Pupils respond well to opportunities to learn actively and to assess each other's work. However, the marking of work lacks rigour and consistency, and whilst often encouraging, comments rarely relate to the aims of lessons or show pupils clearly how to improve their work. Leadership and management are good. The head teacher is highly regarded by parents and staff, and the school has accurately evaluated its strengths and focused on areas for improvement. Staff share in this focus, which is also well supported by knowledgeable governors.

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Grade: 2

These provide a successful blend of support and constructive challenge to the leadership team. Subject leaders monitor planning and pupils' work, but this role is relatively recent. They do not yet monitor classroom teaching to ensure consistency and best practice in areas such as assessment. However, the accuracy of self-evaluation and the much appreciated emphasis on inclusive care ensure that the school has a good capacity to improve further.

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Grade: 1

The Foundation Stage offers outstanding provision. Children join Reception with a range of skills and experiences but all quickly benefit from a well planned programme based on guided and child initiated choices. The Foundation Stage leader manages a very good range of resources and an exciting learning environment excellently, and she acts as an exemplar for other teachers in the locality. Children in the Foundation Stage have always made very good progress in developing a range of personal, creative, social, literacy and numeracy skills. However, an increased emphasis on linking sounds and letters from an early age is now enabling them to make excellent progress and is giving them a very promising start to the next stage of their education.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve achievement in writing, especially for boys, by providing more varied writing opportunities in different subjects. ■ Improve marking, and make better use of targets, to give pupils a clearer understanding of how to improve their work. ■ Increase the monitoring role of subject leaders so they can help pupils to make even better progress. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Grayshott Church of England Controlled Primary School, 6 May 2008 .

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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: Grayshott Church of England Controlled Primary School, 6 May 2008

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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? 1 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 1 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: Grayshott Church of England Controlled Primary School, 6 May 2008

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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: Grayshott Church of England Controlled Primary School, 6 May 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

19 May 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Grayshott Church of England Controlled Primary School,Hindhead,GU26 6LR Thank you for welcoming me into your school. I enjoyed talking to you and seeing you in assembly and at work in lessons. I was particularly impressed with your politeness, your confidence and your willingness to express your opinions when talking with you. There are many good things about your school. Your teachers help you learn well, by encouraging you to think for yourself and by giving you a variety of activities, for example in science. You told me how you enjoy coming to school, and you get on very well with each other. I also know that you like activities such as the foreign language lessons and school trips. I was impressed by the work of your school council, your good behaviour and the way you help each other. You have made your school a real community. Mr. Hills leads the school very well, and your teachers

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

and other adults take good care of you. The youngest children have a particularly good start to their school career. Most of you do well in your work, in several cases better than in many other schools. A small number of you do not do quite so well in English, especially in writing. I have asked the school to give you more opportunities to write in different subjects, and to give you more guidance on how to improve your work when marking your books. I have also asked teachers to share their ideas on how they can teach you even better and check that all of you, including the cleverest pupils, do the best that you can. Once again, than you for your welcome and good luck for the future. Yours sincerely John Laver Lead Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Grayshott Church of England Controlled Primary School, 6 May 2008

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