Thorpe Willoughby Community Primary School

Thorpe Willoughby Community Primary School Inspection report

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Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 02–03 November 2011 Inspection number 380238 Unique Reference Number 121436 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 380238 Inspection dates 2–3 November 2011 Reporting inspector Lynne Blakelock

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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 Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 260 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jan Tetley Headteacher Sue Brown Date of previous school inspection 21 January 2009 School address Londesborough Grove Thorpe Willoughby Selby YO8 9NX Telephone number 01757 703996 Fax number NA Email address admin@thorpewilloughby.n-yorks.sch.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children's services, and inspects services for looked after

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children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by three additional inspectors, who observed 13 teachers in 24 lessons. They held meetings with a group of pupils, with senior and middle leaders and with representatives of the governing body. The inspectors observed the school's work, and looked at documentation relating to the attainment and achievement of pupils, the safeguarding of pupils, and a range of policies, plans and procedures. They analysed staff and pupils' questionnaires and the 67 questionnaires returned by parents and carers.

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Introduction

The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school's work. It looked in detail at a number of key areas.

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Introduction

■ The quality of teaching and support in mathematics. ■ How effectively the school is using information collected about pupils’ progress, to raise achievement, from the Early Years Foundation Stage onwards. ■ The impact of targets and marking on pupils’ ownership of their learning and on their rate of progress.

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Information about the school

This is an average-sized primary school. Most pupils are of White British heritage. A small proportion of Traveller children attend the school. Almost one fifth of pupils travel from outside of the area to attend. A below-average proportion of pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities, of which most are speech, language and communication difficulties or behavioural, social and emotional difficulties. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. The school is an enhanced mainstream school for communication and interaction. It has been awarded the Inclusion Quality Mark for the last three years. The school has achieved the UNICEF (United Nations international Children’s Emergency Fund) Award, ‘Rights Respecting Schools’ Award Level 1, Healthy Schools status and the Activemark. It has achieved the Leading Aspect Award for the Vital Role of Teaching

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Information about the school

The Thorpe Willoughby Child Care Centre is situated on the site and managed by an outside provider. It is subject to a separate inspection. 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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Main findings

This is a satisfactory school. It provides a happy and secure environment in which pupils behave well and feel safe. Their personal development is good, for example, in the extent to which they adopt healthy lifestyles and in the good contribution they make to school and community. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good as is the quality of care, guidance and support they receive. Pupils’ enjoyment of learning is increasingly related to the good curriculum the school provides. By the end of Year 6, attainment in English and mathematics is broadly average, demonstrating pupils’ satisfactory progress and achievement through the school from starting points in Reception that overall are typical for their age. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress towards their early learning goals because provision and leadership and management are good.

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Main findings

Acting on the recommendations from the previous inspection, the school has focused its energies on raising achievement and has made satisfactory progress in making improvements. More efficient and effective use is made of the regular data collected about pupils’ progress. Intervention groups, designed to provide targeted support for pupils, are addressing specific gaps in learning and providing a more secure base for pupils to further develop their skills in both mathematics and English. Shared systems to ensure the systematic development of skills and learning from the Early Years Foundation Stage onwards are also driving improvement. There is some good teaching, more so in Key Stage 2, where progress accelerates. However, progress is satisfactory overall because most teaching is satisfactory rather than good. In English and mathematics, pupils are motivated by their targets to work towards their potential, to monitor what they and others have learnt and to consider the next steps

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Main findings

in their learning. Older pupils, especially, respond very positively to this responsibility. Regular marking gives them specific guidance about how to improve further. While data is used very carefully to guide teachers’ planning in some lessons, there is not a consistent enough focus on this across the school. In some classes not enough attention is paid to the level of pace and challenge. In mathematics, the greater focus on helping pupils to understand mathematical terms, as well as on calculations and problem-solving, is pointing to improved outcomes for pupils this year.

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Main findings

Appropriate improvement planning is in place, based on comprehensive monitoring and accurate self-evaluation of the school’s work by leaders and managers at all levels. However, the monitoring of teaching and learning does not focus closely enough on the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning. The school has made satisfactory improvement since its previous inspection. Improved use of data and the development of intervention groups confirm its satisfactory capacity for sustained improvement.

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Main findings

Up to 40% of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged to be satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

■ Accelerate progress and raise attainment by ensuring that:  teaching is consistently good or better across the school  teachers make consistent use of assessment information to plan work that provides appropriate levels of challenge to pupils of all abilities, particularly in Key Stage 1  a brisk pace of learning in all lessons.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

■ Ensure that monitoring of teaching and learning places a greater emphasis on learning outcomes for pupils so that teachers and managers can measure the effectiveness of teaching by its impact on these. 

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

Pupils enjoy learning. They develop their reading and writing skills satisfactorily. For example, in a Year 2 lesson, pupils showed a satisfactory understanding of the different sounds that a letter can make in the context of a specific word. Pupils in Year 4 have gaps in their learning from previous years and their progress last year was slower than other year groups. However, they are now catching up. For example, they have a secure understanding of mathematical concepts, such as place value and the four basic operations, including multiplication. In a numeracy lesson, they made good progress in representing data in a graph.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

Pupils particularly enjoy being able to show that they can apply their learning. Those with speech, language and communication difficulties are developing their listening and remembering skills well, and show that they can give instructions to each other with increasing confidence. Those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make satisfactory progress through the school, for example, in aspects such as sentence construction. A small group of carefully supported pupils in Year 5 made good progress in calculating area. Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those from Traveller families make similar progress to other groups.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

Encouraged by the inclusive ethos promoted by the school, pupils work and play together constructively. A variety of opportunities to take responsibility enable many of the pupils to make good progress in developing organisational and team work skills and make a good contribution to the community. The curriculum makes a positive contribution to pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils show a good understanding of right and wrong, are tolerant and have learned much from the ‘Rights Respecting’ programme. One pupil demonstrated this understanding by saying, ‘We think about our rights and it shows us how much we actually have. If you’ve got a right, you’ve got a responsibility.’ Pupils know it is important to keep fit through regular exercise and develop healthy eating habits. Pupils have a good understanding of how to be safe and to stay safe, strengthened by their involvement in risk assessments of visits and a broad learning programme.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

Pupils’ good personal qualities and average attainment prepare them satisfactorily for future economic well-being.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

These are the grades for pupils' outcomes Pupils' achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning Taking into account: Pupils' attainment 3 The quality of pupils' learning and their progress 3 The quality of learning for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their progress The extent to which pupils feel safe 2 Pupils' behaviour 2 The extent to which pupils adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which pupils contribute to the school and wider community 2 The extent to which pupils develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being Taking into account: Pupils' attendance 3 The extent of pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2

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How effective is the provision?

Pupils are very keen to learn and in almost all lessons they are clear about what they are meant to learn. Teachers know their subjects well and provide clear explanations when necessary, regularly checking pupils’ work. In the minority of lessons where teaching is good, where the level of challenge is accurate and where there is a brisk pace, pupils make good progress. However, in satisfactory lessons, planning for learning is not as carefully thought out. This is more often the case in Key Stage 1 than in Key Stage 2. As a result, progress in Key Stage 1 is more often satisfactory than good. Teaching assistants generally provide effective support for learning because of the clarity of their role and the specific support they offer.

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How effective is the provision?

The curriculum engages pupils effectively through a balanced and wide range of activities. It includes enterprise initiatives, such as developing a business where pupils sell plants. These promote pupils’ personal and inter-personal skills well. The school’s focus on improving writing has been promoted effectively through links across subjects and regular topical themes, which ensure that pupils write for a range of purposes. Links across the curriculum also enable pupils to develop a range of other skills and knowledge, including mathematical concepts. Provision for pupils who find some areas of learning difficult is good and is made through regular, short, focused sessions, with learning being regularly reinforced. Provision for pupils who are gifted and/or talented is being developed in conjunction with other schools. In some lessons, specific questioning of such pupils helps to extend their learning.

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How effective is the provision?

Pupils enjoy an interesting and popular range of after-school clubs, such as writers’ workshops and tag rugby. The well-being of all pupils is fundamental to the school’s work. Pupils feel secure within a very caring and nurturing environment. Those who may be vulnerable are supported carefully and very appropriately by the staff, so that they can manage their difficulties and settle to learning. ‘The Lighthouse,’ which provides purpose-built accommodation for pupils with communication and interaction needs, provides specific individual support which promotes their confidence and self-esteem, as well as improving communication. Attendance issues are handled firmly, yet sensitively, with the result that the rate of attendance is improving. Effective partnerships with agencies and with parents and carers add to the good impact of the school’s work in modifying pupils’ attitudes and promoting their self-esteem. Transition is planned

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How effective is the provision?

carefully to enable the pupils to manage new situations.

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How effective is the provision?

These are the grades for the quality of provision The quality of teaching Taking into account: The use of assessment to support learning 3 The extent to which the curriculum meets pupils' needs, including, where relevant, through partnerships The effectiveness of care, guidance and support 2

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How effective are leadership and management?

Through valuing the staff and involving them in moving the school forward, the headteacher empowers every member of staff to strengthen their skills, leading to their good commitment to school improvement. Senior and middle leaders show a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the areas for which they have accountability. The impact of leaders and managers on improving achievement and the quality of teaching are satisfactory. Monitoring of teaching and learning is regular, but has focused more on teaching than its impact on outcomes for pupils. Inspection evidence indicates that some judgements have been over-generous. Other evidence confirms that all groups of pupils make satisfactory progress through the school, demonstrating satisfactory equality of opportunity in lessons and enrichment activities. Discrimination is not tolerated.

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How effective are leadership and management?

Governance is good. Members of the governing body oversee the school’s work effectively, using their independent findings and links with school leaders to challenge the school specifically and in detail about its performance. As a consequence, they are influential in helping it to move further forward. Safeguarding meets requirements and is satisfactory.

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How effective are leadership and management?

A range of good partnerships support pupils’ progress and personal development. Community cohesion is promoted satisfactorily. National and international links are developing. Links with parents and carers are highly valued by the school and evident in very regular communication between home and school, regular chances for parents and carers to volunteer their views and crucially, their growing involvement in their children’s learning and progress. These are the grades for the leadership and management The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement Taking into account: The leadership and management of teaching and learning 3 The effectiveness of the governing body in challenging and supporting the school so that weaknesses are tackled decisively and statutory responsibilities met The effectiveness of the school's engagement with parents and carers 2 The effectiveness of partnerships in promoting learning and well-being 2

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How effective are leadership and management?

The effectiveness with which the school promotes equality of opportunity and tackles discrimination The effectiveness of safeguarding procedures 3 The effectiveness with which the school promotes community cohesion 3 The effectiveness with which the school deploys resources to achieve value for money

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Early Years Foundation Stage

Children settle quickly into school and learning, helped considerably by good personal and professional links with the child care centre and with parents and carers. There is wide variation in children’s levels of knowledge and skills in communication, language and literacy and in calculation when they start school and these are prioritised in planning for learning.

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Early Years Foundation Stage

Children enjoy playing and learning, both inside and outdoors, and make good progress, including in learning independently. They behave well, guided by the kindness of staff and their modelling of respect and fairness. However, the outside area does not yet provide the rich environment for learning found indoors. During the inspection, an activity entitled ‘What’s that in the corner?’ resulted in the children practising their speaking, listening and writing skills excitedly as they considered how a huge egg had got into their room! In an activity about shapes, the children were encouraged not only to identify shapes but also to describe them in terms of size and different lengths. One boy observed a triangle and said, ‘Their sides aren’t the same length.’

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Early Years Foundation Stage

The Early Years Foundation Stage leader provides a clear sense of purpose and direction to learning, and continuity into Year 1. Accurate understanding of the children’s needs and interests results in regular individual tasks, within topic-based learning, which accelerate progress. Records of children’s learning are comprehensive and compiled through regular and specific observations of their actions and words.

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Early Years Foundation Stage

These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation stage Taking into account: Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage 2 The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 2 The effectiveness of leadership and management in the Early Years Foundation Stage

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Views of parents and carers

Almost all respondents to the questionnaire supported every aspect of the school’s work. A few parents and carers added comments, which were mostly positive, praising ‘the safe and caring school,’ its provision for children from many different backgrounds and the quality of transition into the school. Individual concerns about challenge in mathematics teaching and more explicit grading of attainment in reports were raised. The inspection team found that the school is addressing the level of challenge in mathematics tasks and is continuing to refine the content of reports to parents and carers about their children’s education.

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questionnaire

Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of pupils registered at Thorpe Willoughby Community Primary School to complete a questionnaire about their views of the school. In the questionnaire, parents and carers were asked to record how strongly they agreed with 13 statements about the school. The inspection team received 67 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In total, there are 260 pupils registered at the school.

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questionnaire

Statements Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Total % Total % Total % Total % My child enjoys school 45 67 21 31 0 0 0 0 The school keeps my child safe 52 78 15 22 0 0 0 0 The school informs me about my child's progress 42 63 24 36 1 1 0 0 My child is making enough progress at this school 36 54 27 40 2 3 0 0 The teaching is good at this school 39 58 28 42 0 0 0 0 The school helps me to support my child's learning 34 51 30 45 1 1 0 0 The school helps my child to have a healthy lifestyle 30 45 37 55 0 0 0 0 The school makes sure that my child is well prepared for the future (for example changing year group, changing school, and for children who are finishing school, entering further or higher education, or entering employment) 39 58 26 39 1 1 0 0

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questionnaire

The school meets my child's particular needs 39 58 24 36 2 3 0 0 The school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour 34 51 32 48 0 0 0 0

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questionnaire

The school takes account of my suggestions and concerns 30 45 35 52 1 1 0 0

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questionnaire

The school is led and managed effectively 39 58 27 40 0 0 0 0 Overall, I am happy with my child's experience at this school 44 66 23 34 0 0 0 0

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questionnaire

The table above summarises the responses that parents and carers made to each statement. The percentages indicate the proportion of parents and carers giving that response out of the total number of completed questionnaires. Where one or more parents and carers chose not to answer a particular question, the percentages will not add up to 100%.

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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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Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 43 47 10 0 Primary schools 6 46 42 6 Secondary schools 14 36 41 9 Sixth forms 15 42 41 3 Special schools 30 48 19 3 Pupil referral units 14 50 31 5 All schools 10 44 39 6

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Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements were introduced on 1 September 2009. This means that inspectors now make some additional judgements that were not made previously.

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Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The data in the table above is for the period 1 September 2010 to 08 April 2011 and are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ).

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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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Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100. Sixth form figures reflect the judgements made for the overall effectiveness of the sixth form in secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning, development or training.

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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

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving. Inspectors base this judgement on 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 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. The following judgements, in particular, influence what the overall effectiveness judgement will be.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

 The school's capacity for sustained improvement.  Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils.  The quality of teaching.  The extent to which the curriculum meets pupils' needs, including, where relevant, through partnerships.  The effectiveness of care, guidance and support.

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

findings from the inspection of their school.

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On behalf of the inspection team, thank you for welcoming us to your school when we visited you recently. We enjoyed watching you learning and playing and were delighted that you enjoy school and learning. It was helpful to hear your thoughts about your school, which have been taken into account in the judgements that we have made.

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9NX

You go to a satisfactory school. You make satisfactory progress in English and mathematics through the school. You reach broadly average standards in your work. Some teaching is good and in those lessons you make good progress. Overall, however, teaching is satisfactory. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress because teaching for them is good.

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9NX

The good curriculum gives you lots of interesting activities. It also enables you to develop good personal skills and to understand the importance of having a healthy lifestyle. Your enterprise skills are developing well. You behave well and get on well together, in this caring school, and you feel secure there. Your headteacher and the staff are working hard to move the school forward. Some improvements need to be made to help this to happen. To raise the levels that you reach, more teaching needs to be good. We have asked the school’s leaders and teachers to make sure that there is good challenge in your work and that teaching always moves your learning along briskly. We have also asked them to focus more on what you are learning when they are checking how well you are doing. 

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9NX

We hope you will all support the staff in making these improvements by working as hard as you can.

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9NX

Lynne Blakelock 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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