Church Lane Primary School & Nursery

Church Lane Primary School Inspection report

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120387 Unique Reference Number Lincolnshire Local Authority 313600 Inspection number 30 June °1 July 2008 Inspection dates David Wynford-Jones 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 233 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Barbara Jones Chair Mrs Alison Ashton Headteacher 19 May 2003 Date of previous school inspection Church Lane School address Sleaford Lincolnshire NG34 7DF 01529302696 Telephone number 01529304542 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 30 June °1 July 2008 Inspection dates 313600 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

The school is of a similar size to most primary schools. The vast majority of the pupils are of White British heritage. Children's attainment on entry to the part-time Nursery is below national expectations. Few are learning to speak English as an additional language, but their numbers are increasing. The percentage of pupils claiming free school meals is below the national average. However, the proportion of pupils identified as having learning difficulties and disabilities is above average. The school holds the Healthy School Award. The head teacher retires at the end of the summer term 2008 having established the school for the full primary age range. A successor has been appointed.

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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: Church Lane Primary School, 30 June °1 July 2008

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Grade: 3

The school is correct in its self-evaluation that it provides the pupils with a satisfactory education. Pupils are happy at school and their behaviour is good. They enjoy the social dimension and appreciate the opportunities to meet, work and play with their friends. Pupils are developing a good understanding of healthy living and want to take part in sporting activities. Pupils are keen to take responsibility but the scope for older pupils to do so is limited. Overall, their personal development is satisfactory. From their generally low starting points on entry, children make satisfactory progress in the Nursery and in the Reception class. Their attainment remains below average in all areas of learning by the end of the Reception year. Pupils continue to make satisfactory progress as they move through the school. At the end of Year 6, overall standards in the national tests are generally below the national average. However, there is a gradually improving trend. The

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Grade: 3

standards reached in writing and in science are generally below those in reading and mathematics. Nevertheless all pupils, including those who find learning difficult, make sound progress. Their achievement is satisfactory. Teaching is satisfactory. Whilst there is some good teaching, it is not sufficiently consistent to ensure that pupils make good progress. Satisfactory systems for assessing, recording, monitoring and identifying pupils' attainment and progress are being developed. These are contributing to raising teachers' and pupils' expectations, but teachers do not always use the assessments to plan work to meet the varying academic needs of the pupils. Teachers have a sound understanding of the revised framework for the teaching of literacy and numeracy. However, they have yet to develop the curriculum to ensure that pupils have sufficient opportunities to make creative links between subjects and to consolidate the basic skills of literacy and numeracy.

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Grade: 3

Nevertheless, the curriculum is satisfactory and is enhanced by a good range of additional activities and visits. These support pupils' personal development well. Leadership and management at all levels are satisfactory. The school operates calmly on a day-to-day basis. A strength of the school is the pastoral care provided. All pupils are made welcome. Procedures for health and safety, risk assessments and child protection are secure. However, care, guidance and support are satisfactory overall because the quality of academic guidance is not sufficiently informative or consistent to ensure pupils make good progress. Senior managers and subject co-ordinators are working closely with external consultants to further develop their roles. There is a clear vision for development. The 'raising attainment plan' is well presented and focuses clearly on raising standards and pupils' achievement in English, mathematics and science. Governors are aware that in addition to the good level of

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Grade: 3

support they provide they must hold the school more accountable for the standards it achieves. The school provides sound value for money and has satisfactory capacity for further improvement.

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Grade: 3

Children are confident, feel safe and develop positive attitudes to learning because relationships are good and induction procedures ensure they settle quickly into the Nursery. Children make satisfactory progress in both the Nursery and in the Reception class because teaching is satisfactory and the curriculum is organised appropriately to incorporate all areas of learning. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Church Lane Primary School, 30 June °1 July 2008 Assessment procedures are thorough and used satisfactorily to plan future work. The carefully planned activities match the children's needs and promote independence. However, the children are not sufficiently clear about the purpose of some activities. Satisfactory use is made of the outdoor area to promote the children's knowledge of being healthy, staying safe, and for their physical development and understanding of the world. Children's personal and social

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Grade: 3

development skills are reinforced well throughout the day. Teachers place an appropriate emphasis on developing the children's communication and mathematical skills. Additional adult helpers are deployed appropriately to support learning.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise standards and improve pupils' achievement in writing and science.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the quality and consistency of teaching to match that of the best, especially in the use of assessment information in planning lessons to challenge all pupils. ■ Develop the curriculum to ensure that pupils have more opportunities to make creative links between subjects. ■ Ensure leaders and managers at all levels interrogate and use assessment information to inform school planning and raise expectations. 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

In 2007, standards at the end of Year 2 were below the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. In the Year 6 national tests standards were broadly average in English, below average in mathematics and exceptionally low in science. Overall, standards were below average. Standards in the current Year 2 are marginally higher in reading and mathematics, but in writing they have declined. In Year 6, standards in English and mathematics have improved but they remain below national expectations. Standards in science are similar to those achieved in 2007. Given pupils' below-average starting points, most, including those with learning difficulties, progress satisfactorily towards the target standard. However, fewer than expected attain the higher levels because lessons do not sufficiently challenge the more able.

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Grade: 3

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory. Pupils are developing a sound understanding of other cultures and ways of life through their work in religious education, art, music and visits to places of interest. Pupils enjoy school and behave well. Their attendance is satisfactory. They have a good understanding of healthy living and look forward to taking part in residential visits and sporting activities. Pupils have a satisfactory understanding of staying safe and know who to approach if they have any concerns. They want to take responsibility and contribute to the community through raising funds for the school and for local and national charities. However, the older pupils are capable of taking on further responsibilities, such as chairperson, secretary and treasurer of the school council. Their basic skills and ability to work with others are developing satisfactorily. As a result, they are adequately

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Grade: 3

prepared for their next stage in their lives. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Church Lane Primary School, 30 June °1 July 2008

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Grade: 3

Teaching is satisfactory with some good practice, particularly for the oldest pupils. There is variation in the quality of teaching across the school and, as a result, in the rate of pupils' progress. Teachers make good use of the electronic white boards to sustain interest. This has a positive impact on learning in all classes. Teaching assistants work closely with teachers to support pupils who find learning difficult so that they can participate fully in lessons and make sound progress towards their individual learning targets. Recent support from the local authority, through the intensive support programme, is beginning to bring about improvements in the quality of teaching and learning. Lesson planning is detailed, but sometimes teachers are not clear themselves what they want pupils of different abilities to learn. Consequently, work is not consistently well matched to pupils' needs. Some, particularly the more able, are given work

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Grade: 3

which provides little challenge. Relationships between teachers and pupils are good. Teachers are skilled in managing the few pupils whose behavior is potentially challenging.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. It is enhanced effectively by wide range of extra-curricular and enrichment activities including educational visits and theme days such as 'Magna Science'. These make a strong contribution to pupils' learning and enjoyment. Appropriate emphasis is placed on English and mathematics and there is a wide range of programmes to support those pupils who need additional help. The school has rightly identified that the curriculum does not always closely match the needs of pupils. Opportunities to consolidate and extend pupils' learning by re-enforcing basic skills in other subjects are missed. As a result, leaders and managers plan to implement a more creative curriculum, where the learning in different subjects is more closely linked. This is still at an early stage of development. The school's programme for promoting pupils' personal and social development is satisfactory.

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Grade: 3

Pastoral care is good. The majority of parents support the view that their children enjoy school, feel safe, and are happy and well cared for. The school provides appropriate support for pupils who find learning more difficult. Their needs are identified early and effective action is taken to help them. As a result, they make sound progress towards their individual targets. The majority of pupils are familiar with their targets but this is not the case for all. There are some good examples of helpful marking but teachers do not consistently provide pupils with sufficient guidance on how to improve their learning.

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Grade: 3

The headteacher welcomes all pupils and promotes a caring ethos. She has a realistic view of the school's strengths and weaknesses. The leadership team is working effectively with external support to bring about whole school improvement. Systems for monitoring the work of the 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Church Lane Primary School, 30 June °1 July 2008 school have become more rigorous and teachers are beginning to be held accountable for pupils' performance. The school has recently developed clearer procedures to assess and monitor pupils' academic progress. This information is used satisfactorily to identify group and individual pupil targets. However, the data is not analysed with sufficient rigour or used well enough to ensure that all pupils make good progress. Governors are supportive of the school but do not challenge the leadership team on the standards the school attains. This is because they are not sufficiently aware of the school's

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Grade: 3

performance compared to all schools nationally. As the result, the school's statutory targets, particularly for the higher attaining pupils, are not sufficiently challenging. Nevertheless, following the headteacher's decision to retire, the governors have taken appropriate action in appointing a headteacher and an assistant headteacher to ensure the leadership team has the capacity to continue to take the school forward. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Church Lane Primary School, 30 June °1 July 2008 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Church Lane Primary School, 30 June °1 July 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? 3 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 3 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?

3 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 3 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 3 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?

3 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: Church Lane Primary School, 30 June °1 July 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 3 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 3 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: Church Lane Primary School, 30 June °1 July 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

02 July 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Church Lane Primary School Church Lane Sleaford NG34 7DF. Thank you very much for making us so welcome when we visited your school. We enjoyed our visit and talking to you. We thought that you were very friendly and polite. Your behaviour in class and in the playground was good. We were very pleased to hear that you like coming to school and to see your attendance is similar to the national average. The school provides you with a satisfactory education. Teachers make certain you are safe and your have a good understanding of healthy living. You make satisfactory progress from when you start in the Nursery to when you leave at the end of Year 6 but your rate of progress tends to vary in the different classes. This is because some teachers are better than others at using assessment information to plan your work and help you make the links between your learning in the different subjects. The standards you reach in English, mathematics and science are

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

improving but are usually lower than those in most schools. The standards you reach in reading and mathematics tend to be higher than those in writing and in science. Your school has recently introduced a new system for recording your attainment and for checking on your progress. As a result, your work is better planned to meet your needs, but this is not yet always the case. To help you make better progress and attain higher standards we have asked the school governors, your headteacher and teachers to strengthen the use of assessment information in planning your work, to focus on raising standards in writing and in science and to use the assessment information in planning the school's development. We have also asked that teaching is always as good as the best and that the curriculum is exciting and enjoyable for you. It is up to you now to play your part and always work as hard as you can. Do not forget

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

to ask for help if you need it. We hope that your Year 5 and 6 pupils enjoyed their educational visits and all got back safely. Thank you once again for being so friendly and polite when we visited. With best wishes David Wynford-Jones Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Church Lane Primary School, 30 June °1 July 2008

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