211 pupils, Mixed

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by three additional inspectors. The inspectors visited 15 lessons, they observed all teachers at least once and spent eleven hours observing teaching and learning. They held meetings with five governors, staff and groups of pupils. They observed the school's work and looked at documentation including the school development plan, policies, the tracking of pupils' progress, provision for pupils identified as more able and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, minutes of governors' meetings, pupils' books, photographs and displays. Parents and carers returned 124 questionnaires, and inspectors also looked at questionnaires from staff and pupils in Key Stage 2.

The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school's work. It looked in detail at the following:

• the effectiveness of teaching and the impact of assessment strategies, target setting, the quality of planning and marking, specifically for the more able and those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities

• the quality and organisation of planned activities in The Early Years Foundation Stage and the extent to which adults promote learning in the Nursery and Reception classes

• the achievement of more able pupils at both key stages to determine whether teaching is sufficiently challenging in English.

Information about the school

Cedar Park is an average size primary school. Almost all pupils are of White British heritage and there are very few pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds. No pupils have been identified as being eligible for free school meals. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average. Four pupils have a statement of special educational needs to address specific learning difficulties. Pupils prepare the food they eat at the breakfast club. There is a part time, morning, Nursery class. Children attend the Reception class full time from January. The school has Active Mark and the local authority Green School award relating to the high proportion of pupils who walk to school.

Main findings

Cedar Park is a good school. There have been significant improvements since the last inspection and aspects of its work are now outstanding. Pupils are making faster progress and achieve well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Outstanding care, guidance and support promote pupils' excellent personal development and well-being. Behaviour is exemplary and attendance rates are high. Pupils make substantial contributions to school life through insightful school council decision-making and by demonstrating their overall pride in attending Cedar Park Primary School. They apply their highly developed skills, especially in speaking and listening, to foster commendable levels of collaboration when they are learning together in class or contributing to the wider school community. Pupils enjoy school and the comment of one pupil who wrote 'I am really happy in school and love learning', is typical of most of them.

The recently appointed headteacher has been at the heart of these improvements. His drive, ambition and inspiration have raised the expectations of all who work at the school resulting in more pupil progress whilst at the same time maintaining the significantly above average standards achieved in both key stages. Almost all parents and carers agree. Outstanding governance, led by the chair, and highly effective links with parents and carers consolidate these dynamic leadership qualities.

The progress of more able pupils, especially in English, was less than could be expected. Assessment information now shows that these pupils are on course to achieve well at the end of Years 5 and 6 following improvements to teaching and the headteacher's effective monitoring and evaluation of lessons. His evaluations are very accurate. As a result, staff, governors and subject leaders are becoming increasingly more accurate in their evaluations of pupil performance. The school has a good capacity for further improvement.

The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage is satisfactory. Children reach above average levels of attainment at the end of the Reception Year but come into school with skills above those expected, representing satisfactory progress by the time they enter Year 1. There is too little challenge at times to ensure that the children make fast progress. Improvements to the learning environment and accommodation have still to bear fruit in terms of children making more progress.

The majority of teaching is good and some is outstanding resulting in well-motivated learners who make good progress in lessons. Individual targets are set for all pupils and assessed each term. However, more able pupils are not consistently challenged and often complete extensions of tasks set for the rest of the class rather than tackling more demanding problem-solving activities or in-depth investigations. A few pupils feel they could be challenged further in some lessons and are capable of working at a faster pace in English. The curriculum is broad and interesting, enriched by specialist teaching in physical education, music and a wide range of extra-curricular clubs. Outstanding procedures and practices in safeguarding and child protection are at the heart of this totally inclusive school. Pupils comment readily on how safe they feel and that bullying does not happen in their school. Equality of opportunity is promoted very successfully through regular and detailed monitoring of pupil progress and well-being. Staff, governors and parents have an effective plan to promote community cohesion and are pro-active in ensuring that pupils learn about the multicultural society in which they live and have a good understanding of global cultures through links with schools in Africa. The school provides good value for money, spending it thoughtfully to improve provision for all pupils

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage by:

• planning and setting up rich and interesting activities which sustain children's interest across all six areas of learning every day

• setting up activities outside that reflect the learning opportunities available inside

• increasing the accuracy of assessments required for the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile

• ensuring that the planning and teaching of literacy and numeracy skills are better matched to the children's development levels and in particular for the more able.

• Improve the quality of planning and teaching for the more able by:

• providing more opportunities for sustained and independent work, especially in English

• use information and communication technology (ICT) facilities to enable individual research projects and extended application of literacy skills across the curriculum

• improving the pace of English lessons so that the more able start independent work sooner.

Standards at the end of Year 6 are very high. There has been an improving trend over the past three years especially in mathematics and science. The more able pupils did not achieve as well as was predicted in English, missing the higher Level 5 by one or two marks which affected the overall attainment level. Pupils are making more progress now and achieve well overall because teaching has improved and there are higher expectations of what they should know and understand. Pupils behave very well in lessons and collaborate extremely well in pairs or small groups. They enjoy learning because they can share ideas and benefit from each other's contributions as they complete tasks. Their key literacy, numeracy and ICT skills are developing very well but pupils do not always have sufficient opportunities to apply them effectively in all curriculum areas. This was the case in a very effective numeracy lesson about probability. Pupils' understanding of an event being certain or impossible was built up through clear explanations and excellent use of the interactive whiteboard. They continued with a range of independent activities in pairs to consolidate their understanding and apply their knowledge using packs of playing cards or spinners. Pupils made good or better progress, including the more able and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities who were well-supported by teaching assistants. The more able made insufficient progress in an English lesson because the pace was too slow and they were not required to complete the task of writing dialogue, which they articulated skilfully, immediately following a well-chosen video clip. Pupils know how to keep safe and are very caring of each other because of the excellent adult role models they observe. They accept responsibilities such as monitors or school council members with flair and enthusiasm. They know how to keep healthy and attend a wide range of extra sporting activities as well as understanding the benefits to themselves and the environment of walking to school with their parents. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good.

These are the grades for pupils' outcomes

¹ The grades for attainment and attendance are: 1 is high; 2 is above average; 3 is broadly average; and 4 is low

How effective is the provision?

Teachers in Years 1 to 6 plan interesting lessons that take account of the range of needs within each class. They plan to a consistent format identifying what pupils will learn and then what to check to judge if they have succeeded. In the most effective lessons pupils have time to discuss their ideas in pairs or small groups and then solve problems together. They have time to review their work at the end of a lesson and reflect on their learning. Marking varies in quality but the most effective informs pupils about how they can improve. Pupils' progress is rigorously monitored on a termly basis and their work is now assessed more accurately following staff training. Underachievement is intercepted rapidly and individual pupils get appropriate, extra support. At present, this applies to pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities but less so for the more able.

Improvements to curriculum planning are resulting in bringing together a range of subjects through a theme or topic, for example, the Tudors, so that learning is set in a meaningful and practical context. Pupils comment favourably on this approach. The curriculum is further enhanced with educational visits, visitors to school and residential trips which have a positive impact on pupils' personal, social and emotional development.

Care, guidance and support are strengths of the school, have a significantly positive impact on pupils' well-being and guarantee a very safe and inclusive learning environment. Parents and carers are informed regularly of what their children will be learning. They receive progress reports each term and can attend consultation evenings twice a year. Partnerships with local clusters of schools and secondary schools to which pupils will transfer, are developing well. Staff share information about pupils' learning and personal development to ensure a smooth transition to senior schools. The school works effectively with the local authority and other agencies.

These are the grades for the quality of provision

How effective are leadership and management?

The headteacher has established a collaborative learning community amongst staff and governors resulting in a shared vision and common understanding of what constitutes effective teaching and learning. Rigorous systems are in place to hold staff to account for what goes on in classrooms and this has resulted in improved teaching and better rates of pupil progress. The much improved tracking systems mean that all pupils' needs are understood and the school promotes equality of opportunity outstandingly well in Years 1 to 6 and satisfactorily in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Subject and phase leaders are becoming more skilled at assessing pupil attainment and then judging whether progress is sufficient. If not, individual support is quickly planned and implemented. Governors provide excellent strategic support and challenge and understand that until recently pupils were not making enough progress. They receive accurate information from the headteacher about the school's performance and through a well-organised and appropriate school development plan, now systematically monitor and evaluate pupil outcomes each term. The school's very inclusive ethos, where every child matters, has resulted in good levels of community involvement, locally, and through links to schools overseas. Plans are in place to secure links with schools within the United Kingdom so that pupils can learn about more cultures different from their own.

These are the grades for leadership and management

Early Years Foundation Stage

Children enter the Nursery class on a part time basis and make satisfactory progress by the end of the Reception class. They are ready for the next stage of their education well equipped with the necessary basic knowledge and skills. The children happily speak to each other and to staff showing confidence while displaying good communication and social skills. All areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework are covered but there is insufficient challenge for the able children who begin school with a good background of general knowledge. Phonics is taught but these sessions do not present enough challenge, or contribute to developing their reading and writing skills. The children demonstrate high levels of involvement in any activity offered but opportunities to develop further and faster through well-observed intervention and discussion with adults are often missed. Children observing stick insects with hand lenses were unsure what they were actually looking for but did enjoy looking through the magnifying glasses at each other. However, teaching assistants ably developed questions to encourage language and vocabulary development with their groups during adult-directed activities.

Behaviour is excellent. Children are developing an awareness of themselves and their own needs. They also willingly help less confident members of the class. Healthy habits are quickly established through fruit snacks, drinks and appropriate dress when going outside in inclement weather. Children's welfare is paramount and all necessary health and safety procedures are very well established. Leadership and management are satisfactory due to the regular and consistent support of the headteacher. Professional training has contributed to a better understanding of effective practice but planning rich and interesting activities appropriate to both nursery- and reception-age children, the organisation of resources within the available accommodation and the role of adults to support and take children's learning further, are not fully in place. Children's progress is appropriately assessed through observations although there is some over-estimation of progress in some areas of development. Parents are welcomed into the setting as important partners in their child's development.

These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage

Views of parents and carers

The vast majority of parents who responded to the Ofsted questionnaire were happy with the education provided for their children. A very small minority of parents thought their children were not being sufficiently challenged. Inspectors agree with this opinion and the school has been asked to review how the more able can be given more demanding work. Inspectors do not agree that disruptive behaviour is not dealt with. All pupils' behaviour is exemplary. A very small number of parents questioned the school's approach to preparation for the 11+ examinations in Year 6. The governors and headteacher comply fully with the local authority procedures for this examination.

Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of pupils registered at Cedar Park Primary School to complete a questionnaire about their views of the school.

In the questionnaire, parents and carers were asked to record how strongly they agreed with 13 statements about the school.

The inspection team received 124 completed questionnaires by the end of the

on-site inspection. In total, there are 224 pupils registered at the school.

The table above summarises the responses that parents and carers made to each statement. The percentages indicate the proportion of parents and carers giving that response out of the total number of completed questionnaires. Where one or more parents and carers chose not to answer a particular question, the percentages will not add up to 100%.

Overall effectiveness of schools inspected between September 2007 and July 2008

17 January 2010

Dear Pupils

Inspection of Cedar Park Primary School, High Wycombe, HP15 7EF

Thank you so much for helping me and my team to inspect your school. We had a very enjoyable time because everyone was willing to explain to us what happens at Cedar Park. We were very impressed with your excellent and considerate behaviour. It is so helpful when we can concentrate on what you are learning without being distracted. You work very hard at school and reach high standards in your work. We found that you are now making faster progress because your teachers expect more from you. This is very good news and do keep it up. There are some pupils, particularly the more able who could do even more difficult work so we have asked Mr Phillips to make sure that they get on with tasks more quickly so they can do some of their own research or investigations. Using computers is often a good way to find out interesting information about a particular topic and I see you are doing the Egyptians this term. So, everyone might find using a computer a useful research tool!

We also think that the children in the Nursery and Reception classes could make more progress when they begin school. They need some more interesting activities and opportunities to play together both inside and out-of-doors, although we realise that the space is not ideal. There is quite a crush if lots of children want to go outside at the same time. Again, Mr Phillips has plans to improve how the rooms are used for the youngest children and he and the governors are busy saving up so he can put all his ideas into practice.

I hope the rest of the year is happy and productive for you. The time will pass all too quickly and then Year 6 will be off to senior schools. I know you will all be very well prepared for your next school and because you have been taught to work so well in groups and teams, moving on will be much easier for you.

With very best wishes to everyone,

Yours sincerely,

June Woolhouse

Lead Inspector