OFSTED Report
| Unique Reference number 122021 |
| LEA: Northamptonshire |
| Inspection number: 281157 |
| Inspection dates:29 June 2006 to 29 June 2006 |
| Reporting inspector: Rajinder HarrisonAI |
This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.
| Type of school :Primary |
| School category: Voluntary aided |
| Age range of pupils: 4 to 11 |
| Gender of pupils: Mixed |
| Number on roll: 99 |
| Appropriate authority: The governing body |
| Date of previous inspection: 24 January 2000 |
School address: Woodford Road |
| Telephone number: 01536 330642 |
| Fax number: 01536 330586 |
| Chair of governors: Mrs Helen Buckley |
| Headteacher: Mr Richard Meekings |
Introduction
The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.
Description of the school
Great Addington Church of England Primary School is small and serves the local village and its surroundings. A small number of pupils are eligible for free school meals and very few are from minority ethnic origins. An average number of pupils are identified as having learning difficulties or disabilities. Attainment on entry to the Reception class is at the expected level.
Key for inspection levels:
Grade 1: Outstanding |
| Grade 2: Good |
| Grade 3: Satisfactory |
| Grade 4: Inadequate |
Overall effectiveness of the school
This is a good school that gives good value for money. The school is justifiably proud of its welcoming atmosphere where the needs of all pupils are nurtured effectively. Parents are very pleased with the school and are kept fully informed of developments. Pupils’ views are taken into account when changes are made. They enjoy school, work hard and achieve well. They are well behaved, feel secure and happy at school and trust all those who work with them.
The school promotes a sense of mutual respect where everyone’s contributions are valued. The many changes introduced by the present headteacher have inspired staff to strive for greater success in pupils’ attainment. Provision for children in the Foundation Stage is good and this helps them to make a good start to their education. Teaching is generally good but does not always provide the level of challenge needed to ensure pupils in Years 2 and 3 make the good progress seen elsewhere in the school. Teaching is well supported by a good curriculum that promotes effective learning. The quality of pupils’ handwriting and opportunities for pupils to understand the multicultural nature of British society could be better.
There is a strong sense of purpose and productivity in the way the school operates. Procedures for self-evaluation are effective and the school has a clear understanding of its strengths and what needs to be done next. The actions taken by the governors and staff are starting to raise standards, and the school’s modest view of itself as satisfactory can now be updated to match the inspectors’ view that it is good. The school is well placed to continue to improve.
Grade: 2
Effectiveness and efficiency of boarding provision
What the school should do to improve further
- Improve the satisfactory teaching so that teaching is consistently good throughout the school and all pupils achieve well.
- Establish a consistent approach to the way handwriting is taught across the school.
- Increase opportunities for pupils to learn about the multicultural nature of British society.
Achievement and standards
In the Foundation Stage the children settle into school routines well and develop confidence and independence quickly. They make good progress in all areas of learning. Most exceed the expected goals by the end of the Reception year and some start on Year 1 of the National Curriculum.
Standards in Years 1 and 2 are above average in reading, where the pupils do particularly well because the school’s recent interventions have had a marked impact. In these year groups, pupils reach average standards in mathematics and writing. Pupils achieve well in Year 1, where teaching is good. Expectations are not always high enough in the current Year 2 to sustain this good progress so overall progress is satisfactory across Years 1 and 2.
After making satisfactory progress in Year 3, pupils achieve well in Years 4 to 6. By Year 6, pupils are working at above average standards in English, mathematics and science. Pupils’ progress has been raised in the last two years because of the rigorous monitoring of their work that has allowed support for individuals to be clearly identified.
Grade: 2
Personal development and well-being
Pupils’ personal development is good. Their very good attendance shows they enjoy coming to school. They arrive on time ready to learn and work hard. Most concentrate well and take a lively interest in their learning. Occasionally, a few pupils are less attentive because the work they have to do is not challenging enough. They are considerate of others, behave well and form positive relationships. They willingly accept responsibility, for example pupils from Years 5 and 6 entertain the younger ones with puppets at lunchtime.
Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, which reflect the school’s Christian ethos, are good. Many attend the clubs the school offers and develop a good sense of teamwork. The school council is an effective vehicle for pupils to express their ideas and influence what happens in school such as designing quiet areas in the playground. They contribute well to the wider community through, for example, working with the church and fundraising for charities. The school is aware that it needs to further develop pupils’ awareness of life in multicultural British society. Pupils gain a good understanding of how to keep safe and healthy through a variety of sporting activities and a well planned personal, social and health education programme. They were quick to explain why healthy eating and exercise help the heart work effectively.
Pupils’ learning of basic skills and awareness of the world of work through opportunities to work with local businesses and mini-enterprise activities, such as setting up a ‘Healthy Meal Café’, prepare them well for later life.
Grade: 2
Quality of provision
Teaching and learning
Teaching and learning are good and enable pupils to achieve well, although the pace and challenge for some pupils in Years 2 and 3 are not sufficient to ensure that they make good progress. Pupils’ work is displayed attractively so they know their efforts are valued and these displays act as reminders of what they have learnt previously. The pupils like their teachers and there is a strong sense of mutual respect that promotes learning effectively. New and very detailed assessment information has been very effective in helping teachers plan work that is better matched to individual needs. The teachers generally organise interesting tasks and activities that engage pupils of all abilities. Lessons are usually lively and challenging, often involving independent and group work. Discussions are used well to encourage pupils to share their ideas, with one pupil in the Year 4 class reminding his friend to ‘listen more carefully when the teacher tells us what we have to do’. Support staff make a very valuable contribution in guiding specific pupils.
Grade: 2
Curriculum and other activities
The curriculum is good. A two-year programme ensures that pupils build on previous work in mixed-age classes successfully. Teachers design lessons that link subjects so that pupils have a richer experience. For example, a sequence of English lessons that focus on Christopher Columbus and his travels, encourages pupils to apply their literacy, history, geography and art and design skills very effectively. Provision for information and communication technology (ICT) is good and the pupils use computers confidently to support work in other subjects. The teaching of French and the deployment of a specialist music teacher enhance curriculum provision.
Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities are fully integrated in all that the school provides. Improvements in the Foundation Stage ensure children experience all they should at this age. The programme for pupils’ personal development is well planned and covers sex and relationships, drugs education and keeping healthy and safe. But more could be done to promote pupils’ understanding of the multicultural nature of British society. Many pupils attend the wide range of clubs and activities on offer. A variety of visitors and visits, including residential trips, enrich pupils’ learning effectively.
Grade: 2
Care, guidance and support
The level of care, support and guidance for all pupils is good. Arrangements for ensuring health, safety and welfare are secure as are risk assessments and child protection procedures. The pupils say that staff listen to them and are confident that they can go to someone if they have a problem. They say that bullying is virtually non-existent and would be dealt with promptly if it did occur. Arrangements for induction into school and transfer to secondary school are effective. Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities are well supported. Parents are fully involved and external agencies contacted where necessary.
Pupils’ academic progress is monitored well. Recent improvements in the procedures to assess individual pupils are helping teachers to set more accurate targets in order to raise pupils’ performance. This information is shared with parents. Also, all pupils are involved in deciding what they need to do to improve although this practice is not yet consistent across the school. Teachers usually mark pupils’ work in detail, providing constructive comments that highlight success and areas for improvement, but again practice is inconsistent.
Grade: 2
Leadership and management
The school operates in a warm and welcoming atmosphere where everyone is valued. The leaders have a clear focus on making improvements that benefit all pupils. In his two years in the school, the headteacher has inspired a strong sense of teamwork. Coordinators are more confident in their new roles and acknowledge that the changes, for example to track individual pupils, have already had a marked impact on raising standards. Aspirations are high for all pupils to achieve success. The school is keen to improve further and has the capacity to do so because leadership and management are good.
The issues from the last inspection have been fully resolved. The teaching is regularly and accurately reviewed; evaluations point out in detail its strengths and areas for improvement. For example, effective steps are being taken to improve satisfactory teaching so that it becomes good. However, this monitoring does not yet extend to all subject leaders. The headteacher and governors have tackled self-evaluation carefully and involve staff and other stakeholders in the process. School improvement plans are detailed and indicate how their progress will be checked and their impact evaluated. For example, staff are to have more time to monitor their subjects to ensure pupils meet their targets. Parents are very pleased with the way they are consulted and kept in the picture. Links with other schools are very good and shared activities, such as staff training and sports events for pupils, ensure good value for money.
Governors are very supportive of the school and have a very business-like approach in carrying out their duties. They are frequent visitors to the school and offer the staff a good level of critical but constructive challenge.
Grade: 2
Annex A
Inspection judgements
| Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 is inadequate. | ||
Overall effectiveness |
School overall | 16-19 |
| How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? | 2 | NA |
| How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? | 2 | NA |
| The quality and standards in foundation stage | 2 | NA |
| The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation | 2 | NA |
| The capacity to make any necessary improvements | Yes | NA |
| Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection | Yes | NA |
Achievement and standards |
||
| How well do learners achieve? | 2 | NA |
| The standards1 reached by learners | 2 | NA |
| How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners | 2 | NA |
| How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress | 2 | NA |
| 1 Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. | ||
Personal development and well-being |
||
| How good is the overall personal development and well-being of the learners? | 2 | NA |
| The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development | 2 | NA |
| The behaviour of learners | 2 | NA |
| The attendance of learners | 2 | NA |
| How well learners enjoy their education | 2 | NA |
| The extent to which learners adopt safe practices | 2 | NA |
| The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles | 2 | NA |
| The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community | 2 | NA |
| How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being | 1 | NA |
The quality of provision |
||
| How effective are teaching and learning in meeting the full range of the learners' needs? | 2 | NA |
| How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? | 2 | NA |
| How well are learners cared for, guided and supported? | 2 | NA |
Leadership and management |
||
| How effective are leadership and management in raising achievement and supporting all learners? | 2 | NA |
| How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education | 2 | NA |
| How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review | 2 | NA |
| How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can | 2 | NA |
| How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money | 2 | NA |
| The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities | 2 | NA |
| The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected | Yes | NA |
The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy |
|
| Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily | Yes |
| Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise | Yes |
| Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse | Yes |
| Learners are educated about sexual health | Yes |
The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe |
|
| Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements | Yes |
| Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place | Yes |
| Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism | Yes |
| Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them | Yes |
The extent to which learners make a positive contribution |
|
| Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships | Yes |
| Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them | Yes |
| Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community | Yes |
The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being |
|
| There is provision to promote learners' basic skills | Yes |
| Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams | Yes |
| Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form | NA |
| Education for all learners aged 14-19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy | NA |
Annex B
Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection
I am writing to tell you all about the visit that we made to your school at the end of June. We came to look at the work that you do and to talk to you and your teachers. We enjoyed talking to you, we thought you were very friendly and appreciated the time you took to talk to us. We would also like to thank your parents for filling in a form that gave us their views about your school. It helped us to get a good picture of your school in the short time we were there. We especially liked your brilliant sun shelter in the playground, what a lovely place to sit and chat!
There are lots of good things that we remember about your school. These are:
You enjoy school, try hard to do your best with your work and most of you make good progress.
The teachers want you to do well and succeed and they take good care of you.
You are kind to each other, behave well and are learning to become healthy and active young people. You also raise lots of money for charity and school with your clever little schemes like the ‘Healthy Meal Café’.
The school provides you with interesting things to learn about in school and you go on exciting visits to interesting places like the Isle of Wight!
While there are many good things about your school, we think there are a few things that could make the school even better. These are that:
•Some of you in Years 2 and 3 have more challenging work so that you can make really good progress. •Your teachers teach you to write more neatly •The school helps you learn more about the people who live in this country but whose families come from so many other places in the world.
Please remember always to try your hardest and continue to enjoy your school days.
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