How distinctive and effective is the school as a Church school?

2

How well does the school, through its distinctive Christian character, meet the needs of all learners?

2

What is the impact of collective worship on the school community?

2

How effective is the religious education?

N/A

How effective are the leadership and management of the school, as a church school?

2

The school meets the statutory requirement for collective acts of worship

Yes

The school meets the statutory requirement for religious education *

N/A

Lockington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Front Street

Lockington

Driffield

YO25 9SH                  

Diocese: York

Local authority: East Riding

Dates of inspection: 20^th March 2008

Date of last inspection: October 2004

School - unique reference number: 118001

Headteacher: Mrs Susan Coyle

Inspector -  name and number: Mrs Celia Roberts (469)

School context

Lockington Primary is a very small school of 52 pupils, which draws its pupils from a wide, essentially rural area.  No pupils are eligible for free school meals and the majority come from homes that are relatively advantaged socially and economically.  There are no pupils with a statement of special educational needs and the proportion with learning difficulties and /or disabilities is broadly average.  All pupils have English as their first language.  The school has achieved Health Promoting School status and Sport England Activemark.

The distinctiveness and effectiveness of Lockington Primary  as a Church of England school are good

Lockington Primary is an effective learning community where the ethos of love, care and well being is firmly rooted in Christian values.  This has created a purposeful and effective environment where children achieve well.  Learners are confident, articulate and extremely welcoming.  Relationships throughout the school are exemplary.  Parents strongly support the  learning climate and Christian ethos.

Established strengths

-         The provision of high quality education within a caring Christian environment.

-         A staff team who work well together, under the direction of an inspiring leader and identify with the school's ethos statement.

-         Positive partnerships with parents, and the wider community.

-         High quality acts of collective worship providing a special time in the school day.

Focus for development

-         Training for governors in what it means to be a distinctive church school and discussion on what key Christian values should be developed.

-         Establish a system of monitoring and evaluation for collective worship, and distinctiveness of the church school.

-         Provide opportunities for children to plan and lead acts of collective worship in school.

The school, through its distinctive Christian character, is good at meeting the needs of all learners

The Christian ethos at Lockington Primary is strong and is evident in many aspects of school life, from the relationships, through to classroom practice.  Displays give clear visual affirmation of the Christian values the school is developing as well as celebrating the excellent work in Religious Education (RE).  Children are able to give clear ideas about the special nature of their school as a church school, 'we don't have rules, well we do, the Golden Rule, so that we love everyone' and 'we learn about Jesus and how to love our neighbour'. The impact of values on behaviour is clearly evident in the interactions between children who show genuine care for those left out of play or who are feeling sad, as well as the special welcome and attention given to visitors.  Through 'buddying' (led by children) and 'Bubble Time' (where children may talk in private to an adult of their choice), children and staff live out their belief in loving everyone.  There is a joy for learning and a wholesome work ethic because as one child stated, we do lots of fun stuff" and the teachers are really kind".  This results in a calm, purposeful learning environment, which is inclusive and based on the strong Christian value that all are unique. Staff and adult role models are exemplary and have a positive effect on the children, enabling them to see how Christian faith is lived in practice. The Ethos Statement for the school is clear, however there has been no formal discussion about key Christian values, what it means to be a distinctive church school and the impact this has on the children. The National Society Toolkit has been completed by headteacher and some staff and would now benefit from wider involvement.

The impact of collective worship on the school community is good

Collective worship occupies a central place in the life of the school and is underpinned by clear Christian values. Planning is thorough and includes celebration of Christian festivals as well as other faith celebrations.  Some informal monitoring of worship is undertaken by staff, however there is no formal system in place involving all stakeholders. The school has developed close and supportive links with the churches in the village both Anglican and Methodist. This enables children to understand Christianity from different denominational perspectives, as well as developing understanding of Anglican faith and practice. Visitors from both churches as well as from Beverley Minster and the Society of Friends further enhance the worship programme. Children clearly enjoy worship, "it makes me feel good" and we enjoy the music", being two of the many positive comments.  Worship has a strong impact on pupils spiritual and moral development with one very young child commenting 'it makes me feel weird'.  On closer questioning the child revealed how spiritually uplifting worship is, emphasising the expression of feelings different from the norm. This is due to very skilful use of questioning by teachers, which enables children to reflect on personal experience, as well as setting prayers to beautiful music.  Children as yet, do not have opportunity to plan and lead worship except at Harvest and Christmas, however they do write prayers and offer suggestions for prayer for a monthly community prayer group, which is held in school.  This firmly encourages children to think about the importance of prayer to a believer and further develops Christian teaching on caring for others. Parents have opportunity to attend worship on a regular basis and for key Christian festivals, and are very supportive of these occasions.

The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the school as a church school is good

The headteacher articulates a clear vision for the school underpinned by Christian values.  All staff support and nurture the Christian ethos of the school.  This is evident not only in the excellent relationships throughout school between children and adults, but also in collective worship, and through to the way children are rewarded and praised.  RE is a particular strength of the school, being innovative and ensuring children question and listen to each other.  One child remarked "everyone has an opinion for themselves, but we don't criticise them if we don't agree".  The governors are supportive and challenging of the school and have some involvement in the monitoring and evaluation of curriculum areas.  There is however no system in place to ensure foundation governors monitor and evaluate collective worship or church school distinctiveness linked to school improvement planning.  Governors have not had recent training on the schools Christian vision or distinctiveness, although it is promoted in some written communications to parents, particularly for collective worship in church and for RE.  Currently little pupil material is produced for the parish magazine. The school has productive links with the local church community.  This in evident in the way members of the congregation attend a monthly prayer meeting in school and encourage the school grounds to be used for church events.  This firmly emphasises the centrality of school in the worshipping community.  Churchwardens speak of the way the school "carries every child along" in a Christian spirit and the very thoughtful responses of children when writing prayers for the prayer group. Parents speak highly of the school and strongly support the ethos remarking on the 'real family feel', 'everyone working together' and how 'children are celebrated'.