All Saints CofE (C) Primary SchoolOfsted inspection, 5 Dec 2007

All Saints CofE (C) Primary School Inspection report

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124270 Unique Reference Number Staffordshire Local Authority 314868 Inspection number 5 December 2007 Inspection date Alison Cartlidge 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 98 School The governing body Appropriate authority Milly Witcomb Chair Charlene Gethin Headteacher 1 December 2003 Date of previous school inspection Tatenhill Lane School address Rangemore Burton-on-Trent DE13 9RW 01283 712385 Telephone number 01283 712385 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 5 December 2007 Inspection date 314868 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 pupils come to the school from the village of Rangemore and the surrounding area. Most children's attainment is within the levels expected for their age when they start in the Reception Year. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average. Most pupils are from White British backgrounds and very few are entitled to free school meals. The headteacher was appointed in January 2007.

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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: All Saints CofE (C) Primary School, 5 December 2007

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Grade: 3

This satisfactory school with good features is improving rapidly under the good direction of the dynamic headteacher. Pupils' achievement is satisfactory and by the end of Year 6, standards are above average. The rate of pupils' progress is improving because leaders monitor it rigorously and plan additional support for pupils as necessary. Children make a good start in the small and well-organised Reception Class. Satisfactory teaching between Years 1 and 6 enables most pupils to make at least steady progress. However, there are occasions, especially in mathematics, when teachers do not match work closely to the needs of all pupils and when this happens, learning slows. Good support for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities enables them to make good progress. Caring members of staff help pupils to enjoy coming to school. They form good relationships with them, provide them with good guidance and support and ensure that all pupils are

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Grade: 3

safeguarded well. Teaching assistants make a valuable contribution in lessons by supporting groups of pupils and at other times by taking the lead in aspects of the school's work such as helping to run lunchtime clubs. Pupils are exceptionally responsible and take great pride in supporting the school and wider community by holding charity events and by being 'young leaders'. They behave well and are keen to look after each other, although older pupils do not always take enough care with their written work, resulting in unnecessary errors. Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to stay safe and discuss possible dangers at great length. The satisfactory curriculum is developing well, with improved links between subjects, especially in Years 1 and 2. The school provides exciting additional activities such as visits and visitors. There are good opportunities for pupils to learn lifeskills such as how to stay healthy and how to manage budgets, and these

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Grade: 3

activities prepare them well for the future. Leadership and management are good. Leaders and governors are moving the school forward quickly and consequently the school's capacity to improve is good. They know the school's strengths and weaknesses and have improved pupils' progress over the last year. There is a strong determination to do the best for the pupils although the timing of development planning means that it is not fully responsive to current weaknesses and does not make clear enough how success is to be measured. Parents support their children well, especially in reading, and most are very pleased that their children come to this school. One parent spoke for many by saying, 'All the children are happy and fulfilled'.

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Grade: 2

Children in the Reception Year make good progress, benefiting enormously from working in a small group. By the start of Year 1, most children are working at or beyond the expected levels for their age. Children have good opportunities to develop their speaking skills and these are especially strong. When talking, children use a wide range of interesting vocabulary and explain things very clearly. For example, when describing why bodies need skeletons, one child said, 'If we didn't have skeletons we'd all be flat, like a pancake'. Good teaching and calm and sensitive support from adults ensure that children settle well and learn to take responsibility quickly. For example, they self-register in the morning using the interactive whiteboard. However, there are occasions when adults over-direct activities. At these times, children have 4 of 11 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE (C) Primary School, 5 December 2007

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Grade: 2

insufficient chances to develop independence by making choices and thinking for themselves. There is a satisfactory curriculum. Adults plan an interesting range of activities that hold children's attention well. They take children outside to work regularly but the lack of easy access to an outdoor area restricts this aspect of the curriculum. Good leadership and management ensure that provision is regularly reviewed and successful action taken as needed.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Increase pupils' progress, especially in mathematics, by ensuring that work matches needs accurately. ■ Ensure that older pupils take more care with their work so that they do not make careless mistakes. ■ Review the timing of school development planning so that it is more responsive to changes and makes clear how success is to be measured. 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

Standards by the end of Year 6 are above average and pupils' achievement is satisfactory. Children make good progress in the Reception Year, and most are working at or beyond the expected levels when they start in Year 1. Between Years 1 and 6, most pupils make satisfactory progress. However, the school's own test information shows that not all pupils have done well enough in the past. This is no longer the case because careful monitoring of pupils' progress over the last year, along with the successful use of intervention programmes, has accelerated the progress of these pupils. This is especially evident in English, and many pupils are now working at the levels they should. The school is aware that not all pupils are doing as well as they could in mathematics because teachers do not always ensure that all pupils learn quickly. Good support for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities help them to make good

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Grade: 3

progress. The school has started to set challenging targets for all pupils and the proportion reaching these targets is improving term on term, reflecting the improved provision at the school.

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Grade: 2

Pupils thoroughly enjoy attending this school. As one pupil said, 'because it is a small school, we get better learning'. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are good. Pupils become confident and articulate individuals who are sociable and support each other well. They behave well and usually try hard in lessons, although older pupils do not always take enough care with their written work. When this happens, they make careless mistakes in calculations and spellings. Children learn to care for each other from the time they start school in the Reception Year and they respect each other's differences. They are keen to take responsibility and this helps them to make an outstanding contribution to the community. For example, 'young leaders' sensitively support others at playtime. The active eco-committee is currently developing the school's new wildlife area and school councillors learn how to manage a small

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Grade: 2

budget wisely after consulting their classmates. These activities and pupils' good basic skills prepare them well for the next stage of their education. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE (C) Primary School, 5 December 2007 Pupils are very clear about the dangers that face them in their everyday lives and how to avoid them. For example, pupils know that they need to be careful when using the internet and about 'stranger danger' when playing outside. Pupils are pleased to adopt healthy lifestyles. They grow their own vegetables in the school garden, including gigantic carrots, and Reception Year children explain that eating fruit and drinking milk before playtime will help them to 'keep fit and healthy'.

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Grade: 3

Teaching in all classes has good features. In the Reception Year, adults promote speaking skills especially well. Throughout the school, relationships are good and teachers make good use of resources such as interactive whiteboards to make work interesting and plan purposeful activities. For example, pupils in Years 3 and 4 worked together well when drafting a play script because they knew that they were going to perform their play at the end of the lesson. Skilful teaching assistants have a good impact on learning, especially when supporting pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The school has identified correctly that some aspects of teaching are not consistently good enough. For example, whilst teachers assess pupils' learning frequently, they do not always use this information well enough to plan work that builds on what pupils already know. This is particularly noticeable in mathematics when at times, pupils' work is insufficiently challenging.

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Grade: 3

Teachers' marking is improving but does not consistently do enough to help pupils understand how they could do better.

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Grade: 3

Throughout the school, there is a clear focus on developing basic skills, but planning does not always identify clearly enough what different groups of pupils are to learn. In the last year, teachers have started to make closer links between different subjects. This is most successful in Years 1 and 2. Children in the Reception Year have a wide range of interesting activities indoors but the lack of easy access to an outdoor area sometimes limits their choices. The curriculum provides every child with a wide range of additional experiences, helping to ensure that they enjoy school. Residential visits support learning very well and help pupils to learn new skills such as rock climbing and canoeing. Pupils are encouraged to maintain their health and fitness through a good range of sporting activities. Visits from members of the community help pupils to develop an excellent understanding of how to stay safe. For example,

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Grade: 3

pupils explain in detail how they worked with a visitor on an experiment with eggs to show why it is so important to wear a helmet when cycling.

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Grade: 2

Parents are right to be pleased with the good quality of pastoral support. One parent said, 'Members of staff are very approachable and any problems are sorted out promptly.' Adults know all pupils well and treat them as part of the 'school family'. Pupils say that they feel safe 6 of 11 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE (C) Primary School, 5 December 2007 and secure and they know what to do if they have a worry. When necessary, the school works well with outside agencies and parents to safeguard pupils. Academic support is good overall. Teachers have started to set targets and pupils are beginning to understand how to improve. The new headteacher has introduced thorough systems for tracking pupils' progress in English, mathematics and science. These are helping to identify pupils who need additional support. However, teachers do not always make enough use of this information to ensure that work consistently builds on pupils' different starting points and is

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Grade: 2

completed with sufficient care. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities receive good support because members of staff identify and respond to their needs quickly.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher, subject leaders and governors are working together well and consequently provision and pupils' progress are improving rapidly. New information collected on pupils' progress aids the setting of challenging individual targets. There are good links with parents and outside agencies and these are successful in supporting the pupils' personal development. Most parents are very positive about the school and are right to praise the headteacher's 'energy and enthusiasm'. They identify many recent improvements. Governance is good. Improvements in information supplied to governors on pupils' progress have enabled them to know how well the school is doing and become involved in all aspects of the school's work. They make effective use of the school's resources to drive up standards. The school's systems for self-evaluation are satisfactory. There is a shared understanding of the school's strengths and priorities, although evaluations are slightly generous. Leaders realise

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Grade: 2

that a review of the school development planning cycle would enable them to respond to changing needs more swiftly and plan the means of measuring success more accurately. The school shows that it has a good capacity to improve because action taken over the last year is continuing to have a good impact on pupils' progress. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE (C) Primary School, 5 December 2007 .

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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: All Saints CofE (C) Primary School, 5 December 2007

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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

3 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 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE (C) Primary School, 5 December 2007

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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 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: All Saints CofE (C) Primary School, 5 December 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

6 December 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of All Saints C of E Primary School, Burton-on-Trent DE13 9RW Thank you for welcoming us to your school and for sharing your work with us. Your school provides you with a sound education and it is improving quickly because members of staff and governors are working together well. Here are some points about your school:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you make satisfactory progress and reach above average standards by the end of Year 6, but some of you could learn more quickly in mathematics ■ children in the Reception Class settle well and learn quickly

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you behave well, are polite and know how to stay safe

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you take responsibility well. The eco-committee and school council are doing a good job in helping the school to improve ■ teaching is satisfactory and teachers are good at making lessons fun

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you study a suitable range of interesting things

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ the adults in the school are good at caring for you and help you when you are finding your work hard ■ your headteacher, other teachers and governors are making your school even better.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

What we have asked your school to do now:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ always give you hard enough work in mathematics

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ make whole-school plans better so that they respond to changes quickly and help school leaders see how well they are doing. What we would like you to do to help your teachers:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ take more care with your work so that you do not make careless mistakes.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We thoroughly enjoyed talking with you about your work and watching you learn. We hope your visit to the snow dome went well. It sounded good fun. We are glad that you enjoy coming to this friendly school and wish you well for the future. Yours sincerely Alison Cartlidge Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE (C) Primary School, 5 December 2007

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