SUMMARY OF THE INSPECTION REPORT

CHURCHDOWN VILLAGE JUNIOR SCHOOL

A large school in the village of Churchdown inspected 1st - 3rd December 2003 by a team of inspectors led by Mr L. Lewin.

OVERALL EVALUATION

This is a good school with a friendly and caring ethos in which pupils develop very positive attitudes and behaviour. Good leadership and management enable the school to sustain good teaching so that pupils achieve well and attain above average standards. The school provides good value for money.

The school's main strengths and weaknesses are:

• The headteacher and. governors carry out their roles very effectively.
• The provision for promoting pupils' moral and social awareness is very good.
• The school has a very good range of extra curricular activities and does well in local sports competitions.
• Strong links are established with parents, who are involved fully in their children's education.
• The role of the deputy headteacher is underdeveloped.
• Subject co-ordinators are not sufficiently involved in the process of monitoring the quality of lessons.
• The school's systems for recording and tracking the progress of individual pupils are underdeveloped.

The school has improved at a good rate since its last inspection in October 1998. Issues identified at that time have been fully addressed so that information and communication technology (lCT) facilities are now satisfactory, assessment procedures are now good - although not used well enough to track the progress of individual pupils, a clear policy for providing homework has been established and good progress has been made with developing the roles of the subject co­ordinators and year group leaders. Good standards have been maintained, the quality of teaching has strengthened further, links with the parents have been improved and standards have improved from average to above average in religious education and from below average to average in ICT.

STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Key: A - well above average; B - above average; C - average; 0 - below average; E - well below average

Similar schools are those whose pupils attained similarly at the end of Year 2. .

N. B. A * signifies the results in the top five per cent of schools nationally.

All groups of pupils achieve well throughout the school and most reach above average standards in English, mathematics, science and religious education. Most pupils attain average standards in ICT. Good standards have been maintained since the last inspection. Pupils do very well in the national tests for Year 6. Pupils do not use ICT sufficiently to support their work in other subjects. Pupils with special educational needs achieve well. Occasionally, higher attaining pupils are not sufficiently challenged by the work that they do. Pupils in the school choir sing very well.

Provision for pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good overall; their moral awareness and social development are very good. Pupils' attitudes and behaviour are very good

and pupils achieve good standards in their personal development. Attendance and punctuality are good.

QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The quality of education is good. Teaching and learning are good overall. Teaching has improved since the last inspection with an increase in the amount of good and very good teaching. Staff have a strong rapport with the pupils and ensure that pupils are fully encouraged to try their best. Good

planning and preparation of lessons mean that pupils progress at a good rate. Strategies such as dividing pupils into ability groups for teaching in mathematics are successful in accelerating pupils' learning and helping them to achieve well. Good use is made of teachers' specialist skills to enhance the curriculum and strengthen teaching. Teaching assistants provide effective support for teachers and pupils. Marking of pupils' work does not always support improvement in learning. Occasionally, work set does not extend higher attaining pupils sufficiently. Pupils with special educational needs are well supported by teachers and teaching assistants.

Good overall provision is made for the curriculum and to ensure that pupils receive the care, guidance and support that they need. The school very successfully involves parents in their children's learning and has established good systems to consider and respond to the views of both parents and pupils.

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

The school is well led and managed. Very effective leadership by the headteacher has enabled the school to improve at a good rate. The headteacher has a clear vision for the school's future development. Governors are fully informed about and involved in the school's overall management and have a clear understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses. They ensure that all statutory requirements are met. The school manages its finances very efficiently. Provision for pupils with special educational needs is well managed.

PARENTS' AND PUPILS' VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Parents have a very high regard for the school and the work of the staff. A small minority of parents do not feel sufficiently well-informed about their children's progress and what is being taught, and would like more opportunities for younger pupils to take part in activities outside lessons. Inspectors found that a good level of information is provided for parents, but noted that some written reports to parents about their children's progress lacked sufficient detail. Inspectors found that the provision for extra curricular activities is much better than in most other schools nationally. Pupils spoken to showed enthusiasm for the responsibilities they are given at school and feel their views are well expressed through the pupils' school council.

IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

The most important things the school should do to improve are:

·        Increase the deputy headteacher's responsibility for some of the strategic areas of the school's development initiatives.

• Involve subject co-ordinators fully in monitoring the quality of teaching in their subjects across the school.
• Develop systems for tracking the progress of individual pupils as they move through the school.

A copy of the full inspection report, which includes all the main judgements and grades, can be obtained from the school. Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made following the procedures set out in the leaflet  Complaining about Ofsted inspections: which is available from the school or Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

@ CROWN COPYRIGHT 2004. This document may be freely reproduced in whole or in part, for non-commercial purposes, provided the source and the date are acknowledged.