St Martin's CofE Primary School

St Martin's CofE Primary School Inspection report

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Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 20–21 March 2012 Inspection number 379525 Unique Reference Number 118037 Local authority North Lincolnshire Inspection number 379525 Inspection dates 20–21 March 2012 Lead inspector Rajinder Harrison

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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 aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 88 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Bunty Harris Headteacher Josephine Buckle Date of previous school inspection 18 December 2008 School address Burnham Road Owston Ferry Doncaster DN9 1AY Telephone number 01427 728258 Fax number 01427 728258 Email address head.stmartins@northlincs.gov.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. The inspector observed four teachers in nine lessons over approximately five hours. Meetings were held with school leaders, groups of pupils and members of the governing body. The inspector observed the school's work, and looked at its development planning, data about the achievement of pupils and their behaviour, and samples of pupils’ work. Some pupils were heard to read. The inspector took account of the responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. Questionnaires from pupils and staff were analysed as were the 30 questionnaires returned by parents and carers.

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Information about the school

This is a smaller than average-sized primary school. Pupils are taught in four mixed- age classes. Most pupils are of White British heritage. Very few pupils are known to be eligible for free school meals. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below average. Provision for the Early Years Foundation Stage includes a nursery, where children enter in the term after their third birthday for five afternoon sessions each week. The school is federated with another school; the two schools are led by a shared headteacher and governing body. Since the last inspection the school has experienced a number of staffing difficulties. The school meets the current floor standard. 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 and inspection terms

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Key Findings

 This is a good school. It has successfully arrested the decline in attainment since its last inspection. Pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, make good progress from their starting points and achieve well. Attainment is above average overall by the end of Year 6, but the school is not yet outstanding because attainment in mathematics, while improving, is broadly average and could be higher.

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Key Findings

 The majority of teaching is good and leads to good progress. In most lessons work is well matched to pupils’ abilities. Occasionally, particularly in mathematics, teaching assistants are not always deployed to maximum effect to increase the pace of learning for all groups of pupils. Marking is good in showing pupils how they could improve their work. However, pupils have too few opportunities to discuss their learning and assess how well they are doing in relation to their individual targets.

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Key Findings

 Reading is generally taught well but lower-attaining pupils in Key Stage 2 sometimes lack confidence in using the skills they have learnt when they encounter unfamiliar words.

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Key Findings

 Relationships across the school are very strong. Pupils behave well in lessons. They have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe. They say they feel very safe and happy at school. They understand what is right and wrong and undertake responsibilities that develop their social skills effectively.

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Key Findings

 Leadership and management are good. The headteacher leads a very cohesive staff team that is keen to improve outcomes for pupils. The leadership of teaching and the management of performance are rigorous. As a result, teaching and learning have improved significantly in the last year. Members of the governing body use their skills well to support and challenge the school. Parents and carers are extremely supportive of the school and play an active part in school life .

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that pupils’ attainment in mathematics at least matches the above average attainment in English by ensuring that: - pupils of all abilities are challenged appropriately in every lesson - pupils have more opportunities to discuss their learning, assess their progress and understand how well they are achieving - teaching assistants are deployed to maximum effect in all lessons.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that the lower-attaining readers in Key Stage 2 have the help they need to tackle unfamiliar words more confidently.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils make good progress across all key stages. They make the best progress when they are actively engaged through discussion. For example, in a Year 1 and 2 lesson in history, the teacher questioned pupils so skilfully about their trip to the museum that progress for all advanced at a good pace. Learning in lessons is good because pupils are enthusiastic. Adults support pupils well with individually planned programmes of study to ensure good progress is maintained. Nearly all parents and carers consider that their children are making good progress. They believe that the school meets their children’s needs well. Inspection evidence confirms this.

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Achievement of pupils

The school’s effective actions have generally restored above average standards at the end of Year 6, following a decline since the last inspection due to weaknesses in provision. Pupils who show signs that they might be falling behind get speedy access to tuition, which helps them to improve. Occasionally, progress is not good because introductions to lessons are too demanding for the lower-attaining pupils and do not challenge the higher-attaining pupils enough, particularly in mathematics where the range of ability is very wide. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress.

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Achievement of pupils

Children progress well in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children’s skills on entry are generally at those levels expected for their age. A minority possess difficulties in language and literacy when they start school, but make good progress owing to the personalised intervention they receive. Children confidently count numbers beyond 10 and explain that they must be gentle with their insects because, ‘they are all God’s creatures’. The stimulating environment and good teaching promote children’s love of learning effectively. They all reach the expected goals for their age at the end of the Reception Year and a good number exceed them.

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Achievement of pupils

Across the school progress in reading is rapid and, as a result, attainment in reading is above average at the end of Year 2 and by the time they leave school. Pupils enjoy reading. Parents are highly supportive of their children’s reading at home and make a very effective contribution to the standards attained. Older pupils read confidently and were well able to explain and interpret what they were reading. Lower-attaining pupils sometimes struggle to apply their word building skills when they encounter words that are new to them because the letters and sounds work for younger pupils is not sustained sufficiently for those who need it in Key Stage 2. Attainment in writing is above average. Effective interventions and good teaching enhance pupils’ skills well. Pupils’ above average literacy skills support their good progress in other subjects, for example by enabling them to read and understand problem-solving

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Achievement of pupils

Attainment in mathematics is not as strong as that in reading and writing because a minority of pupils have gaps in their learning owing to previous weaknesses in provision. Provision in mathematics has now improved due to rigorous action by school leadership and so pupils’ progress is accelerating well.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching is good overall. Teachers’ good subject knowledge and accurate and timely assessments of pupils’ progress mean that lessons are continuously adapted to promote good learning. Careful planning ensures that activities meet the needs of most pupils. Individual or small group interventions support any pupils not making good progress. Occasionally, in satisfactory lessons, a few pupils find the work either too easy or too difficult. This is because teaching assistants are not always deployed to maximum effect, particularly during teachers’ sometimes over-long introductions, in mathematics, for example.

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Quality of teaching

Good strategies to teach reading are evident, such as the step by step development of linking sounds to letters in the younger age classes and dedicated reading sessions as pupils progress into Key Stage 2. While these sessions motivate more confident readers effectively, they are less productive for the few lower-attaining pupils who are less secure in their reading skills.

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Quality of teaching

Assessment and the planning for children’s next steps are good in Nursery and Reception. The classrooms and outside areas allow children to experience the curriculum fully. The playhouse and extensive gardens are particularly popular. Children develop knowledge of letter sounds and new vocabulary through stimulating activities. Adults allow children to play independently as well as benefiting from very instructive and timely intervention, for example when they need help with planting ‘magic beans’.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers support pupils’ learning well. Pupils are confident to ask for help when needed. Pupils have targets in literacy and numeracy but are not always aware of how well they are doing against these targets because they have too few opportunities to discuss their learning and assess their progress.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers use the curriculum effectively to add interest and extend pupils’ literacy and numeracy. For example, older pupils have really taken to ‘Brown’ as a theme to explore chocolate including its positive and negative virtues in health and fair trade. Many extend their learning by conducting research at home. Good emphasis on promoting pupils’ social, moral and social development is evident in all classrooms. Links with local schools are good and the links with a school in Ethiopia support pupils’ satisfactory cultural development. Opportunities are missed for pupils to gain a good understanding of diversity in the United Kingdom. Parents and carers consider, correctly, that their children are taught well at school.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour and safety are good. Pupils are friendly and considerate towards others. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, for example, children show high levels of courtesy as they offer to share toys and equipment. Behaviour over time is typically good for most pupils. When pupils are fully engaged in lessons, behaviour and attitudes to learning are at their best. When the pace of learning slows, a few become restless and inattentive. A minority of pupils in the pupil questionnaires raised concerns about behaviour but said that staff deal with disruptions promptly. Pupils also said that incidents of bullying and racism are rare. Any incidents that occur are always dealt with quickly. The school has had a small number of exclusions this year. The action taken was appropriate in safeguarding the well-being of all concerned. Parents and carers are of the opinion that behaviour is good in the school and this is accurate.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

All pupils say they feel safe and are confident that any adult in school would help them if needed. Pupils know what constitutes a safe or unsafe situation. They know of different forms of bullying that might happen and are aware of the dangers of communicating with others on the internet. Parents and carers were happy that their children were safe at school. In the nursery, children understood why they had to play inside till staff came to look after them outside, ‘because we might bump into each other and hurt ourselves’. Pupils’ attendance is satisfactory and improving. The school works hard to discourage families taking holidays in term time. Parents and carers acknowledge that their children enjoy school and are keen to attend regularly.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The school is proactive in making sure pupils have an understanding and respect for all beliefs and cultures. Pupils are articulate, polite and very eager to engage with visitors. Pupils proudly take responsibility as ‘lunch monitors’ to look after younger children at lunchtimes and in the playground.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher leads the school well. Monitoring is rigorous and subject leaders are supporting this process effectively. Collaboration with local schools, such as sharing good practice and curriculum development, has had a positive impact on teaching and learning. The school tracks the progress of all pupils closely and identifies interventions to ensure good progress and equality of opportunity for all.

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Leadership and management

The school’s self-evaluation is accurate and identified priorities receive prompt attention. Provision for mathematics has improved and pupils are now making better progress. The governing body supports and challenges the school effectively. With leaders having successfully arrested the decline in standards since the last inspection, capacity to make further improvements is good.

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Leadership and management

The school works well with parents and carers. Most feel that they are well informed about their children’s progress. The school has many social occasions to meet parents and carers, particularly through church events and family activities to raise funds for charity. This not only fosters good opportunities for parents to meet staff, but helps develop the pupils’ personal and social development well.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is good. It is planned carefully to ensure that all the subjects and skills are covered well. Pupils enjoy many imaginatively planned experiences, such as visits that improve their personal and academic achievement. The curriculum in the Early Years Foundation Stage is stimulating and promotes adult-led and child- initiated learning well. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good overall. Activities such as ‘Litter Busters’ help pupils appreciate the wider world and their place within it. This wide experience combines effectively with good academic progress to ensure pupils are prepared well for the next stage of their education.

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Leadership and management

The school is successful in promoting equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination, including for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. It has robust systems for identifying and helping groups and individuals thus making this an inclusive school. Safeguarding is threaded through the curriculum, which helps pupils feel safe. Safeguarding arrangements meet current statutory requirements.

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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 St Martin's CofE Primary School, Doncaster, DN9 1AY

Thank you for the warm welcome you gave me when I inspected your school recently. You were all very polite, friendly and eager to talk to me. Thank you, too, for completing the questionnaire telling me what you think about your school. I looked at your responses and considered them when making my judgements. Your school is a good school. Your reading is good. It was great to learn that many of you enjoy reading both at home and school. You make good progress and achieve well because you work hard and receive good teaching. You achieve particularly well in reading and writing.

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Inspection of St Martin's CofE Primary School, Doncaster, DN9 1AY

Your behaviour is good. You all listen carefully to your friends and the adults in lessons as well as at other times. You play very well together and are very polite to each other. I was particularly impressed to see how much you do for charity and how older pupils help younger ones at lunchtimes. You all told me you all feel safe and happy at school.

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Inspection of St Martin's CofE Primary School, Doncaster, DN9 1AY

Your school is well led and managed and all staff, including the governors, are working hard to improve the school. In order to help you to do even better in mathematics and to improve the school further, I have asked the school’s leaders and teachers to make sure all your lessons are good and that all of the adults in your classes help you achieve the best you can in every lesson, but especially in mathematics. A number of you said in your questionnaires and in conversation with me that you were not sure how well you were doing. I have asked your teachers to give you more time to talk about your learning with them so that it helps you make better progress. Some of you find it hard sometimes to read words you have not come across before and I have asked teachers to help you with this.

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Inspection of St Martin's CofE Primary School, Doncaster, DN9 1AY

You can help your school by working hard and keeping up your good behaviour and positive attitude to learning. I wish you every success in the future.

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Inspection of St Martin's CofE Primary School, Doncaster, DN9 1AY

Rajinder Harrison 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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