Dunston St Peter's Church of England Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 28–29 June 2012 Inspection number 395418 Dunston St Peter's Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 120520 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 395418 Inspection dates 28–29 June 2012 Lead inspector Judith Straw

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 77 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Len Bannister Headteacher Graham Boyall Date of previous school inspection 30 June 2008 School address Back Lane Dunston Lincoln LN4 2EH Telephone number 01526 320027 Fax number 01526 321604 Email address enquiries@dunston-pri.lincs.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 assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.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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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. The inspector observed teaching and learning in eight lessons taught by three teachers, and visited several small group sessions led by teaching assistants. The inspector held meetings with members of the governing body, staff and pupils and had informal conversations with parents and carers bringing their children to school. The inspector observed the school’s work, and looked at a wide range of documentation including development planning, pupils’ work, safeguarding arrangements, self-evaluation records, school policies and performance data. Questionnaires were scrutinised from 56 parents and carers as well as those completed by pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

This school is much smaller than the average-sized primary school, and is located in a rural area. Pupils are taught in three mixed-age classes. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is low. All pupils are of White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils who are supported at ‘school action plus’ or have a statement of educational needs is above average. The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress. A higher than usual proportion of pupils join the school other than at the start of each year.

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Information about the school

The school’s awards include Healthy Schools accreditation, Eco Schools bronze and the Sing-Up silver award. The school is a registered Young Enterprise Centre. The school has undergone significant staffing changes in the last two years. The school is in a federation agreement with another nearby school of similar size and the headteacher is executive headteacher of both schools. 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. Pupils thrive at Dunston, and leave as confident, articulate and polite young people who are well prepared for the next stage of their education. The school is not outstanding because it does not ensure that pupils achieve highly in writing. Also, while action plans are well considered and effective they do not include precise, measurable success-criteria, and the outdoor area for Reception and Year 1 children does not fully support learning.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ achievement is good. Pupils of all abilities, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, use and apply basic skills well throughout the curriculum. By the end of Year 6 attainment is average in writing, above average in mathematics and high in reading.

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Key findings

 The quality of teaching is good overall, and some is outstanding. Lessons are imaginative and challenging. Pupils make a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage, although they have few opportunities to learn outside. Teachers use marking and feedback well to involve pupils effectively in improving their own work. Vibrant displays of pupils’ good-quality work promote their desire to achieve as well as they can.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ behaviour is excellent and this makes a significant contribution to the quality of their learning. Levels of attendance are consistently high. Pupils are considerate and thoughtful and live up to the agreed school values of friendship, respect and honesty. They make an excellent contribution to making the school a safe and welcoming environment.

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Key findings

 All the staff have leadership roles in this small primary school and share the same vision for improvement. In response to a dip in standards and progress in 2011, they swiftly implemented rigorous performance management, professional development and intensive pupil support. As a result, progress has accelerating throughout the school. The federation with another school brings benefits in shared professional expertise. 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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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve achievement so that overall attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 is above the national average by the summer of 2013, by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 embedding recent strategies to accelerate progress in writing so that pupils write at greater length more frequently and have more opportunities for cross-curricular writing  ensuring that action plans have precise targets by which their success can be measured.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop the use of the outdoor area for children in the Reception and Year 1 classes so that children can access all the areas of learning outside.

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Achievement of pupils

Children start in the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills that vary considerably from year to year because of the small size of each year group, but overall they are broadly in line with those expected nationally for their age. Children make good progress from their different starting points and are well prepared for Year 1. They concentrate well, especially when inspired by ‘learning lion’, and make particularly good progress in acquiring early reading, writing and mathematical skills. As a result the gap between the attainment of the least-able children and others is successfully reducing.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils make very good progress in reading, where attainment is above average by the end of Key Stage 1 and well above by the end of Key Stage 2. Throughout the school, pupils enjoy reading from a wide range of materials that are carefully selected to expand their knowledge and love of literature. Pupils make good progress in developing more advanced comprehension and referencing skills and apply them independently in many contexts. Pupils are making better progress in writing as a result of very recent strategies introduced since April 2012. They increasingly write at length in their ‘Awesome authors’ books and take pride in presenting their work carefully. They rise well to teachers’ increased expectations for imaginative use of vocabulary and sensitive writing. For example, ‘The wind is shrieking with a menacing laugh.’ These strategies have not been in place long enough to raise overall attainment at the end of Year 6.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils are making good progress in mathematics, where attainment is rising rapidly and is consistently above average. Pupils across the school show resilience in tackling problems and develop good mental mathematic skills. Pupils make good use of information and communication technology across the curriculum. They relish the 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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Achievement of pupils

opportunities to sing, play numerous sports and learn French.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils work well in groups and make good use of ‘talking partners’ to share ideas. They respond well to teachers’ questions in lessons and comments in marking and feedback. They develop good self-critical skills and work well in mixed-age classes. More-able pupils are increasingly reaching the higher Level 5 at the end of Key Stage 2 in reading, mathematics and to some degree, as a result of new strategies introduced this year, in writing. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good, and often outstanding, progress because of the individual attention they receive. Parents and carers are accurate in their unanimous view that children make good progress.

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Quality of teaching

Lessons are often exciting. They are well planned to take account of the different age groups in each class and to build systematically on pupils’ knowledge and understanding. Teachers’ subject knowledge is good. Teaching assistants are very well informed and play a significant role throughout lessons in supporting the overall learning and that of different groups, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. As a result all groups develop an accurate use of language, become articulate in discussing their ideas, and benefit from a good pace of learning. For example, in a Reception/Year 1 lesson inspired by the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, pupils were writing postcards home from imaginary places such as ‘teddy bear land’, ‘chocolate land’ and ‘skyscraperland’. Pupils relish the opportunity to learn in the outdoor area and the school has appropriate plans to enhance this area with better resources. In a Year 2/3 lesson where literacy was

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Quality of teaching

linked with history, pupils were writing statements that might have been said by Florence Nightingale or Mary Seacole and trying to work out who said which. Teachers make good use of stimulating and attractive resources, including information and communication technology, both to inform and involve pupils. For example, in Year 4/5/6 some pupils were using the internet to find images of mountain ranges while others developed atlas-reading skills. Pupils were very engaged in their learning and a satisfied cry of ‘Wow, I’ve found Everest!’ was greeted with enthusiasm.

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Quality of teaching

In response to the consistently lower attainment of pupils in writing the subject leader for literacy has introduced a range of strategies including a complete review of how phonics (the teaching of letters and sounds) is taught, regular guided writing sessions, the use of ‘literary starter’ books every day and a writing wall in every classroom. These activities are already improving pupils’ progress but have not yet become firmly embedded in plans for all lessons and are not yet having a full impact on the proportion of pupils reaching the higher Level 5 in writing. Occasionally in literacy lessons too much time is given to lengthy introductions, so pupils are less engaged in their work when they eventually start writing.

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Quality of teaching

The teaching of mathematics is good across the school. The pace is challenging but a strong focus on calculation skills builds pupils’ confidence so that attainment is rising. 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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Quality of teaching

High-quality relationships, challenging questions and opportunities to work independently make a strong contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Teachers use the curriculum to engage and inspire pupils, and the walls are decorated with fine displays of recent topics including a ‘CSI’-themed day in science, beautifully drawn Tudor houses, treasure boxes and French studies. The teaching of reading has been good over time and is improving further because of the new approach to teaching letters and sounds.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers make good use of targets for pupils to achieve in English, mathematics and other subjects that are based on frequent and accurate assessments of progress. These are used well by pupils in lessons because they are keen to do well and reach their targets. Marking is regular and purposeful and always gives advice on how pupils can improve their work. Parents, carers and pupils all express full confidence in the quality of teaching.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ typically outstanding behaviour makes a strong contribution to the quality of learning throughout the school. Many pupils were able to describe ‘amazing learning moments’ such as their visit to the Jorvik centre and learning to read quickly. Parents and carers unanimously agree that behaviour is excellent, as do the pupils. Pupils say that everyone in school lives by the agreed values of friendship, respect and honesty. They appreciate how hard adults work to keep them safe and secure. They respect the behaviour code and, through the school council, feel that their views are important and that they contribute to school decisions. Pupils receive excellent support and as a result there are very few incidents of inappropriate behaviour or bullying, and they say that anything that does occur is effectively managed. Pupils’ attendance is consistently well above average because they enjoy school.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Through the curriculum, assemblies and well-planned personal and social education, pupils develop an excellent understanding of different forms of bullying, such as racial and gender-based bullying, and how to keep themselves safe. Pupils have many opportunities to meet pupils from other local schools, as well as their partner school, so that the transition into much larger high schools is made easy and they feel well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher has created a leadership team that is sharply focused on raising pupils’ achievement in an open and inclusive manner. He has developed very close links with the partner school which benefit all pupils through enhanced staff development and sharing of good practice. All staff share strong teamwork and a shared view about the school’s future direction. The governing body is actively involved in the school and plays its part in shaping strategic direction. The governing bodies of both federated schools are working closely together to improve both schools. Leaders at all levels are involved in monitoring and evaluating activities. 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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Leadership and management

They have devised imaginative action plans, for example the strategies to improve pupils’ writing, that are already bringing about improvements. Some of these plans do not set targets that can be precisely measured so that the school can clearly identify successes and where actions taken have been less effective. For example, the current target for writing simply says ‘standards are raised’ without specifying by what percentage they expect to increase the proportion reaching Level 4 and 5.

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Leadership and management

Self-evaluation is accurate and actions taken to respond to the dip in standards and progress in 2011 have been rapidly effective, demonstrating the school’s capacity to improve further. The school is increasingly popular and numbers have grown so that, from September, it will expand from three classes to four. The school values all its pupils equally and is committed to eradicating any discrimination and ensuring that all pupils achieve as well as they can. The new special needs coordinator is overhauling provision to better support the high proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs.

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Leadership and management

Staff promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well through the broad and rich curriculum. The school seeks to broaden horizons and enable pupils to become citizens of the world. Safeguarding arrangements are good, with robust risk assessments to ensure that pupils are safe and well cared for. Very good links with parents and carers promote their active involvement with the school. Many of the parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire wrote additional comments in praise of the school and the staff.

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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 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 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. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September to 31 December 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 sta tistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). 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. 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

Attendance: the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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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

Floor standards: the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures.

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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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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Lincoln, LN4 2EH

Thank you for making me feel so welcome when I inspected your school recently. I enjoyed visiting you in lessons, hearing your wonderful singing in assembly and chatting to you at playtimes.

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Lincoln, LN4 2EH

You go to a good school. You really enjoy your learning and are making good progress, so that you do particularly well in reading and mathematics and are improving your work quickly in writing. Your teachers do a good job and you are willing to work hard and do your best. You are very happy to come to school and so your attendance is high. You care for each other very well and live up to the school values of friendship, respect and honesty. You are considerate and well-mannered so that behaviour is excellent. It is good to know from the questionnaires that your parents and carers agree. You told me that there is no bullying and you all feel safe.

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Lincoln, LN4 2EH

Even though you go to a good school, part of my job is to see what your school can do to make it even better. I have asked all the staff, the headteacher and the governing body to help to make sure that your reach above-average attainment in reading, writing and mathematics by 2013, and to continue with the good ideas that are helping you to improve your skills in writing. I noticed that the children in Class 1 love to learn outdoors and so I have asked the school to improve the outdoor learning area. Your school leaders have very good plans to help the school to improve but I have asked them to set really clear targets so that they can measure just how well they are succeeding. You can play your part by continuing to work hard and enjoy your learning.

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Lincoln, LN4 2EH

Judith Straw 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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