Clandon CofE Aided Primary School

Clandon CofE Aided Infant School Inspection report

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125199 Unique Reference Number Surrey Local Authority 328314 Inspection number 10 July 2009 Inspection date Peter Thrussell 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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Infant Type of school Voluntary aided School category 4–7 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 42 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 Reverend Barry Preece Chair Mrs Judith Saunderson Headteacher 14 June 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection The Street School address West Clandon Guildford GU4 7ST 01483 222442 Telephone number 01483 225242 Fax number

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4–7 Age group 10 July 2009 Inspection date 328314 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: Clandon CofE Aided Infant School, 10 July 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors. The inspectors evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues:

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Introduction

■ the impact of leadership and management in bringing about further improvements

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Introduction

■ the strengths in teaching and learning

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Introduction

■ the quality and standards in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

Evidence was gathered from lesson observations, scrutiny of pupils' work and the school's documents. Parents' questionnaires and discussions with children, governors, other leaders and staff also contributed to the judgements. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail. However, the inspectors found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not fully justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This school is very much smaller than most. There has been a recent change of headteacher. The majority of pupils are of White British heritage. A small group of pupils from a Traveller background has recently joined the school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is generally below average. A lower than average proportion of pupils has learning difficulties and/or disabilities. These pupils have a range of needs including speech, language and communication difficulties. The school has won the Activemark award and has Healthy School status.

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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: Clandon CofE Aided Infant School, 10 July 2009

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Grade: 3

Clandon Church of England Aided Infant School is a satisfactory school. Children get off to a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage, and achieve satisfactorily in Key Stage 1. It is a very caring school, which fosters and draws on good links with parents and outside agencies. As a result, pupils make good progress in their personal development. One parent comments, 'The school has a friendly, community feel, which makes it a special place'. It welcomes all pupils, shown in the good support given to a small group of Traveller children who have recently joined the school. The newly appointed headteacher is quickly gaining the confidence and support of governors and parents. Parents appreciate the regular newsletters they receive, and that the headteacher carefully follows up any of their concerns. She has identified where the school needs to make further improvements to achievement and standards and the quality of

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Grade: 3

teaching and learning, in readiness for compiling the next development plan. Hitherto, school development planning has not clearly shown how planned actions are to be monitored for their impact on achievement and standards. Consequently, improvement since the last inspection is satisfactory, for instance in raising the achievement of the more able pupils in writing, although more remains to be done. Pupils enjoy school, especially the friendships they establish and the opportunities they have for physical exercise. Pupils join in 'wake and shake' at the start of the day, make good use of the school's swimming pool and have contributed usefully to setting up the trim trail. Despite a fondness for chocolate cake, pupils have an excellent understanding of what constitutes a healthy diet. Their keenness to adopt healthy lifestyles is recognised in national awards. Attendance is satisfactory. The local cluster of schools is looking at ways of discouraging parents

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Grade: 3

from arranging holidays in term time. Pupils generally enjoy lessons, but boys especially are not always enthusiastic about writing. Good opportunities to take responsibility around school and to participate in the local community, along with their positive attitudes and good behaviour, prepare pupils well for the future. Given their above-average starting points in Year 1, pupils, including those who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities, make satisfactory progress. Overall, standards by the end of Year 2 are above average, but with quite small class sizes, vary a little from year to year. They have remained consistently well above average in reading, where the support given by parents is particularly strong, and to a lesser extent in mathematics. Although standards in writing are generally above average, the more able pupils especially continue to do less well in writing as in other subjects. In the current Year 2, there is a particularly small cohort consisting only of

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Grade: 3

boys and their standards in writing overall are below average. All pupils have increased opportunities, through role play and drama, to develop their ideas and vocabulary for writing, which is having some impact on the content of their work. To raise standards further, the school is planning to develop its curriculum. Alongside good provision for personal and social development, this will provide more opportunities for pupils to use and develop their different skills, including writing and computer skills, in a more creative and purposeful thematic approach. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Although lessons provide clear learning intentions, these do not take sufficient account of the range of ages and abilities in the current mixed Year 1/2 class. There is insufficient use of assessment data to plan work for pupils with differing abilities. As a result, the more able pupils are not always sufficiently challenged and

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Grade: 3

at times the less able ones find the work too difficult. Consequently, progress slows. There is an over-reliance on worksheets. In writing, these show that pupils are working on different 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Clandon CofE Aided Infant School, 10 July 2009 skills, such as spelling, punctuation and handwriting. However, teachers' expectation that these skills should be applied to pupils' written work is not high enough. As a result, the quality of written work suffers. Pupils have literacy and numeracy targets, which provide some guidance on how they can improve their work. However, marking and the opportunities to discuss and evaluate their learning provide less guidance to pupils. The school tracks the progress made by pupils, helping it to identify where further support is required. This information has not been used consistently to show progress across the key stage, to provide end-of-year targets for teachers to plan towards, or to provide a measure of

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Grade: 3

the effectiveness of teaching and learning. Governors are supportive of the work of the school, but their monitoring is not always sharp enough to enable them to challenge the school more fully on its performance. The school satisfactorily promotes pupils' understanding and respect of communities both locally and internationally. Cultural events are helping pupils to gain a greater insight into different national and world cultures, but the school recognises that more work is required in this area. Given developments since the last inspection and the identification of where key improvements are needed, the school has a satisfactory capacity for further improvement.

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Grade: 2

Children in the Reception class greatly enjoy the time they spend at school. Good links with parents and the careful attention of staff ensure that children's welfare requirements are well met. Sensitive, well-planned induction procedures help children to settle in quickly and they rapidly become used to the daily routine. This helps them get off to a good start. Adults manage children's behaviour skilfully and they have appropriately high expectations. Children are interested in the activities provided and their enthusiasm, along with a suitably planned curriculum and good teaching, helps them to achieve well. For example, they enjoyed the role play of 'Mr Grumpy's Outing' and demonstrated well-developed speaking and listening skills. Children enter Reception with standards that are a little above those expected for their age, especially in aspects of social, physical and creative development. They make good progress,

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Grade: 2

particularly with respect to their early reading and writing skills and their problem-solving and reasoning skills. The linking of letters with sounds (phonics) is emphasised well to support children's reading. At the end of Reception, the level of skills and knowledge acquired by children is above that expected at this age. A few children are working well into the curriculum for Year 1. Working relationships are good and adults keep up a good flow of conversation with children, enabling them to develop their vocabulary and self-confidence. Leadership and management are good. Good processes are in place to assess children's skills and strengths when they start school. Records of continuous observation are kept, in order to track children's progress. This information is used well to match work closely to children's individual needs and to identify where additional support is required. Planning strikes a sound

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Grade: 2

balance between allowing children to choose activities for themselves and directing them towards work that is led by adults. Although the outdoor area is readily accessible, it is not planned or used well enough to consolidate and extend children's learning.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise standards in writing through raising teachers' expectations and developing the curriculum to provide more opportunities for interesting and purposeful writing. 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Clandon CofE Aided Infant School, 10 July 2009 ■ Ensure that assessment information is fully used to plan the next steps in pupils' learning, so that all are fully and appropriately challenged. ■ Use the outdoor area in Reception to extend children's learning experiences.

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What the school should do to improve further

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. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Clandon CofE Aided Infant School, 10 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: Clandon CofE Aided Infant School, 10 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? 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? 2 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? 2 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/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: Clandon CofE Aided Infant School, 10 July 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 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 3 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Clandon CofE Aided Infant School, 10 July 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

21 July 2009 Dear Pupils Inspection of Clandon CofE Aided Infant School,Guildford,GU4 7ST Thank you for taking part in the inspection. We spoke with some of you during our visit and you were always interesting to talk to, polite and helpful. You spoke quite enthusiastically about enjoying school and all of the things in which you take part. We have decided that Clandon Infant is a satisfactory school. We liked these things the most.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Children get off to a good start in Reception.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The school makes sure that you are safe and well looked after.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You behave well and are keen to take on responsibilities around school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You are all very keen to keep fit and eat the right things. You are fortunate to be able to swim regularly and to have early morning 'wake and shake'. ■ Your new headteacher is doing a good job.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We have asked the school to work on the following things now.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You do particularly well in reading and mathematics, but not as well in writing. Teachers should ensure that they always expect the very best written work from each of you, especially those who find writing easy. The school is planning more opportunities to add interest to your writing and you must make good use of these. ■ The school looks carefully at how well you are doing in lessons. It must use this information to plan work that is just right for each one of you, neither too easy nor too difficult. This will help you all to enjoy lessons even more, work harder and make the best progress possible. ■ Children in Reception have a good outside area to play in. The school must ensure that this area is also fully used to support children's learning in different subjects. We did enjoy visiting your school and watching you learn. Yours faithfully Peter Thrussell Lead Inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Clandon CofE Aided Infant School, 10 July 2009

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