Riccall Community Primary School

Riccall Community Primary School Coppergate, Riccall, York, North Yorkshire, YO19 6PF

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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. Standards are above average in English and mathematics.  Standards are particularly high in reading and writing. The majority of pupils in Year 6 are two to three years ahead of the standards expected of pupils of similar age.  Good leadership of teaching has made teaching better since the last inspection.  There is good teaching in every class. Lessons are interesting and thought- provoking. Pupils agree, ‘School makes you think about things and teachers help you when you get stuck.’  Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. Attendance is above average.  Pupils feel safe. They know about the different types of bullying. They are confident that adults will help them if they are worried about anything.  Senior leaders are good at checking what the school does well and what it needs to do next to improve further.  Governors support and challenge in equal

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

measures and do all they can to help.  Parents are closely involved in their children’s learning and progress.  These factors produce a happy, learning community where everyone embraces the school motto: ‘Be the best that we can be.’

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Aspects of teaching mathematics are not as strong as they should be and so standards are generally a little lower than they are in English.  Leaders and managers have not yet carried out an audit of mathematics to establish exactly where pupils have gaps in their knowledge. This slows pupils’ progress at times.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 15 lessons or parts of lessons taught by seven teachers. They also watched teaching assistants teach small groups from most classes.  The inspection team observed lessons when pupils were taught how letters and sounds link together (phonics) and ‘guided reading’ lessons when they heard pupils read and discuss books.  The inspectors looked at pupils’ English and mathematics books in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 to check the standards of their work and how much progress pupils had made since the start of term.  In addition, a group of Year 6 pupils read some of their writing to the lead inspector. They talked about the books they liked to read and discussed what helped them to learn generally and what they found difficult in mathematics.  The inspectors held meetings with two groups of pupils, the headteacher, staff and the Chair of the Governing Body. The lead inspector had a telephone conversation with a representative from

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Information about this inspection

the local authority.  The inspection team looked at a range of documentation supplied by the school. This included information relating to safeguarding, attendance, the school’s evaluations of teaching and pupils’ progress.  The inspection took account of the 25 parents’ views in the online questionnaire (Parent View), letters written by parents and a telephone conversation with a parent.

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Inspection team

Lesley Clark, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Peter Allen Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is a little smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are White British. A few come from other European countries and Kenya.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is below average.  An above-average proportion of pupils have a statement of special educational needs.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action and school action plus is broadly average.  The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress.  A third of staff have changed since the last inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the overall teaching of mathematics and its leadership by:  carrying out a thorough audit of mathematics to show precisely where pupils have gaps in their knowledge  making sure that teachers use this information to fill these gaps quickly so that pupils build securely on what they know and understand  ensuring that quick-fire questions at the start of lessons challenge the more-able pupils’ mental calculation skills  improving pupils’ presentation in mathematics so they can check their work easily and make fewer mistakes  enabling pupils to apply and use mathematics in other subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils achieve well. They make good progress from their different starting points. Typically, almost all pupils reach the level expected in national tests at the end of Year 6 in English and mathematics. Half the pupils do better than this. About a fifth of pupils read and write at an exceptional level for their age and a few are working at a high level in mathematics.  Pupils who have special educational needs and those who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium make good progress. Typically, they do better than similar pupils nationally. The gap between the performance of pupils in receipt of the pupil-premium funding and all pupils nationally is negligible. The school therefore promotes equality of opportunity and tackles discrimination well.  Reception children make good progress. They have a wide variety of activities to choose from, all of which promote good learning. For example, some children used the interactive whiteboard

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The achievement of pupils is good

to practise their counting skills while others made snowmen out of scrap paper or built a sledge together outside in the ‘building site’. These activities develop their physical, creative, social, reasoning and problem-solving skills well.  Pupils make rapid progress in learning early literacy skills. This is because they have a good grounding, from Reception onwards, in understanding how letters and sounds link together. They have a lot of practice in reading and writing because they use these skills in most subjects.  Pupils read fluently and with good understanding. Pupils in Year 4 had a lively debate about whether a character in a story they were reading should run away or not. They gave convincing reasons for their views, for example, ‘There are consequences if you run away.’ By Year 6, pupils read classic fiction confidently, recommending and swapping books with each other and talking about ideas in depth.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ writing is of a similarly high quality. By Year 3, pupils are beginning to write at length and use a wide vocabulary. By Year 6, pupils write with an awareness of audience. Gripping openings and well-punctuated, varied sentences hold the reader’s attention.  Pupils say that they find it helpful to use checklists. They like reading each other’s work, ‘Because you’re reading it at your level.’ For example, average-attaining pupils pointed out, ‘Space it out more, it will be easier to read.’ They do not check each other’s work in mathematics. Poor presentation in mathematics makes it harder for pupils to check their work and to avoid making careless errors.  Generally, pupils’ progress is more uneven in mathematics. It occasionally dips when pupils have gaps in their knowledge. This means that pupils need to spend time revising intensively in Year 6 rather than extending their knowledge and skills further. The more-able pupils sometimes take it

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The achievement of pupils is good

a bit easy at the start of lessons because the tasks do not challenge their mental calculation skills. The large majority of pupils choose to do the more challenging options in the main part of lessons. Their progress accelerates at this point.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The staff in the Reception and Year 1 classes work well as a team to ensure they meet the needs of each child. In both classes, there is a good balance of adult-led activities and those chosen by the children themselves. This helps the children to develop the skill of working things out for themselves, a feature of which supports pupils’ learning well further up the school.  Good features in lessons include making clear to pupils what they are expected to learn and giving pupils time to review at the end of lessons what they have learnt. Teachers use question and answer sessions well to generate in-depth discussions.  Teachers have good subject knowledge and so they are able to explain ideas clearly and confidently. The impact is seen in well-organised phonics teaching leading to pupils’ advanced literacy skills.  The teaching of reading and writing is a strength. Teachers read children’s fiction avidly. This

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The quality of teaching is good

sparks pupils’ enthusiasm for reading and generates interesting discussions as teachers and pupils swap books and ideas. Marking in English is very effective and fully involves pupils. This means they know just what to do to improve their work.  The teaching in mathematics is less consistent. On occasions, teachers miss opportunities to challenge the more-able pupils at the start of lessons. Teachers accept poor presentation in mathematics, even though their marking frequently picks up that pupils do not check their work well enough.  Teachers promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well through their high expectations of behaviour and encouraging pupils to work collaboratively. Consequently, pupils work productively in pairs or groups.  Teaching assistants play a key role in enabling pupils with special educational needs, those known to be eligible for the pupil premium and, on occasion, gifted and talented pupils to make

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The quality of teaching is good

good progress. They have a significant impact on pupils’ learning and development.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are polite and welcoming. They clearly love coming to school and enjoy all it has to offer, as shown by their punctuality and above average attendance.  Pupils are well-behaved in lessons. They are sociable and friendly and cooperate well with one another. For example, Year 3 pupils enjoyed working out spelling rules with a partner and then applying them to different words they knew.  Pupils have good, but not exemplary, attitudes to learning. Although, in the main, they work quite hard, on occasions, pupils are content to carry on conversations and take a more leisurely approach to tasks. They do not always take pride in their work and some of their work in books, especially in mathematics, is untidy.  Pupils readily take on responsibilities around the school. Year 6 pupils get a taste of adult life when they apply for their jobs in school, as well as having a real purpose for writing well. The

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

school council manages a budget for purchasing playground toys. Play leaders, playground buddies and eco-warriors make a good contribution to cheerful break times.  All these help to make a friendly school, characterised by good relationships between pupils and between adults and pupils.  The curriculum ensures that pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe. Pupils know how to use computers and the internet safely.  Pupils say that the school is successful in creating a community where bullying is not tolerated. They are very sure that there is no racism or homophobic bullying. They explained, ‘The school teaches us that everyone should be treated the same.’

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher gives an excellent lead to raising achievement and improving the quality of education for pupils.  Senior leaders have a clear picture of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Improvement planning is based on careful checks of what works well and what needs to be developed further. Improvements since the last inspection include: revitalising outdoor play provision for Reception children, better identification and provision for pupils with special educational needs and high writing standards across the school.  Despite these clear strengths, the leadership and management are not yet outstanding. This is because some aspects of leadership, for example, of those staff who take responsibility for leading subjects, are still developing. As a result improvement planning for mathematics is not as precise as it should be. Leaders have not yet carried out a thorough audit of mathematics to

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The leadership and management are good

show exactly where pupils have gaps in their knowledge. As a result pupils who need extra help with a specific area of mathematics sometimes miss out because interventions are not sufficiently precise or immediate.  The leadership of teaching has successfully brought about greater consistency in teaching quality. School leaders regularly check teaching quality through lesson observations and looking at pupils’ work in books. They are well aware that mathematics is the next area to concentrate on. Their recent observations reflect those of this inspection.  The school uses performance-management targets well to ensure that all staff are more accountable. These are linked to salary progression. Staff are increasingly involved in checking how well their pupils are doing over time. Pupils get a lot out of their pupil/teacher interviews. These help pupils to review their progress and set their own targets.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils are provided with a curriculum which in the main meets their different needs but they do not have enough opportunities to improve their mathematics skills by practising them in different subjects.  School leaders ensure that safeguarding arrangements keep staff and pupils safe.  The local authority gives basic level support to this good school. It uses the expertise available in this school to support teachers returning to classroom teaching in other schools.  The governance of the school:  Governors are increasingly involved in evaluating the school’s performance. They know about the quality of teaching and have a thorough understanding of how performance management is used. This makes a good contribution to pupils’ learning. Their role has developed considerably over the past two years and they now hold the school much more to account. The governors have a very good understanding of the budget. They have made sensible

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The leadership and management are good

decisions as to how pupil premium money is spent. For example, governors have authorised increasing the level of support for groups and individuals to help close the gaps between different pupils’ performance. As a result pupils across the school achieve well.

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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 121457 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 402023

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 193 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Peter Northrop Headteacher Sam O’Brien Date of previous school inspection 18 January 2010 Telephone number 01757 248234 Fax number 01757 248575 Email address headteacher@riccall.n-yorks.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, 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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