Ancaster CofE Primary School

Ancaster Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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120512 Unique Reference Number LINCOLNSHIRE LA Local Authority 313647 Inspection number 27 March 2008 Inspection date Mike Best 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 147 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Adrian Fovargue Chair Mrs Judith Whiteley Headteacher 6 May 2003 Date of previous school inspection Mercia Drive School address Ancaster Grantham NG32 3QQ 01400 230871 Telephone number 01400 230871 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 27 March 2008 Inspection date 313647 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 who evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues:

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Introduction

■ pupils' progress, particularly in the Foundation Stage and in Key Stage 1;

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Introduction

■ how effectively the school uses information about what pupils know and can do to match teaching to their needs; ■ the effectiveness of leadership and management in improving the quality of provision and raising achievement. Evidence was gathered from observing lessons, scrutiny of pupils' work and the school's documentation and discussions with pupils, parents, staff and governors. 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 given its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This smaller than average primary school serves the mixed social catchment of Ancaster village and its surrounding rural area. The majority of children come from White British backgrounds. A small proportion of children from the Traveller community attend during the winter months and the school acts as the host school when they travel. The number of children joining the school other than at the start of Reception is higher than average. The majority of pupils identified by the school as having learning difficulties experience problems with reading and writing. The number of pupils in receipt of free school meals is below average but this is rising following the recent introduction of cooked midday meals. There have been significant changes of staff and in the membership of the governing body since the last inspection. A new leadership team has been formed with the recent appointments of the deputy headteacher and Foundation Stage leader. The headteacher was absent during

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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: Ancaster Church of England Primary School, 27 March 2008

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Grade: 3

Inspectors agree with the school that its overall effectiveness is satisfactory. This is a steadily improving school that is popular with parents and enjoyed by pupils. Much is recently in place following the appointment of new staff and there is a clear focus on raising pupils' performance. At the heart of this are newly introduced systems in English and mathematics to check pupils' progress. Piloted and closely monitored by the recently established leadership team, these procedures provide a consistent approach to collecting and using information to meet pupils' needs. Achievement is satisfactory. In recent years, the school's systems for checking on pupils' progress lacked rigour, particularly in providing an accurate picture of what they knew and could do. Standards declined and targets were missed because pupils made uneven progress as they moved through the school. Fewer pupils than expected reached the higher levels in the statutory

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Grade: 3

tests and assessments. Working with the local authority, the school has focused its energies on raising pupils' achievement. As a result, standards have risen to average in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 2 and in English, mathematics and science at the end of Year 6. The proportions of pupils gaining the higher levels, although still below the national averages in the 2007 statutory assessments and tests, are rising. Girls do better than boys but the gap is not significantly greater than that found in other schools. Those with difficulties in reading and writing make satisfactory progress. Pupils from the Traveller community also make satisfactory progress when they are in the school. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Working relationships between staff and pupils are good and teaching assistants provide valued support. Pupils work well together, sharing ideas and equipment sensibly. Teachers' planning identifies work for different groups but does not always

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Grade: 3

take sufficient account of individual pupils' needs, particularly to challenge the more able. Lesson objectives are discussed with pupils but these do not always focus sharply enough on what pupils will learn. This is because the information about what pupils know and can do is not being fully used to plan their next steps in learning. Activities are well organised and lessons move at a steady pace. However, there are not enough opportunities for pupils to take responsibility for their own learning, particularly to reflect on what they already know and for thinking through possible solutions to problems. The school provides pupils with a satisfactory curriculum and range of activities. The recent introduction of a new programme of personal, social and health education and citizenship is successfully raising pupils' expectations of themselves and what they can achieve. Pupils' personal development and well-being are satisfactory. Pupils have a good understanding of

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Grade: 3

healthy lifestyles and a satisfactory appreciation of how to keep safe. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory. Behaviour in lessons and around the school is good. Pupils show respect for different viewpoints and are polite and welcoming to visitors. Through the school council, they are taking a rapidly increasing role in sharing and implementing new ideas but this has yet to be extended into their greater involvement in the wider community. Pupils' preparation for the next stage of their education is satisfactory. Their skills in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology are average. The school provides a satisfactory quality of care, support and guidance for its pupils. There are suitable systems for safeguarding pupils and pupils say they are confident in approaching adults if they need help or advice. However, pupils are not sufficiently sure of how well they

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Grade: 3

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Ancaster Church of England Primary School, 27 March 2008 are doing or what they need to do to improve. This is another reason why they are making satisfactory rather than good progress. Attendance is satisfactory. Authorised absence is higher than average because of the special arrangements for recording the absence of pupils when travelling. Leadership and management are satisfactory. Recent changes in the staff team have brought fresh ideas and momentum. The staff work well together under the clear direction of the leadership team, sharing a positive vision for the school's development. The effectiveness of the school's target setting process is satisfactory. With better quality information about pupils' performance available, the leadership team are setting more challenging, yet achievable, targets. The governing body is supportive of the school and fulfils its legal obligations. Although various

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Grade: 3

members of staff and governing body monitor aspects of the school's work, the overall arrangements for evaluating the impact of what it does, particularly on pupils' achievement, are not robust enough. Action to resolve shortcomings is not always sufficiently prompt or fully effective because staff and governors at all levels are not rigorously enough involved in the process. Taking into account recent improvements, the school has made satisfactory progress since the last inspection. It has a satisfactory capacity for further improvement and provides satisfactory value for money.

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Grade: 3

The school agrees that the effectiveness of the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. Simple checks soon after children start school, together with information from pre-school settings, indicate that their skills and experiences are broadly similar to those expected for their age. Through regular observations, staff are building up an accurate picture of what children know and can do and use this effectively to plan their next steps in learning. Recent assessments show that most children are on course to meet the early learning goals in each area of learning by the end of the Reception year. Children listen carefully, are happy and confident, and take great interest in what is going on around them. Although good practice is developing, teaching and learning are satisfactory, and children are making satisfactory progress. Staff have a good vision for the future development of the provision but leadership is satisfactory because changes, such as developing

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Grade: 3

children's use of the outside area and in renewing equipment, are not yet embedded.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve teachers' use of information about what pupils know and can do in matching their plans to pupils' needs, particularly for the more able. ■ Help pupils to make faster progress by strengthening their understanding of what they need to do next to improve their work. ■ Ensure that leaders and managers at all levels are involved in monitoring and evaluating the impact of the school's work. 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. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Ancaster Church of England Primary School, 27 March 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: Ancaster Church of England Primary School, 27 March 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 2 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. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Ancaster Church of England Primary School, 27 March 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? 8 of 9 Inspection Report: Ancaster Church of England Primary School, 27 March 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

28 March 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Ancaster Church of England Primary School, NG32 3QQ Thank you very much for making us welcome when we visited your school. We enjoyed looking at your work and hearing about the different things you do. We are delighted that you enjoy school and congratulate you on your good behaviour. You have a good understanding of keeping healthy and we are pleased to see how well you get on with adults and each other. The school has put in place new systems for checking how well you are doing. These provide teachers with useful information about what you know and can do. We have asked your teachers to make sure that they make the best use of this information to plan the next steps in your learning. We also think you could make more progress if you had a better understanding of what you need to do to improve, especially for those of you who can get on faster than others. We want you to get really involved in thinking about your work and finding solutions to problems

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

and challenges. We are particularly grateful to the members of the school council for explaining to us how you are all becoming more involved in making decisions and putting these into action. As you know, teachers and governors also keep an eye on how the school is doing. They discuss what they have seen but sometimes there are delays in getting things done. We think it would be better if all the staff and governors were more involved in making sure they are doing all they can to help you to do your very best at school. Keep working hard and enjoying school. Yours truly Mike Best Lead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Ancaster Church of England Primary School, 27 March 2008

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