Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School

Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School Dean Bank, Ferryhill, County Durham, DL17 8PP

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils make good progress in lessons because the quality of teaching is now good. Attainment in English and mathematics tests at the end of Year 6 increased significantly in 2012 so that results are broadly average in English and above average in mathematics.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make particularly good progress in their communication, language and literacy skills and excellent progress in their personal and social development.  Senior leaders and governors share the headteacher’s relentless drive to raise standards. Their actions have resulted in improvements in teaching and achievement since the last inspection.  The school rigorously tracks the progress of pupils in reading, writing and mathematics and has good systems for helping all pupils to succeed.  The quality of teaching is consistently good. This is because the headteacher manages the performance of teachers well by monitoring

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

lessons and the work in pupils’ books in order to identify improvements that are needed.  The behaviour of pupils in lessons and around the school is good. Pupils have a clear understanding of rules and routines, are friendly, polite and respectful. They say that the school sorts out rare occurrences of bullying well, that they enjoy coming to school and feel safe. Attendance has improved and is now average.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Achievement in writing and mathematics in Year 1 and Year 2 has improved, but not as quickly as it has in other year groups.  The curriculum in Years 1 to 6 does not provide enough opportunities to inspire and interest pupils or for them to practise their literacy, communication and numeracy skills in subjects other than English and mathematics.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 10 teachers in 17 lessons or parts of lessons.  Inspectors talked to senior leaders including governors, groups of pupils, teachers and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors looked at pupils’ work and heard some pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 read.  A range of documents, including the school’s own analysis of its performance, improvement plans, achievement information, safeguarding procedures and reports by the local authority and others were examined.  The views of the six parents who responded to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) and a letter from a parent were taken into account.  The views of 16 staff who submitted questionnaires were taken into account.

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Inspection team

Christine Cottam, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Steven Horne Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Dean Bank Primary and Nursery is an average sized primary school.  Almost half of the pupils are known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which is well above the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action, school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is much higher than the national average.  More pupils leave or join the school at mid-points in their primary years than is usually the case.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards,which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of pupils reaching or exceeding national averages in writing and mathematics at the end of Year 2 by:  ensuring teachers monitor pupils’ progress during lessons and move them on more swiftly when they are achieving their targets  allowing pupils more time to work independently so that they can practise their skills at a level appropriate to their ability  ensuring teachers have higher expectations of pupils’ achievement when planning lessons.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of the curriculum in subjects other than English and mathematics in Years 1 to 6 so that it provides more inspiring and meaningful learning activities by:  carefully planning learning opportunities that are more closely matched to the interests, needs and abilities of pupils so that they can make more rapid progress as they move through the school  providing pupils with more opportunities to practise and apply their writing and communication skills in subjects other than English and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils achieve well in English and mathematics because their progress is regularly monitored and teachers plan learning activities that accurately match their needs.  When children join the Nursery, overall their skills are well below those expected for their age. All make good progress because of the high quality of their experiences. Many more are now leaving Reception working towards the levels expected for their age. Progress is excellent in personal and social development and communication skills.  Reading has improved significantly. Pupils enjoy reading regularly at school and many do so at home too. Regular and systematic teaching of letters and sounds is having a positive impact on pupils’ ability to read new words.  Results in national tests at the end of Year 6 in 2012 were above average in mathematics and average in reading and writing. Pupils made good progress from their lower than average

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The achievement of pupils is good

starting points. There has been a steady improvement in attainment over three years.  Pupils eligible for the pupil premium make the same good progress as those who are not eligible so that there is no difference in the attainment of the two groups by the time they leave the school at the end of Year 6.  Pupils who are supported at school action, school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs are now making good progress. This is because their achievement is monitored well and they are often taught in smaller groups with work that is carefully tailored to their needs.  Achievement in Years 1 and 2 is improving, but not as rapidly as it is in the rest of the school, so that attainment in writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2 is below average. There are now new staffing arrangements in these classes.  Whilst there are some good opportunities for pupils to apply their literacy, numeracy and

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The achievement of pupils is good

communication skills in other subjects, this is not consistently the case across the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is consistently good with a small proportion that is outstanding. Teaching is particularly strong in English and mathematics. There is a good working atmosphere in well organised lessons where all pupils are fully involved.  Teachers explain new ideas clearly and question pupils carefully to deepen their understanding. As a result, most pupils, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs or who are supported by the pupil premium, make good progress.  In the best lessons, teachers monitor pupils’ understanding as the lesson proceeds so that progress is rapid. For example, in a mathematics lesson, pupils reached very high levels for their age because the teacher had high expectations, planned a variety of interesting and challenging activities and then allowed pupils to move on to more difficult work very quickly. She used computers well to reinforce their understanding of co-ordinates.

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The quality of teaching is good

 English and mathematics work is marked regularly with good feedback so that pupils know exactly what they need to do to improve. Pupils say they like their ‘next steps for learning’ because they want to know how to do their best. Work in other subjects is marked regularly, although it is not always as well matched to the ability of pupils.  Reading is taught systematically throughout the school. Teaching assistants and teachers are deployed well with smaller groups of pupils of similar ability. This helps to ensure that all pupils make good progress in using letters and sounds to develop reading skills and is resulting in rapid improvements in reading.  In the small proportion of lessons where teaching requires improvement, expectations are lower and pupils sometimes spend too long on the same activity when they are ready for more challenging work. In these lessons, pupils do not have enough time to practise their skills

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The quality of teaching is good

independently at a level appropriate to their ability.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour is consistently good in lessons and around the school so that disruption to learning is rare. This is because adults model high standards and manage behaviour well, with clear rules and routines for pupils to follow within an atmosphere of warmth and mutual respect.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good so that they work hard in lessons and produce their best work. Behaviour is not outstanding because exemplary attitudes are only seen when teaching is of the highest quality.  Personal and social development in the Early Years Foundation Stage is excellent. Children are very well behaved both when they are closely supervised and when they are learning independently. Children thrive in an interesting and exciting environment that places a high priority on developing independence. For instance, when a child came to the teacher to say that a boy would not let him use the bicycle, she asked him to go and talk to the other child while

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

she watched. The successful outcome of this strategy helped his confidence enormously. A parent wrote, ‘Adults are perfect role models for our children at such an impressionable age.’  Pupils say that behaviour in the school has improved over the last two years, that there is little bullying and that any issues are dealt with quickly by the staff. They gave an example of the headteacher quickly sorting out a racist name-calling incident, which has clearly helped them to develop good moral values. The school behaviour logs indicate that the high levels of exclusions in 2010 have reduced so that incidents of poor behaviour are now rare.  Attendance has improved so that it is now average. This is because there are good procedures to monitor and reward good attendance and pupils enjoy coming to school.  Pupils feel safe at school because they are supervised well by adults. Older pupils have a good understanding of the risks of the internet and there is a good range of age-appropriate activities

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

that help pupils learn how to keep themselves safe.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher leads the school with determination and ambition. His vision for high standards is shared widely by leaders, including the governing body. The school has a good capacity to improve because it has already planned and secured good improvements to attendance, teaching and achievement. Leadership and management are not outstanding because these improvements have not yet been sustained over time and the curriculum requires further development.  The school uses a rigorous tracking system so that it knows exactly how well pupils are achieving in English and mathematics. Pupils who are falling behind are quickly identified and interventions put in place to secure higher achievement. This demonstrates the school’s rigour in promoting equality of opportunity. As a result all pupils in Year 6 in 2012 made or exceeded expected progress in mathematics and the vast majority did so in English too.

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The leadership and management are good

 The performance of teachers is managed well, so that the quality of teaching has improved from satisfactory to good. There are good systems to monitor the quality of teaching with effective professional development for all staff. Teachers are given accurate and constructive feedback to help them improve their performance.  The quality of the curriculum in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good and English and mathematics lessons are planned extremely well across the school. There are some imaginative activities to make the curriculum interesting and relevant to pupils of different ages and abilities, for example, the school shop run by pupils and used by many teaching groups in mathematics. There are good opportunities for pupils to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. Subjects other than English and mathematics are less rigorously planned and do not give enough opportunities for pupils to practise and apply their literacy, numeracy and

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The leadership and management are good

communication skills.  The school has good arrangements in place to safeguard pupils, which fully meet requirements.  There are effective partnerships with parents which have contributed well to improvements in standards. For example, all new parents of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage receive three story books at briefing sessions before their children start school. More parents are helping their children with reading at home and there is improved attendance at parents meetings.  The local authority provides effective support for the school in helping it to move from satisfactory to good.  The governance of the school:  works well with the headteacher to prioritise resources so that they are targeted at key improvement priorities. An example of this is the use of pupil-premium funding, which has resulted in those pupils who are eligible now making as much progress as others  governors for literacy and numeracy work regularly with subject leaders so that they have a

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The leadership and management are good

good knowledge of developments and are now in a better position to challenge any underperformance.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 114086 Local authority Durham Inspection number 401408

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3-11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 208 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr Mike Scurr Headteacher Mr Peter Speck Date of previous school inspection 25 February 2010 Telephone number 01740 651512 Fax number 01740 654835 Email address deanbank@durhamlearning.net guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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 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

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School details

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School details

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

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