Reepham Church of England Primary School

Reepham Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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120581 Unique Reference Number LINCOLNSHIRE LA Local Authority 313682 Inspection number 27 March 2008 Inspection date Geof Timms 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 174 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs A Perkins Chair Mr D R Scoffield Headteacher 24 November 2003 Date of previous school inspection High Street School address Reepham Lincoln Lincolnshire LN3 4DP 01522 750601 Telephone number 01522 754963 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 27 March 2008 Inspection date 313682 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:

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Introduction

■ How does the school achieve such high standards and what is being done to raise standards in writing still further? ■ How does the school provide for its very able, gifted and talented pupils and what impact on learning is the project to develop a skills-based curriculum having? ■ What are the school's systems for tracking and analysing pupils' progress, setting targets and offering them guidance? The inspector gathered evidence from observations of lessons, samples of pupils' work, discussions with pupils, staff and the chair of the governors, and from the parents' questionnaires. The main documents used by the school in monitoring and strategic planning were examined. 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 provided 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 school is smaller than usual for its type. It serves the village of Reepham but is popular locally and children attend from Lincoln and surrounding villages. Very few of the pupils are eligible to free school meals. A below average proportion of the pupils are from minority ethnic groups and currently none have English as an additional language. The proportion of the pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average. Attainment on entry varies from year to year and within each cohort but is often below that expected. The school has an Activemark award and Healthy School status.

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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: Reepham Church of England Primary School, 27 March 2008

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school and its many strengths are greatly appreciated by the vast majority of the parents. As one wrote, 'An excellent school and I am proud to have a child in attendance.' A major reason for the excellence evident throughout the school is the inspirational headteacher who, as one parent described, is 'passionate about the school' in everything he does. Pupils' achievement is outstanding. They make excellent and consistent progress throughout the school. From their levels of attainment on entry, children reach standards that are above those expected by the end of Reception. This excellent progress continues through Key Stage 1. In the 2007 national assessments, standards were well above average in reading and mathematics and above average in writing. Their outstanding progress continues through Key Stage 2 and in 2007, standards were exceptionally high in English, mathematics and science,

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Grade: 1

although in writing, fewer pupils reached the higher levels than in the other subjects. The school's excellent self-evaluation showed that writing was an area to address so that standards could be raised to the level of the rest, and a number of very effective measures have been put in place to do this. Although too soon to be reflected in test results, the improvements in writing are already clear both in current pupils' work and in their interest and excitement. One girl explained how the visit of an author had left her feeling 'inspired' to write. Overall, current standards match those of previous years and show that the excellent achievement is being maintained. These high standards in the basic skills help prepare pupils extremely well for secondary school and their future lives. Pupils' outstanding achievement is the result of excellent provision. This has been achieved through the extremely hard work of staff, and their clear focus on creating a climate for effective

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Grade: 1

learning. The quality of teaching and learning is consistently excellent and this is reflected in the achievement and pupils' enjoyment of school. Relationships between pupils and staff are very positive and their mutual respect comes through clearly in conversations and observations. Teaching assistants provide very effective support for teachers and pupils. The well-planned curriculum provides an excellent basis for the teaching but also provides outstanding opportunities for enrichment through a very wide range of visits and visitors, as well as special theme days and weeks when effective links can be made between subjects. Although this work is very effective, the school has good plans to build on this success and help pupils use their skills even more creatively across the curriculum, giving them even more opportunities to take responsibility for their own learning. One parent explained that 'the school not only provides excellent teaching but also a supporting

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Grade: 1

and caring atmosphere.' The inspection findings support this view. The pastoral care is excellent and ensures that all safeguarding requirements, including health and safety issues, are met. In addition, the pupils' progress is exceptionally well supported through the careful tracking of their progress, the setting of challenging targets and the high quality marking of their work, which helps them understand what they have done well and what they need to do to improve. The provision for those pupils who find learning difficult or who have behavioural and emotional difficulties is excellent and helps them take a full part in school life. This is reflected in their achievement which is often well above that of similar pupils nationally. The school also works hard to address the needs of the most able pupils, especially those with specific gifts or talents. This is largely done within the classes through ensuring that the work provided for all pupils

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Grade: 1

is sufficiently challenging. 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Reepham Church of England Primary School, 27 March 2008 The high levels of care result in outstanding personal development. Pupils have excellent attitudes towards school and this is evident in their excellent behaviour, very high attendance and the relationships between pupils. A particular strength, and one noted by parents, is how the older pupils help and look after the youngest. Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to lead healthy lifestyles and how to keep themselves safe, including when using the Internet. The school's outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural development has improved since the last inspection through the introduction of more work to familiarise pupils with other faiths and cultures. This is particularly effective through the links made by raising money to enable pupils to support specific aid projects abroad. This work is also part of the excellent

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Grade: 1

contribution pupils make to their own and the wider community, through a wide range of school based opportunities such as the school council, and in the local village through the 'helping hands' project. The success of the school is due to outstanding leadership and management. Alongside the headteacher, the senior leadership team and the subject leaders all create a strong team ethos, shared by all who work in the school, and a willingness to innovate and to support each other. The outcomes of their work are well monitored and improvements made as necessary. The governors are a very effective body who have an excellent understanding of the school strengths and weaknesses. They have a clear focus on the need for high standards and are effective 'critical friends'. The school clearly has an outstanding capacity to maintain its current level of performance and to improve further in the future.

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Grade: 1

The Reception class forms an integral part of the school and is equally well taught, led and managed. The adults work very well together ensuring the children make excellent progress from their attainment on entry to the school. A particular strength is the way children with behavioural and emotional needs are included and helped to make equally strong progress. The children are provided with a very well-planned curriculum appropriate for their ages, which maintains an excellent balance between teacher-led and child selected activities. By the time children start in Year 1 they have been expertly and effectively prepared for their future learning.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Develop more opportunities for pupils to use their skills creatively across the curriculum and take even more responsibility for their own learning 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Reepham 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: Reepham 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? 1 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 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?

1 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: Reepham 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 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 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: Reepham 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 Children Inspection of Reepham Primary School, Reepham, Lincoln, LN3 4DP I am writing to thank you for the way you made me welcome when I visited your school recently. I also want to thank you for the help you gave me in finding out about the school. I especially enjoyed watching you at work and play, having lunch with the younger pupils and meeting some of the school council and others. What I found agrees with what you and your parents told me - Reepham is an outstanding school. You all work very hard and because of this, you achieve very high standards. These will help you as you get older and go on to secondary school. You are part of a very caring school. As one of you said in our meeting, 'Everyone looks out for each other.' I was very impressed with how well the older ones look after the 'littlies' and how you care for people beyond the school community. You are given excellent levels of responsibility and carry out jobs, such as

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

the school council, really well. One reason for the school being so good is the fantastic leadership of Mr Scoffield and the excellent teaching by all of your teachers and teaching assistants. You are very lucky to be taught by such a talented and enthusiastic team. You told me how well they make the learning fun for you and I could see some of that in the 'dog food' assembly! Another reason for the school's success is that Mr Scoffield and his team are always trying to improve things and try out new ideas. I think it is good that they are now looking at how they plan the curriculum so that it gives you more opportunities to be creative, to have more say in your learning and to use the skills you learn in a lot of different ways. I know that you will all work hard enough to make this a success. Thanks you once again for helping me with the inspection. Enjoy your time at Reepham and keep working hard!

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Best wishes Geof Timms Lead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Reepham Church of England Primary School, 27 March 2008

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