Kirmington CofE Primary School

Kirmington CofE Primary School Inspection report

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Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 7–8 February 2012 Inspection number 379517 Unique Reference Number 118014 Local authority North Lincolnshire Inspection number 379517 Inspection dates 7–8 February 2012 Lead inspector Declan McCarthy

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 27 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Janet Deans Headteacher Rachel Murray Date of previous school inspection 1 July 2009 School address Kirmington High Street Ulceby DN39 6YP Telephone number 01652 688451 Fax number 01652 688451 Email address school@kirmington.n-lincs.sch.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child's school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Eight part lessons, taught by four teachers were observed, four of which were joint observations with the headteacher. Meetings were held with parents and carers, groups of pupils, three members of the governing body and staff. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school's work, and looked at a range of documentation. This included policies to promote safeguarding, the school development plan, minutes of meetings of the governing body, local authority reviews of the school’s work, annual reports to parents and carers, the school data for tracking progress and samples of pupils’ work. Questionnaire returns from staff, pupils and 22 parents and carers were scrutinised.

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Information about the school

Kirmington is much smaller than the average-sized primary school and serves the surrounding villages. There are two mixed-aged classes and a separate Nursery. The characteristics of the school vary considerably from year to year because year group sizes are very small and currently there are no pupils in Year 5. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is currently below average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is broadly average. A high proportion of children join or leave the school at other than the usual times. The school meets current government floor standards for attainment and progress. Since the last inspection, the roll has fallen. The school has entered into a soft federation with another primary school. The headteacher of the partner school was appointed as executive headteacher of Kirmington in September 2010. The school has gained the ‘Sing Up’ Gold award for singing in school and within the

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Information about the school

wider community. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades a nd inspection terms

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Key Findings

  This is a good school that has improved well since its last inspection.

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Key Findings

 Pupils’ achievement is good. Pupils make good overall progress in reading, writing and mathematics across the school in relation to their starting points in the Early Years Foundation Stage. By the end of Key Stage 2 pupils reach broadly average attainment in English and mathematics. Achievement in reading and writing is slightly better than in mathematics because progress in mathematics, though good overall, is not quite as rapid in Key Stage 1 as in other key stages.

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Key Findings

 Teaching is good as teachers match tasks to different ages and levels of ability. Pupils know their individual targets for improvement and are highly enthusiastic about learning. They are usually given good feedback in lessons and when their work is marked but occasionally there are missed opportunities in mathematics to provide feedback to extend their learning further, particularly in Key Stage 1.

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Key Findings

 The school has a close-knit family atmosphere where individuals are greatly respected. Pupils and parents and carers justifiably say there is no bullying and that behaviour and safety are outstanding.

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Key Findings

 Leadership and management are good. The soft federation is having a good impact on the work of the school, particularly in starting to develop middle leadership roles and the governing body. The executive headteacher and the governing body are providing clear direction to its work. Accurate self- evaluation has led to a track record of school improvement.

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Key Findings

 The roles of middle leaders are still developing and there is some variation in the extent to which they monitor teachers’ expectations and marking in books. They do not always analyse data on pupils’ progress rigorously enough to show progress over time in order to use the information to set further priorities for improvement.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement in mathematics by ensuring that: - teachers have consistently high expectations for learning - feedback in lessons and marking always shows pupils how to improve their work - pupils have more opportunities to use and apply mathematics in other subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the role of middle leaders by ensuring that they: - regularly check pupils’ work within their subjects to determine if expectations are high enough and how consistently pupils are guided to improve their work - analyse whole school data more rigorously to show the trends in progress over time in their subjects across the school - use this information to agree further priorities for improvement.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils throughout the school, including children in the Nursery, achieve well. There are no significant differences in the achievement of different groups, including those who are more able, those known to be eligible for free school meals and those who join the school at different points in a school year. Boys and girls perform equally well. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make equally good progress because tasks are carefully matched to their learning needs. Pupils, parents and carers rightly say that progress is good. On entry to the Nursery, children’s starting points are generally below those typical for their age. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage achieve well in response to good teaching and provision. Pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 make good progress in reading and writing. Progress in mathematics, while good overall, is not as consistent particularly in Key

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Achievement of pupils

Stage 1. This is because, occasionally, there are missed opportunities to extend learning in lessons and pupils’ books show that learning tasks are too easy for some pupils. Attainment in English and mathematics is broadly average by the time pupils leave the school in Year 6.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils respond well to good levels of challenge. For example in a mathematics lesson, children in the Reception Year were measuring the length of different snakes using centimetre cubes and placing the snakes in order of size from the shortest to the longest, an activity expected of pupils at Key Stage 1. Pupils acquire good reading skills and a few pupils make outstanding progress in reading, gaining two years in just one term. This is because pupils make good use of their knowledge of the sounds letters make in reading and writing. There is an excellent match of reading activities to pupils’ individual learning needs. A few pupils with special educational needs, who were working with an adult, made good progress in reading key words using a well-chosen word-search activity. By the end of Key Stage 1, attainment in reading is average. In Key Stage 2 more-able pupils research topics on laptop computers to extend their learning using their well developed reading skills.

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Achievement of pupils

Attainment in reading by the end of Year 6 is broadly average overall.

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Quality of teaching

Parents and carers and pupils believe that teaching is good, a view endorsed by inspection findings. Teachers have good knowledge of their subjects and know their pupils very well. As a result, learning tasks are matched to individual needs and all pupils acquire new knowledge and skills quickly. Lessons proceed briskly, are usually exciting and sustain pupils’ interest and high levels of concentration. Teachers usually have high expectations for learning, although occasionally there are missed opportunities to extend learning in mathematics. Pupils are nearly always given good feedback on their progress in lessons and are informed how to improve their learning when their work is marked, although this is not always the case in mathematics. Relationships between teachers and pupils are excellent. Teaching has a positive impact on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development because pupils are

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Quality of teaching

provided with opportunities to reflect on their learning and their social development is promoted through turn-taking and working together. Teaching promotes moral development well by reference to the code of conduct and expectations for behaviour.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers make good use of technology to promote learning. In a Key Stage 1 music lesson pupils sang African songs with great zest and enjoyment, moving in time with the rhythm and singing with expression. In a Key Stage 2 lesson, a few pupils were using computers to solve mathematical problems, rounding up numbers with two decimal places to one decimal place. Teachers promote literacy well in different subjects by, for example, asking pupils to read learning objectives aloud, providing a range of opportunities to extend their writing and checking their written work for grammar and punctuation. There are some good opportunities to use and apply mathematics in different whole school activities, such as ‘Enterprise Fortnight’ in May and ‘Global Fortnight’ in January. However, opportunities to promote mathematics learning in different subjects other than science are limited. Good knowledge and use of the sounds letters make enable pupils to make good progress in reading and

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Quality of teaching

writing. During the inspection younger pupils read their reading books confidently and demonstrated good use of letter sounds when reading unfamiliar words. Parents and carers correctly believe that homework is making a good contribution to their children’s learning.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Inspection findings support the views of parents and carers that their children’s behaviour and safety are outstanding. Pupils are highly enthusiastic about learning and respond exceptionally well to teachers’ high expectations of behaviour. Pupils say that behaviour is very good, they are extremely safe and that there is no bullying of any kind, including name-calling or cyber-bullying, confirming that the school’s anti-bullying policy is highly effective. Pupils manage potential risk extremely well. They use the internet very safely and move safely around the premises at all times. At playtime they were seen looking after each other, making sure that no-one fell over on the ice. Pupils are most courteous and polite to visitors and have excellent relationships with each other; older pupils help and support younger ones. Pupils are punctual for school and attend regularly. Good promotion of attendance has led to

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

above-average attendance in recent years.

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Leadership and management

The executive headteacher, teacher-in-charge and middle leaders share the same vision and drive for school improvement. The executive headteacher has forged strong links between staff at Kirmington and the partner school. The teacher-in- charge and middle leaders have built up equally strong links with the local community, parents and carers. Self-evaluation based on good monitoring of teaching and learning in lessons has led to good improvement in the areas identified at the last inspection, such as pupils’ achievement in writing which is now good. Performance management has led to good improvement in the quality of teaching since the last inspection when it had less impact on learning and was judged as satisfactory. Leaders and managers establish clear priorities for improvement.

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Leadership and management

The small size of the school means that leaders carry a wide range of responsibilities for different subjects and aspects of the school. There is some inconsistency in the extent to which middle leaders scrutinise pupils’ work, particularly in mathematics, to ensure expectations are always high enough and that marking is used to move learning forward. Members of the governing body provide good support for the school. They are regular visitors to school events, consult parents and carers informally and act on any concerns and they carry out focused visits to enable them to form their own view of the school. The governing body ensures that statutory requirements are met, particularly for safeguarding. There is rigorous vetting of all staff and visitors to the school with regular updated training in safeguarding and child protection. In view of the many improvements since the last inspection the school has a strong capacity for further improvement.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum meets the range of pupils’ needs well with good opportunities for enrichment, through for example singing in the community and learning French. The curriculum makes a considerable contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils learn about other cultures through learning about world religions, the celebration of festivals such as Chinese New Year and well-chosen topics on the impact of poverty on different communities in the world. Their moral and social development is strongly promoted through the excellent ethos of the school enshrined in its Christian principles of care and consideration for others. The school promotes equality of opportunity well and does not tolerate discrimination of any kind. As a result there are no recorded instances of discrimination in the school. Previous gaps in attainment of particular groups especially in writing have been

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Leadership and management

narrowed and the gaps between pupils’ achievements in mathematics and English are also narrowing.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils' needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ).

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils' work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils' punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school's overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils' attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils' freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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to share with their children. It describes Ofsted's main

findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Kirmington CofE Primary School, Ulceby, DN39 6YP

Thank you for making me so welcome when I visited your school recently. I enjoyed meeting you and talking to you about your school. You told me how much you enjoyed coming to school and I agree with you and your parents and carers that Kirmington is a good school. Here are some of the best things I found out about it.

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Inspection of Kirmington CofE Primary School, Ulceby, DN39 6YP

 You are all making good progress and you work very hard in lessons.  Teaching is good and teachers always make learning interesting.  Your behaviour is outstanding and you always stay as safe as you can in school.  You are very kind to each other and older pupils look after younger ones.  Your school is led and managed well and all the staff and members of the governing body want to make your school even better.

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Inspection of Kirmington CofE Primary School, Ulceby, DN39 6YP

I have asked your school to make sure that you are given work in mathematics which is slightly harder and to be sure that you always know how to improve your work. I have also asked your school leaders to check your books and the progress you make each year you are in school so that they can use this information to make further improvements to your learning.

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Inspection of Kirmington CofE Primary School, Ulceby, DN39 6YP

You can help by asking your teachers for harder work, if you think it is too easy and always doing your best.

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Inspection of Kirmington CofE Primary School, Ulceby, DN39 6YP

Declan McCarthy Lead Inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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