Rickling Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
Catchment Area, Reviews and Key Information

Primary
PUPILS
104
AGES
5 - 11
GENDER
Mixed
TYPE
Voluntary aided school
SCHOOL GUIDE RATING
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Can I Get My Child Into This School?

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This pupil heat map shows where pupils currently attending the school live.
The concentration of pupils shows likelihood of admission based on distance criteria

Source: All attending pupils National School Census Data, ONS
0845 603 2200

This School Guide heat map has been plotted using official pupil data taken from the last School Census collected by the Department for Education. It is a visualisation of where pupils lived at the time of the annual School Census.

Our heat maps use groups of postcodes, not individual postcodes, and have naturally soft edges. All pupils are included in the mapping (i.e. children with siblings already at the school, high priority pupils and selective and/or religious admissions) but we may have removed statistical ‘outliers’ with more remote postcodes that do not reflect majority admissions.

For some schools, the heat map may be a useful indicator of the catchment area but our heat maps are not the same as catchment area maps. Catchment area maps, published by the school or local authority, are based on geographical admissions criteria and show actual cut-off distances and pre-defined catchment areas for a single admission year.

This information is provided as a guide only. The criteria in which schools use to allocate places in the event that they are oversubscribed can and do vary between schools and over time. These criteria can include distance from the school and sometimes specific catchment areas but can also include, amongst others, priority for siblings, children of a particular faith or specific feeder schools. Living in an area where children have previously attended a school does not guarantee admission to the school in future years. Always check with the school’s own admission authority for the current admission arrangements.

3 steps to help parents gather catchment information for a school:

  1. Look at our school catchment area guide for more information on heat maps. They give a useful indicator of the general areas that admit pupils to the school. This visualisation is based on all attending pupils present at the time of the annual School Census.
  2. Use the link to the Local Authority Contact (above) to find catchment area information based on a single admission year. This is very important if you are considering applying to a school.
  3. On each school page, use the link to visit the school website and find information on individual school admissions criteria. Geographical criteria are only applied after pupils have been admitted on higher priority criteria such as Looked After Children, SEN, siblings, etc.

How Does The School Perform?

Good
NATIONAL AVG. 2.09
Ofsted Inspection
(27/02/2019)
Full Report - All Reports
77%
NATIONAL AVG. 60%
% pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics



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Progress Compared With All Other Schools

UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Average (About 67% of schools in England) Above Average (About 6% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 9% of schools in England) UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 10% of schools in England) Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Average (About 67% of schools in England) Above Average (About 6% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 8% of schools in England) UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 10% of schools in England) Below Average (About 11% of schools in England) Average (About 59% of schools in England) Above Average (About 11% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 9% of schools in England)
Rickling Green
Saffron Walden
CB11 3YG
01799543274

School Description

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since your appointment as headteacher in September 2018, you and your newly formed senior leadership team have quickly shown that they have a clear idea of where there are strengths in the school and where improvements could be made. Your new team is demonstrating enthusiasm, energy and an eagerness to improve pupils’ achievement and their well-being. You are ably supported by governors and by the local authority. Both have great confidence in you and other leaders. Governors are very knowledgeable and understand the importance of both challenging and supporting you. In the short time since you have been in post, you have secured the trust of parents who know that the school is in good hands. All parents who responded to Ofsted’s questionnaire and those who spoke to me would recommend the school. Typical of parental comments was, ‘Rickling is a wonderful school with a particularly friendly and nurturing atmosphere.’ Parents said staff are professional, approachable and respond well to their concerns. They say their children are very happy and enthusiastic about school. Leaders, including governors, have continued to maintain the good quality of teaching since the last inspection. Teaching in the early years, and key stages 1 and 2, has remained good. Leaders have ensured that the high standards of personal development, behaviour and welfare have also been maintained since the previous inspection. Typically, pupils enjoy interesting lessons and show they enjoy learning. They try extremely hard to do their best and behave well at all times. Pupils show respect to adults and to each other. Older children look after the younger ones when they are at play and as they move around the school. Since the last inspection, the school has improved outcomes for pupils, including for the most able. In the early years, an above-average proportion of children typically reach a good level of development by the end of Reception. Similarly, in Year 1, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in phonics is high. The proportions of pupils attaining greater depth and higher standards at key stages 1 and 2 in reading, writing and mathematics are consistently high. You have correctly identified that while there are some very exciting, enriching aspects of the curriculum, subjects other than English and mathematics (the foundation subjects) are not taught as systematically. Safeguarding is effective. You and your staff ensure a strong culture of safeguarding pupils. Staff training is up to date. Members of staff I spoke to demonstrated that they understand how to keep pupils safe. You ensure that the concerns they raise are followed up in a timely manner. Since your arrival, you have refined the procedures for recording child protection concerns. This has led to records being kept meticulously. The single central record meets requirements. You make careful checks on the suitability of adults applying to work at the school, including volunteers. Governors check to ensure that safeguarding documents are well maintained and meet requirements. Pupils feel safe and know how to keep safe. They have a well-developed understanding of keeping safe when using the internet. The pupils I spoke to understood why they should not play online games with strangers. They were aware of potential ‘scams’ and knew not to give out their personal details to anyone. Parents and pupils confirmed that this is a school where bullying rarely happens. Pupils showed they have a good understanding of what is meant by bullying. Staff ensure that pupils are aware of what to do and who to approach if they have any concerns. Inspection findings The inspection focused on how effectively leaders have ensured that the most able pupils achieve well, particularly in mathematics. While pupils’ standards in mathematics are consistently high at both key stages, the progress of most pupils by the end of key stage 2 is broadly average. Soon after you joined the school, you commissioned a review of teaching and learning to tackle this. This confirmed your view that pupils did not have sufficient opportunities to develop their mathematical reasoning skills. You have acted promptly on the recommendations of the review. As a result, teachers have recently implemented new, more systematic approaches to develop pupils’ reasoning skills in mathematics. This is leading to improvement. When we visited classes and looked at pupils’ workbooks, I noted that, currently, pupils are making good progress in mathematics. I also found that pupils are being provided with more opportunities to prove how they reached their answers and to demonstrate their thinking. At times though, reasoning is only used as an extension activity. This means that less-able pupils in particular, do not get enough opportunities to try these tasks and develop their reasoning skills. Next, I looked at how effectively leaders have organised the curriculum to improve pupils’ progress. The impact of effective teaching is clearly evident in pupils’ books in each class. For example, pupils in Years 3 and 4 have developed their writing skills well by looking at visual resources to inspire them to write descriptively. Teachers’ questions help pupils to broaden their vocabulary and create interesting phrases such as, ‘suddenly, the sky changed from orange to red, exploding in a blaze of colour’. Pupils’ books also show that those pupils who are working below their age-related targets for attainment in English and mathematics are catching up quickly. This is because they are provided with well-targeted support. Pupils enjoy a broad range of activities across the curriculum. Events such as ‘M’ days in the woods to promote mental health and well-being, where pupils and staff experience things starting with the letter ‘m’, such as music, meditation and marshmallows are proving to be great fun. Other similar events, such as ‘Welly Wednesdays’ and ‘Fresh Air Fridays’ enhance the enjoyment and well-being of pupils. This contributes extremely well to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The pupils who met with me were able to recall many facts about a previous topic on the First and Second World War, and did so with great enthusiasm. However, evidence from pupils’ workbooks in Years 5 and 6 shows that the curriculum coverage in history, geography and science is patchy. Consequently, pupils are not as well prepared for the next stage in their education in these subjects as they are in English and mathematics. I looked closely at the quality of leadership and management. The actions taken by leaders to make improvements have maintained the good quality of education provided for pupils. Your leadership is enthusing other staff to lead improvements. For example, the science leader is improving the outside environment by developing the garden and allotment areas. Staff have sustained the high standards of cooperation, consideration and positive behaviour shown by pupils. They are polite and behave extremely well in lessons and in school generally. They show highly positive attitudes to learning, listen attentively to instructions and respond favourably to adult guidance.

Rickling Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Parent Reviews



unlock % Parents Recommend This School
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>88, "agree"=>12, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 51 responses up to 28-02-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>90, "agree"=>10, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 51 responses up to 28-02-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>69, "agree"=>31, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 51 responses up to 28-02-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>80, "agree"=>20, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 51 responses up to 28-02-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>73, "agree"=>27, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 51 responses up to 28-02-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>57, "agree"=>35, "disagree"=>8, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 51 responses up to 28-02-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>73, "agree"=>25, "disagree"=>2, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 51 responses up to 28-02-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>49, "agree"=>27, "disagree"=>4, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>20} UNLOCK Figures based on 51 responses up to 28-02-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>78, "agree"=>22, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 51 responses up to 28-02-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>69, "agree"=>27, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>4} UNLOCK Figures based on 51 responses up to 28-02-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>63, "agree"=>33, "disagree"=>4, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 51 responses up to 28-02-2019
Yes No {"yes"=>100, "no"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 51 responses up to 28-02-2019

Responses taken from Ofsted Parent View

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