Wonersh and Shamley Green CofE Aided Primary School

Wonersh and Shamley Green Church of England Infant School Inspection report

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125202 Unique Reference Number Surrey Local Authority 315188 Inspection number 10 June 2008 Inspection date Kay Charlton 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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Infant Type of school Voluntary aided School category 4 °7 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 80 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Alexandra Vinall Chair Mrs Heather Lee Headteacher 4 May 2004 Date of previous school inspection Guildford Road School address Shamley Green Guildford GU5 0RT 01483 892345 Telephone number 01483 892391 Fax number

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4-7 Age group 10 June 2008 Inspection date 315188 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: standards and achievement, teaching and learning, and leadership and management. Evidence was gathered from lesson observations, scrutiny of pupils' work and documents. Parents' questionnaires and discussions with pupils, governors and staff also contributed to the judgements. 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 in 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 is a smaller than average sized infant school located in the village of Shamley Green. A significant number of pupils travel to the school from surrounding areas. Pupils come from a predominately White British background. Very few speak English as an additional language and none are at the early stages of learning English. A lower than average percentage of pupils have learning difficulties. These are identified as speech, language and communication difficulties and physical disabilities. The school has gained the Active Mark and the silver level Artsmark awards. Prior to entering the school, the majority of children have attended a range of pre-school settings.

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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: Wonersh and Shamley Green Church of England Infant School, 10 June 2008

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Grade: 1

Wonesh and Shamley Green is an outstanding school. Christian values are at the core of all its work. Strong links are forged with parents and a range of others in its community, including the local church, so that everyone has the opportunity to be involved in creating an environment where high quality learning is the order of the day. Parents are delighted with the school and make comments such as, 'Our school provides Five Star Education'. Pupils are very proud of their school and speak of it in glowing terms. The school's extremely effective provision ensures that pupils' achievements are of the highest order. Teaching and learning are outstanding and pupils make extremely good progress from an overall average starting point. As a result, by the end of Year 2 standards in reading, writing and mathematics are consistently high. Standards in science are also very high. Assessments show that the school has maintained this impressive level of achievement for the past five

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Grade: 1

years. Staff are enthusiastic about their teaching, they plan and assess meticulously, and they make learning fun. Teachers and teaching assistants work together very well as a team and all have excellent relationships with pupils. They give pupils discerning feedback that helps them to improve their work. Staff help to build the confidence of bi-lingual pupils very effectively. Pupils with special educational needs receive a very high level of individual support so that they achieve the challenging targets that are set for them. Pupils' personal development is a cornerstone of the school's work and is outstanding. Attendance is excellent and pupils arrive each morning wanting to learn. All treat each other, their teachers and the environment with care and respect. Pupils' attitudes and behaviour are exemplary. They are highly involved in helping to run the school community and express their views on a range of issues, such as the dining arrangements. In this way, they develop a keen

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Grade: 1

responsibility for making sure that their school continually improves. Pupils gain an excellent appreciation of how they might help others in the wider world; for example, through the school's links with Burma and Nepal. Pupils' confidence, independence and key skills, including those in speaking and listening, and information and communication technology, are developed extremely well to support their future economic well-being. In assemblies, pupils show a high degree of reverence and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. In one assembly about 'People who Help Us', the way that pupils respected moments of reflection and shared their thoughts with each other during prayer time, was particularly impressive. Pupils demonstrate a clear understanding of the need for a healthy lifestyle as well as the importance of being safety conscious. The outstanding curriculum is carefully planned to provide individual pupils with opportunities

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Grade: 1

for success. A very wide range of enrichment plays an important part in ensuring pupils enjoy school. They are particularly impressed with the visits out of school that they refer to as 'brilliant'. The outdoor curriculum in the Reception class has recently been improved and is now excellent. It makes a significant contribution to children's achievements across all areas of learning. In Years 1 and 2, generally good use is made of the outdoors as was seen during the Outdoor Theme Week. However, the practice in these year groups is not as effective as that in the Reception class because the facilities are not as good and outdoor activities do not take place regularly enough. The school has rightly highlighted this as priority development for the future. The care, guidance and support pupils receive are excellent. There are thorough safety procedures in place. Staff make sure that all pupils settle quickly and happily into school life

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Grade: 1

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Wonersh and Shamley Green Church of England Infant School, 10 June 2008 and pupils say that there is always someone to turn to if they need help. They are very well supported in moving to the next stage of their education. There is comprehensive tracking of each pupil's personal and academic progress and this information is used very effectively to organise extra support for pupils as needed. It is also used to set challenging targets for each pupil that motivate them in their learning. Parents are partners in their child's education and the school works exceptionally well with them, and with other agencies, to support pupils' development. Leaders at all levels, including the governing body, are committed to excellence and are continually looking for ways to improve the school even further. Together with highly efficient management systems, this has led to the school's outstanding provision. The headteacher is

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Grade: 1

determined that 'every pupil should have the chance to achieve of their best'. She works very effectively with the deputy and together they make sure that every adult in the school recognises that they have a vital part to play in providing pupils with the best possible education. The staff rise to this expectation and each member shoulders high levels of responsibility in a very positive way. Governors make a very strong contribution to the school. They are fully involved in the school's rigorous self-evaluation procedures and everyone is clear about the strengths in the school and where improvements are needed. The school improvement plan is very focussed and ensures that the school goes from strength to strength. All staff approach developments enthusiastically and, in Years 1 and 2, staff are already making improved use of learning in the outdoors. Overall, the school is extremely well placed to improve in the future.

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Grade: 1

The Foundation Stage is outstanding. Very high quality teaching ensures that children make an extremely good start to their school life. Consequently, by the time they start Year 1 most attain above the levels expected for their age. Staff organise children's learning in an imaginative way with very close attention to detail. The use of the outdoor environment is exceptional and makes a significant contribution to the quality of children's learning. This was seen in the topic about 'The Hungry Caterpillar' where the children used reference books to identify mini-beasts buried in a sand tray, acted out the life cycle of a butterfly with plenty of room to move and painted a caterpillar that was so big that they gained clear understanding of every fine detail of the animal. Meticulous assessment is an integral part of daily life and is a key factor in the success of the Foundation Stage. Staff gauge every small step of each child's improvement

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Grade: 1

very carefully and, as a result, are highly effective in challenging them to reach the next level of their understanding. The excellent leadership of the Foundation Stage is fully in tune with the ways young children learn and, on a continuous basis, adapts and tailors the provision to ensure that all children's needs are met.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve outdoor learning in Years 1 and 2 so that it is as good as that in the Reception. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Wonersh and Shamley Green Church of England Infant School, 10 June 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: Wonersh and Shamley Green Church of England Infant School, 10 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? 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: Wonersh and Shamley Green Church of England Infant School, 10 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 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: Wonersh and Shamley Green Church of England Infant School, 10 June 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

20 June 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Wonersh and Shamley Green Church of England Infant School,Guildford,GU5 0RT Thank you for all the help you gave me when I visited your school. Many of you told me that you feel that you are very lucky to attend Wornesh and Shamley Green School. You have made friends and behaviour is excellent. You said that the staff help you if you have a problem. You mentioned that some of the extra activities you take part in, such as the visit to the National Gallery, are 'brilliant' and these clearly help to make sure you enjoy school. I was also very impressed with the way that you thought about what you wanted to say in your own prayers during assembly and how well you listened to the prayers of others. I also noticed that you make excellent progress in your work and that your attendance is excellent. I can see why you are proud of your school. I think it is outstanding.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

The headteacher and deputy have an excellent understanding of the school's strengths and the areas in which it could be even better. They are keen to see it improve even further. They have made sure that the outdoor learning in Reception is excellent. I have now asked them to work with the staff in Years 1 and 2 to improve outdoor learning for pupils in those classes so that it is a good as that in the Reception. Yours sincerely Kay Charlton Lead Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Wonersh and Shamley Green Church of England Infant School, 10 June 2008

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