Ramsbury Primary School

Ramsbury Primary School Inspection report

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126205 Unique Reference Number Wiltshire Local Authority 328467 Inspection number 7–8 July 2009 Inspection dates Ken Bryan 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 209 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 Susan Suchopar Chair Joanna Price Headteacher 22 March 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Back Lane School address Ramsbury Marlborough SN8 2QH 01672 520244 Telephone number 01672 520244 Fax number

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4–11 Age group 7–8 July 2009 Inspection dates 328467 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 11 Inspection Report: Ramsbury Primary School, 7–8 July 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a smaller than average primary school where almost all pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average. The children enter the school aged four into the Early Years Foundation Stage Reception class. The school has a number of awards reflecting its commitment to healthy living such as the Healthy Schools and Activemark accreditations.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Ramsbury Primary School, 7–8 July 2009

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school. Central to the school's success is the excellent leadership and management of the headteacher. Together with a dedicated and committed team, she has created a dynamic and vibrant learning environment so that pupils thrive from their very first day at school. The school's leaders and managers show no complacency. For example, a minor drop in standards, especially in writing, has led to an immediate review of the causes. This identified the need for better assessment procedures, feedback to pupils and target setting. In addition, the school's leadership has effectively employed well trained teaching assistants who skillfully support the pupils. The school is somewhat cautious in evaluating its own performance in some areas, but inspection evidence fully supports the overall judgement of outstanding provision and leadership which have resulted in exceptional outcomes. It has an excellent capacity to improve further. Recent

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Grade: 1

changes to the staffing structure have been effective as the school now has two assistant headteachers who are responsible for the Early Years Foundation Stage/Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Outstanding teaching and learning, together with a rich and stimulating curriculum, have a significant impact on pupils' achievement which, as a result, is exceptional. Highly effective provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage means that children make excellent progress, especially in emotional development, and so that by Year 1, most children are confident and ready to learn. From Year 1 onwards, pupils continue to make outstanding progress and reach well above average standards in reading and mathematics and above average standards in writing. By the end of Year 6, pupils reach well above average standards. Teachers have very high expectations of what pupils can achieve and provide work which challenges all of them.

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Grade: 1

Girls and boys achieve equally well. Boys in Years 3 to 6 achieve significantly higher standards than boys do nationally, because the curriculum is so well adapted to their needs. Higher attaining pupils achieve brilliantly and reach exceptionally high standards. Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding and underpinned by excellent care, guidance and support. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is exceptional which results in their exemplary behaviour and attitudes. The school's strong sense of community is reflected in pupils' day-to-day lives in the school, especially in the quality of their caring relationships with each other and adults. They show total confidence in adults as a source of help and guidance. Pupils are safe in school as the result of very effective systems. They have an excellent understanding of healthy lifestyles, with a significant proportion enjoying sporting

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Grade: 1

activities both in lessons and through after-school clubs. Pupils say how much teachers' marking helps them to improve their work. They have a very detailed understanding of their challenging individual targets in literacy and numeracy. The school makes good provision in developing aspects of community cohesion. While the school fosters exceptionally strong local community links, the school's work to promote their understanding of living within a cultural diverse United Kingdom is less well developed.The large majority of parents are highly supportive of the school, with many writing very positive comments in the questionnaires, such as, 'The school makes learning exciting and fun while maintaining high standards.' Another, with enthusiasm typical of many comments, stated, 'My child has a hunger for learning and enjoys school so much he's up and in his uniform before I'm even out of bed!' 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Ramsbury Primary School, 7–8 July 2009

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Grade: 1

Children make an excellent start to their education because of outstanding provision. Parents are delighted with the progress their children make. As one wrote, 'It has been a wonderful first year for our daughter who really enjoys school as the result of the expertise and dedication of the staff.' As a result of outstanding teaching and learning, children make excellent progress from day one in school. Their very good understanding of letters and sounds and increasing independence are key features of their development. Teachers and teaching assistants provide a stimulating curriculum which engages all children. Children benefit from an exciting and secure outdoor area, which has spaces dedicated to each area of learning. Children use this enthusiastically by 'Going on a Bear Hunt'. Leadership and management are excellent, with significant strengths in the assessment of children's progress and the use of this to plan new

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Grade: 1

learning. The transition from Reception to Year 1 is seamless so that children build successfully on their super start to school.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Increase pupils' knowledge and understanding of the cultures, lifestyles and beliefs found in the United Kingdom.

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Grade: 1

As the result of excellent provision, progress during the Reception class is outstanding, given their starting points which are typical for their age. In Years 1 to 6, pupils build very successfully on their excellent start. Standards reached at the end of Year 2 are well above average in reading and mathematics and above average in writing. In Years 3 to 6, exceptional standards are achieved in reading and now in writing. Pupils make excellent use of their literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) skills in other subjects. For example, in Year 6, audio adverts on fire safety demonstrated eloquence and confidence as well as a mature understanding of health and safety issues. Pupils also achieve high standards in other subjects, including ICT, art, geography, French, history and music. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make very good progress in line with their peers.

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Grade: 1

The pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. As a result, they thoroughly enjoy school and all that it offers them. Their attendance is above average. All children demonstrate exemplary behaviour in this supportive and nurturing learning environment. The school prides itself on developing the whole child. The pupils are actively encouraged to lead healthy and active lifestyles and many spoke very enthusiastically about their clubs and the 'healthy snack awards'. Many pupils are prepared to 'go the extra mile' for their school. For example, the school and local community have successfully raised thousands of pounds to fund the 'Great New Space' that will house a library/ music room/ drama studio. Through the busy and effective school council, pupils understand the democratic process and contribute to the school's day-to-day life. The way pupils are prepared for their future economic well-being

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Grade: 1

is exceptional, both academically and socially. Pupils in Year 6 leave the school as mature, 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Ramsbury Primary School, 7–8 July 2009 responsible and well-rounded future citizens of tomorrow buoyed by their exceptional standards in literacy and numeracy skills.

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Grade: 1

Across the whole school, the nurturing and positive climate for learning enables the pupils to make outstanding progress. Teachers and other staff have excellent relationships between themselves and pupils. The teachers know the children extremely well. Expectations are very high and pupils arrive at school ready to learn. Pupils enjoy their work as the lessons are full of pace and challenge, with tasks chosen to appeal to boys as well as girls. Teachers plan lessons carefully, adapting the work to cater for different learning styles, which enables all pupils to make the best possible progress. Pupils enjoy opportunities to work together on practical tasks and when solving problems. The progress of the pupils is carefully monitored and teachers provide consistent and effective feedback to celebrate achievements and to point the way forward. The deployment of well trained teaching assistants significantly aids the progress and

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Grade: 1

The curriculum provides many exciting opportunities for interesting and creative work and meets pupils' needs and interest levels extremely well. The provision for literacy, numeracy, science and ICT is excellent and well targeted at meeting pupils' learning needs. The school has effectively introduced an exciting range of themed weeks and days to enrich learning and to provide cross-curricular opportunities. These include a global multicultural week, a book character day, science events and an art enrichment week. As a consequence, the pupils stated that, 'We learn in a fun way.' There is an impressive range of well attended extra-curricular activities, especially in sport and music, which pupils support enthusiastically. In addition, the teaching of music and French to all pupils is particularly effective. Excellent attention is given to teaching pupils about staying safe and keeping healthy. Although links with an inner city

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Grade: 1

school in Cheshire will help raise pupils' awareness of people with different backgrounds, this aspect of planning for their personal development is not as well developed as other aspects of community cohesion.

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Grade: 1

The school has excellent systems for monitoring pupils' progress. Pupils know what they need to do to improve through targets for literacy and numeracy. Such targets are regularly reviewed and updated once pupils have achieved them. In addition, the marking of pupils' work includes constructive comments on how to improve. Excellent guidance in personal, social and health education (PSHE) and citizenship lessons, and through class discussion times, enhances pupils' personal development. The staff's excellent support of pupils, and promotion of their attendance, contributes strongly to their personal development. The arrangements for health and safety, child protection procedures and essential checks on staff are all in place and effective. The support given to pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities enables them to make progress similar to their classmates. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Ramsbury Primary School, 7–8 July 2009

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Grade: 1

The dynamic and inspirational headteacher receives excellent support from her assistant headteachers and subject leaders. They are committed to giving pupils a high-quality education, which focuses both on academic achievement and on all-round personal development. Leaders constantly analyse performance and seek ways to ensure that the focus on maintaining high standards is rigorous and highly effective. The annual school review is a very effective process which ensures that all of the school's community understands its strengths and weaknesses. The work of the governing body, very well led by its chair, is both challenging and evaluative, and is a significant strength of the school. Very strong links with partner institutions such as local pre-schools, secondary schools and community organisations contribute significantly to pupils' achievements. The school effectively promotes community cohesion at the local and

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Grade: 1

global level. However, plans to aid pupils' understanding of more distant communities in the United Kingdom are being used to address relatively weaker aspects of provision. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Ramsbury Primary School, 7–8 July 2009 .

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Grade: 1

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Ramsbury Primary School, 7–8 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Ramsbury Primary School, 7–8 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Ramsbury Primary School, 7–8 July 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

9 July 2009 Dear Pupils Inspection of Ramsbury Primary School, Marlborough, SN8 2QH. I am writing to tell you how much we enjoyed our visit to your school in such a lovely location. You are very lucky. Thank you for giving us such a warm welcome and for helping us during the inspection. You are obviously very proud of your school and you are happy and very well supported by all of your teachers and other adults. We liked the way you behave around the school and the way that you help one another. Ramsbury Primary is an outstanding school. Here are some of the highlights we found:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ What we particularly liked about your school:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The teachers work hard to provide interesting lessons and, as a result, you enjoy coming to school, and you make excellent progress and achieve high standards. ■ Your behaviour and attitudes in class are excellent which helps you to learn.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You are very caring to one another and you are very well supported by the adults.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You clearly enjoy the wide range of clubs, school visits and other activities provided by the school. ■ You know how to eat healthily and lead healthy lifestyles.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

The school runs very smoothly. The headteacher, her staff and the governors are an excellent team. They have a clear idea about how well the school is doing and what needs to be improved. We have asked them to work on just one thing to make the school better.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Help you understand more about other communities further away in the United Kingdom.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Yours sincerely Ken Bryan Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Ramsbury Primary School, 7–8 July 2009

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