What have been our successes this year?

A very successful Ofsted Inspection - “The pupils’ outstanding personal development & well-being, including their excellent spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, contribute very strongly to their standards and achievement.” “The good teaching and learning ensure that pupils achieve well and make good progress”. “The curriculum is good..it meets the range of pupils needs well…is enhanced by a good range of extra-curricular activities.” A Diocese Inspection (May) – “The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the school as a church school is outstanding.”

Our very good SATs results (Yr 2) continue to be above local & national average in all areas.

We have enhanced our ICT provision, held a successful Maths Week (incorporating many curriculum areas), hosted a Puppet Theatre & Workshop, successfully bid for a sustainability grant (and purchased fruit trees to enhance the school environment) & also been successful in winning a project through E2BN (local ITC provider). Fruit & vegetable beds have flourished & there have been many healthy food/cooking opportunities for all pupils.

We celebrated our 50th Anniversary (June) with a very successful Golden Jubilee Day.

What are we trying to improve?

Our mission is for our children to develop a strong foundation for life. We provide a rich learning environment where pupils feel happy, safe and encouraged to achieve their full potential. With this in mind the staff and governors of Sherington School continually monitor and assess the performance of the school in order to identify areas which could be improved and to put in place strategies and resources to implement these changes. These include both national and local led initiatives, as well as those areas specific to our school.

Our School Improvement Plan’s objectives include actions to further develop ourselves as a self-evaluating school and develop our portfolios of evidence for inspection. We have included plans to respond to the new national initiatives of Literacy and Numeracy; prepare our school to move toward National Healthy Schools Status and to continue to take strategic actions in direct response to the MK authority’s Age of Transfer implications.

How have our results changed over time?

Our school is justly proud of our achievements - data on pupil performance demonstrates that standards are consistently high. We provide teaching & learning tailored to the needs of individual pupils. Our pupils consequently achieve their potential & reach standards that are above national average.

We set individual targets for all our pupils. They are challenging but realistic & are based on individual achievement and potential. We do recognize that cohorts of pupils will vary year to year but we continue to aim for the highest in improving our results.

This year 100% of our pupils achieved Level 2A in all assessed areas :reading, writing, maths, science and speaking & listening. We are very proud of the high proportion of year 2 pupils who achieved level 3.

Pupils with specific learning needs make consistently good progress.

Over the past four years our pupil achievements have been significantly higher than national achievements.

Progress in Foundation Stage is carefully monitored & virtually all pupils meet the expected standards by the end of their first year in school. When our pupil achievements for Foundation stage are compared with average achievements across all MK pupils, our pupils generally score higher.

How are we making sure that every child gets teaching to meet their individual needs?

Our school is a small village school & has a very good ratio of well qualified, experienced classroom practitioners (including support staff) to pupils. Small group sizes ensure our pupils receive appropriate support according to their own individual need. Pupils with special educational needs are nurtured & supported. External professionals are consulted to support pupils & parents as required, & formulate Individual Education Plans. We promote educational inclusion & equal opportunities for every child.

Resources are regularly reviewed, the governors support this process by managing & monitoring expenditure which ensures we maintain good, effective resources to support a broad, balanced curriculum.

Assessment & monitoring is a key feature of our improvement plan,resulting in a tracking process implemented for all our pupils & it means that specific needs can be identified at an early stage & necessary intervention can be implemented.

We have a strong ethos of positive behaviour & classroom management which supports our pupils at all stages of their education & development here in school.

All staff are involved in effective & rigorous planning and on-going professional development is part of the school improvement programme.

What have pupils told us about the school, and what have we done as a result?

We seek the views of our pupils and aim to respond to issues which arise. Children tell us they like being in our school and enjoy their work and like their teachers. They feel valued, secure and listened to and they enjoy special opportunities provided such as Treasures and Golden Book/Smart Award assemblies, and ‘School Voice’ where they have a direct impact on issues such as how to raise funds and what charity they would like to support. They appreciate the range of assemblies and other opportunities offered which enrich their curriculum.

The school is very small and pupils feel that all staff know them very well and listen to them. The older pupils appreciate the opportunity to help the younger ones become a part of the school community.

Our school has been part of a University research project and we are currently focused on ‘pupil voice’. Our pupils told a visiting professor, from the research group at Nottingham University,that they felt listened to and empowered to develop ideas.

How do we make sure our pupils are healthy, safe and well-supported?

We achieved Healthy School accreditation at National Status Level. Fruit & Vegetable scheme thrives - a healthy packed lunch is encouraged. Pupils actively consider the environment (e.g. composting of fruit/vegetable skins).New entrants receive a free water bottle, drinking water is readily available & pupils are encouraged to drink water regularly.

Pupils are involved in planting, tending, harvesting, cooking and eating fresh vegetables grown in the school grounds. The PTFA have provided many ‘healthy food’ cookery sesssions & also cooked a range of healthy meals for pupils.

PSHE is planned across the curriculum. Surveys show pupils feel safe/secure & know they can approach any staff with any concerns. Assemblies & ‘Circle times’ encourage pupils to talk openly & discuss strategies to solve their own problems.

We work closely with Health visitors, School Nurses etc. who attend assemblies. Staff are trained in First Aid & are CRB checked. Anti-bullying is an integral part of our Behaviour Policy- governors & staff regularly review policies e.g. Health & Safety, Child Protection, S.E.N. and Equal Opps.

Parents are asked to ensure we are informed of changes to personal details & ‘end of the day collection’ arrangements.

What activities and options are available to pupils?

We provide two hours of P.E. a week for all pupils and this year we have also introduced a Recorders Club and French Club for our pupils.

Visitors have included a puppet theatre, representatives of a local recycling centre & local authority consultants. The puppet theatre presented their dramatic puppet show & the pupils then participated enthusiastically in a workshop.

We are part of a small village community & we make full use of resources provided by the village including walks around the village (with curriculum links to science, geography, history and design & technology and RE.)

We also participate in joint annual events such as Milton Keynes Music Festival and Oxford Diocese Schools assembly.

We made a visit to ‘Prego’s restaurant in Newport Pagnell, learning about food preparation and food hygiene before deciding our own pizza toppings and making individual pizzas. Other visits included the Art Gallery (MK), working with staff there on a workshop inspired by one of the artists; Yr 2 ‘learning visits’ to other MK schools and a trip shared with St. Andrew’s (Small Schools liaison group).

Click onto our website at http://www.sherington.org.uk to see the full range of activities, visits and visitors experienced throughout the year.

How are we working with parents and the community?

We value our links with parents & community greatly, recognising the importance of their role in the pupils’ learning. Parents, Pre-School, governors & the village community are invited to a range of school events: Nativity Performance, Mothers & Leavers Assemblies, Sports Day & Maypole Dancing. Our Reverand & a church representative conduct weekly assemblies in school.

We have strong links with the Local Authority & work closely within a network of diocesan & small schools. We hold ‘Open Door’ sessions, consultation evenings & an Open Day ( prospective parents & other community members view the school & its facilities.)

A curriculum newsletter is sent (termly) with updates on work we carry out in school. Regular newsletters give information of school life & contributions to ‘SCAN’ parish magazine reaches a wider community audience. PTFA holds fundraising events & parent helpers are welcomed into school- the pupils benefit greatly from this.

We are proud of our open-door policy - staff are always available to talk to parents.

An established & very successful induction programme for our newest pupils includes close liaison with our Pre-School (including their visits to us) and home visits prior to children starting here.

What do our pupils do after leaving this school?

After leaving Sherington CE First School, the majority of our children move on to Tickford Park School in Newport Pagnell. Smaller numbers take up places in other local schools including those from the independent sector.

We are active members of the Tickford Park and Ousevalley Liaison Groups and are committed to working together to benefit children. As smooth a transition as possible is established through a programme of visits and activities which are planned throughout the year. These include visits from Tickford Park staff, participation in events at Tickford Park School such as a special sports day, curriculum planning and transition projects.

Children leave us as confident and successful learners and, through close liaison with Tickford Park School, we know our children settle quickly, confidently and happily. Feedback from parent consultations informs us that they appreciate and value the quality provided by our school and strongly feel that our small but dynamic environment gives our pupils the best possible start to their education.

Ofsted's view of our school

This is a good school that has improved well since its last inspection. The headteacher, governors and staff have managed the change in the school's character effectively to ensure that it runs smoothly.

A strong Christian ethos permeates the life of the school and underpins the promotion of pupils' personal development and well-being, which are outstanding. Pupils' behaviour is excellent and their attitudes to learning are highly positive. Attendance is very good and pupils clearly enjoy their work. Pupils are very well aware of how to stay healthy. For example, they grow vegetables in the school's garden and then thoroughly enjoy cooking and eating them. Pupils talk knowingly about how safe they feel and know who to turn to if they need help. They work together harmoniously and are learning basic skills well in English, mathematics, science and information and communication technology (ICT). Pupils are very well involved in the local community. As one parent commented, 'The school is at the heart of the life of the village'.

Excellent personal development ensures that pupils are well prepared for their learning. The Foundation Stage provides a good start to the children's education and they make good progress. The quality of teaching and learning is good in each class and as a result pupils' achievement and progress are also good. Standards are above average and the very small number of pupils who took the tests in 2006 did very well to exceed their targets. The headteacher and staff have worked successfully to raise standards in writing. They are aware that more needs to be done to improve pupils' spelling and handwriting but do not always correct pupils' mistakes in these aspects of English. Pupils are well aware of their progress in reading, writing and mathematics but less so in science. Pupils are well cared for and are given good guidance to help their personal and academic development.

The headteacher, staff and governors are committed to improving the school and its capacity to improve is good. Parents are very happy with their children's education and are strongly supportive. Leadership of pupils' personal development is outstanding. Good monitoring of standards and progress is followed by effective action to improve standards and progress. Governors are increasingly more involved in monitoring and evaluating the school's work and support the headteacher well. Self-evaluation is good overall but targets in the improvement plan are not always precise enough.

Date of last inspection: 28-Feb-2007

Ofsted graded our school as good

Inspectors made judgements on a scale: outstanding (grade 1); good (2); satisfactory (3); inadequate (4).

View the Ofsted page for Sherington Church of England School     (also: official inspection report (PDF file))

What have we done in response to Ofsted?

Our most recent OfSTED inspection was February 2007. Judgements included : “This is a good school…” “A strong christian ethos permeates the life of the school and underpins the promotion of pupils’ personal development and well-being, which are outstanding. Pupils’ behaviour is excellent... attitudes to learning are highly positive.” “The quality of teaching and learning is good.” “Standards are above average.”

Three areas were identified for further improvement : Individual pupil targets now set for Science, the policy for marking is being revisited & the Governing Body is working on ‘success criteria’ targets of the Improvement Plan.

Staff and governors attend training to ensure we embed our skills & knowledge of new educational developments into the school ethos. We are committed to analysing our practice & aspiring to excellence for the benefit of our pupils.

The school’s most recent Diocesan inspection stated “The distinctiveness and effectiveness of Sherington ...School as a Church of England school are outstanding.” “The school through its distinctive Christian character is outstanding at meeting the needs of all learners.” “The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the school... is outstanding.”

More Information

If you would like more information about school policies, including our policies on special educational needs and disability, admissions, finance, school food and our complaints procedure, please contact us:

By telephone: 01908 610470

Our website: http://www.sherington.org.uk

• The School Profile is also available on the DirectGov website: School Profile page (also: Overview page)
• Alternatively you can download/print the PDF file.
• Copies are also available from school.