Upton Noble CofE VC Primary School

Upton Noble CofE VC Primary School Inspection report

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123782 Unique Reference Number Somerset Local Authority 327987 Inspection number 28–29 April 2009 Inspection dates Rowena Onions 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 4–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 162 School (total) 13 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 24 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Melinda Baker Chair Christopher Tyrrell Headteacher 8 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 Upton Noble School address Shepton Mallet BA4 6AU 01749 850375 Telephone number

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4–11 Age group 28–29 April 2009 Inspection dates 327987 Inspection number 01749 850447 Fax number

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4–11 Age group 28–29 April 2009 Inspection dates 327987 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. 3 of 12 Inspection Report: Upton Noble CofE VC Primary School, 28–29 April 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

Upton Noble School serves its local rural area but also attracts pupils from further afield. Almost all pupils are of White British origin and have English as their first language. A below average proportion of pupils have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The younger children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are provided for in a pre-school, known as 'The Tree House', housed in a separate building, but managed by the same governing body. The Reception class is part of the main school.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 4 of 12 Inspection Report: Upton Noble CofE VC Primary School, 28–29 April 2009

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Grade: 3

Upton Noble provides a satisfactory education. It has a number of good features, particularly those associated with the personal development of the pupils. An emphasis on helping pupils to learn to lead healthy, safe lives is particularly successful. As a result, pupils are happy and energetic, an outcome that is greatly appreciated by parents, whose opinions are typified by one who commented, 'The atmosphere is great, very friendly and warm and I feel they are well looked after.' Children in the pre-school and the Reception class make good progress. Achievement in the rest of the school is satisfactory. Although many pupils achieve well and attain appropriately high standards, there are a small but significant number, often those with middle attainments, who do not make the progress that they should. The school has identified that this is the case. However, until the current year, there was not sufficient detail in the tracking of pupil progress

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Grade: 3

to allow for the early identification and rectification of potential underachievement amongst this small group of middle attaining pupils. Systems have been in place to identify pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities for much longer and the provision for these pupils is good, ensuring that they make good progress. A significant number of pupils enter the school during Key Stage 2 and the needs of these pupils are also addressed well, meaning that they too make good progress. A good aspect of the overall satisfactory teaching is the way pupils are managed and motivated to learn. Relationships are productive and lessons are calm and harmonious. Teachers choose activities that they feel will interest the pupils, who show this is successful by their attention in class. Some teaching is, however, stronger than other teaching. Where it is less successful, it is because the teacher has not focused sufficiently on what pupils will learn in the lesson and

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Grade: 3

although activities may be motivating, they are not promoting swift enough learning. The school provides strong personal care and guidance for pupils, helping each to develop personally. Pupils are set targets for the longer-term improvement of their work and they report they find these useful. However, some teachers' marking does not give clear enough messages to pupils as to how to improve. The curriculum is productive in the way that it enriches the pupils' experiences, in particular through the good use of the local community and environment and in the way that it promotes pupils' personal development. It is only satisfactory overall because there are missed opportunities to consolidate skills learned in one subject in other subjects. The impact of the leadership and management of the school is satisfactory overall. There is an appropriate focus on the need to raise pupils' achievement and well- judged efforts have been

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Grade: 3

made to address this; however, they are not yet having the desired impact. For example, the structures that have been put in place to track pupils' progress are secure but senior staff are not yet using these in sufficient detail to see that they help ensure all pupils make the progress they should. A relatively new governing body is supportive and informed but aware that it needs to take more rigorous action in holding the school to account for pupils' achievement. There are some good aspects of leadership, for example the successful development of the role the school is playing in the local community. The development of pre-school provision and after-school care has been particularly positive and is now having impact on children's attainment. 5 of 12 Inspection Report: Upton Noble CofE VC Primary School, 28–29 April 2009

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Grade: 2

In both the pre-school and the Reception class, children are happy, settled and making good progress. Because they are well taught and are provided with a wide range of different types of activity, children relate confidently to each other and adults and develop positive attitudes to school. They are keen to initiate activities and to be independent as well as to work with adults. The good curriculum in both settings allows them this opportunity as well as the opportunity to work both indoors and outside. Excellent procedures are in place to ensure the safety and welfare of the children. The settings are mainly well resourced, but children lack opportunity to climb, which somewhat limits their physical development. Hard work and good leadership and management by headteacher, governors and the Early Years Foundation Stage leader have been very successful in both the pre-school provision and the links with the

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Grade: 2

Reception class, to the considerable benefit of the children.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ In order to improve the overall achievement of pupils, ensure that:

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What the school should do to improve further

■ all pupils make good progress by using the new termly tracking to identify, at an early stage, pupils who are potentially underachieving and take action to prevent this; ■ all lessons focus on what pupils will learn during the lesson;

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What the school should do to improve further

■ there is a consistently good quality of marking that helps pupils understand how to improve their work. A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but 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

Pupils enter the Reception Year with broadly average attainments. Good pre-school provision means that their personal and social development is better than average. Good provision means that by the end of Reception, their attainments are above the national expectation for children of this age and they are above average at the end of Year 2 in reading, writing and mathematics. By Year 6, standards in English, mathematics and science are broadly average. This represents satisfactory achievement, as current Year 6 pupils and those who left in 2008 attained average standards at the end of Year 2. Achievement is only satisfactory in the main because a few, mostly middle attaining, pupils are not doing well enough. In general, higher attaining pupils achieve in at least a satisfactory way and those with lower attainments do well. The new detailed tracking system is also revealing that pupils make better progress in some year groups and

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Grade: 3

classes than in others; for example, progress accelerates in Years 5 and 6. Parents of this group of pupils who enter the school in Key Stage 2 are particularly pleased with what the school provides, commenting, 'They received great care and attention which helped them to settle very well.'

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Grade: 2

The social, moral, spiritual and cultural development of pupils is good. In particular, they have excellent understanding of right and wrong and relate very well to others around them. They 6 of 12 Inspection Report: Upton Noble CofE VC Primary School, 28–29 April 2009 make a good contribution to their school community, taking on responsibility in a mature way. They behave well, understanding that they need to consider others as well as themselves. They have good understanding of their role in the world community, for example through activities such as recycling and growing food in school to reduce the distance it travels. They show an ability to empathise with, and show a respect for, others, including those with different cultural backgrounds, but rightly identify that they need more knowledge about these different cultures. Pupils like school and want to attend, so attendance levels are good. They know how to keep

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Grade: 2

healthy, safe and well and take action to promote this. Their levels in literacy and numeracy and their ability to work together and concentrate well are preparing them well for the next stage of their education.

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Grade: 3

Although satisfactory overall, there is considerable variability in the quality of teaching in the school. Many lessons are well taught, with pacy, well-delivered and well-planned activities promoting learning well. In others, however, too much emphasis is placed on what pupils will do rather than what they will learn and this does not consistently promote progress well. Teaching assistants have good skills, as is clearly demonstrated in some lessons where they very positively influence the progress made. In others, however, they are not deployed as well, particularly when the class is being taught as a whole, and their impact is not as great. Parents are well informed and enabled to play a full part in their child's education.

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Grade: 3

Considerable efforts are made to provide pupils with a curriculum to engage and enthuse them. Enrichment activities, such as a visit from a local farmer with some calves, are particularly successful in bringing learning alive and helping pupils to understand their local community. The school provides well for pupils after school hours, through after-school care as well as through a good range of clubs and activities. Personal, social and health education is also very successful. Although the school appreciates the importance of developing skills in literacy and numeracy in identified lessons, there is not yet full use made of opportunities in other lessons to further develop or consolidate these skills; for example, a lack of direction to older pupils to take notes when being given information in a lesson in religious education missed a chance to improve their attainment in writing.

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Grade: 2

A key strength of the school is the way pupils are supported as individuals. Each pupil is known and valued by all adults in the school. Arrangements made by the school to ensure pupils' well-being are good and those for the safeguarding of the pupils meet government requirements. Pupils with learning difficulties and /or disabilities are well supported and helped to make good progress, and good use is made of outside agencies to assist this. The quality of the guidance given to pupils as to how to improve their work is more variable. Targets set for them are clear and useful, but marking is not always as helpful. There is, however, some very good marking 7 of 12 Inspection Report: Upton Noble CofE VC Primary School, 28–29 April 2009 which is clear in helping pupils know how to improve, which could be used to provide a model for other teachers.

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Grade: 3

Current leadership and management are clearly focused on the need to ensure that all pupils achieve well. There is careful monitoring of the school's work by senior leaders, but the school is right in identifying the need to extend the role played in this by subject leaders. Additionally, there needs to be more detailed use made by the school's leaders of the data provided by the new tracking system to rapidly identify potential underachievement and recommend corrective actions. The school's self-evaluation is honest and accurate and is underpinning the current developments appropriately. As a result, the school is currently demonstrating a satisfactory capacity to improve. The good personal care and guidance provided and the development of pupils as individuals are successfully led and managed. Careful thought has been given to the role of the school in the wider community and provision for this in terms of the global community

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Grade: 3

is developing well. The school is correct in identifying that there is a need to strengthen the provision in regard to the community in the United Kingdom and appropriate plans to do this are being developed. Parents are consulted and involved and the vast majority are positive about the education the school provides. 8 of 12 Inspection Report: Upton Noble CofE VC Primary School, 28–29 April 2009 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 9 of 12 Inspection Report: Upton Noble CofE VC Primary School, 28–29 April 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? 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

2 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 2 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 1 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 2 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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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 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. 10 of 12 Inspection Report: Upton Noble CofE VC Primary School, 28–29 April 2009

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learners?

2 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 2 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 2 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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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 3 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 3 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? 11 of 12 Inspection Report: Upton Noble CofE VC Primary School, 28–29 April 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

30 April 2009 Dear Pupils Inspection of Upton Noble C of E VC Primary School, Shepton Mallet BA4 6AU On behalf of the inspectors, I would like to thank you for your warm and friendly welcome when we came to inspect your school. Your school is a satisfactory one at the moment, but the hard work of your headteacher, teachers, assistants and governors is helping it improve. We think that you are helping with this. We were pleased to see that you know how to keep fit by getting lots of exercise and eating healthily. It was also good to hear that you feel safe and well looked after. This is what we liked most about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The good progress many of you are making in learning to read, write and do maths.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The good start given to the children in The Tree House and in the Reception class.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The way you respect each other and the adults in school, and the good way in which you work and play together. ■ The way that teachers try hard to keep you interested in lessons.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The opportunities you have to learn to keep yourselves safe and healthy.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The way adults are working to try to improve your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

To make things even better, this is what we have asked your school to do now.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Make sure that all of you make as much progress as you can.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Be very clear about what you are learning in each of your lessons.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Help you know how to improve your work through the way it is marked.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We think that you could help your teachers to make your school even better by working through your school council to tell teachers what type of marking helps you most. We are very glad that you like your school and think you are lucky to go to one in such a beautiful place. Yours faithfully Rowena Onions Lead inspector 12 of 12 Inspection Report: Upton Noble CofE VC Primary School, 28–29 April 2009

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