Fiskerton Church of England Primary School

Fiskerton Church of England Primary School Ferry Road, Fiskerton, Lincoln, LN3 4HU

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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.  Achievement has improved since the previous inspection and is now good. Pupils make good progress across the school. When they leave school they reach levels of attainment which prepare them well for the next stage of their education.  Teachers have clear routines in classrooms which promote positive relationships. They have good subject knowledge, plan an interesting range of activities in lessons and use questioning well to promote learning.  Other adults are deployed well and make a very positive contribution to learning.  Behaviour is good in lessons and around school. Parents and carers say their children are happy to come to school, pupils are well behaved and their children feel safe in school.  Pupils are positive about behaviour and also said they feel safe in school.  Governors now look more carefully at the school’s work and check it thoroughly. They have successfully focused on the areas for

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

improvement from the previous inspection.  This rigorous approach has led to improvements in achievement, teaching and pupils’ behaviour. Governors support the new headteacher’s drive to improve the school further.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching does not always give pupils work that makes them think really hard, check regularly on their learning or give them enough opportunities to work independently.  Pupils are not regularly involved in assessing their own and each other’s work.  Staff are not involved enough in looking at each other’s teaching and sharing best practice to support pupils making even faster progress.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed 10 lessons or part lessons.  Six lessons were observed with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with members of the governing body, staff, groups of pupils and a telephone call was made to a local authority education adviser.  The inspector took account of the 15 responses to the online Parent View survey and spoke to a number of parents and carers in the playground.  A range of documents were scrutinised including: the school’s self-evaluation, the development plan, governing body minutes, behaviour logs and safeguarding documents.

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Inspection team

Susan Williams, Lead inspector Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Fiskerton Church of England Primary School is much smaller than the average primary school although it is growing and has increased in size significantly since the previous inspection.  A very large majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is much lower than that seen nationally.  The proportion of pupils supported by school action is lower than average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Pupils are taught in three mixed-age classes. Class one has Reception and Year 1 children; class two has Years 2 and 3; class four combines Years 4, 5 and 6.  A new headteacher took up post at the start of this term.  There is a nursery on site which is not managed by the governing body and did not form part

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that it is outstanding by:  making assessment of learning more rigorous and planning work that fully challenges all pupils in learning  regularly checking on learning in lessons and adapting teaching so that pupils make accelerated progress  developing more opportunities for pupils to work independently and to be involved in assessing their own and each other’s work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Involve all staff in monitoring and evaluation, and in sharing best practice in teaching and learning, to support more pupils making accelerated progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 While there is some variation year on year, children usually enter the school with levels of skills and knowledge lower than those expected for their age. They make good progress in Reception, entering Key Stage 1 with levels similar to those nationally in all areas of learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment in Key Stage 1 has fluctuated due to small year groups but is usually above average, including attainment in reading. Attainment which had been low in mathematics improved last year with all children reaching the expected levels. Pupils make good progress in the key stage.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils enjoy reading and are supported in developing their early reading skills well in lessons. In a Year 1 lesson, the teacher skilfully engaged pupils in a range of activities which developed their understanding of linking the sounds of letters to writing letters and spelling words.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment at Key Stage 2 has been above average for the last three years. Provisional Year 6 test results show that all pupils at least reached the nationally expected level in reading last year. Progress is good in all subject areas with all pupils making at least expected progress in English and most pupils in mathematics. Most pupils make fast progress in the key stage.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Teaching assistants provide effective support for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs and ensure that they are able to access learning fully in lessons. This additional support ensures that these pupils make good progress throughout the school. Parents and carers were positive about additional help their children had received. The small number of pupils supported by the pupil premium make good progress in school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Most parents and carers think their children make good progress in school. Pupils were equally positive about the progress they make, and talked of enjoying their learning in lessons.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching over time has led to improved learning and achievement for pupils. Strengths of teaching are the clear routines in lessons, positive relationships which support learning and clarity of presentations by teachers to the class.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have good subject knowledge and use questioning well to support pupils’ learning. For example, in a Year 4, 5 and 6 lesson on biographies, the teacher used questioning well to support pupils’ learning when sharing their ideas with the rest of the class.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers plan an interesting range of activities in lessons which pupils enjoy. This includes work that is planned well for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. Other adults are deployed well in lessons. In a Year 2/3 lesson, the individual support by adults while pupils worked on independent activities was a strength. The additional adult fully supported the pupils who were struggling with the work, ensuring that they made good progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well developed in lessons. There are opportunities to work together developing social skills, and time to reflect on spiritual and moral issues. For example, in Year 4, 5 and 6 personal, social and health education lesson, pupils worked in groups to design a prayer for the end of the day, which they shared with each other.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The very large majority of parents and carers are positive about how their children are taught in school. Parents gave examples about how much their children enjoyed lessons. Parents were very positive about the focus in school on teaching reading. Pupils were also positive about their experience of teaching in lessons.

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The quality of teaching is good

 While teachers plan an interesting range of activities in lessons, sometimes these are not accurately matched to the different levels of ability of pupils in the mixed-age and ability classes so pupils sometimes find the work too easy. Teachers do not always check on learning regularly in lessons and give pupils more difficult work to move learning on further.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils have some opportunities to learn independently in lessons. However, this is not regular enough for pupils to develop their independent learning skills and to learn to take responsibility for their own learning. There are a few opportunities for pupils to share their work and reflect on its strengths and identify what the areas for development should be, but this is not something they are able to do regularly to support them in learning how to improve their work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 All parents and carers were positive about behaviour in the school. One parent, whose comments summed up the views of many, said, ‘The school makes children very welcome; they are good at building confidence.’ Another parent said, ‘I think it’s brilliant; my son enjoys it; he has thrived.’

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are polite and courteous. Their behaviour is good in lessons and around the school site, as well as at break and lunchtime. During a wet break, pupils managed their behaviour very well and played in groups on a range of board games and colouring activities. Younger children played together using the resources in their room.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Inspection evidence shows that behaviour has improved over time. There have been fewer incidents of poor behaviour in school over the last three years and there have been no exclusions. Incidents that have happened have been less serious. Staff are all positive about behaviour in the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say that behaviour is good in school. They say that pupils behave well in lessons and help each other with their work. They are aware of different types of bullying, including cyber-bullying and prejudice-based bullying, but say bullying does not happen in their school. They say they are ‘one big family’.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say they feel safe. The fence surrounding the site helps them to feel safe in school. They are confident that if they have any concerns they can talk to a member of staff who will help them. They are aware of keeping themselves safe on the internet and say they would not go to websites which would put them at risk. Parents and carers all said their children felt safe in school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are punctual to school and lessons, and attend regularly. Attendance has improved over the last four years.

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The leadership and management are good

 The new headteacher has a clear vision for building on the improvements the school has already made and is supported by all his staff. As one member of staff said, ‘I am looking forward to being led by my dynamic new headteacher. He has the support of all the staff.’

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The leadership and management are good

 Support from the local authority has been effective in helping the school in its self- evaluation and in providing support for improving the quality of teaching. Clear improvement plans have been successfully implemented which have focused on the areas for improvement from the previous inspection.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum ensures that pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. It is broad and balanced and is built on a themed approach, such as a topic on ‘work through the decades’. The curriculum is extended by after-school clubs and residential visits, such as life skills for Years 5 and 6.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well supported by the curriculum. For example, this is developed in teachings of the church, linked to faith rather than religion. Pupils learn about different faiths and cultures in religious education.

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The leadership and management are good

 Local partnerships are used well to enhance pupils’ learning opportunities. The school has good links with the local church and the vicar delivers collective worship in school. The school also works in partnership with other local schools to develop training for teachers. This term staff attended a training session on guided reading, which was well received.

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The leadership and management are good

 Parents and carers all say the school is well led and managed. Parents spoken to before school were positive about the school and all said their children were happy to come to school. Pupils say they have enjoyed getting to know their new headteacher.

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The leadership and management are good

 A new performance management policy has been introduced for teachers which is closely linked to the nationally expected standards for teaching. However, teachers are not fully involved in monitoring and evaluating colleagues’ practice in teaching and learning, and do not share best practice enough to improve the quality of their own teaching so that pupils make even better progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 Discrimination is not tolerated and equality of opportunity is promoted well. All groups of pupils are supported to make good progress. There are good links with a range of agencies to support those whose circumstances have made them vulnerable.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  has introduced more rigorous monitoring and evaluation of the school’s work which has led to improved achievement and teaching since the previous inspection  is supportive of the new headteacher’s vision to make the school outstanding  ensures that safeguarding meets statutory requirements and is effective.

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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

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Grade Judgement Description

is 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 120570 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 401950

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School details

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 79 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Tracey Wood Headteacher Damian Davey Date of previous school inspection 14 September 2009 Telephone number 01522 751049 Fax number 01522 751049 Email address enquiries@fiskerton.lincs.sch.uk 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,

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School details

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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School details

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

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