St Barnabas CofE Primary School, Barnetby

St Barnabas CofE Primary School, Barnetby St Barnabas Road, Barnetby, Lincolnshire, DN38 6JD

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 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.  Teaching is good. Staff work well as a team. They have good working relationships with pupils and give them lots of praise for their efforts.  The headteacher provides dynamic and effective leadership that is well focused on further improvements.  Pupils make good progress as they move through the school and they achieve well.  Standards are usually above national averages when pupils leave the school.  Pupils’ behaviour in and around school is outstanding. Those of all ages very much enjoy each other’s company and know how to stay safe.  School leaders have successfully focused on improving teaching and learning, following a dip especially in mathematics in 2012.  Parents are very pleased with the quality of education and care provided for their children.  Governors are supportive of the school and have worked hard to ensure the federation of this and another school has been successful.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Occasionally pupils do not learn as effectively as they could because, staff do not give them enough opportunities to be involved in activities or discuss their ideas with others.  The setting of targets to identify what pupils need to do to improve and the marking of pupils’ work are not carried out consistently well.  The checks leaders make on pupils’ work and on the quality of teaching are not always rigorous enough to identify what needs to be improved.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed parts of 13 lessons in the six classes, taught by seven teachers. Some of these observations were carried out with the headteacher. Inspectors also listened to individual pupils reading and observed some short sessions focused on the teaching of letters and the sounds they make (phonics).  Meetings were held with the headteacher and the leaders responsible for literacy and numeracy, special educational needs and the Early Years Foundation Stage. Discussions also took place with groups of pupils, and representatives of the governing body and the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the views of 27 parents from the Ofsted online questionnaire (Parent View) and spoke to several parents at the start of the school day. Inspectors also reviewed the 15 responses to the staff questionnaire.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including recent

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Information about this inspection

information on pupils’ progress, planning and monitoring information, and records of meetings of the governing body. They also considered in detail records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Sue Hall, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Jenny Firth Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is well below average.  The percentage of pupils supported by the pupil premium (extra funding for pupils who are looked after by the local authority, known to be eligible for free school meals or with a parent in the armed forces) is below the national average. In this school, this additional funding currently applies only to pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs identified at school action is double the national average. The percentage supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above the national average.  Since the previous inspection the acting headteacher has been appointed to a permanent role and a new deputy headteacher has been appointed, both from within the school.

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Information about this school

 In September 2010, the school started to work with and support another local school, and in September 2012, the two schools formed a federation with one governing body. The headteacher in this school became executive headteacher at the other school and also supports two other new headteachers at the request of the diocese.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that teaching across the school is consistently good and increase the proportion that is outstanding by:  making sure that staff provide pupils with opportunities to be involved in all parts of lessons and have sufficient opportunities to discuss their ideas with others  checking that pupils know their targets and that the marking of their work identifies specifically what they need to improve.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make sure that staff with additional responsibilities rigorously check the quality of teaching and the progress pupils make to ensure that they can clearly identify what needs to be improved.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children start in the Reception class with wide-ranging skills and experiences. School records indicate that this varies from year to year, with the current group having skills that are generally in line with what is expected for their age with an increasing number of children coming into Early Years Foundation Stage below expectation.  By the time pupils leave the school in Year 6, standards are often above the average for their age. Overall as they move through the school progress is good and boys and girls of all abilities and from all backgrounds achieve well.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make particularly good progress and sometimes this is outstanding. This is because the staff plan a very well-balanced range of activities that include tasks led by teachers and activities chosen by the children. For example, a group made excellent progress in recognising and understanding numbers to 10 when they played a game

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The achievement of pupils is good

with number cards and clicking the number with a wooden ‘clicker’ to make the appropriate number of sounds. Because of the huge enthusiasm of the staff this became great fun with the children desperate to have their turn using the ‘clicker’ and checking the numbers.  Over several years the standards on leaving had been above average. In 2012, a dip in the Year 6 national test results, especially in mathematics, roused the school into taking action. This year there has been a clear focus on improving the quality of teaching, including the support offered to pupils who find learning difficult. The very recently received national test information and a sample of pupils’ work show there has been a considerable improvement in the progress made this year especially in mathematics and standards are now once again above average.  Most pupils develop good speaking skills and often become articulate and confident speakers.

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The achievement of pupils is good

The school has successfully developed the way in which it teaches letters and the sounds they make so that pupils performed well in recent national screening tests. Many pupils read confidently and the school has recently bought more books to ensure older pupils maintain an early interest in reading.  Standards in writing have often been below those in other areas, so this has recently been a whole-school focus for improvement. Older pupils in particular produce some good quality work, for example when writing their autobiography or a formal letter.  Pupils also make good progress in mathematics with Year 5 pupils spotting the relationships between sequences of numbers and using this knowledge to relate fractions to decimals. Younger pupils, including those in the Reception class and Year 1, have good opportunities to find out more about numbers and shapes by using resources to solve problems.  Information shows that last year disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, and

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The achievement of pupils is good

those supported by pupil premium funding did not do well compared to similar pupils nationally. For example, in 2012, Year 6 pupils known to be entitled to free school meals were three terms behind their classmates in English and six terms behind them in mathematics. The school recognised this issue and addressed it successfully by introducing a much earlier and better focused programme of support for these pupils. Very recent information shows that the gap in their attainment compared with that of other pupils is narrowing rapidly.

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The quality of teaching is good

 All staff have warm working relationships with pupils and offer them lots of encouragement. The quality of teaching is usually good and ranges from outstanding to occasionally requiring improvement. Teaching is most effective for the children in the Early Years Foundation Stage where it is consistently effective and sometimes outstanding.  In the Reception class, activities are very well matched to children’s needs and delivered in an enthusiastic manner. This makes learning fun and challenging for everyone including those with special educational needs. Staff are skilled in responding to the children’s different interests and abilities as seen in the excellent work of the class teacher when working with a more-able child who was struggling to identify the number after 29. Because the teacher knew the child could count in tens they then tried this approach which resulted in success.  Where teaching requires improvement this is because staff do not ensure that pupils are actively

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The quality of teaching is good

involved enough in activities. Occasionally, they have to sit for too long listening to or waiting for others. Some staff do not use questions well to involve everyone or provide them with opportunities to discuss their ideas with others.  Senior leaders are placing a growing emphasis on improving teaching across the school. Training activities are well organised, including some with the federation partner school and other schools. Additional training is provided for support staff, who are very skilled in providing well- targeted assistance for pupils, particularly in the Reception class. This is especially beneficial for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs and those supported by pupil premium funding.  Some pupils know the targets for what they need to improve in English and these are occasionally displayed in the front of their books. There were few examples of targets in mathematics evident. Any targets seen were often undated and rarely appear to be changed or

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The quality of teaching is good

referred to in the marking of pupils’ work. There are some good examples of effective marking, but this is not consistent across the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils’ behaviour in and around the school is outstanding. This has been maintained over a number of years and is something of which the staff and parents are justifiably proud. For example, lunchtimes are very pleasant experiences because pupils chat together quietly and enjoy one another’s company.  Virtually all the pupils spoken to say they like school. They recognise that staff expect them to behave well and are keen to live up to these expectations. They like taking on responsibilities and look after the school and its resources very well.  Pupils are caring and very sensible young people. This was seen particularly at break and lunchtimes when boys and girls chose to sit together and chatted happily. Older and younger pupils also chose to spend time together without prompting. Pupils show a keen awareness of others including the large number of charities they choose to support both through the school

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

and by their own efforts.  Pupils move around the school in a sensible manner. They have sufficient space outside to be able to enjoy lots of active play, where they share their games and playground equipment in an exemplary manner. Attendance is above average, showing that pupils are keen to come to school.  Pupils have a strong understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe. They can clearly explain that bullying is a deliberate and repeated action. They recognise the different types of bullying, including cyber-bullying. All pupils know that all forms of bullying are unacceptable. They believe that there are plenty of adults that they would feel comfortable to talk to if they had any worries.  Pupils have positive attitudes to their learning as seen in a Year 3 activity focused on punctuation. They thoroughly enjoyed and concentrated very well when making karate style hand movements and sounds that helped them distinguish between the different types of

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The leadership and management is good

 The headteacher provides dynamic leadership that ensures the school has maintained many of its long-standing pastoral strengths coupled with a growing focus on improving teaching. The staff work well as a team, with one noting, ‘It is a lovely place to work with such a happy and positive vibe about it. You are well respected and listened to. Why would anyone leave?’  All of the parents and carers who responded to the inspection questionnaire and those spoken to during the inspection agree that all aspects of the school’s work are effective. They believe their children are well looked after by the staff and they are strongly supportive of the school.  The Early Years Foundation Stage leader has a good overview of provision and leads this area well including through providing a role model of very effective teaching for the school. The special educational needs coordinator liaises closely with staff to ensure that the support of

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The leadership and management is good

pupils is well matched to their needs.  The curriculum is broad and balanced and meets the needs of pupils well. The pupil’s social and moral development is well supported by numerous activities where they work together including supporting a number of charities. The school’s very strong links with other schools and organisations in different parts of the world support their cultural understanding well.  The English and mathematics leaders take staff meetings that focus on improving planning and the coverage of subjects. They have some opportunity to monitor teaching and feedback to colleagues but this is not regular or rigorous enough. Staff attend training activities in this and other schools, and courses that focus on specific areas of provision. The local authority provides effective support to the school, for example discussing data and monitoring teaching.  School leaders recognised from data that improvements needed to be made in the rate of

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The leadership and management is good

progress made. They rightly focused on improving teaching. However, the effect of some training activities has been mixed because senior staff do not always check rigorously enough the impact of initiatives on the quality of teaching and the progress pupils make. For example, there have been relatively few occasions when senior leaders have monitored the quality of learning through checking the work in pupils’ books to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses.  Pupil premium funding has been used more effectively this year to ensure that pupils entitled to this support receive it at an earlier stage in their school life. This includes help for individuals or small groups, speech therapy and to support residential visits. School information indicates that this has been a successful initiative and is closing the gap between what these and other pupils achieve. Senior staff use a range of information including from targets linked to pupil progress to

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The leadership and management is good

decide whether teachers should move up the pay scales.  Procedures to safeguard pupils meet current requirements. Staff ensure that pupils have equal opportunities and access to all school activities. The school is very successful in fostering good relationships and tackles discrimination. Overall the school demonstrates it has the capacity to continue to improve.  The governance of the school:  Governors are very supportive of the school and readily recognise the long-standing strengths in provision. They have worked hard to ensure the federation with another local school has been handled well through liaising with parents and a wide range of other bodies. Governors receive very detailed information from the headteacher about all aspects of school life and have ensured a stronger focus on the quality and amount of support for pupils entitled to support from the pupil premium. Most governors have some understanding of the information

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The leadership and management is good

about pupil progress but recognise there is scope for further training in this area. They have a standard number of full governing body meetings and a reasonable range of committees that ensure they meet the requirements placed upon them. Some governors visit the school in a range of roles. Governors are informed about the quality of teaching in school and support the headteacher in managing teachers’ pay and understand their responsibility to challenge underperformance. They now recognise the need to monitor the effectiveness of the meetings they hold and the programme of focused visits they make to ensure they have sufficient opportunity to concentrate on the quality of provision in both schools.

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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 118004 Local authority North Lincolnshire Inspection number 412489

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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 Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 157 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Larraine Guest Headteacher Rachel Murray Date of previous school inspection 13 March 2007 Telephone number 01652 688248 Fax number 01652 681704 Email address office@st-barnabas.n-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, 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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