Pocklington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant School

Pocklington Voluntary Controlled Infant School Maxwell Road, Pocklington, York, YO42 2HE

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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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This is a good school because:

 Pupils benefit from a very caring, safe and stimulating environment. They enjoy school and their attendance is above average.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Everyone gets along very well; behaviour is good and often excellent.  Achievement is good and pupils learn at a good rate. By Year 2 standards are above average overall and well above average in reading.  Teaching is good with some outstanding features in some classes. Lessons are interesting and generally capture the learners’ attention. Pupils’ progress is checked carefully to set work at the right level.  A good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage prepares children well for future learning. Children benefit from high-quality resources for learning outdoors and excellent use of space indoors.  Strong but caring leadership by the headteacher has created an effective staff team. The school is accurate in its own self-

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This is a good school because:

evaluation and sets relevant targets for further improvement.  Partnerships with parents and families are excellent. The school has very productive relationships with nearby schools and the local community.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There are some inconsistencies in teaching and not enough is outstanding.  More-able pupils could achieve better in mathematics.  There is a gap between the performance of boys and girls in writing.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching in every class, held discussions with pupils and staff, met representatives of the governing body and conducted a discussion with the school improvement officer employed by the local authority. In addition, the inspection team evaluated the quality of pupils’ work available in their books and folders.  Inspectors took account of 17 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View), together with questionnaires of parents’ views conducted by the school, in planning the inspection and when forming judgements.  The inspection team looked at a range of school documentation. These included the documents relating to safeguarding, the improvement plan, the school’s self-evaluation, and records relating to behaviour and attendance and to pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Inspection team

David Byrne, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Jan Lomas Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is a larger than the average-sized infant school.  The percentage of pupils in receipt of the pupil premium is below average.  A below average percentage of pupils are supported by school action.  The percentage of pupils receiving support for school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  Virtually all pupils are of White British heritage.  A number of staff changes have occurred since the last inspection. From September 2012 the senior leadership team was reorganised owing to the promotion of the deputy headteacher.  The school has gained a number of awards including the Basic Skills Quality Mark, the Eco School Green Flag Award and the Healthy Schools Award .

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment in mathematics by: - improving what the school offers more-able pupils so that they are given more challenge and opportunities to learn independently to solve mathematical problems - setting higher targets for pupils and involving them closely in checking their own progress towards them - identifying pupils who may be more able earlier and systematically monitoring their progress as they move through the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the performance of writing for boys so that the gap with the girls is narrowed by: - choosing more topics and activities that interest boys so that their enjoyment of writing continues to improve - identifying pupils who do not want to write early on and providing additional support where possible - working alongside boys to gather their feelings and opinions about writing so that these are taken into account when planning work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the consistency of teaching so that a high proportion becomes outstanding by: - teachers giving pupils more opportunities to make their own decisions and independently seek new information - ensuring marking consistently sets targets that are at the right level for different pupils and offers them clear guidance about how to improve - raising staff awareness of how to provide sufficiently challenging work for all pupils in lessons.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children start Early Years Foundation Stage with levels of development that are typical for their age. From this point progress is good and speeds up rapidly. By the time children leave the Reception classes their skills and knowledge are typically above average. Children make good gains in their personal, social and emotional development, aspects of problem solving, reasoning and numeracy, and speaking, listening and reading. Most children develop good physical skills and demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of the world about them. Children appreciate the needs of others, mix easily and share ideas and resources. They make choices about what they use and work with and stay focused for sustained periods.  Most children in the Early Years Foundation stage classes develop good communication skills. However, some, mostly boys, have difficulties with aspects of speech. Regular support from a

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The achievement of pupils is good

speech and language therapist is helping to overcome such difficulties. The large majority of children listen with good attention and have a good command of vocabulary. Increasingly, children recognise sounds and letters and use this knowledge to write. The development of early writing is gathering pace and is now good.  The good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage is built on in Years 1 and 2 and pupils make good progress. Standards at the end of Year 2 have risen over the last two years to above average. Pupils listen attentively. Most speak clearly and communicate to good purpose. Reading is a strength. Almost half of pupils in Year 2 read at a level exceeding expectations for their age. The proportion reaching the standard expected for their age is above average in writing and mathematics. While the school does well to get an above- average proportion of pupils to the level expected for their age, in mathematics too few reach the higher level.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Boys and girls tend to achieve similar standards. The exception is in writing where, historically, girls have done better than boys. Recent initiatives to make writing more interesting for boys are beginning to narrow this gap.  Pupils receiving pupil premium benefit from additional support from skilful teaching assistants deployed effectively to each class. There is no significant gap between the performance of those receiving the additional funds and those who do not.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress. The majority reach standards that are above the national average for similar pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching has improved since the previous inspection and is now good. Senior leaders have successfully increased the emphasis in lessons on promoting learning by making lessons more active and by providing more detailed feedback to pupils on the quality of their work. Teachers have a better understanding of what makes a good lesson but, at times, they do not expect enough of pupils.  By using experiences familiar to the pupils, relevant to their lives or by using books to inspire learners, lessons capture pupils’ interests. In the best lessons pupils think for themselves and make decisions rather than just following instructions. During an investigation to find the best material for the roof of a house for ‘The Three Little Pigs’ the teacher valued children’s ideas and gave them scope to explain their reasons and ideas. Occasionally, in some lessons, pupils are told what to do and are not able to pursue their own interests enough. When this occurs their

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The quality of teaching is good

learning slows.  Imaginative and highly organised teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage classes gives children a very good start to school life. Activities are very well planned to excite and entice children to learn. A visit to a local farm attraction was intelligently linked to the book ‘The Enormous Turnip’. This generated an appreciation of the events in the story so that children knew it well enough to act it out and retell each other what happened. Children use sounds and letters and start to write. Many count to a good standard. Some used vegetables to explore numbers up to ten and others confidently used terms such as ‘larger than’ and ‘smaller than’ as part of their play with corn seeds. Excellent facilities for learning outdoors improve the education for the Reception classes.  Reading is taught effectively. Pupils are in the habit of reading because they read regularly in school and at home. The systematic approach to learning sounds and letters is helping to raising

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The quality of teaching is good

standards. The use of story and writing ‘sacks’ takes learning into the home. Teachers successfully build the pupils’ confidence to read new words and help them to develop reasonable spelling and punctuation skills in writing.  In mathematics good attention is given to developing the pupils’ calculation skills using addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. More-able pupils, however, are not always stretched enough. This is because there are too few options for them to work independently to solve problems. Expectations of what pupils can do are not consistently high enough.  Each pupils’ performance in writing, reading and mathematics is checked regularly. The accuracy of assessment has improved since the last inspection and identifies those pupils who can do better. Increasingly, pupils are aware of what they need to do to improve but the quality of marking and guidance for improvement varies between classes. Pupils are not always fully aware

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The quality of teaching is good

of how well they have done in lessons or how to move on from one level to the next.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ behaviour in lessons, moving around the school and during lunch and play breaks is good and often exemplary. Pupils know right from wrong and understand how their own actions impact on others. Consequently, incidents of harmful behaviour such as bullying, racism and discrimination are almost unheard of.  Pupils’ social skills are well developed for their age. Many have good levels of confidence and modest self-assurance. This contributes to productive relationships with staff and to learning purposeful atmosphere in classrooms. Pupils treat everyone with respect regardless of ability, background or need. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs benefit from being totally included by other pupils in all aspects of school life.  The views of pupils are valued through their involvement in the school council. Pupils enjoy school, like their teachers and are keen to learn. Consequently, levels of enjoyment are high.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have a good understanding of health and safety. Physical fitness is successfully developed through a host of playground activities, good opportunities for physical education lessons and the encouragement of using bicycles and scooters to get to school. Events such as ‘scooter training’ help pupils to use scooters safely. Many eat healthily, taking advantage of good-quality school dinners or bringing healthy packed lunches.  Good attendance contributes to the good academic progress pupils make and the positive attitudes in the school. Parents who expressed an opinion rate all aspects of behaviour and personal development to be a strength of the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher provides strong and caring leadership. Staff, managers and governors share a common vision of excellence and have high ambition for their pupils. Staff morale is high and strong teamwork secures highly supportive and caring attitudes of all staff, pupils and families. These factors have led to a significant improvement in the school since the previous inspection and give it a good capacity to continue to improve.  Checking how well pupils’ are progressing and the quality of teaching have both strengthened in recent years. All information is gathered together to create an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. This promotes a good pace to school development and is a significant factor in the recent improved progress of pupils, the standards they reach and the quality of teaching. Middle leaders are being helped to develop their skills in monitoring their subjects and areas of responsibility.

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The leadership and management are good

 All resources are used to get the best possible value. Care is taken to deploy staff wisely. Regular reviews of staff performance are used to provide support for staff so that school development targets are achieved. A good programme for staff training keeps teaching up to date.  The school has a good approach to planning all subjects prescribed nationally for pupils of this age. Daily lessons are adapted so that work is at the right level for of most pupils and learning is fun. A good balance is struck between developing pupils’ academic skills and their creative and personal skills. Not enough time, however, is given for pupils to develop practical problem- solving skills. Good levels of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are promoted. Pupils have access to an exciting selection of extra activities in outside of lessons. The ‘Gardening Gang’ contributes to protecting the natural environment, the choir sings proudly and

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The leadership and management are good

supported the opening of the school’s sensory garden and the cookery club creates masterpieces for eating.  The school’s engagement with parents and close working with families is excellent.. Regular meetings with parents, and daily contact where required, ensure that the progress of pupils, in terms of both their personal and academic development, is shared.  Good support from the local authority has contributed to the school’s improvement since the previous inspection. Accurate analyses of the school’s performance by local authority staff have helped set targets for school improvement. The local authority has contributed to productive partnerships with nearby schools to the benefit of pupils and staff.  The governance of the school:  Governance is good because governors understand the need for improvement and provide appropriate challenge to the school’s leaders.  Regular updates on pupils’ progress are analysed and reviewed to check the school’s

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The leadership and management are good

performance.  Governors ensure the school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils are thorough and meet statutory requirements.  The school’s budget is managed efficiently and improvements in accommodation secured, for example in the creation of excellent facilities for outdoor learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  The spending of the Pupil Premium is accounted for and its impact monitored.

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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 117987 Local authority East Riding of Yorkshire Inspection number 401716

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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 Infant School category Voluntary Controlled Age range of pupils 4–7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 159 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mark Joslin Headteacher Gillian Campbell Date of previous school inspection 6 May 2010 Telephone number 01759 302699 Fax number 01759 306797 Email address Pocklington.infants@eastriding.gov.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, 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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