Rushbury CofE Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

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• Refine the approach to the teaching of spelling to develop pupils’ spelling skills and further raise outcomes in reading and writing.
• Continue to explore ways of working with other schools, their staff and leaders to share best practice and sustain improvement.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

Governance of the school

Safeguarding

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Teaching in the school is outstanding and, as a result, pupils make excellent gains in their learning.
• Lessons across the school are characterised by diligent, attentive pupils who are motivated to do well because of adults’ high expectations and commitment. Teachers provide clear explanations and demonstrate the learning they expect of pupils, so pupils are able to embark on tasks promptly and successfully.
• The highly positive relationships between pupils and adults nurtured across the school enhance learning in lessons. Pupils are confident sharing their ideas and work together well when persevering with more difficult tasks. Teachers and teaching assistants judge accurately the right point to provide additional guidance and when pupils are able to work out a problem for themselves and with each other.
• Teachers provide high-quality experiences, activities and resources that excite pupils’ interest and encourage them to learn. For example, in a Year 5 writing lesson, pupils were inspired by a trip to Snailbeach mine. They used the learning experience and information they had gained to write high-quality newspaper reports.
• Teachers make sure that work is well planned to take account of pupils’ different starting points, especially as pupils are placed in mixed-age classes throughout the school.
• The skilled team of support staff makes a significant contribution to pupils’ learning. Excellent liaison with the class teachers gives assistants a clear understanding of what is expected of them.
• Assessment of pupils’ work is accurate and feedback is often given in the lesson so pupils can immediately act upon improvement points. Work identified in pupils’ books shows that areas identified for improvement earlier in the academic year have often been addressed.

• Teachers are skilful at asking challenging questions to extend the learning of the most able pupils. In the Year 5 and 6 class, pupils were able to talk about historic and recent disasters in the world with confidence. Excellent questioning by the teacher deepened their learning further and they were able to discuss natural and man-made disasters with a great deal of understanding and knowledge.
• Teachers have provided activities to enable pupils to produce a wide range of extended pieces of writing from non-chronological reports to story writing. They have successfully motivated pupils to write at length with sustained concentration. For example, in a Year 1 and 2 class pupils were highly focused on writing at length about a story they had heard.
• The whole-school focus on the teaching of mathematics has been successful. Teachers successfully help pupils to become proficient in using their knowledge of number to complete calculations with fluency and accuracy. Teachers provide very good opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical knowledge to reason and solve problems. In a Year 3 and 4 class, pupils were undertaking a practical mathematics problem in the playground. Pupils confidently discussed the range of skills and knowledge they needed to find the answer.
• The teaching of phonics in key stage 1 is effective and enables pupils to acquire reading skills quickly. As pupils progress into key stage 2 they become fluent and confident readers.
• Spelling skills need to be developed for some pupils in order to improve their writing further.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils have excellent opportunities to influence the work of the school. Pupil committees have been set up to allow more pupils to make decisions about the school, such as school councillors, the eco, safety and weather committees. Pupils told the inspector, ‘We really want to make a difference in the school and world.’ Key stage 2 pupils enjoy regular opportunities to plan and deliver assemblies. One pupil told the inspector, ‘Doing assemblies really helps with our confidence and performance. It helps us to deal with any nervousness.’
• Pupils are very considerate towards one another and staff. They were keen to tell the inspector, ‘Bullying is very, very rare and never really happens.’ Pupils trust staff and are confident they will listen to their problems and act upon concerns.
• Pupils have a high sense of safety awareness, including how to stay safe when using the internet.
• Pupils learn to consider their role in society. They help others by raising funds for charities. These events sharpen their enterprise skills well.
• All parents who responded to Parent View, or spoke to the inspector, agreed that their children were safe in school.

Behaviour

Outcomes for pupils

Outstanding

• Pupils currently in the school are making excellent progress from their starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. Progress in spelling is not quite as strong and has been identified as a focus area by leaders.
• Pupils make a strong start in understanding the sounds letters make. Pupils are confident readers because of the high focus on reading throughout the school.
• Pupils make rapid progress in other subjects, in addition to English and mathematics. Leaders have ensured that there is a clear progression of skills and knowledge in the mixed-ability classes. For example, in art, pupils demonstrate a wide range of art techniques and creative skills. In history, pupils learn about cultures and historical events in different countries. Pupils were very keen to share with the inspector the animations they had made in their information technology lessons.
• The most able pupils are identified through close monitoring of outcomes to ensure that they are on track to make rapid progress and are not coasting. The wider enrichment opportunities beyond the classroom contribute significantly to their learning.
• The number of disadvantaged pupils is small. The school’s own evidence and that gathered during the inspection show that disadvantaged pupils are making very good progress across the school.
• Current pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make excellent progress from their individual starting points. This is because of well-focused support and highly effective teaching by teachers and other adults. Independence is encouraged and work is set at the right level to be challenging but achievable.
• In 2016 at key stage 2, the percentage of pupils who attained the expected standard was below the national average in mathematics, spelling, grammar and punctuation. However, there were pupils who had joined the school during key stage 2 with variable starting points. In the current Year 6 and Year 2, pupils’ attainment is high in reading, writing and mathematics as confirmed by inspection evidence.
• Parents and pupils express highly positive views about learning and progress. The comment of one parent that, ‘The support is incredible from all staff and the children have made amazing progress during their time in school’, was typical of many parents who spoke to the inspector. Pupils are very well prepared for their next steps as they move through the school, ready to start their secondary education.

Early years provision

Outstanding

• Children’s attainment on entry to the Reception class varies from year to year but is generally typical for this year group. By the end of Reception, children have made excellent progress from their starting points. In 2015 and 2016 nearly all pupils reached a good level of development. In 2016, there were no disadvantaged pupils.
• Current children are on track to attain above-average outcomes at the end of this year. This is a marked improvement since the time of the last inspection and means that children are well prepared for their transition to Year 1.
• The teacher and additional adult are skilled and effective in knowing when to intervene to ask a challenging question and when to step back and observe. As a result, children make strong gains in learning. Staff work very well together as a strong and effective team.
• Children are happy and well cared for and they behave exceptionally well. They share and cooperate very positively with each other. Their independence is promoted well and they are confident to work on activities without direct supervision from an adult.

• Children demonstrate pride in their achievements and they constantly show a desire to learn. During their time in the outdoor environment, they worked collaboratively to plan a model of a story they had heard. They then retold the story to the rest of the class with great enthusiasm.
• Excellent leadership has ensured that the school now has a vibrant outdoor learning environment, which was a development area from the last inspection. The outdoor woodlands environment is also conducive to children’s development of the natural world. The children learn exceptionally well in both of these outdoor environments.
• Safeguarding practice matches the strong practice across the rest of the school. All welfare requirements are met.
• Parents are involved in their child’s learning from the start. Parents who spoke to the inspector were highly positive about the experience they have in the Reception class. One parent commented, ‘My child loves coming to school. I cannot praise enough and communication is excellent.’

School details

Unique reference number Local authority 123497 Shropshire Inspection number This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school 10032688 Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary controlled 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 50 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Helen Tipton Diane Pye 01694 771 233 www.rushburyschool.co.uk/ admin.rushbury@shropshirelg.net Date of previous inspection

Information about this school

Information about this inspection

• The inspector gathered a range of evidence to judge the quality of teaching, learning and assessment over time. She observed learning in lessons. These included joint observations with the headteacher. In addition, the inspector listened to pupils read in key stages 1 and 2.
• The inspector looked at examples of pupils’ work and talked to them about their learning.
• The inspector talked to parents and carers as they brought their children to school and examined the online survey for parents.
• The inspector took account of the 27 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire.
• The views of the seven staff who completed the online questionnaires were considered.
• Meetings were held with pupils, three governors and school leaders. The inspector also spoke to a governor on the phone and a headteacher from a local school.
• The inspector had telephone discussions with two representatives from the local authority.
• The inspector looked at a wide range of documents, including the school’s own information on pupils’ current progress, planning of work in different subjects, leaders’ monitoring of the quality of teaching and learning and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding of pupils.

Inspection team

Sarah Somers, lead inspector

Ofsted Inspector