The Stoke Poges School

The Stoke Poges School Inspection report

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130328 Unique Reference Number Buckinghamshire Local Authority 315613 Inspection number 25 °26 March 2008 Inspection dates Jeffrey White 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 Community School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 395 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Simon Barton Chair Mr Malcolm Bridges Headteacher 23 February 2004 Date of previous school inspection Rogers Lane School address Stoke Poges SL2 4LN 01753 643319 Telephone number 01753 643431 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 25 °26 March 2008 Inspection dates 315613 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school is larger than average. A majority of pupils are of White British origin. The remainder come from a range of ethnic backgrounds, the largest groups being Asian British pupils of Indian or Pakistani origin. Very few pupils are at an early stage of learning English.

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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: The Stoke Poges School, 25 °26 March 2008

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Grade: 2

This is a good school that is well supported by parents. The excellent racial harmony underpins the school's work and is one of the key reasons why pupils attain above average standards by the end of Year 6, make good progress and achieve well. Well above average standards in English are a particular strength. Standards at the end of Year 2 are above average and rising. The school's links with external partners are highly effective in promoting pupils' well being. For instance, pupils thoroughly enjoy their work with many local sports clubs, the local parish and other churches. Pupils' personal development is outstanding. Pupils are encouraged to be good citizens and take responsibility for the environment and for devising class rules. They are confident, articulate, extremely happy and feel safe. They contribute considerably to the school and wider community. For example, the school council was instrumental in persuading the

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Grade: 2

senior leadership that playground equipment should be improved. Pupils' very positive attitudes mean that they thoroughly enjoy their learning and they are very well prepared for their future lives. Teaching is good. Teachers capture pupils' interests, which helps to ensure that they learn well. They plan pupils' work thoroughly to take account of their different needs and frequently make good use of targets to help pupils make better progress. This is not always consistent in practice because a whole school system for monitoring pupils' progress is not fully implemented. Consequently, pupils' progress is more difficult to track than it should be. Pupils enjoy the good curriculum, especially the very wide range of extra-curricular activities. The provision for physical education (PE) is outstanding and contributes considerably to pupils' healthy lifestyles. The quality of care, guidance and support is good. Pastoral care is a significant strength. As a

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Grade: 2

result, pupils have a strong sense of well-being and always know there is someone they can turn to if they have a problem. Leadership and management are good and this has a significant impact on pupils' academic progress and their personal development. The headteacher and staff value highly the school's ethnic and cultural diversity and are committed to helping all pupils develop as well as possible. The headteacher and staff work well together and are well supported by governors. The senior leadership's monitoring and evaluation of the school's performance is good and consequently the headteacher and staff know what needs to be done to improve the school. Leaders of English, mathematics and science lead their subjects well. However, leaders of other subjects have too few opportunities to monitor teaching and learning.

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Grade: 2

Children generally enter the school with abilities close to those expected for their age. In the current Reception Year many children entered with abilities above those expected in their English language and social skills. Many opportunities are provided for children to play in groups and to develop independence, working happily and confidently in a safe, healthy and stimulating environment. The quality of the direct teaching for groups and the full class is good, but when children are involved in their self-selected activities there is sometimes insufficient adult intervention to move their learning forward. The structured teaching of letter sound combinations and the support given to develop spoken language are good. Overall, children make good progress, particularly in their personal development and their communication 4 of 11 Inspection Report: The Stoke Poges School, 25 °26 March 2008 language and literacy skills. Many children are well supported by their parents and they are

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Grade: 2

welcomed in the Reception classes. The leadership is good with a clear vision for future development.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that pupils' progress is tracked consistently across the school.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that leaders in all subjects monitor and evaluate teaching and learning more regularly.

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Grade: 2

Pupils perform well in the national tests and the trend is one of improvement. Standards are above average because the teaching is good and pupils are very keen to learn. Standards in English are well above average due to some excellent teaching. Pupils' achievement towards meeting their academic targets is good. Asian British pupils achieve especially well in English and make better progress than similar pupils nationally. Most pupils make good progress over time and also in lessons. Progress across the school is consistently good. Pupils in Key Stage 1 build well on the good start they make in Reception to reach above average standards. Boys and girls progress equally well. Pupils with moderate learning difficulties make good progress because they are supported well.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' social skills are excellent. They are confident, articulate and well mannered. Relationships are outstandingly good. By Year 6, pupils are mature and polite and willing to take responsibility. They make an outstanding contribution to the school community. For example, they undertake many office duties and answer the phones during lunchtime. These well developed personal skills and the high standards in literacy are excellent preparation for their future economic well-being. Pupils' behaviour is good and excellent in Year 5 and Year 6. Pupils work very harmoniously in groups. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. From the youngest years they reflect upon their learning, which they thoroughly enjoy. As one Year 5 boy stated, 'I love literacy. I always give it my best and try 100 per cent.' Pupils' knowledge of how to maintain a healthy lifestyle is extremely good and they participate in an extensive range of sporting

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Grade: 1

activities. They have a good knowledge of how to stay safe. Pupils make an outstanding contribution to the wider community. For instance, they help to plant trees in the local village Memorial Garden. The school council introduces the pupils to democratic processes and members state confidently that the headteacher and staff value their views. Attendance is good.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good and, consequently, pupils' progress is good. Lessons are well planned and enjoyable for the pupils. Discussions are managed extremely well. As a result, pupils are careful listeners and confident speakers. In an outstanding mathematics lesson, the teacher's high expectations coupled with well-focused discussion led to all pupils making rapid progress in their acquisition of key numeracy skills. Teachers and support staff promote pupils' 5 of 11 Inspection Report: The Stoke Poges School, 25 °26 March 2008 personal development strongly. Often teachers make good use of assessment to set challenging targets, but this is not always consistent practice because the new assessment procedures are not yet fully implemented across the school. Therefore progress is not tracked as well as it might be. Recently, good attention has been given to meeting the needs of the most able in

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Grade: 2

Key Stage 1. More sharply pitched targets have been successful in improving their progress in writing and mathematics.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good and meets requirements. Basic skills of literacy and numeracy are well planned and enable pupils to attain at least above average standards. These skills are used well in other subjects. Information and communication technology (ICT) is taught regularly in the well-equipped computer suite, but a lack of computers in the classrooms restricts the opportunities for these skills to be used in lessons. Specialists teach music, PE and ICT. The provision for PE is outstanding because the excellent work in school is supplemented by an extensive range of out of hours sporting opportunities for which the school has won many trophies. PE contributes extremely well to pupils' healthy lifestyles. It also enables those with special talents to flourish. The outstanding range of enrichment activities includes a visit to France, to support the French taught in the school, and a skiing trip to Austria with parents.

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Grade: 2

These activities significantly contribute to the pupils' social and cultural development and their enthusiasm for learning.

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Grade: 2

Systems and procedures to safeguard pupils are thorough and well established. Pastoral care is excellent. Pupils say they feel safe and well looked after. Staff work well with a range of external agencies. Attendance is carefully monitored and improving. The headteacher and staff actively promote equality of different ethnic groups and sexes and, as a result, pupils make good progress in their personal and academic development. The programme of support for pupils with particular needs, for example, in speech and language, is extensive. Pupils are well informed about their progress and the oldest pupils are highly articulate when talking about their targets. However, pupils are not consistently involved in evaluating their targets and setting new ones. Many parents praise the school's provision of homework.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The commitment to promote equality of opportunity is a strength of the leadership. The headteacher and staff work well as a team and staff value the many opportunities to further their professional development. Overall self-evaluation has improved and is now good. Governors are increasingly involved with monitoring and evaluating the school's performance. They fulfil their responsibilities. The senior leadership team is effective and works closely with the headteacher in evaluating pupils' standards and achievement and progress, especially in the core subjects. Subsequent action is successful, for example, in improving teachers' marking and developing investigative work in science and mathematics. These actions have helped standards to rise. There is still some way to go in developing the roles of subject leaders in monitoring and evaluating teaching and learning in other subjects.

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Grade: 2

6 of 11 Inspection Report: The Stoke Poges School, 25 °26 March 2008 Plans are in hand for the use of a whole school assessment system to track pupils' progress more thoroughly. The school is efficient and runs smoothly. New staff are inducted well into the school and are well supported by the headteacher and their colleagues. The school has improved since its last inspection. For example, the transition from the Foundation Stage to Year 1 has improved and has helped pupils' progress to be more consistent. The school regularly receives successful external quality assurance through local and nation award schemes. It is well placed to continue to improve. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: The Stoke Poges School, 25 °26 March 2008 .

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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: The Stoke Poges School, 25 °26 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? 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?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 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: The Stoke Poges School, 25 °26 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 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: The Stoke Poges School, 25 °26 March 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

03 April 2008 Dear Children Inspection of The Stoke Poges School,Stoke Poges,SL2 4LN Thank you for your help on our visit to your school. We very much enjoyed talking to you. You told us how much you enjoy your learning. Your personal development is outstanding because you work hard in all that you do. You behave well and have very positive attitudes towards each other. You also told us that you are well cared for and feel safe. Your school is a good school. The headteacher and staff work well together to help you to do the best that you can. You enjoy a very wide range of activities in the school and elsewhere. You succeed especially well in sporting activities and we know how pleased you are with the many trophies you have won. Your teachers teach you well, which is why you are making good progress. We have asked your headteacher to make sure that all your teachers check whether you are making good progress in all subjects. We have also asked him to make sure that the teachers

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

who lead subjects have more opportunities to keep a check on teaching and learning. With best wishes Jeff White Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: The Stoke Poges School, 25 °26 March 2008

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