Cookley Sebright Primary School

Cookley Sebright Primary School Inspection report

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135048 Unique Reference Number Worcestershire Local Authority 329013 Inspection number 3 June 2009 Inspection date Mike Capper 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 3–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 227 School (total) 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 12 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Dean Cox Chair Martin De Vine Headteacher Not previously inspected Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Lea Lane School address Cookley Kidderminster DY10 3TA 01562 850397 Telephone number 01562 850397 Fax number

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3–11 Age group 3 June 2009 Inspection date 329013 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: Cookley Sebright Primary School, 3 June 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

■ Pupils' progress in mathematics and science in Years 3 to 6, especially for girls.

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Introduction

■ Pupils' enjoyment of school and the way in which curriculum enrichment enhances learning.

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Introduction

■ The impact of accommodation on the quality of provision.

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Introduction

■ The effectiveness of leaders at all levels in tackling weaknesses and improving pupils' progress.

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Introduction

Evidence was gathered from observations of pupils at work and play, discussions with staff, governors and pupils, scrutiny of documentation and an analysis of parents' views. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the 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 average-sized primary school is a new school, which opened in 2007 after the closure of Cookley Sebright First School as part of local authority reorganisation. Pupils transferred to the new school, which remains on the same school site. New staff were appointed at the same time. This is the new school's first inspection. Most pupils come from the local community, although some travel from further afield. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below average. The number of pupils identified as having learning difficulties and/or disabilities is broadly average. Most of these pupils have moderate learning difficulties. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in a Nursery and a Reception class. The Nursery takes children in the morning only, with the room used by a playgroup each afternoon. The playgroup is managed by the governing body.

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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: Cookley Sebright Primary School, 3 June 2009

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school that is improving quickly under the good leadership of leaders at all levels. The change in status to a primary school has been managed well, and the school is doing the right things to tackle remaining weaknesses and to compensate for previous pockets of underachievement. Pupils' achievement is satisfactory. Children get a good start in the Nursery and Reception class, where teaching is good. Progress in the rest of the school has picked up significantly in the current year and is now consistently satisfactory or better in all lessons. Consequently, standards in the current Year 6 are broadly average overall, with more pupils on track to reach their challenging targets this year than in 2008. Pupils make the best progress in English because recent initiatives have had a particularly positive effect on learning. In mathematics and science, progress is now satisfactory, and the school is working vigorously to make up for gaps in older

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Grade: 3

pupils' knowledge. There are no significant differences between the progress of boys and girls. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make the same progress as their peers. Thorough monitoring and support from senior leaders as well as changes in staff have resulted in improved teaching and this is why pupils' progress has picked up in the current year. Teaching is satisfactory overall but there are good features across the school. Teachers have good relationships with pupils and they make learning interesting through the good use of resources. Teaching assistants give good support in lessons. Inconsistency in the matching of work to all pupils' needs is the main factor preventing more teaching from being good across the school. Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. Pupils thoroughly enjoy school, especially the way that teachers bring subjects alive through the use of visits and visitors. These enrich

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Grade: 3

the already good curriculum. Well-planned provision for personal, social and health education ensures that pupils develop a good understanding of how to stay safe and healthy. For example, older pupils take part in a 'Young Citizen Challenge' when they learn about some of the dangers they may face in later life. Pupils enjoy taking physical exercise, and benefit enormously from being able to swim for much of the year in the school pool. Pupils are polite and courteous and behave well, even when playing on the cramped playground. They are enthusiastic in lessons and work hard. Pupils very enthusiastically take on responsibilities and this helps them to make a good contribution to the community. Pupils are given a good voice through the hard-working school and eco councils and they manage budgets when raising funds for charity. Activities such as these, as well as their steady progress in developing basic skills, ensure that pupils are satisfactorily prepared for the next stage of their

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Grade: 3

education and later life. The school's contribution to community cohesion is good. Pupils take a very active part in village events and there are strong links with a school in The Gambia that help them to consider the needs of others. Pupils learn to respect other cultures and traditions and develop a good awareness of life beyond Cookley. Care, guidance and support are satisfactory. Although pupils feel well cared for and they are given good pastoral support, not all of the school's safeguarding policies are implemented consistently and, at the time of inspection, there were some minor health and safety issues that had not been tackled quickly enough. Despite this, pupils rightly feel that there is always someone to turn to if they have a worry and most parents are complimentary of the quality of care shown to their children. Strong links with outside agencies ensure that there is good 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Cookley Sebright Primary School, 3 June 2009

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Grade: 3

support for pupils who are finding life difficult and to safeguard their well-being. A recent focus on improving academic support means that pupils are clear about how they can improve. Well-managed provision for children both before and after school extends the work of the school successfully. The well-attended breakfast club gives pupils a good start to the day and has helped to improve attendance. Pupils who attend the playgroup are well cared for and are able to take part in a good range of fun activities. The headteacher has built a strong team of leaders and governors and they are doing the right things to improve the school further. Self-evaluation is thorough and there have been many helpful recent initiatives. These are already beginning to have a positive effect on learning, demonstrating that the school has a good capacity for further improvement. For example, when the new school opened, leaders quickly realised that not all pupils were doing well enough in

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Grade: 3

English. They tackled this decisively by introducing new strategies for teaching letter sounds and extending opportunities for pupils to write at length. The good impact of this can be seen in the greatly improved progress pupils are now making in English. Leaders know that they now need to monitor even more closely the impact of recent initiatives in science and mathematics, such as the improved opportunities for pupils to learn through practical activities, to check that they continue to have the desired effect and are being applied consistently across the school. There is a strong partnership between home and school. Most parents hold the school in high regard, although some are rightly concerned about the quality of the accommodation. Although members of staff do the best they can with what they have, there are some weaknesses in accommodation. For example, the location of the library makes it difficult for pupils to carry

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Grade: 3

out independent research. The school building looks tired and the playing field is unkempt. When pupils work in small groups they are sometimes distracted because these activities often have to take place in narrow corridors. When describing the school, parents typically say things like 'The school is happy and fun for children,' and 'The school is well led and children have a great time.' Comments such as these successfully capture what the school already does well.

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Grade: 2

'My child's progress has been a pleasure to see.' This comment from a parent is typical of the positive view that parents have of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children achieve well in both the Nursery and Reception classes because teaching and the quality of care and welfare support are good. When children start school, most are working at the expected levels for their age. They make good progress and, in the current Reception Year, children are on track to reach above average standards by the end of the year. This represents an improvement over the standards reached in 2008, with children benefiting enormously from exciting teaching that consistently challenges them to do their best. Children do exceptionally well in personal, social and emotional development because of the very high expectations of all adults. Adults expect children to work hard at all times and there is a purposeful buzz in lessons as children

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Grade: 2

go happily about their work. They show high levels of independence and concentration. There is a good curriculum that makes learning exciting and purposeful and includes good use of the 'Forest School'. Role play such as the superb 'lifeguard area' is particularly effective in helping to improve children's speaking and listening skills. Children get many opportunities to work 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Cookley Sebright Primary School, 3 June 2009 outside, although limitations in accommodation mean that free flow between indoors and outdoors is stronger in the Reception class than the Nursery. The leadership of the provision is good. Members of staff have a good understanding of what they can do to improve further. For example, in the Nursery they are beginning to make sharper use of data so that progress over time can be more easily demonstrated. Provision in the playgroup is monitored carefully and is of the same high quality seen in the rest of the Early

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the amount of good teaching by ensuring that teachers more consistently pitch work at the right level for all pupils. ■ Check that recent developments in mathematics and science are having the desired effect and are being applied consistently across the school. ■ Ensure that safeguarding procedures are applied consistently and carry out regular and rigorous health and safety audits so that minor issues are tackled more quickly. 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: Cookley Sebright Primary School, 3 June 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: Cookley Sebright Primary School, 3 June 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?

NA 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? 2 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? 3 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: Cookley Sebright Primary School, 3 June 2009

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 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 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? 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 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 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: Cookley Sebright Primary School, 3 June 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

4 June 2009 Dear Pupils Inspection of Cookley Sebright Primary School, Kidderminster DY10 3TA Thank you for welcoming us to your school and for showing us your work. You were very polite and friendly. We found some good things in the school and also some things that need improving.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Some of the things we found out about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You make good progress in the Nursery and Reception class. We love the way you work together and help each other. ■ Satisfactory teaching helps you to make satisfactory progress in the rest of the school. At the moment, you do slightly better in English than in other subjects. ■ You enjoy school, behave well and are polite and courteous. The school council does a good job in giving you a voice in school life. We agree with you that lunchtimes are too short for pupils in Years 3 to 6 and this means that some of you rush when eating so that you get more time outside. ■ You take a good part in community activities. We hope the village festival went well for you!

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your teachers give you targets that help you understand how to improve your work.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You have a good understanding of the importance of staying safe and healthy.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your headteacher, teachers and governors are working hard to improve the school and know what they still need to do. ■ Nearly all of your parents and carers are pleased that you come to this school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

What we have asked your school to do now.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Help you do even better by making sure that teachers always pitch work at the right level for all of you. ■ Check that recent developments in mathematics and science are having the desired effect and are being applied consistently across the school. ■ Ensure that adults do all the right things to keep you safe.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We thoroughly enjoyed talking to you about your work and watching you learn. We hope you continue to help your teachers by working hard and we wish you all well for the future. Yours faithfully Mr M Capper Lead inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Cookley Sebright Primary School, 3 June 2009

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