Stanbury
Village School
Main Street, Stanbury, West Yorkshire, BD22 0HA.
Tel:
01535 642270
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Stanbury
Village School |
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Home Page | OFSTED Report |
Stanbury Village School Inspection Report Unique Reference Number 107268 Local Authority Bradford Inspection number 287773 Inspection dates 9 October 2006 Reporting inspector Mrs D Brigstock
The inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4-11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number on roll (school) 98 Appropriate authority The governing body Date of previous school inspection February 2001 School address Main Street Stanbury Keighley West Yorkshire BD22 0HA Telephone number 01535 642270 Fax number 01535 646208 Chair Mrs E Bingham Headteacher Mr G Swinbourne © Crown copyright 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk 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. Further copies of the report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005 the school must provide a copy of this report, free of charge, or in prescribed cases on payment of such fee as they think fit (not exceeding the cost of supply), to any person who asks for one.
Introduction The inspection was carried out by one Additional Inspector.
Description of the school Stanbury is a small, rural village school but the number of pupils on roll is rising. Almost all pupils are from White British backgrounds and a few are from minority ethnic groups. The socio economic background of most pupils is above average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is average, as is the proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational need. When pupils start school their skills and knowledge are broadly average, although this varies from year to year. Some pupils have had no previous pre-school experience. Few pupils leave the school between Reception and Year 6 but several join. the school has recently been re-granted the Activemark Silver Award and in 2006 gained the FA Chartermark. Key for inspection grades Grade 1 Outstanding Grade 2 Good Grade 3 Satisfactory Grade 4 Inadequate
Overall effectiveness of the school Grade: 2 This is a good school because the safety and well-being of every pupil is well established and their achievement is good. The school has strong links with the local community. For example, pupils were involved with the design of the local playground and influenced the colours of the play equipment because they wanted it to reflect the natural colours of the local fields and moorland. This is a small community but the school successfully promotes an acceptance of other cultures and faiths through inviting different religious leaders into school. The headteacher has established good partnerships with individuals and organisations outside school to promote pupils' well-being, health and enjoymjent. For example, help in providing cross country running over the immediate countryside and using other local schools and their facilities for sport. Pupils' attendance is good and they love coming to school, describing the school as being, 'Like a big family'. They say they feel safe and secure and the oldest are loathe to leave. Good leadership focuses firmly on promoting a love of learning, ensuring that the curriculum is varied, exciting, relevant and has links to other subjects - such as the 'evacuation' trip by steam train - which resulted in good learning in English, history and geography. Pupils really appreciate the extensive range of educational visits and visitors provided. This aspect of the curriculum plus the range of extra-curricular activities is very good. It has helped the school maintain well above average standards, particularly in English, over several years. Standards in mathematics are not as high as those in English because there are fewer links to other areas of learning, teachers' expectations of what pupils can achieve are lower and the curriculum does not have the same buzz of excitement. Staff relate well to pupils, manage their behaviour well and make good use of resources such as interactive whiteboards to focus their attention. An effective assessment system tracks pupils' progress and provides staff with enough information to provide well-planned support for pupils who could be doing better. This helps pupils to improve their work. Good provision in the Foundation Stage means that children make good progress during this stage of their learning. The headteacher manages long term staff absence effectively so that pupils' learning is disrupted as little as possible. The school has successfully recruited governors with a wide range of expertise which is used well to monitor the work of the school and to help plan further improvements. All staff play a significant part in shaping school improvement but the critera for measuring the success of new initiatives are not sharp enough. Likewise, the monitoring carried out by senior staff does not focus tightly enough on what could be improved to raise standards even further. Stanbury values its traditional role in the local community but also looks to the future. The maintenance of above average standards, new improvements to the building, considerable investment in information and communication technology (ICT) and future planning to extend its provision demonstrate good capacity to improve. What the school should do to improve further
Achievement and standards Grade: 2 Achievement is good. Children usually enter Reception with average standards, although this year they are below average. They achieve well in the Foundation Stage. All groups of pupils make good progress and achieve well in Key Stages 1 and 2. This year, standards are above average in both key stages. In previous years standards have been significantly above average by Year 6 but in 2006 they fell because changes in the year group had a negative impact on test results. Pupils' achievement is greatly enhanced by an exciting curriculum. For example, staff constructed the remains of a crashed spaceship in the playground and surrounded it with police tape. Soldiers (parents) arrived to guard the debris. Pupils were completely hoodwinked for a while and very good creative writing resulted. Pupils are proud of the standards they reach and the new skills they learn, particularly in sporting activities. Pupils' achievement in mathematics could be better. Their knowledge of multiplication tables is not secure and this is slowing the speed of their work.
Personal development and well-being Grade: 2 Pupils' personal developement and well-being are good. Their enjoyment of school is outstanding. Parents full endorse this. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils have a thorough understanding of how to stay fit, safe and healthy. Older pupils are proud of their role in supporting the youngest children and take their role as monitors very seriously. Pupils have strong links with the local community, including other schools, for example, in accessing external sporting facilities, and they are very aware of conservation issues in the local environment. Pupils' acquisition of skills they will need later in life is good.
Quality of provision Teaching and learning Grade:2 The quality of teaching and learning is good. Well qualified, confident teachers plan interesting work that captures pupils' imagination. They use the local environment well, for example, in going to the moors to participate in drama based on 'Wuthering Heights'. Where teaching and learning are most effective teachers and teaching assistants work well as a team to deliver high quality education. Good relationships between staff and pupils generate good behaviour. On occasion, teachers' expectations of what pupils can achieve in mathematics are not high enough and they are too reliant on published schemes of work in this subject. Curriculum and other activities Grade: 2 The curriculum is broad, very well enriched and exciting. The local area, visits and visitors are used very well to provide first hand learning experiences and make learning links between subjects. The school has good involvement in the local community. ICT is used well to access new resources for pupils. The school timetables regular theme weeks and fun days, for example, French Week. As one pupil put it, 'It kind of persuades you go to there.' The teaching of French is well established. There is a very large range of extra-curricular activities for such a small school, including a wide range of healthy sports activities, to which 90% of pupils belong. The curriculum in the Foundation Stage is also enriched well. The range of physical education lessons is restricted on site because there is no field, although the school compensates for this by using other local facilities. Care, guidance and support Grade: 2 Staff know their pupils well. Procedures for child protection and health and safety routines are firmly in place and known to staff. Good links with professionals, such as the school nurse, make an appreciable contribution to pupils' well-being. Pupils feel safe and secure and staff are sensitive to the needs of the most vulnerable pupils. Good support enables smooth transfer for pupils when they go to their next schools. Academic guidance is good. Teachers' marking, particularly in English, is good and clearly guides pupils on how to improve further, with an expectation that corrections to work are completed. Leadership and management Grade: 2 Leaders know their school well. They set clear educational direction by correctly identifying what it does well and where it could improve further. The headteacher leads curriculum development and enrichment with enthusiasm and this is a key factor in pupils' enjoyment of school and learning. The school's tracking system clearly identifies pupils' achievement and this information is used well to provide additional support where required. However, the monitoring of teaching and learning does not have a sharp enough focus on how teachers can improve further. The headteacher, subject leaders and governors share a clear view of school improvement but, although the school improvement plan accurately identifies what needs to be improved further and how the school is doing this, the criteria by which improvements can be measured are not precise enough. This makes success difficult for governors to monitor. Leaders have ensured that improvements to the fabric of the building make it accessible to pupils with physical disabilities, including the installation of a lift. Governors use their expertise well, for instance, in ICT, and in business, for the benefit of pupils. Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be make following the procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.
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