Wolverton Primary School

Wolverton Primary School Inspection report

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125760 Unique Reference Number Warwickshire Local Authority 315306 Inspection number 10 September 2007 Inspection date David Driscoll 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 Foundation School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 98 School The governing body Appropriate authority David Stone Chair Jill Knowles Headteacher 17 June 2003 Date of previous school inspection Wolverton Fields School address Norton Lindsey Warwick CV35 8JN 01926 842214 Telephone number 01926 843789 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 10 September 2007 Inspection date 315306 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

This small primary school serves some small villages and a relatively affluent part of Warwick. The percentage of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is average and all are fluent in English. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is well below average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Wolverton Primary School, 10 September 2007

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Grade: 2

Wolverton provides a good education for all its pupils. Pupils achieve well and leave the school with standards well above the national average and well equipped for the next stage of their education. They make particularly good progress in English and science. Progress in mathematics is good, but pupils' ability to solve problems is not quite as good as other aspects of the subject. Pupils make good progress because teaching and the curriculum are good; both are clearly focused on making pupils think and work hard. Pupils are given tasks that they find demanding but achievable. They know that if they start to struggle, help is always quickly available. Pupils respond to such expectations by always trying their best and behaving well in lessons. Other features of their good personal development include their enjoyment of school, reflected in their very high attendance, and the confident way they relate to adults.

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Grade: 2

Pupils rightly feel safe and well looked after at school because they receive good quality care, guidance and support. They are known as individuals, and many parents commented positively on how well the school deals with their particular needs. In lessons, pupils are encouraged to do their best, but this is not always the case with the marking of their work. Pupils are rarely given written guidance on how to improve their work in mathematics, and corrections are not always carried out. The school has made good progress since the last inspection because of effective leadership and management. The headteacher keeps a close eye on the pupils' progress and quickly identifies areas to be improved. When weaknesses are spotted, the headteacher is successful in implementing changes to the curriculum to rectify them. Parents are strongly supportive of the school's work, praising it as 'a school that is good in all it does'. The headteacher and

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Grade: 2

governors know that the school is good and are now striving for excellence. They have an accurate picture of what can be improved in all aspects except the teaching, where checks do not always identify what a teacher needs to do to make a good lesson outstanding

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Grade: 2

Provision in the Foundation Stage is good, especially in terms of teaching, the curriculum and care. Children settle rapidly into school because teachers constantly reinforce routines and expectations. They are very quickly made to feel part of the school community. Links with parents are formed before children start school and encourage a good partnership in the children's learning. Several parents commented that their children were already very happy at school after only just three half-day sessions. Children make good progress in all areas of their development, improving their standards from average to above average over the year. Continual observation and assessment by staff allow them to gain a clear insight into the individual needs of the children. This knowledge is used to plan activities that provide a good balance of learning through play and more-formally taught sessions. There is a clear focus for each day, such as

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Grade: 2

phonics, number or topic work, but the activities are not always based on the chosen focus. Children enjoy their activities and are able to work and play in groups. They are particularly well looked after and helped by the relatively large number of adults working with the class. All adults are well briefed on exactly what their role is. Good provision is made for the job-sharing teachers to plan and hand over the class to each other. The Foundation Stage is developing well as a result of good leadership and management. Significant improvements to assessment, 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Wolverton Primary School, 10 September 2007 for example, have led to more accurate recording of children's progress. These in turn have led to activities that more closely meet the needs of the children.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that teachers know what they need to do to improve the quality of teaching still further. ■ Improve pupils' problem solving in mathematics by providing them with clear written guidance on what they need to improve, and ensure that corrections are carried out.

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Grade: 2

Being a small school, standards tend to vary from year to year. However, the progress made by all pupils is consistently good, irrespective of their varying standards on entry. The provisional outcomes of the Key Stage 2 national tests were exceptionally high; pupils made good progress from their above-average starting points. Current standards are not quite as high, but are still well above average. Progress in reading, writing and science is particularly good. Progress in mathematics is good, but the school has rightly identified the need to improve pupils' problem-solving skills, which are not quite up to the same standard as the rest of their mathematical skills.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils value assemblies because 'they bring the whole school together.' They have a good understanding of the local and wider community and of the cultural similarities and differences that exist both within Britain and other countries. They take part in the village fête, for example, and help a local charity that sponsors children in Zambia. The democratically elected school council enables pupils to understand how to voice opinions and be part of the decision-making process. The pupils' good attitudes and behaviour play a major part in their learning, as lessons always proceed without disruption. They get on well with adults and are respectful. However, their good manners do not always shine through in their dealings with one another; for example, pencils and equipment are sometimes taken without asking first. Pupils are active at break times and fruit is the

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Grade: 2

refreshment of choice. Breaks also demonstrate their good understanding of how to stay safe, with pupils keeping a careful eye out for one another. Pupils enjoy their time in school and speak positively of the many different experiences they are given. They have few worries because, as they say, 'Teachers will listen and help us if we have problems.'

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Grade: 2

Teachers expect a lot from their pupils, both in terms of their academic progress and their attitudes to work. Tasks are carefully planned so that each group within a class will find the work difficult but, with effort, achievable. Some pupils in Years 3 to 6 can find the tasks a little too hard to begin with, so they struggle to get started and have to wait to get extra help from the teacher. In Years 1 and 2, pupils can be slower to start work because they spend too long sitting on the carpet when they are itching to do something for themselves. Once all are working, 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Wolverton Primary School, 10 September 2007 however, the pace really speeds up and no time is wasted. Teachers are good at quickly moving around the room, assessing each pupil's progress and making sure they know what they need to do next. Teaching assistants do a particularly good job in ensuring less-able pupils make the

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Grade: 2

same good progress as others. They skilfully prompt with questions, so that the pupils always get to the answer themselves, without excessive guidance.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is very well planned to meet the needs of different ability groups in each class. The more able pupils, for example, are given completely different tasks, rather than simply extra work to do. Planning for the curriculum to build on the previous year's work is also good, except in Year 1, where it does not reflect the recent changes to the Foundation Stage and the children's learning experiences. This leads to a slightly slower start to Year 1 than in other years. Pupils particularly enjoy the many opportunities they have to use computers in their everyday lessons. They also enjoy the wide variety of trips and visits, which broaden their understanding, and experience of the wider world. Visitors enable the children to learn about Indian culture or life as a Muslim, for example, while trips take them to cities and different places of worship.

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Grade: 2

Staff know the pupils well and support the children effectively in all areas of their development. Pupils receive a great deal of encouragement to work hard and try things out for themselves, without fear of getting something wrong. Written comments in English books clearly explain to pupils what they have got wrong and what they need to do to improve. However, this is not the case in mathematics, where marking often consists simply of ticks and crosses. Whilst this may be sufficient for sums, it hinders pupils' progress in more difficult skills such as problem solving where they have to come up with a method for themselves. Good arrangements are in place to ensure the health and safety of the children, with effective risk assessments of the many trips and extra activities. Observation and assessment lead to early diagnosis of pupils whose progress may be slowing, and the school is quick to put effective systems in place to

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Grade: 2

One of the main reasons for the school's good progress over recent years is the way that pupils' progress is thoroughly analysed to identify areas of learning that could be improved. Writing, for example, was identified as an area in which pupils could do better. Plans were drawn up and all in the whole-school community threw themselves into implementing them. The actions bore fruit this year, when progress in writing was amongst the best in the school. The school is now working on improving pupils' problem-solving skills in mathematics. The headteacher and governors demonstrate they have the skills and determination to take the school to the next level. Significant changes have been made to the curriculum, which have resulted in improved standards and achievement. Effective monitoring of teaching accurately evaluates its main strengths but does not always point out what could be improved. Academic

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Grade: 2

targets are demanding, staff and pupils work hard to achieve and regularly exceed them. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Wolverton Primary School, 10 September 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. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Wolverton Primary School, 10 September 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

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?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 2 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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Wolverton Primary School, 10 September 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 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Wolverton Primary School, 10 September 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

11 September 2007 Dear Children Inspection of Wolverton Primary School, Warwick, CV35 8JN We really enjoyed our visit to your school, and one of the main reasons was because of you. You made us feel very welcome and your mums and dads can be proud of your good behaviour. You showed that you have very good manners when you speak to adults but some of you could use these good manners when working with one another. However, it was great to see you all getting on so well with each other. So, thank you for talking to us and helping us with our work. You told us that you love coming to school, and we can see why. You get a good education. All the staff take good care of you and make sure you have no worries. The teachers are good at making sure you learn quickly. They know how good you are at your subjects and give you work that is just hard enough to really make you think. They make sure you know how to do

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

better in English and science, but we have asked them to give you a bit more guidance in maths, especially when you are solving problems. All this good teaching, together with a good range of activities such as trips and visitors, makes sure that you do well at school and leave with standards that are well above average. The school has been getting better and better since the last inspection. The people who run the school do a good job. Staff check on your progress and spot any areas that could be improved. We have asked them to identify ways of making your lessons even better. With all best wishes for your future David Driscoll Lead Inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Wolverton Primary School, 10 September 2007

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Annex B

Inspection of Wolverton Primary School, Warwick, CV35 8JN

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Annex B

We really enjoyed our visit to your school, and one of the main reasons was because of you. You made us feel very welcome and your mums and dads can be proud of your good behaviour. You showed that you have very good manners when you speak to adults but some of you could use these good manners when working with one another. However, it was great to see you all getting on so well with each other. So, thank you for talking to us and helping us with our work.

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Annex B

You told us that you love coming to school, and we can see why. You get a good education. All the staff take good care of you and make sure you have no worries. The teachers are good at making sure you learn quickly. They know how good you are at your subjects and give you work that is just hard enough to really make you think. They make sure you know how to do better in English and science, but we have asked them to give you a bit more guidance in maths, especially when you are solving problems. All this good teaching, together with a good range of activities such as trips and visitors, makes sure that you do well at school and leave with standards that are well above average.

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Annex B

The school has been getting better and better since the last inspection. The people who run the school do a good job. Staff check on your progress and spot any areas that could be improved. We have asked them to identify ways of making your lessons even better.

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