INSPECTION REPORT Otterham Community Primary School Marshgate, Cornwall LEA area: Cornwall Unique reference number: 111935 Headteacher: Mr P. Lessels Lead inspector: Mrs J. Ikin Dates of inspection: 20 - 23 September 2004 Inspection number: 267443 Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 © Crown copyright 2004 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary 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. Ottherham Community Primary School - 2 INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL Type of school: Primary School category: Community Age range of pupils: 4-11 Gender of pupils: Mixed Number on roll: 80 School address: Marshgate Camelford Cornwall Postcode: PL32 9YW Telephone number: 01840 261344 Fax number: 01840 261344 Appropriate authority: Governing body Name of chair of governors: Mr F. Routly Date of previous 1 March 1999 inspection: CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL Otterham Community Primary School is a small village primary school which caters for pupils aged from four to eleven years of age. It serves the villages of Otterham and Marshgate but also draws pupils from the wider area because of its good reputation. All the pupils are from white United Kingdom backgrounds and none speaks English as an additional language. The number of pupils entitled to free school meals is below average. The socio-economic circumstances of the area are broadly average. Attainment on entry varies from year to year but, overall, it is a little below average. The number of pupils who join the school after the usual time of admission is above average. The percentage of pupils with special educational needs is average. The number with a Statement of Special Educational Need is above average. Their needs include specific learning difficulties, speech and communication difficulties, autism and severe learning difficulties. The school has a ‘Healthy Schools’ award and a ‘Schools Achievement’ award. It is involved in a local ‘Creative Partnership’ initiative and an ‘Art in the Community’ scheme, as well as a ‘Sports Partnership Initiative’. Ottherham Community Primary School - 3 INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities 3349 Mrs J. Ikin Lead inspector English Science Design and technology Art and design Geography The Foundation Stage 9334 Ms J. Mynett Lay inspector 23412 Mr A. Jeffs Team inspector Mathematics Information and communication technology Music Physical education History Religious education Personal, social and health education and citizenship Special educational needs The inspection contractor was: Altecq Inspections Ltd 102 Bath Road Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL53 7JX Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be made initially to the inspection contractor. The procedures are set out in the leaflet ‘Complaining about Ofsted Inspections’, which is available from Ofsted Publications Centre (telephone 07002 637833) or Ofsted’s website (www.ofsted.gov.uk). Ottherham Community Primary School - 4 REPORT CONTENTS Page PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6 PART B: COMMENTARY ON THE MAIN INSPECTION FINDINGS STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 8 Standards achieved in areas of learning and subjects Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL 10 Teaching and learning The curriculum Care, guidance and support Partnership with parents, other schools and the community LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT 16 PART C: THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN AREAS OF LEARNING AND SUBJECTS 18 AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE SUBJECTS IN KEY STAGES 1 AND 2 PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS 30 Ottherham Community Primary School - 5 PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT OVERALL EVALUATION This is a good school. It provides a good standard of care and a good education for its pupils. It is well led and managed and most pupils achieve well because of the good teaching they receive. The curriculum is good overall and the school gives good value for money. The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are: · The headteacher provides very strong leadership and all staff work as a highly committed team for the benefit of pupils. · Pupils achieve very well in mathematics and well in reading, art and design, music and physical education, but do not achieve as much as they should in their writing, speaking skills and scientific enquiry. · The school is highly committed to inclusion and provision for special educational needs is good. · The school makes very good use of outside expertise to enrich the sports and arts curriculum. · There are very strong links with parents, the community and other schools in the area. · Assessment and target setting are not as precise as they should be and pupils are not sufficiently involved in evaluating their work. · The accommodation constrains curriculum development in a number of areas. The school was last inspected in 1999. Its improvement since then has been good. The curriculum and the quality of teaching have improved, high standards in mathematics have been sustained and more pupils now achieve the higher levels in science. National test results in English have not improved as much as they have in other schools. This can be partly explained by changes in the character of the school since the last inspection. More pupils now join the school in Years 3 to 6 and the school has a higher proportion of special educational needs pupils. Most of the issues raised in the last report have been addressed, although more remains to be done to improve standards of writing. STANDARDS ACHIEVED Results in National all schools similar schools Curriculum tests at the end of Year 6, compared with: 2001 2002 2003 2003 English E A D D Mathematics C A B B Science D B D D Key: A - well above average; B - above average; C - average; D - below average; E - well below average Similar schools are those with similar free school meals. These results should be treated with caution since the numbers involved are small and fluctuate because of the varying proportions of higher attaining pupils and those with special educational needs who join the school each year. The findings of the inspection are that pupils’ achievement is good overall and standards are above average in mathematics and reading and above the expected levels in art and physical education by the end of Year 2 and Year 6. Standards are average in science, although pupils’ skills of scientific enquiry are not developed as well as they should be. Standards are in line with the expected levels in information and communication technology, design and technology and in religious education. Although standards in writing are broadly average in Year 2 pupils Ottherham Community Primary School - 6 do not achieve as much as they should and in Year 6 standards of writing are below average. In addition pupils’ skills in speaking are not as high as they should be. Pupils achieve well in music and reach standards in line with those expected by Year 2 and Year 6. Children in the reception class achieve well and most reach the goals set for them by the end of the reception year. Pupils with special educational needs and those who are talented and gifted achieve well. Pupils’ personal qualities, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are good. Their attitudes to their work are good and they behave well. Attendance and punctuality are satisfactory. QUALITY OF EDUCATION The quality of education provided by the school is good. Teaching and learning are good overall. Some very good teaching is evident in Years 3 and 4. Outstanding teaching occurs in art and very good teaching occurs in music and physical education. Visiting instructors and teachers make a significant contribution to pupils’ learning. Assessment is broadly satisfactory, although not as precise as it should be to guide planning, particularly in writing and science. Pupils are not sufficiently involved in evaluating their work and not enough use is made of individual target setting to plan for progression. The curriculum is good overall. Where weaknesses occur, they are in guidance to support progression in speaking and listening and in scientific enquiry. There are very good links with the community and a good range of after school activities. The school provides a good standard of care for its pupils and links with parents are very good. Weaknesses in the accommodation constrain the curriculum in a number of areas, although the school does its best to overcome these difficulties. LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT The leadership and management and governance of the school are good. The headteacher provides very good leadership. He is supported well by the senior teacher and governors and all staff work as a highly committed team for the benefit of pupils. Very good use is made of the subject expertise of individual teachers, outside agencies and support staff. There is a very strong commitment to inclusion. The new subject leaders are making important contributions to the school’s improvement efforts and the school is well placed to make further improvements. PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL The great majority of parents hold the school in high regard. Pupils like the school and their teachers very much. IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED · Improve standards and achievement in writing, scientific enquiry and speaking and listening. · Improve the precision and consistency of assessment and target setting and involve pupils more in the evaluation of their own work.