Shipley CofE Primary School

Shipley CofE Primary School Inspection report

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125992 Unique Reference Number West Sussex Local Authority 315386 Inspection number 20 May 2008 Inspection date Janet Sinclair 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 46 School The governing body Appropriate authority Christina Maude Chair Anne Watson Headteacher 15 March 2004 Date of previous school inspection Shipley School address Horsham RH13 8PL 01403 741298 Telephone number 01403 741517 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 20 May 2008 Inspection date 315386 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 one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Children join this very small primary school with a wide range of skills and abilities, but they are broadly average overall. Because of the small size, some year groups are combined in variable mixed-age classes, particularly in Key Stage 2. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above that of most schools. These relate predominantly to specific learning and emotional and behavioural difficulties. Pupil mobility is above average, as is the proportion of Gypsy/Roma and Traveller pupils. The school has the Eco schools silver award and Active mark.

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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: Shipley CofE Primary School, 20 May 2008

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Grade: 3

Shipley Primary is a satisfactory school. It is a happy, friendly school where pupils are keen to attend and enjoy their learning. The headteacher, supported well by all staff and governors, has created a strong caring ethos and a supportive learning environment. The school is now improving after some difficult times involving staff changes and a drop in pupil numbers. Parents are very pleased with what the school provides. One parent, who said, 'The sense of community is wonderful - the whole school works and plays together to the benefit of all pupils, big and small', sums up the many positive comments they have expressed. Provision in the Foundation Stage is good. Children get off to a good start due to effective provision and good attention to their individual needs. They make good progress across the areas of learning and the current group of children are on course to reach above average standards by the time they enter Year 1.

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Grade: 3

Because of the very small numbers and the varying proportion of pupils within each year group with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, standards fluctuate greatly year on year, but are broadly average overall. Pupils achieve satisfactorily in Key Stage 1 and in lower Key Stage 2. They achieve well in mathematics and science by the end of Year 6 and satisfactorily in English. Few pupils attain the higher levels in reading and writing. The school is working hard to address the slower progress in English across the school through structured guided reading sessions and the introduction of a phonics programme. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress towards the targets in their individual education plans. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Some lessons are good. Teachers plan and organise them well, engaging pupils in their learning so that most find their lessons fun and teachers friendly. However,

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Grade: 3

teachers do not use marking well enough to tell pupils what they need to do to improve and the use of individual targets to promote learning is not consistent across the school, thus limiting their usefulness. Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. Pupils are keen to take on responsibilities such as being school councillors and enjoy 'making decisions about the school'. Although satisfactory overall, attendance is good for most pupils. The recently revised curriculum has a four-year cycle and is appropriately planned to ensure breadth within the mixed-age classes. It is enriched well by a good range of visits, visitors and after-school clubs. Good pastoral care ensures pupils feel safe in school and confident of adult support should they need it. The school carries out a range of pupil assessments on a regular basis but does not collate the information in a readily accessible form, so does not always have a clear idea of how well pupils are doing

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Grade: 3

or how effective interventions have been. Leadership and management are satisfactory, with good pastoral leadership ensuring good care and effective personal development. The school improvement plan indicates key areas for improvement but gives little information on the processes involved so it is difficult to monitor progress towards them. The school has worked hard to maintain provision since the last inspection, given staff changes and fluctuating numbers. With a stable staff now in place, recent initiatives to improve reading and writing and recognition of the need to improve tracking, the school has a satisfactory capacity to improve further. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Shipley CofE Primary School, 20 May 2008

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Grade: 2

Effective induction and good relationships enable children to settle well and gain confidence. Teaching is good and provides an effective balance between teacher-led and child-chosen activities. Good use is made of the outside area to extend children's learning and encourage them to share resources and work together. The strong emphasis on individual needs ensures children's progress is carefully monitored but it does not give the class teacher an overview of progress to indicate where slower progress is being made, for instance currently in reading, or to analyse the reasons for this.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve writing, particularly for higher attaining pupils, through a clear identification of what will move them on to the next level in their writing and using it in their targets, teachers' marking and lesson planning. ■ Ensure the phonics programme put in place to improve reading in particular is rigorously monitored to ensure improvements have taken place. ■ Ensure that the school improvement plan clearly indicates the processes involved in the key areas for development so that progress towards them can be carefully monitored. 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

Over time, standards in Year 2 have been broadly average. Pupils make satisfactory progress overall given their starting points and capabilities. There are greater fluctuations in attainment in Key Stage 2, although it is mainly average or above average. Progress across lower Key Stage 2 is satisfactory, although it is uneven. Older pupils make good progress in mathematics and science and satisfactory progress in English. At both key stages, higher attaining pupils do not do as well in reading and writing as in mathematics and science. There is not enough emphasis on correct spelling and punctuation or the extension of pupils' skills through imaginative vocabulary and use of complex sentence structures.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enjoy coming to school because they feel safe and well cared for. Their self-confidence and regular attendance reflect this. They have good attitudes to work and mainly behave well. Pupils say that there is no real bullying and teachers deal with any small disagreements quickly. They know how to stay healthy, especially through eating fruit and vegetables, having plenty of exercise and avoiding junk food. They also enjoy the produce that the gardening club grows. Pupils' spiritual, moral and social development is good, but there are missed opportunities within the school community to extend their cultural awareness. They have a strong sense of Christian values through their links with the Church, and are kind, caring and respectful of each other. They make a good contribution to the community, for example by taking part in events such as the Christmas and summer fetes, and through the 'Friendship Stop'. Pupils' preparation

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Grade: 2

5 of 11 Inspection Report: Shipley CofE Primary School, 20 May 2008 for their future economic well-being is satisfactory overall with strengths in fund raising for charity and their environmental awareness.

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Grade: 3

Teachers use a range of strategies to make lessons interesting and have good relationships with their pupils. As a result, pupils find lessons fun and concentrate well. Teaching assistants make a good contribution to pupils' learning, both within the class and through their phonic work with small groups. Pupils in the Year 4/5/6 class make good progress in mathematics and science due to effective teaching of these subjects and a good emphasis on targets for their learning. Teaching in English is less effective due to insufficient focus in planning to ensure pupils' learning is extended and basic skills are consistently reinforced. Occasionally, because of a lack of challenge and overlong teacher introductions, pupils lose interest and do not make the progress of which they are capable.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is carefully planned over a four-year cycle to secure coverage in the mixed-age classes. It is taught mainly through a topic approach to ensure cross-curricular links are made and to make it interesting. The school is working hard to resolve the weakness in literacy through its daily whole-school phonics session. Good enrichment through learning a foreign language, attending musical festivals, participating in the gardening club and looking after the chickens extends pupils' knowledge and skills. There is good attention to pupils' health and safety through involvement in swimming lessons and visits from the community police officer to talk about personal safety. A wide range of additional activities such as lunchtime and after-school clubs, as well as visits and visitors such as the recent visit of the poet Brian Moses, enhance the curricular provision and make a strong contribution to pupils' personal development.

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Grade: 3

Pupils are enthusiastic about the provision and say, 'There are lots of fun things to do like going on trips and having a pirate week. We are never sure what is going to happen next.'

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Grade: 3

The school knows its pupils and cares for them well. They get off to a good start in the Foundation Stage due to effective induction and sensitive handling of their needs. All staff care about the pupils' well-being, and parents strongly agree that the school supports their children well through 'providing an extended family atmosphere'. Arrangements for safeguarding children are secure, as are health and safety procedures. Effective use of specialist help from outside agencies as well as the social skills and phonics groups ensures that pupils with learning and behavioural difficulties get all the help they need. The school assesses pupils' progress regularly and moderates its work as a staff but does not use it well enough to ensure good academic guidance for its pupils. The systems for target setting and the involvement of pupils in assessing their own learning are good, but are not applied consistently enough to ensure

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Grade: 3

that pupils have full responsibility for their own learning. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Shipley CofE Primary School, 20 May 2008

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Grade: 3

The headteacher provides good pastoral leadership and sound academic guidance for the work of the school. Senior staff support her well and together they are working to develop the school further after a time of change. All staff work together as a team and are fully aware of the need to improve pupils' achievement further. They have begun to do this through the introduction of the phonics and reading programme, involving all staff across the school. Early indications are that it is proving effective. Additionally, they have plans to introduce a new programme in the autumn to improve writing. Effective monitoring of teaching through lesson observation helps to maintain its quality, but limited use is made of work reviews or discussions with pupils to check on their learning over time. Governors know the school well and are very supportive. They hold the school to account wherever possible, but given the limited information in the

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Grade: 3

school improvement plan, it is difficult for them to effectively evaluate improvements across the work of the school. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Shipley CofE Primary School, 20 May 2008 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Shipley CofE Primary School, 20 May 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? 2 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?

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 3 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?

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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Shipley CofE Primary School, 20 May 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Shipley CofE Primary School, 20 May 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

21 May 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Shipley CofE Primary School, Horsham RH13 8PL I am writing to tell you how much I enjoyed my visit to your lovely school. Thank you for being so friendly and helping me with the inspection. I enjoyed meeting the school council members and watching the video clip that Years 5 and 6 left for me. I was delighted to learn how much you enjoy school, especially your school trips, the cookery club and special events such as dressing up as Tudors. I think that Shipley is a satisfactory and improving school. I agree with your parents that it is a happy, friendly school that you enjoy attending.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Here are some other things I particularly liked about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You get a good start in the Reception and make good progress in mathematics and science in the older class. ■ You enjoy school, especially all the extra activities you have, and are keen to learn.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your headteacher and all the staff take good care of you and you in turn are thoughtful, kind and caring to each other with older pupils being especially helpful to younger pupils. Every school has something it could do better, so this is what I have asked your school to do to help you learn even more.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Improve your reading and writing, especially for those of you who are more able, so that you make better progress. ■ Improve the way you work, so that you are clear about what you need to do to improve and teachers make sure you understand your targets and use them to help you reach higher standards in your work. ■ Make sure that the most important things that the school needs to do to get better are clearly written out on the improvement plan so that everyone knows what they are, and what they need to do to achieve them. With best wishes for your future success. Janet Sinclair Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Shipley CofE Primary School, 20 May 2008

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