Trowell CofE Primary School

Trowell CofE Primary School Inspection report

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122770 Unique Reference Number Nottinghamshire Local Authority 327794 Inspection number 6 July 2009 Inspection date Richard Cheetham 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 Voluntary controlled School category 4–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 162 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 Mr G Lockwood Chair Mrs S Chalkley Headteacher 23 May 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Derbyshire Avenue School address Trowell Nottinghamshire NG9 3QD 0115 932 0962 Telephone number 0115 932 0962 Fax number

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4–11 Age group 6 July 2009 Inspection date 327794 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 10 Inspection Report: Trowell CofE Primary School, 6 July 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

■ Is the school raising Key Stage 2 boys' attainment in writing so that they achieve as highly as girls? ■ How good is the teaching of basic skills across all subjects?

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Introduction

■ How effective is the school in promoting community cohesion?

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Introduction

Evidence was gathered from discussions with the headteacher, senior staff, two governors, pupils and staff; lesson observations; a scrutiny of pupils' work and staff planning. The inspectors observed aspects of the school day such as arrival, assembly and break time. They analysed parents' questionnaires and pupil progress data and examined records of visits by another external assessor, the school's safeguarding and child protection procedures and minutes of meetings. Other aspects of the school were not investigated in detail, but inspectors 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 smaller-than-average school serves the village of Trowell near Nottingham. Most pupils live in the village although a significant proportion comes from outside the local catchment area. Almost all pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals and the proportion with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are 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: Trowell CofE Primary School, 6 July 2009

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Grade: 1

This outstanding school is very popular with parents who typically comment, 'An excellent school where all the staff work very hard to help children achieve in all aspects of their education.' Pupils strike a similar note when they say, 'Lessons are never boring; we work and play hard; we can learn - there's nobody stopping us.' The school's success stems from the sustained resolve of the headteacher to build a compatible staff team who share her drive to ensure that all pupils will succeed as well as possible. As one senior teacher succinctly put it, 'We don't want mundane.' This means that all pupils' learning and emotional needs are accurately identified at an early stage and an outstanding curriculum has been devised that supports and challenges them. The school draws on additional resources through its excellent links with local schools and county services to meet the range of pupils' learning needs.

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Grade: 1

The school is highly inclusive in all that it offers so that all pupils make at least good progress and groups, such as higher attainers or those vulnerable to low achievement make exceptional progress. The school has built on the many strengths noted in the previous inspection and has improved pupils' standards and achievement from good to outstanding. The school now has an excellent record of consistently high attainment at the end of both key stages in English, mathematics and science. Pupils start school with skills broadly typical of their age and make excellent progress to begin Year 1 with above expected levels of attainment in all areas of learning. Progress in Years 1 and 2 is rapid so that pupils reach well above average standards at the end of Key Stage 1. Continuity of learning is well established in Years 3 to 6 so that pupils make excellent progress and reach exceptionally high standards by the end of Key Stage

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Grade: 1

2. Although boys' attainment in writing is not as high as girls', the performance of both is well above average and the school is having some success in narrowing the gap in this aspect of attainment. In other aspects, there is little difference in performance. Both boys and girls achieve highly in reading and speaking and listening. Pupils read fluently and expressively, speak clearly and listen intently. They have very well developed mathematical and scientific skills and understanding. The school makes good use of information and communication technology for research and presentations, which positively encourages pupils' independent learning skills. Pupils respond excellently to high-quality teaching. They persevere, ask questions, concentrate hard and engage fully in the wide range of learning opportunities on offer. At the heart of the school's teaching are accurate assessments of where pupils are on their learning journey. This

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Grade: 1

enables staff to plan meticulously to meet individual learning needs, involving close teamwork between the class teacher and teaching assistant. Pupils are closely involved in assessing their own work and this, coupled with accurate marking, enables them to understand clearly how to improve their work. Their short-term targets are challenging and support their long-term progress very well. Another significant feature of the school's approach to teaching and learning is to ask the pupils how they like to learn. The staff respond by giving lessons more variety and clarity so that pupils know what is expected of them and understand how their learning fits into the overall pattern. Pupils greatly enjoy their learning and as one said, 'We have fun inside and out.' This enjoyment is seen in their good attendance, exemplary behaviour, very confident attitudes to learning and a high uptake of a full range of extra activities, particularly for older pupils. The curriculum

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Grade: 1

offers all pupils the chance to do as well as they can and they respond by producing high-quality work that is on display in all classes and around the school. This creates a vibrant environment 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Trowell CofE Primary School, 6 July 2009 for learning. Pupils learn basic skills very well in literacy and numeracy lessons and apply them extensively in excellently planned thematic studies. A good example of this is the whole-school involvement in the 'Take One Picture' project that has fired pupils' imaginations and creativity. It has encouraged them to range across subjects in their quest for information. Themes like this engage pupils' interests and extend them through highly relevant visits and residential trips. The curriculum makes a splendid contribution to pupils' outstanding personal development and well-being. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. Understanding of spirituality

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Grade: 1

grows through daily periods of reflection, regular involvement with the local church and charities and appreciation of music, poetry, drama, gardening and first-hand studies of the natural world. Pupils are mature, with considered views of their own and a clear pride in their school. This shows well in the excellent contribution the school council makes to the school's development. Pupils' ready acceptance of responsibility and willing support for others in school and regular participation in local events strengthens these aspects of community cohesion very well. Pupils' active participation in local sporting and cultural events shows their excellent appreciation of the need to look after their bodies and their minds. The school has yet to provide similar opportunities for pupils to understand the worldwide dimension of community cohesion. The development of their skills and attitudes, coupled with high achievement, prepares them

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Grade: 1

excellently for their future economic well-being. The care, guidance and support pupils receive are excellent and child protection and safeguarding provision meet requirements. This overall provision ensures that pupils are safe and gives them an excellent understanding of how to remain so. For instance, they find out how to judge risks when learning cycling proficiency on roads with traffic and when involved in adventurous activities on the school residential visit. Staff know individual pupils very well and provide very sensitive support to them and their families when needed. Procedures for tracking pupils' progress are meticulous and used excellently to prevent underachievement and promote high achievement. Pupils feel very well prepared for their transfer to secondary school. Leadership and management are outstanding because they are broadly based with clear accountabilities sustained by team work and highly effective succession planning. This has

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Grade: 1

enabled the headteacher to build in quality throughout the teaching force and delegate management tasks excellently. Key Stage leaders are most influential in setting fine examples, ensuring continuity of learning and through rigorous monitoring and evaluation to promote consistently high standards. The rolling programme of development planning enables the school to plan extremely well strategically. Governance is excellent. Governors are closely involved in making decisions, and very well informed about the school to challenge and support further improvement. They add to the school's very effective self-evaluation and accurate financial planning. Together with the school's record of continual improvement, they give the school an outstanding capacity for further improvement.

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Grade: 1

The school has successfully built upon the good-quality provision found during the previous inspection. Staff establish excellent relationships with families, encouraging parents and carers to become involved in their child's education right from the start. Children's personal development is outstanding because each child feels valued and knows it is part of an exceptionally caring community. Children behave very well and grow in confidence as they learn to work and play together. They understand a great deal about how to stay fit and healthy. 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Trowell CofE Primary School, 6 July 2009 Consistently good-quality teaching successfully encourages very enthusiastic learning. Teaching is very well planned and learning activities are excellently resourced. Staff provide a wealth of exciting and challenging activities that match individual needs and abilities very effectively. They use detailed assessment information very effectively to plan the next learning steps.

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Grade: 1

Support for children who find learning difficult or who are potentially vulnerable is very good, enabling them to succeed. The restructured outdoor learning environment is a major strength, providing children with the appropriate freedom of choice to develop and extend skills by working indoors or outside. The excellently led and managed Early Years Foundation Stage provides highly effective transition to Year 1. Staff have a strong commitment towards ensuring they provide the best for the school's youngest children.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Develop the global aspect of community cohesion more extensively. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Trowell CofE Primary School, 6 July 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. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Trowell CofE Primary School, 6 July 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? 1 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

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/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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Trowell CofE Primary School, 6 July 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 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 1 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 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Trowell CofE Primary School, 6 July 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

7 July 2009 Dear Children Inspection of Trowell C of E Primary School, Trowell, Nottinghamshire, NG9 3QD Thank you for making us very welcome when we visited your school. We really enjoyed the pizzas cooked by some of the youngest pupils. We were very impressed by your excellent behaviour and the confident, polite way you all spoke with us. You thoroughly enjoy all that your school offers. You are very proud of your school and play a real part in making it outstanding. You do extremely well in reaching well above the standards most children do because you try very hard to reach your targets, listen carefully, work very well together and know how to improve your work. Your school has many strengths and here are some that we found.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your headteacher works very well with the senior staff to lead and manage the school excellently and help it to keep improving. ■ Teaching is excellent so that you are never bored, and the adults help you achieve highly.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The curriculum lets you have fun and helps you all to learn effectively through your project themes and wide range of extra activities. ■ The school looks after you excellently so that you feel safe, know how to look after others and keep safe. ■ Your behaviour and attitudes to school are outstanding. You are very good ambassadors for your school through what you do with the local community. We have asked the staff to help you understand more about other parts of the world and people and let them know about you. Your preparatory work on 'W is for World' will be a good start. We wish you well for the future. Yours faithfully Richard Cheetham Lead inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Trowell CofE Primary School, 6 July 2009

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