Cheswick Green Primary School

Cheswick Green Primary School Inspection report

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104074 Unique Reference Number Solihull Local Authority 323954 Inspection number 25 March 2009 Inspection date Marion Thompson Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Primary Type of school Community School category 3–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 201 School (total) 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Stan Proudfoot Chair Carol Mason Headteacher 6 December 2005 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Cheswick Way School address Shirley Solihull B90 4HG 01564 703336 Telephone number 01564 702074 Fax number

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3–11 Age group 25 March 2009 Inspection date 323954 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. 2 of 9 Inspection Report: Cheswick Green Primary School, 25 March 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two additional inspectors, who evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues:

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Introduction

■ the progress children make in the Nursery and Reception class, especially in reading and mathematics ■ the effect of the curriculum and academic guidance on pupils' progress, especially for the most able pupils. Evidence was gathered from discussions with senior staff, the chair of governors, pupils and staff; visits to most classes; analysis of pupils' work; scrutiny of safeguarding arrangements; observations of other aspects of the school day such as break and lunchtime; and analysis of parents' questionnaires and school documentation, in particular, data on pupils' progress.

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Description of the school

This school is of broadly average size and has a mixed Nursery and Reception class in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The large majority of pupils are of White British origin. The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is well below average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below that usually found. There is on-site provision for a breakfast and an after-school club, run by the governing body. The school also runs a holiday club during the summer holiday. The school has gained the Healthy School Award and Activemark.

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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: Cheswick Green Primary School, 25 March 2009

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good education for its pupils. It is improving steadily. Some aspects of its work, such as personal development and pastoral care, are outstanding. Provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage is outstanding and enables children to make very rapid progress. Parents are strongly supportive of the school and particularly value the excellent care provided for their children. One parent, who reflected the views of many, accurately wrote, 'Children are happy and thrive in this caring environment.' Pupils are well known to staff and feel very secure. Most behave extremely well and attendance is above average. They enjoy all aspects of school life, from the 'Wake and Shake' sessions in the morning to the lively before- and after-school clubs. The school pays excellent attention to developing fitness, and pupils demonstrate an outstanding awareness of how to stay healthy through their eating and exercise lifestyles whilst

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Grade: 2

in school. Standards reached by pupils are well above average and pupils, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, achieve well from their starting points on entry to the school. Older pupils make particularly rapid progress, because a minority of outstanding lessons are very demanding and teachers have very high expectations. In a Year 6 lesson, for example, pupils produced writing of high quality, using a number of sophisticated literary features with great confidence, because of carefully planned, challenging teaching. Pupils' good achievement is supported by a good, broad and interesting curriculum, which meets the needs of most pupils well. Occasionally, however, it does not provide sufficient challenge for the most able pupils. Some aspects of the school's provision, such as the exciting integrated curriculum, where pupils work independently and in groups on enquiries across a

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Grade: 2

number of subject areas, are outstanding, enabling pupils to develop independence and creativity and promoting their enjoyment of learning. Parents appreciate the opportunity to discuss work with their children, for example in a 'Kenyan market place' set up in the school hall, during regular opportunities to visit school. Most teaching is good. Lessons have clear objectives, so pupils understand the purpose of their learning. Staff and pupils form respectful relationships that provide a calm and purposeful climate in classrooms. Regular, well-timed bursts of exercise reinvigorate the pupils and help them to renew their concentration. Rates of progress are, however, inconsistent across the school. In a small minority of lessons, the level of challenge is not as high for the most able pupils, who do not make quite as much progress as other pupils. The strategies the school has put in place to improve writing in Years 3 to 6 and reading in Years 1 and 2 have begun to have

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Grade: 2

a positive impact. Academic guidance is good. Recently introduced methods of assessment are beginning to improve pupils' achievement further, including the most able pupils. Closer monitoring of pupils' work ensures that the school quickly identifies when pupils are falling behind and puts very specific and successful measures in place to ensure they reach their targets. In a number of classes, marking provides clear guidance on how to improve work and follow-up procedures ensure that pupils have understood and acted on the advice. However, both the quality of marking and the follow-up are too inconsistent across the school. The headteacher provides ambitious, effective and creative leadership. Planning is well prioritised and is based on a thorough analysis of the work of the school. This has led to improvements in standards, especially in writing, science and mathematics, since the previous inspection.

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Grade: 2

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Cheswick Green Primary School, 25 March 2009 Enhanced opportunities for joint curriculum planning have enthused teaching staff and team leaders. Subject leaders perform their roles well. They are enhancing their skills in the monitoring of teaching to enable them to perform their roles even more effectively. Governors provide good support, but more limited challenge, to the work of the school. Leadership and management are good and improvements in pupils' achievement and standards indicate that the school is well placed to improve further. The school makes a good contribution to community cohesion. It makes good provision for pupils in its own community, including a holiday club. Excellent spiritual, moral and social development ensures that pupils have an excellent awareness of their role as global citizens, for example through links with schools in Finland and Italy. Pupils take their responsibilities to

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Grade: 2

the local community, such as initiating fund-raising events for charity on the village green or leading 'Wake and Shake', seriously and perform them with confidence. Awareness of the range of cultures within Britain, whilst good, is not quite as well developed as pupils' awareness of different faiths. Pupils' well above average skills in literacy and numeracy and excellent social skills prepare them very well for the next stage in their education.

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Grade: 1

Children make excellent progress in the Nursery and Reception classes in all areas, including reading and mathematics, because high quality teaching and a very well-planned programme of activities meet the individual needs of each child very closely. Children's progress has improved over recent years because the Early Years Foundation Stage has been very well led. Children start school with skills and knowledge levels that are slightly higher than expected. The great majority achieve extremely well overall and reach above average standards. The children feel safe and play happily. When they arrive they confidently leave their parents and decide what they want to do. Many choose books which they hold properly and carefully turn the pages. They are starting to develop individual learning skills. Children are willing to share and to take turns, for example, while sitting in a circle and singing, children, without prompting, passed on

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Grade: 1

the musical instruments to their neighbours at the end of each verse. The staff continually monitor and record the progress of the children, enabling them to plan relevant individual activities so that the child maintains progress. The outside areas are used well and include resources covering all the areas of learning. Very good procedures are in place to ensure the well-being of the children. The safeguarding and welfare arrangements meet requirements, with staff having had appropriate training. Records are kept of, for example, medical and other conditions. The respectfulness children show to each other enables the lessons to run smoothly. They enjoy healthy foods at snack time and know to wash their hands before eating. Parents are fully informed about what their children are doing both from discussions with staff at the beginning and end of the sessions and from looking at the children's story sack diaries.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the achievement of the most able pupils by ensuring they are always presented with demanding tasks. ■ Ensure that marking consistently provides clear guidance to pupils on how to improve their work and is followed up to check that pupils have understood and acted on the advice. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Cheswick Green Primary School, 25 March 2009 .

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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: Cheswick Green Primary School, 25 March 2009

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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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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 capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

1 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 1 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 1 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 1 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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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/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 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: Cheswick Green Primary School, 25 March 2009

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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 The extent to which 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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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 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 2 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? 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: Cheswick Green Primary School, 25 March 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

26 March 2009 Dear Pupils Inspection of Cheswick Green Primary School, Cheswick Green B90 4HG Thank you for making us so welcome when we visited your school. A number of your parents replied to our questionnaire and nearly all were very pleased with the education the school provides for you. We know that you are proud of your school and enjoy attending, so you will all be pleased to know that it provides you with a good education. Children in the Nursery and Reception class make excellent progress because teaching, arrangements to make sure children are safe and the programme of activities are excellent. The Early Years Foundation Stage is very well led. In Years 1 to 6, you are making good progress, reaching well above average standards. The school is well led and managed and the staff work hard. The curriculum is well organised to meet your needs and to keep you interested, especially the enquiry-based curriculum, which

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

motivates you to work hard. We really enjoyed looking at the displays for the Kenyan market place in the hall. The staff take excellent care of you, keeping you safe and helping you to get fit and keep fit. New ways of assessing your work are helping you to make faster progress and to keep you on track to meet your targets. You contribute too. You attend regularly, because you really enjoy school, especially when the work is demanding. In mixed-age activities, you look after younger pupils well and behave safely. You take on a number of serious responsibilities in school and often in the wider community, for example leading 'Wake and Shake' and raising money for charity on the village green. You treat people in school with respect and most of you behave very well. You know a great deal about how to stay healthy and enjoy taking plenty of exercise throughout the day. Your well above average skills in literacy and numeracy and excellent social skills prepare you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

very well for the future. We were impressed by the links you made with other schools abroad, like the school in Finland, and how that broadens your views. In order to improve things further we have asked the school to make sure that those of you who find work easy are always given work that is demanding and makes you think hard. We have also asked teachers to make sure that marking always provides you with clear guidance on how to improve your work, and that this is followed up to make sure you understand and use the advice well to help you do better. We hope you continue to have a happy and enjoyable education. Best wishes Marion Thompson Lead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Cheswick Green Primary School, 25 March 2009

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