Clinton Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 18–19 May 2009 Inspection number 328355 Clinton Primary School Inspection report

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Unique Reference Number 125551 Local Authority Warwickshire Inspection number 328355 Inspection dates 18–19 May 2009 Reporting inspector David Driscoll

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This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 under pilot arrangements; it was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act .

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Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number on roll School (total) 201 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Richard Ward Acting Headteacher Sam Pater Date of previous school inspection 18–19 May 2006 School address Caesar Road Kenilworth CV8 1DL Telephone number 01926 852334 Fax number 01926 855290 Email address head2308@we-learn.com Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk 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

This pilot inspection was carried out by two additional inspectors. The inspectors visited 13 lessons, and held meetings with governors, staff and pupils. They observed the school’s work, and looked particularly at the school’s analysis of data from assessments, documentation relating to pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, records of checks on the quality of teaching and records of checks made by the school to ensure that pupils are kept safe. Inspectors also analysed the responses of the questionnaires from parents representing 113 pupils.

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Introduction

The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school’s work. It looked in detail at the following:

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Introduction

 the achievement of girls in mathematics to determine whether lower standards are a result of slower progress  the progress of small groups of pupils, especially those who are eligible for free school meals, or those with learning difficulties who are supported by the school (‘School Action’), to determine how well provision is tailored to their needs  what the school has done to improve attendance  how successful the school is in taking actions to improve.

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Information about the school

Clinton Primary School serves an area of south west Kenilworth, but a relatively high proportion of pupils come from outside the catchment area. The proportion eligible for free school meals is below average. The great majority of pupils come from White British families, and nearly all speak English as their first language. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average, although the proportion with a statement of special educational needs is above average.

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Information about the school

The school is trialling a government scheme providing specialist status for primary schools. Clinton Primary School has been designated a specialist school for modern foreign languages. The school currently has an acting headteacher and deputy headteacher.

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Information about the school

A children’s club, not managed by the governing body, operates on the school site and is inspected separately.

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Inspection judgements

Grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Main findings

Parents and carers are very pleased with the good education provided by the school, and many rightly point out areas of excellence. The key factors in the school success are the:

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Main findings

 good teaching that enables the great majority of pupils to progress well and reach high standards by the time they leave school, so they are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage in their education  well-planned curriculum, which makes learning relevant, that pupils really enjoy and, as a result, has improved attendance to a high level  extremely thorough attention paid to pupils’ welfare that ensures that they feel totally secure in school and know how to keep themselves and others safe  many opportunities that pupils have to take on responsibilities that allow them to play an outstanding part in the school and wider communities  excellent way the school’s leaders listen to the views of parents and pupils and involve them in improving the education provided by the school  very effective links forged with agencies to support pupils with specific medical needs and with schools in other countries that promote pupils’ excellent

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Main findings

understanding of other cultures across the world.

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Main findings

While most pupils achieve well, the small number on ‘School Action’ make satisfactory progress, because the work they are given is not always as well matched to their needs as other pupils. Individual education plans for these pupils do not provide clear enough guidance on what teachers and support assistants to support such pupils, and their targets are not always measurable. Accurate assessment ensures that pupils are given work at the start of a lesson that is well matched to their capabilities. This allows most to make good progress, although there is often a few pupils who finish before others and have to wait for the rest of their group to catch up before being given more difficult work. The school has gone from strength to strength since it was last inspected. The school’s leaders, including governors, have used data from assessments well to identify the most important areas where provision can be improved. The checks on teaching carried out by the acting

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Main findings

headteacher are excellent in identifying exactly where improvements can be made. Those carried out by subject coordinators and other middle managers, are satisfactory, but not as effective in pointing out where improvements can be made. The actions the school’s leaders have taken have been very successful. In particular, standards have improved significantly as pupils make faster progress and attend more frequently. The granting of specialist status has prompted a complete overhaul of the curriculum, so that the international dimension now permeates all aspects of life in school. Given such improvement, it is clear that the school has good potential to take the school to the next level, especially in three key areas:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the progress made by pupils supported on ‘School Action’ to the same good level as other pupils by:  ensuring targets on individual education plans are measurable and precisely focused on the specific needs of the individual  providing more specific guidance on individual education plans on how adults can best support pupils.  Ensure pupils make best progress by assessing their work more effectively during lessons so that they are always engaged in challenging tasks.  Develop the skills of subject coordinators and other middle managers in monitoring and evaluating teaching to provide better guidance to staff on how to improve.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 1

Children join the Reception class with skills and knowledge that are above those expected for their age. They make good progress in almost all areas of learning, so standards are well above average by the time they start Year 1. Good progress continues as they move through the school. In the lessons seen, pupils were learning at a good pace. Their work shows excellent levels of understanding in mathematics, and their writing is of a particularly high quality. Standards are high by the end of Year 2, and increase further by the time pupils leave the school.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 1

The school has identified small groups of pupils whose standards are not as high as others. In most cases, such as girls in mathematics in 2008, this is a result of starting school with lower standards, rather than any difference in the progress they make. For others, such as those eligible for free school meals, there are individual reasons why some pupils do not always make as much progress as they could. The school is now working very effectively with parents to support such pupils, and their learning observed during the inspection was equally as good as others. Most pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress. However, a small number of pupils are supported on ‘School Action’ and their progress is satisfactory, rather than good, because support is not as well tailored to their needs as it is for other pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 1

Achievement has improved because pupils now enjoy coming to school much more. They love the activities in lessons where they use their newly learnt skills to solve problems and where they learn totally new skills, such as speaking Mandarin Chinese. Such enjoyment boosted attendance to a high level in 2008, and it is even higher this year. Pupils are well behaved in lessons, although in all classes seen there were one or two pupils who were not paying full attention.. Outside of lessons, they show a mature attitude. They readily take on responsibility, such as teaching small groups of younger pupils to play mah-jong. They play an outstanding role in improving the school. It is the pupils, of all ages, who planned the peace garden and the layout of computers, organised a system for pupils to walk to school and act as peer mediators, for example. They have forged links with other schools in the area to

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 1

help them plan trips to foreign countries. Pupils feel exceptionally safe in school. They have great confidence in the school’s ability to take care of them, and they too play their part. They think carefully about safety, without prompting from adults. For example, a separate, slower game of football was organised at break, so that a pupil on crutches could play.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 1

These are the grades for pupils’ outcomes Pupils’ attainment 1 1 The quality of pupils’ learning and their progress 2 The quality of learning for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and their progress How well do pupils achieve and enjoy their learning? 1 To what extent do pupils feel safe? 1 How well do pupils behave? 2 To what extent do pupils adopt healthy lifestyles? 2 To what extent do pupils contribute to the school and wider community? 1 Pupils’ attendance 1 1 How well do pupils develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being? What is the extent of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development? 2

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How effective is the provision?

Assessments carried out at the end of topics are accurate and used well to place pupils in groups according to their ability in a particular subject. Teachers plan well for these groups, usually at five different levels of difficulty, so all pupils start with work that is challenging and well matched to their needs. As the lesson progresses, some pupils do not always make as much progress as others. They may, for example, be the individual in a group who finishes ahead of the others and this is not spotted by the teacher so they are not given a more challenging task to do until the rest of the group has caught up. The great majority of pupils are very clear about what they are aiming for and how to improve their work. However, the targets for pupils supported on ‘School Action’ are too general and the information on individual education plans does not provide staff with sufficient detail to allow them to plan

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How effective is the provision?

activities or provide guidance that will help such pupils to make the best possible progress. For example, several pupils’ targets are to ‘improve spelling’, which is then checked through a spelling test. This helps them to spell specific words, but not to

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How effective is the provision?

1 The grades for attainment and attendance are: 1 is high; 2 is above average; 3 is broadly average; and 4 is low improve their spelling of others which are not corrected in their writing.

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How effective is the provision?

The curriculum is particularly relevant for pupils. They have been involved in its planning, and for some topics they choose exactly what they want to concentrate on learning in the next two weeks so they can go over areas that they have not fully understood. Lots of links are made between subjects, so they are taught in context with lots of problem solving, which the pupils love. When Year 1 pupils were learning about other faiths, for example, they had to work out where a boy was going on a pilgrimage by checking the contents of his suitcase to find out about the country he was visiting. Many parents come in to talk to pupils, or lead one of the wide range of extra-curricular activities, to broaden pupils’ experiences and help prepare them for life after school. Parents are particularly impressed with welfare arrangements, and have as much confidence in the quality of care as the pupils. Pupils are known well

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How effective is the provision?

as individuals and are very well looked after by staff. Pupils with a statement of special educational needs receive good support from teaching assistants, who are very knowledgeable about those with medical problems.

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How effective is the provision?

These are the grades for the quality of provision The quality of teaching 2 The use of assessment to support learning 2 The extent to which the curriculum meets pupils’ needs, including, where relevant, through partnerships The effectiveness of care, guidance and support 2

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How effective are leadership and management?

Morale among staff is high. They are committed to improving the education provided and keen to improve their own performance, in order that they can meet the challenging targets set by senior managers and governors. Improvement is being driven by the acting headteacher’s excellent checks on teaching that pinpoint exactly what staff need to do to improve. Other staff also play a good role in carrying out such checks for the subjects or areas that they manage, but their evaluations focus more on what worked well at the expense of identifying what would make the learning even better. The school’s acting headteacher and deputy headteacher have carried out a deep analysis of the performance of different groups in their effort to ensure all are doing as well as others. Actions taken to iron out inconsistencies have proved successful with most, but not all, groups and this is a focus for school improvement.

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How effective are leadership and management?

Procedures for safeguarding are comprehensive; the school goes beyond current requirements and already meets those proposed for next year. As in other areas, links with parents are exceptionally well maintained, with all accidents in school reported home so that parents and carers are totally aware of what has happened and what actions the school has taken. The advice of agencies providing support for pupils with disabilities or medical problems is followed to the letter to ensure the best possible quality of provision. Links with other schools in the area and internationally have improved the curriculum and opened up new opportunities for pupils to develop socially. Many initiatives have been planned and implemented to promote community cohesion, although these have not yet been fully evaluated. Pupils have an exceptional knowledge about life in other countries, developed through the school’s specialism. However, their knowledge of other cultures represented in Britain is less

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How effective are leadership and management?

These are the grades for leadership and management The effectiveness of leadership and management in communicating ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the school promotes equality of opportunity and tackles discrimination The effectiveness of safeguarding procedures 1 The effectiveness of the governing body in challenging and supporting the school so that weaknesses are tackled decisively and statutory responsibilities met The effectiveness of the school’s engagement with parents and carers 1 The effectiveness of partnerships in promoting learning and well-being 1 The effectiveness with which the school promotes community cohesion 2 The effectiveness with which the school deploys resources to achieve value for money

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Early Years Foundation Stage

Parents are very happy with the start their children make in the Reception class. Many children start with knowledge, skills and understanding that are better than expected for their age. They make good progress in most areas of learning because:

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Early Years Foundation Stage

 accurate assessment ensures that the teacher has a good understanding of the learning and development needs of the children, so activities are planned which build upon what children already know, understand and can do  the teacher and Early Years Foundation Stage coordinator have a good understanding of the welfare requirements, so children are kept very safe and secure  the resources available are well matched to children’s needs and deployed at the most appropriate times  teaching assistants are well informed about the needs of children with disabilities, so they are able to provide focused support  leadership and management are clear about areas in need of improvement, and have taken successful actions to address them.

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Early Years Foundation Stage

The areas most in need of improvement are:

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Early Years Foundation Stage

 providing large, wheeled toys to help children develop their gross motor skills and interpersonal relationships more quickly  marking of the playground area to provide a larger area more conducive to learning  improving children’s progress in their creative development to the good level seen in all other areas of learning. Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage 2 The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 2 The effectiveness of leadership and management in the Early Years Foundation Stage Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

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Views of parents and carers

Parents are very supportive of the school’s work and appreciate highly the education it provides. There was a high response to the parental questionnaires. There was never more than one dissenting voice on any aspect, and many more commented on the exceptional role played by pupils and parents in the school community. These views are confirmed by the inspection team.

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Views of parents and carers

Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of pupils registered at Clinton Primary School to complete a questionnaire about their views of the school. If a parent has more than one child at the school, we ask them to record an answer against all the questions for each of their children. The inspection team received 84 completed questionnaires. In total, there are 150 parents and carers registered at the school.

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Views of parents and carers

Always Most of the time Occasionally Never Overall, I am happy with my child’s experience at this school 87 15 2 0

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. In 2007-8, 15% of schools were judged to be outstanding. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. In 2007-8, 49% of schools were judged good. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. In 2007-8, 32% of schools were judged satisfactory. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves. In 2007-8, 5% of schools were judged inadequate.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning, training or development. This may refer to the acquisition of skills, knowledge, understanding or desired attributes. Attributes include qualities or personal competencies which are important to the development of the pupil; for example personal, social, cultural, emotional or health.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving. Inspectors base this judgement on what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school. 20 May 2009

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Inspection of Clinton Primary School, Kenilworth, CV8 1DL

Thank you very much for all the help you gave us when we visited your school. We were very impressed by your good manners and the confidence you showed when talking to us. You told us that you are now coming to school much more often because you enjoy it more. You helped us understand why this is when you told us that the work you are given is interesting and often involves solving problems, which you love doing. You also told us about how you help to make the school better. Some of the things you have done, such as organising the walk to school, are exceptionally good. We were very impressed by how much you know about other countries, and especially by Year 1 pupils speaking French and Chinese. You all rightly feel very safe in school, because the adults take such good care of you. They know all about you and the best ways to help you when you are poorly or unhappy for any reason.

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Inspection of Clinton Primary School, Kenilworth, CV8 1DL

You are getting a good education. Most of you learn more quickly than we often see and leave with standards that are much higher than in most other schools. This is because you are taught well. Your teachers use your marks and grades to put you in groups for each subject. They then give you work that you find hard, but that you can do if you really concentrate on it. Sometimes, one person in a group finishes before the others and has to wait for them to catch up. This slows the learning for that person. We have asked your teachers, in the middle of lessons, to check to see when you are ready to learn the next skill so they can help you to keep on learning all the way through. Some of you need clearer targets to help you to improve your work more. We have asked the people who run your school to think more about exactly what it is that will really help you do well.

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Inspection of Clinton Primary School, Kenilworth, CV8 1DL

The people who run the school are making it better and better. They listen to you, and your parents and carers, to find out what you want and then make it happen. Your headteacher is very good at spotting what can be improved and we would like some of the other teachers to be able to help him more and more in this. This will help the school improve even more quickly.

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Inspection of Clinton Primary School, Kenilworth, CV8 1DL

David Driscoll Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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