Market Deeping Community Primary School

Market Deeping Community Primary School Inspection report

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120398 Unique Reference Number Lincolnshire Local Authority 313604 Inspection number 11 °12 June 2008 Inspection dates Roger Sadler 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 234 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr David Parker Meadows Chair Mr Nigel Mandel Jones Headteacher 8 March 2004 Date of previous school inspection Willoughby Avenue School address Market Deeping Peterborough Cambridgeshire PE6 8JE 01778343654 Telephone number 01778344186 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 11 °12 June 2008 Inspection dates 313604 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 one of four primary schools serving the Deepings. The vast majority of pupils are of White British background. The proportion eligible for free school meals is well below average. The percentage of pupils with learning difficulties is below average. No pupil is at the early stages of learning English. Children enter Nursery on a part-time basis and move to full-time education at the beginning of the Reception Year. The school has received a Healthy Schools Award and an Activemark for physical activity. Daily pre-school and after-school care is provided on site. An adjoining Children's Centre has recently opened.

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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: Market Deeping Community Primary School, 11 °12 June 2008

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Grade: 2

Good leadership and management and good teaching mean that the quality of education provided to pupils is good. The school's curriculum and pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding. Strong relationships and very positive attitudes contribute to pupils' excellent spiritual, moral, and social development. Pupils are proud of their school. They enjoy their time in it a great deal and levels of attendance are well above average. Pupils particularly appreciate the efforts staff make to ensure that learning is interesting and fun. They also appreciate the school's rich and varied curriculum and the wide range of enrichment opportunities available to them. Most parents regard the school highly. One parent captured the views of many when she wrote, 'My children are happy, cared for and, most of all, fulfilling their potential.' Children enter the school with knowledge and skills above those expected nationally. They

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Grade: 2

make a good start in the Foundation Stage and by the end of Year 6, pupils have made good progress and achieved well. For the last 3 years, Year 6 pupils have attained above average standards in national tests, and standards are rising. Pupils currently in Years 5 and 6 are attaining well above expected standards. Teachers plan lessons well so that they meet the learning needs of all pupils. Frequent opportunities for independent work, often using computers, help challenge and motivate pupils, especially those capable of doing harder work. Academic guidance is good overall. In all classes staff regularly assess and carefully analyse each pupil's progress and the school directs extra help to those who are not achieving in line with the expectations for their ages. Pupils who find learning difficult make good progress because they frequently receive carefully tailored support from teachers and teaching assistants.

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Grade: 2

Pupils in the older two classes show an impressive understanding of where and how to improve their writing. However, in other classes, pupils are often less clear about how to evaluate their work or on which particular aspect they should concentrate, particularly in their mathematics work. The quality of teachers' marking is variable and sometimes provides too little direction on what they expect in children's work. Pastoral care and support are good. Older pupils show a strong sense of responsibility and readily help and consider others. The school has formed excellent partnerships with other schools. For example, the school is working together with other local primary schools to improve pupils' problem-solving skills in mathematics. Monitoring and evaluation are effective and the school has a clear understanding of its strengths and of where improvements are needed. The headteacher and his deputy have

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Grade: 2

successfully led the school in bringing about many important improvements, such as the way that science is taught and standards in science are now outstanding. Pupils' personal development is also much improved since the previous inspection. This indicates that the school has good capacity to continue to improve in the future. However, the school development plan has too many priorities and ways of judging its success are unclear. Consequently, leaders, including governors, are unable to evaluate fully the impact of the plan on the standards pupils achieve.

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Grade: 2

Good teaching, a well-planned curriculum, very good resources and effective use of the very spacious accommodation help children achieve well in all areas of learning. Children adopt school routines quickly. They love exploring the fun activities staff plan and consequently learn 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Market Deeping Community Primary School, 11 °12 June 2008 effectively. They experience a good balance of adult-guided activities and those chosen by themselves, and this helps them gain in confidence and independence. The outside areas are particularly exciting and effectively used to extend children's experiences through independent play. Staff check that children try everything that is planned and intervene effectively to guide them. Children's individual needs are identified early and appropriate support is provided to ensure good progress. While there is no designated Foundation Stage leader at present, effective

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Grade: 2

teamwork ensures that all staff work successfully to help each child succeed. Although provision is mostly well tailored to meet children's learning needs, occasionally assessment information is not sufficiently accurate to effectively inform planning.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that pupils in all classes understand how to assess and improve particular aspects of their work. ■ Reduce the number of priorities in the school development plan and include specific criteria to enable the school to judge the effect of the actions taken.

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Grade: 2

Pupils achieve well and make good progress overall. School records and pupils' work indicate that standards are rising and that pupils are well on track to achieve the very ambitious targets the school sets for their attainment. Progress in science is outstanding and by the end of Year 6, pupils develop well above-average skills in this subject. Achievement in reading is good throughout the school and home reading is well organised. Many parents make a helpful contribution to their children's enjoyment of and progress in reading. The school, through its broad and interesting curriculum, helps pupils achieve well in other subjects, such as art and design, where standards are also well above average.

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Grade: 1

Pupils express their ideas very confidently. Through excellent links with numerous organisations, they understand the dangers of drugs and know how to play safely, and who to go to if they feel worried or upset. Pupils' behaviour is exemplary. They say there is no need for playground buddies anymore 'because we all make sure everyone has someone to play with'. The school council influences improvement and organises events and fund-raising activities, enabling them to purchase, for example, new equipment for the local park. Through various sports activities, including the daily 'activate' sessions, pupils exercise regularly. Pupils know what constitutes healthy eating and talk enthusiastically about growing, cooking and eating the food they cultivate at school. Pupils' cultural development is good. Through the performing arts, pupils develop a good appreciation of cultural traditions and the pleasures these evoke. They are less

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Grade: 1

aware of the cultures represented in the diverse communities of today's Britain. Through working cooperatively in various projects, they demonstrate excellent workplace skills. Their good achievement and excellent personal skills ensure that they are exceptionally well prepared for the future. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Market Deeping Community Primary School, 11 °12 June 2008

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good overall and sometimes outstanding. Teachers plan their lessons carefully to meet the full range of learning needs. All teachers make effective use of information and communication technology to aid learning. Literacy and numeracy skills are progressively developed. Pupils are given many chances to discuss issues and develop their speaking and listening skills, which are outstanding. Classrooms are stimulating and encourage pupils to want to learn. Skilled teaching assistants make an important contribution to the good achievement of those who find learning difficult. The quality of teachers' marking is inconsistent. In some classes, especially in writing, it provides clear guidance and appropriate challenge to pupils. In other classes it is too general to show pupils where improvement is needed and does not challenge them to present their work to the best of their ability.

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Grade: 1

A vibrant curriculum that makes creative links across subjects, for example, history, literacy and design technology, helps pupils learn effectively. Well-structured planning ensures that they build successfully on previous work. Pupils have many exciting opportunities to extend their learning through themed events, such as cultural weeks, where they can work on longer-term projects. They are also given many opportunities to work independently and research information on projects of their own choosing. Standards in science are exceptionally high and the school's extensive well laid-out gardens are used extremely effectively to help pupils learn by, for example, growing their food and investigating environmental issues. Effective additional programmes ensure that pupils who need extra help with their learning participate fully. An exceptionally good programme for personal, social and health education supports

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Grade: 1

pupils' outstanding personal development. Many visitors and visits bring learning alive and provide pupils with excellent insight into the world of work and leisure, but opportunities to learn about Britain's diverse communities are only recently being developed.

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Grade: 2

Care arrangements are good. Pupils feel they are listened to and that staff will help if they are worried or upset. Child protection and safeguarding procedures and other systems for ensuring health and safety are all secure. Pupils who have specific social or educational needs are supported very sensitively and external agencies are consulted where necessary. Those identified as gifted and talented receive good guidance to extend their skills and they achieve well. Pupils' progress is regularly assessed and those who may be falling behind or need specific help are identified and provided for. Individual targets are proving particularly effective in raising the aspirations of older pupils, especially in writing. However, in other classes, pupils are unclear of what they have to do to move on to the next stage of learning. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Market Deeping Community Primary School, 11 °12 June 2008

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Grade: 2

The headteacher inspires the overall success of the school. His success in promoting pupils' personal development is outstanding and this is evident in pupils' polite, confident and pleasant demeanour. Because his leadership of teaching and learning is good, standards are rising. The headteacher effectively helps others develop their leadership roles. Consequently, governors and subject leaders carry out their roles well. Sometimes, follow-up checks to ensure that initiatives are implemented fully are not sufficiently demanding. This results in inconsistencies in, for example, the quality of teachers' marking. Communication with parents is good and the school is highly regarded by most parents. Governors' and other leaders' ability to fully and effectively monitor the impact of the school improvement plan is limited. This is because procedures are not sufficiently clear for measuring the effect of the plan on pupils' attainment.

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Grade: 2

7 of 11 Inspection Report: Market Deeping Community Primary School, 11 °12 June 2008 .

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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: Market Deeping Community Primary School, 11 °12 June 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? 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? 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?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The attendance of learners 1 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Market Deeping Community Primary School, 11 °12 June 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Market Deeping Community Primary School, 11 °12 June 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

13 June 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Market Deeping Community Primary School, Market Deeping, Lincolnshire, PE6 8JE Thank you for making Mrs Harrison and me so welcome when we came to inspect your school. A special thanks to those who met Mrs Harrison at lunchtime on the first day of the inspection. We are pleased that you enjoy school so much and attend so regularly. We thoroughly enjoyed talking with you and your teachers and watching you learn. We think your school is a good school. It is run well and is giving you a good education. Nursery and Reception children quickly begin to learn to read, write and behave well. Adults provide good teaching, so that you make good progress. You are being well prepared for life at your next school. I am pleased yours is such a happy and interesting school and that you and your parents are so pleased with it. You know how to act safely. You very clearly understand what is right and what is wrong, show

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

consideration for others and are very friendly to each other. You should be proud of your excellent behaviour and manners. Those of you who need extra help with your learning make good progress because the school helps you learn. There are many things that your headteacher, the staff and the governors want to improve because they want your school to get even better! We agree with them that there are two important things that need doing first.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ All teachers should help you see exactly how to make your work better.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Concentrate on improving fewer things and provide clearer ways of measuring the effect of the work the staff do to make the school even better. With very best wishes for the future, Mr Sadler Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Market Deeping Community Primary School, 11 °12 June 2008

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