Farmilo Primary School and Nursery

Farmilo Primary School and Nursery Woburn Road, Pleasley, Mansfield, NG19 7RS

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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 Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  This is a rapidly improving school. Pupils’ achievement has improved significantly since the previous inspection.  Pupils make good progress from their starting points. By Year 6, attainment in reading and writing is broadly average. Achievement is especially strong in mathematics and attainment is above average.  Teaching is good across all key stages and sometimes outstanding. Teachers successfully encourage pupils to become good learners capable of making decisions about their own learning and working independently.  Teachers work exceptionally well with the teaching assistants helping to maximise the progress of different groups of pupils in all parts of lessons.  Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school is most often exemplary. Most pupils apply themselves to learning tasks exceptionally well. They become highly confident learners. They are used to reviewing their own and each other’s work and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

supporting each other when working things out and tackling problems.  Pupils take great pride in their school and relish the responsibilities they are given. Pupils love coming to school. They feel safe, secure and have great confidence in the teachers and other adults who are there to help them.  The strong leadership of the headteacher, senior leaders and the governing body has secured improvements in most areas of the school including pupils’ achievement, teaching, behaviour and attendance.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching is outstanding. Although there are no weaknesses common to all teaching, there are some features that are not consistently good from lesson to lesson.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed parts of 17 lessons, two of which were observed jointly with the headteacher. Inspectors listened to pupils read and talked with pupils from Years 1, 2, 3 and 5 about their reading. Work in pupils’ books was scrutinised alongside senior staff.  Meetings were held with staff, members of the governing body and groups of pupils. A telephone conversation was held with a representative of the local authority.  Documents examined included: the school self-evaluation summary, the school improvement plan, documents relating to safeguarding, records of behaviour and attendance and governing body minutes.  Inspectors talked to parents as they collected their children from school. Inspectors took account of 34 responses to the online survey (Parent View), a survey of parents’ views carried out by the school in 2012 and a letter and an email sent by parents to the lead inspector.  The views of staff were taken into account through the 14 questionnaires received.

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Inspection team

Gillian Salter-Smith, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Alan Brewerton Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Farmilo Primary School and Nursery is smaller than an average-sized primary school.  An average proportion of pupils are eligible for pupil premium funding (additional funding provided by the government to support pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, those in local authority care and those from service families).  The vast majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action is below the national average. The proportion of pupils supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well below the national average.  A breakfast club operates each morning.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards. These set the minimum standards expected for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching further so that more is outstanding by:  ensuring that younger pupils and children always have plenty of hands-on practical experiences to help them understand mathematical concepts in every session  making sure that all teachers use strategies to increase the pace of learning on the infrequent occasions when it slows  moving more-able students on to even more challenging tasks earlier in every lesson in order to increase their rate of learning further  ensuring a good balance of adult support between indoors and outdoors so that children in the Early Years Foundation Stage get the most out of the activities when they choose where they learn for themselves.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 From when they start school in the Nursery class, children make good progress from levels of development which are often well below those typical for their age, especially in communication skills. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children enjoy being busy and learning because there are plenty of activities and resources that capture their attention and help to develop their early communication, reading, writing and numeracy skills effectively, both indoors and outdoors.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress in Key Stages 1 and 2 is good in reading, writing and numeracy because these continue to be well taught.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Current Year 1 pupils have achieved well in the national phonics test (recognising letters and sounds). Current results have improved on those of the previous year, which were already above average.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils enjoy reading. Those who fall behind are helped to catch up quickly. In addition to carefully targeted one-to-one specialist support from a teacher, they are heard reading by an adult every day. Older pupils take great pride in helping younger pupils with their reading. Exciting books are used in class learning to stimulate pupils’ imaginations. By Year 6, attainment in reading is a little above average and is improving year on year.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement in writing has improved a great deal since the previous inspection. The curriculum is far more stimulating so that pupils now write with a real focus about events and matters that interest them. For example, Key Stage 1 pupils wrote highly imaginative and well-structured paragraphs about events during the Great Fire of London 1666. The frequent role play and talk in preparation for writing are supporting learning well. Handwriting is far better formed and pupils’ work is carefully presented. By Year 6, attainment is, currently, a little below average but improving each year.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement in mathematics is strong. Teachers challenge pupils to work things out for themselves and usually give pupils plenty of opportunity to apply their knowledge in practical situations. The whole school enterprise task, ‘Farmillions’, enabled pupils to work collaboratively on planning how to make a ‘fortune’ through enterprise that involved buying, repackaging and selling sweets and confectionary to their peers.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The progress of girls and boys varies from year to year, but there is no consistent pattern. The school keeps a close check on the progress of all pupils reflecting the strong commitment to equality of opportunity.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The small proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium make good progress overall. The current pupils in Year 6 make similar progress to other pupils in mathematics. In reading, they are around a term behind other pupils and in writing they are less than half a term behind. Pupil premium funding provides additional adult support in every classroom and one-to- one support for targeted pupils. In addition, funding supports attendance at breakfast club and curriculum-related trips and visits.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress. Staff are well informed about these pupils’ learning needs. Extra support is tightly targeted to specific needs and is successful in securing the pupils good progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Good teaching is helping to improve pupils’ progress rapidly over time. Teaching is not yet outstanding because not enough of it is outstanding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ self-reliance and ability to work independently. They expect pupils to find things out, check each other’s work and to develop learning skills that will stand them in good stead for the future.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Relationships between adults and pupils are highly supportive so that pupils are developing into keen and confident learners. They are not afraid to ask questions or get things wrong and have another go. Just occasionally, teachers let the pace of learning slow too much and a very few pupils, mostly boys, do not make the rapid progress of which they are capable.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Classrooms are exciting places where there is a great deal of stimulation. ‘Missions’ are extra activities found in every classroom. They help to consolidate and develop learning and pupils are keen to complete these independently. Excellent display provides useful prompts for learning and values pupils’ work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The outdoor areas are used well especially in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. Many learning activities involve practical work that reinforces or develops learning. Occasionally, opportunities are missed to use practical activities to help children to understand mathematical concepts. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, sometimes there are not enough staff outdoors to help children to get the most out of their learning when they are choosing activities for themselves.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers and teaching assistants work together very effectively. A highly effective and flexible approach to the use of time, adults and groupings throughout lessons helps to maximise learning for all pupils in most lessons.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers know the pupils very well. They plan a good range of tasks that interest and engage pupils to get the most out of them. Just occasionally, although more-able pupils are given harder tasks, they sometimes do not get on to tackling them early enough in a lesson.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers question pupils effectively. They recognise how pupils are thinking and skilfully question them to help them to work out things for themselves. This is especially the case in mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ marking of work is good. Guidance on how to improve is very clear and pupils are expected to make the improvements.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils’ behaviour is usually exemplary. Pupils are exceptionally keen to learn and are developing into confident independent learners. They are used to tackling problems and discussing ideas. They work very well in pairs and groups and enjoy helping each other out. They often use each other as a source of information before they ask a teacher.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Older pupils thrive on taking on responsibilities. Many enjoy playing with younger children at playtimes, spontaneously organising games and activities for them. They enjoy being a reading ‘buddy’ for younger children. The eco-council and school council take their roles seriously and are very active in encouraging energy-saving activities and improving their school surroundings.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils feel very safe and secure in school. They say that bullying is extremely rare and that staff are there to help and will sort out any concerns quickly. Pupils are active in preventing bullying and know to say, ‘Stop! I don’t like that.’ They know about many different types of bullying. They are aware of how they can keep themselves safe, including when using modern technology.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Parents are, rightly, very happy that their children are kept safe and are very well looked after.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Staff are highly skilled and consistent in managing behaviour. They encourage pupils to manage their own behaviour. Pupils are frequently given the responsibility of spotting good behaviour. Pupils are encouraged to use their ‘imitating muscles’ to copy good behaviour for learning. Case studies demonstrate the school’s success in helping children who struggle with behaviour to settle down, improve and make progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Attendance is above average and has improved since the previous inspection. It is a reflection of how much the pupils enjoy coming to school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, senior leaders and the governing body are highly ambitious for the school and set high expectations of themselves, staff and pupils. They have been successful in improving pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching, alongside maintaining a caring, welcoming and highly supportive place of learning. Staff morale is high and staff are fully committed to leaders’ ambitions for further improving the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s self-evaluation is accurate and based on rigorous checks on pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching. Teachers and subject leaders are held closely to account for the progress of the pupils. Potential underachievement of pupils is spotted quickly and learning is improved.

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The leadership and management are good

 All staff benefit from training and other professional development opportunities and from the sharing of good practice between schools and within school. Training activities are well focused on the school’s overall priorities and meet the professional needs of individual staff. Much effective work has been done across the school on improving the curriculum and on encouraging pupils to enjoy writing and improve its quality.

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The leadership and management are good

 The performance of all staff is managed rigorously and salary progressions are closely linked to effective teaching which enables pupils to achieve well.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has developed positive links with parents. Parents are highly supportive of the school. Most appreciate the approachability of staff and good communication through texts, newsletters and being available at the start and end of school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Safeguarding arrangements meet current requirements.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority provides a watching brief, which is appropriate for this rapidly improving school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Strong governance provides a good support and rigorous challenge to leaders. Governors know the school well through well-structured regular visits and detailed reports from senior leaders. They know how well pupils are performing in relation to the national picture and what the priorities for improvement are. They directly support the headteacher in holding staff to account for pupils’ achievement. They are fully informed about the quality of teaching and its impact on pupils’ achievement and take this into account when making decisions on staff salary progression. Governors bring a broad range of skills to their role and ensure that they benefit from training.

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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 133272 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 402565

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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 212 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Christopher Woolley Headteacher Suzanne Tryner Date of previous school inspection 5 May 2010 Telephone number 01623 480107 Fax number 01623 480108 Email address head32@farmilo.notts.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

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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