National Society Statutory Inspection of Anglican Schools Report

Marcham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Morland Road Marcham, OX13 6PY Diocese: Oxford Local authority: Oxfordshire Dates of inspection: 23 April 2012 Date of last inspection: 11 November 2008 Schools unique reference number: 123155 Headteacher: Viv Hutchinson Inspectors name and number: Jane Tuckett 668 School context Marcham CE Primary School is set in a socially-mixed village location and serves the local community as well as two further rural settlements. It has a rising school roll with currently 137 pupils from largely White British families, mostly taught in single-age class groups, with below average SEN needs and fewer than average free school meals. The distinctiveness and effectiveness of Marcham CE Primary School as a Church of England school are good The school has a lively, friendly atmosphere with warm relationships between learners, staff, parents and governors and provides a stimulating yet nurturing learning environment for its pupils. Stakeholders affirm that it is firmly based on values which are strongly Christian and that these, reflected in the programme of collective worship as well as daily life, inform every aspect of the school. Established strengths A strong values-based ethos within which excellent relationships based on care, support, nurturing, generosity, respect, tolerance and forgiveness flourish. A head whose Christian vision encourages her to work tirelessly, in conjunction with representatives of the local church, to give the children in her care a sense of individual worth, belonging and confidence, while realistically evaluating areas for development. Strong links with the local community and especially the local church which make the school an integral part of village life. Focus for development Revisit and explore issues of Christian distinctiveness in the schools underlying values, policies and life and communicate them to all stakeholders, so that the schools successes and special ethos are seen unequivocally to arise from it distinctiveness as a church school. Set up and formalise effective and consistent procedures for the monitoring and evaluation of RE teaching and learning by staff and the impact of worship by staff and governors. Ensure the spiritual dimension of school life and worship by creating sacred and reflective space and time around the school and throughout the school day and encourage more planning, leadership and ownership of collective worship by pupils. The school, through its distinctive Christian character, is good at meeting the needs of all learners The school provides good opportunities through a broad and lively curriculum, colourful environment, extra-curricular opportunities, trips, including a residential visit at Y5&6, and local school partnership based activities. Pupils benefit from strong caring relationships and feel valued and supported as individuals to achieve usually good standards although assessment for learning techniques and tracking of pupil progress are not yet consistently applied across all curriculum areas including RE. However, RE is thoroughly and creatively taught in line with the Agreed Syllabus and is seen as an important vehicle for teaching about spirituality as well as religious and cultural diversity through visits and visitors. This is an area where the head is keen to explore further ways of developing links with different communities nationally and globally. In an observed RE lesson on the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus, as in collective worship, pupils were led by well-chosen art works and careful questioning to respond thoughtfully and spiritually, empathising strongly with the thoughts

and feelings of the disciples. The school fosters a sense of responsibility. Two year 5 pupils recently won a national competition for their ecological performance rap and the school is working through the Eco-School agenda; it has achieved both Healthy School and Activemark status while the school council is effective in raising pupil concerns and enthusiastic in shouldering responsibility and promoting charitable activities. Effective care and guidance from staff lead to good personal development and behaviour; pupils, staff and parents alike value excellent relationships which underpin school life and attribute them to the strong Christian ethos. However, the values are not explicitly attributed in the vision and mission statements and this area of the distinctiveness of values is currently under discussion at all levels within the school. Similarly, a colourful cross and powerful display of the empty tomb, made by some of the pupils, gave a strong Christian message in the school lobby but this was not reinforced elsewhere in the school and the head is keen to explore ways of giving time and space for calm and reflection both inside and outside the school building. The impact of collective worship on the school community is good Collective worship is planned around a series of values and is led once a week by a representative of the church community, either clergy or lay. Termly services are held in the parish church, underlining the strong link with the church and enabling pupils to develop a sound knowledge of Church of England liturgy, festivals and symbolism. Parents value the familiarity this gives the children with the church building and practice and pupils regard it as their church. The services in the church are open to parents, carers and other members of the church family and are very well attended, giving a much wider constituency the opportunity for powerful spiritual experiences. Pupils play a prominent role in planning and leading the church services and are now keen to increase their participation and sense of ownership at this level in the school-based collective worship. The school clearly differentiates between assembly and worship. On the day of the inspection a lively Wake up Shake up dance based on the Hindu festival of Holi was choreographed by the children. This was followed by spiritual music which provided a cue for an attentive response to the Bible story acted out by pupils, discussion and the washing of childrens hands by staff with its message of humility and service in support of the current value. Music, prayer and time for reflection all combined to give a strong sense of the spiritual. All staff are now involved in leading the weekly celebration assemblies where successes and achievements, often related to the fortnightly value, are marked and childrens prayers are used. Staff assert confidently that pupils appreciate and benefit from collective worship but monitoring of it is as yet relatively unrefined and insufficient clear evidence of the impact of worship on the school community is available to inform and support positive future developments. The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the school as a church school is good The governing body is strong and committed with a good number of foundation governors from the church laity with clergy members also contributing extensively to the life of the school. In particular the Youth and Childrens Minister constantly and visibly reinforces the link between the church and the school by her regular leading of worship and almost daily contribution to RE and other lessons. All stakeholders value the strong relationship of the school with the church and the village community. The school plays a prominent and organic part in the regular events of a lively village community and joins the church in charitable links with Moldova and Mozambique. A majority of the pupils attend the churchs Friday Club after school at the end of the week, while the church congregation appreciate having the childrens work displayed in the church. Comments about the recent Easter display talked of the work being meaningful and helpful. Parents in particular drew attention to the positive changes made by the current head in terms of ethos and the sense of community and their impact on behaviour and relationships and in these she has the full support of the governors who meet regularly to discuss such issues. Foundation governors are currently engaged in reevaluating the distinctiveness of the schools vision with a view to finding the appropriate way forward for communicating the underlying values in explicitly Christian terms to all stakeholders. They are also exploring ways of monitoring and evaluating more systematically the impact of what is done as a church school. Staff feel supported by the school through training and appraisal arrangements and the new curriculum teams are giving them useful middle management opportunities. Parents are very positive about the school, its ethos and church links and feel that staff are both accessible and approachable and that any concerns they have will be addressed speedily and appropriately. SIAS report April 2012 Marcham CE Primary School OX13 6PY