Gillamoor Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Gillamoor Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Main Street, Gillamoor, York, North Yorkshire, YO62 7HX

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement.  Pupils’ achievement requires improvement overall. This is because the standards that pupils reach at the end of Key Stage 2 are lower than those expected nationally, particularly in mathematics.  Teaching requires improvement because it is not yet consistently good. Teachers sometimes have too low expectations of what pupils can achieve in the time available and pupils spend too much time listening to teachers talking and too little time learning independently.  Work planned in mathematics lessons is not always as challenging as it should be and pupils do not always record their work with sufficient care. As a result, pupils do not always make sufficient progress.  The work of some teaching assistants, particularly lower down the school, is not sufficiently focused on supporting the academic needs of pupils with disabilities and special educational needs. As a result, this group have

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

not made as much progress as they should.  Tracking and monitoring of pupils’ progress is regularly undertaken. However, the system used to record data is not as effective as it should be and, as a result, underachievement is not recognised sufficiently quickly and actions to improve it are slow to take effect.

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The school has the following strengths

 The vast majority of pupils behave well both inside and outside lessons. They feel very safe. Attendance is also good despite the longer journeys undertaken by many pupils who live in rural settings.  Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage Reception class.  The current headteacher has brought about much change in the short time she has been in post. For example, attendance has continued to rise and her robust approach to monitoring teaching is beginning to improve standards in Key Stage 2. Inspection report: Gillamoor Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 11 July 2013 2 of 9

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed six lessons and parts of lessons taught by two teachers. Joint lesson observations were undertaken with the headteacher. The inspection team listened to pupils from Years 1 and 2 read and examined the quality of work in the books of pupils from across the school.  The inspection team studied health and safety documentation, teachers’ curriculum planning, documents relating to the procedures to check the performance of staff and the quality of teaching, as well as the school’s system for checking pupils’ progress.  Meetings were held with pupils, the headteacher, members of the school staff, three members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  The inspection team had informal discussions with four parents at the start of the school day. Fourteen parents made their views known on the online questionnaire (Parent View).

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Inspection team

Marian Thomas, Lead inspector Additional Inspector John Pattinson Additional Inspector Inspection report: Gillamoor Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 11 July 2013 3 of 9

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Information about this school

 Gillamoor Church of England Primary School is much smaller than the average primary school.  The vast majority of pupils who attend are of White British heritage, with a very small number from minority ethnic backgrounds.  Because of the very small numbers of children in each year group, children are all taught in mixed-age classes.  A lower-than-average proportion of pupils are known to be eligible for the pupil premium (which provides additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, those in the care of the local authority and those from service families).  There is a slightly-smaller-than-average number of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs who are supported through school action.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is almost three times higher than the national average.  This year the school has met the current floor standards set by the government for pupils’

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Information about this school

attainment and progress.  A new headteacher was appointed in September 2011.  The school has a range of awards and accreditations including Investors in People.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to consistently good or better by: - increasing teachers’ expectations of how much work pupils can produce and the speed at which pupils can learn - reducing the amount of time teachers spend talking to pupils and increasing the opportunities for pupils to work independently - ensuring that support offered by teaching assistants is consistently focused on improving the academic progress of pupils with disabilities and special educational needs in order to enable them to make better progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ attainment in mathematics by: - ensuring work set in mathematics lessons offers sufficient challenge to the wide range of ages and abilities of pupils in each classroom - ensuring pupils’ written work is more carefully recorded in books so that it is a more meaningful record of learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by developing a more effective system of tracking and recording data which monitors pupils’ progress so that pupils’ underachievement is more quickly recognised and acted upon. Inspection report: Gillamoor Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 11 July 2013 4 of 9

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because the majority of pupils do not make sufficient progress between Key Stages 1 and 2, particularly in mathematics. Too few pupils have attained expected national levels at the end of Year 6 for the last three years.  Because of the very small numbers of children who start school in the Reception class, there is often a wide range of ability between year groups. However, overall, the majority start with social, language and early numeracy skills in line with and sometimes a little below those typically expected for their age. As a result of good teaching and the enjoyable experiences offered in the Reception, Year 1 and 2 classes, most make good progress and develop early reading, writing, mathematical and social skills close to those expected nationally at the start of Year 1.  Standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 1 in 2012 were in line

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

with those expected nationally. School tracking data also show that standards in 2013 have remained broadly average. This is confirmed by lesson observations and scrutiny of pupils’ work.  However, not all pupils make equal progress across the key stage and the progress of the small numbers of pupils with special educational needs has not been as good as that of others. This is because of a lack of continuity in the support given by teaching assistants coupled with too little focus on learning.  Attainment in Key Stage 2 has been very low for the last three years. However, since the arrival of the new headteacher in 2011 standards have begun to rise. Although, last year, standards were still low, they showed improvement despite 50% of the year group having identified special educational needs.  Current school data show that this improvement is continuing, with the vast majority of pupils making better progress than previously in reading, writing and mathematics. This improvement

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

is as a result of the school’s concerted efforts to improve standards by using a range of different strategies. For example, pupils are now given greater opportunities to write longer pieces of work on a variety of different subjects. As a result, tracking data show that standards at the end of Key Stage 2 have risen sharply this year and are now much closer to those expected nationally.  Standards in mathematics have been slower to improve than those in English. This is because work is not always matched closely to pupils’ needs and does not offer sufficient challenge to all groups of pupils in the mixed-age and mixed-ability classes. As a result, progress slows.  Pupils spoken to say they enjoy reading, and many now read regularly to parents and other family members at home. Younger pupils read regularly in school and older pupils told the inspection team they enjoyed taking books out of the school library. Standards in reading last

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

year were low in Key Stage 2 but data show that pupils’ progress has accelerated this year because of the whole-school focus on reading, and standards have risen significantly.  Approximately 20% of pupils in the school are known to be eligible for free school meals.  Last year the standards attained by this very small group in the national tests at the end of Year 6 were below those expected in mathematics, above in writing and broadly in line in reading. Attainment for this group was higher than for others in the school by approximately one term in English and mathematics.  The school uses pupil premium funding in a variety of ways, including providing more staff in the Key Stage 2 classroom so that pupils are taught in smaller groups. This effective use of pupil premium funding has ensured improvement is continuing. Consequently, the gap in attainment with other groups is narrowing. This also reflects the school’s continued commitment to

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

providing equal opportunities for all pupils.  School leaders are exceptionally committed to including pupils no matter what their level of need. However, overall, the progress of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is less good than that of their peers but is showing signs of improvement. The small Inspection report: Gillamoor Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 11 July 2013 5 of 9

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

numbers of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds make similar progress to other pupils. Consequently, achievement for all groups requires improvement overall.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching varies too much in quality and too much requires improvement. Some good teaching was seen during the inspection. However, there is not enough good teaching for pupils to make consistently good progress overall.  In lessons where teaching is graded as requiring improvement, learning moves along too slowly and fails to hold pupils’ interest. Pupils spend too much time listening while adults talk and teachers often have low expectations of what pupils can achieve in the time given. Too often questions asked of pupils and activities set do not give them sufficient opportunity to think, develop their ideas and work independently. Consequently, pupils achieve less well and produce less work.  Because of the very small numbers of pupils overall, pupils are taught in two classes made up of different year groups. Work set in some lessons does not match the needs of pupils and does not always stretch older or more-able younger pupils sufficiently well. A scrutiny of pupils’ books

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

showed this clearly, particularly in mathematics, and pupils’ comments that learning in some lessons was ‘sometimes a bit too easy’ further confirmed this.  In lessons in which teaching was judged to be good, learning is often fun, enjoyable and challenging for all pupils. This could be seen in an English lesson in which younger pupils were learning how to write for a variety of purposes. The class book focused around a lighthouse and the story of the lighthouse keeper. This enjoyable story offered good opportunities for pupils to work in different ways. For example, Reception-aged children were offered the choice of designing a lighthouse, writing about one or painting a picture of one. Older pupils worked on developing their writing skills in producing a story-board plan for their independent writing. All pupils engaged very happily with the well-organised and enjoyable tasks, producing work of a

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

good quality which reflected their age and ability well.  Children who attend Reception clearly enjoy coming to school, as evidenced by the enthusiastic way in which they settle down to work at the start of the school day. The views of one parent echoed the views of others when describing staff as ‘friendly, caring and excellent teachers’. Staff work together and children benefit from a range of activities, both in the classroom and outdoor areas, which offer good opportunities to explore and develop independence.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour is good overall and is outstanding at times. Learning is rarely interrupted by incidents of off-task behaviour because staff adhere to the behaviour policy closely and pupils are keen to learn. Pupils spoken to feel the school is a very safe and happy place where everyone gets along with each other and ‘we are all friends’.  Outside of lessons pupils behave equally well and show polite and caring attitudes to each other, staff and visitors. As a result, there have been no exclusions from school for the last three years.  Parents echo this view and feel that the school is a safe and welcoming place in which every child is valued. A comment made by one reflected the views of others: ‘My child is really happy and just loves coming to school.’ Staff are described as kind and caring and work very hard to ensure the needs of every child are successfully met.  Pupils say they enjoy coming to school because it is fun and in the centre of the community.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

Those spoken to during the inspection felt school could do little to improve further and they felt their views were respected and taken into account by school leaders.  School leaders have developed a highly caring ethos. This is well established across the school and enables older pupils to develop responsible and mature attitudes which prepare them well for their transfer to secondary school.  Pupils say incidents of bullying are rare in school. Pupils feel this is because they are made Inspection report: Gillamoor Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 11 July 2013 6 of 9

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

aware of the different forms that bullying can take through the school’s curriculum and policies as well as visits from outside organisations. A recent visit from Childline was described as ‘thought provoking and informative’ by older pupils.  Attendance is above average and has improved since the last inspection. This continuous improvement is indicative of the consistent approach taken by the headteacher to discouraging holidays taken during term time.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 While leadership and management require improvement because the achievement of pupils is not yet good enough and the quality of teaching is not consistently good, the headteacher has a clear view of how to improve the school and has brought about significant change in a short time. Standards are improving and Year 6 pupils are set to reach much higher levels of attainment than for the previous three years.  The headteacher has also successfully developed a strong working partnership between staff and governors which is beginning to bring about improvement in many aspects of the school’s work against a backdrop of low levels of pupils’ achievement.  Pupils’ progress is monitored by the headteacher. However, the system used does not give a sufficiently accurate picture of the performance of individual pupils over time. This results in the underachievement of some pupils not being identified quickly enough, which slows their

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The leadership and management require improvement

progress.  Staff work closely together to deliver an interesting and diverse curriculum. This, coupled with visits to a range of locations, for example a Sikh temple (Gurdwara) in Bradford, offers good opportunities to develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Teaching is monitored across the school and effective action is beginning to be taken by the headteacher through the management of staff performance to improve areas of weakness. As a result, the quality of teaching has begun to improve. However, further improvement is needed if teaching is to become good overall.  School leaders ensure performance targets for staff link directly to pupils’ achievement and targets within the school development plan. Checks on the performance of staff are undertaken regularly and this information is used by the headteacher to make decisions on teachers’ pay.  During recent changes to the school’s leadership team the local authority has offered significant

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The leadership and management require improvement

support to school leaders. More recently this support has been at the request of the school in order to help move the school on further.  The governance of the school: - School governors are active in many areas of the school. For example, governors with responsibility for different curriculum areas often actively support lessons. They bring a range of skills and experience to the governing body. In partnership with the headteacher they have developed an effective system for checking the performance of staff which rewards good teaching and addresses underperformance. They take a careful and measured approach to the management of pupil premium funding, which has enabled them to give support to eligible pupils and increase their levels of attainment and progress. They are quick to acknowledge the school’s past levels of underachievement but feel that, after recent changes and further training, they now offer senior leaders constructive support and challenge. Their continued

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The leadership and management require improvement

support, the headteacher believes, is helping to move the school forward. Safeguarding policies within school are securely in place, and the health and safety committee carries out regular inspections and has ensured that safeguarding procedures meet current requirements. Inspection report: Gillamoor Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 11 July 2013 7 of 9

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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. Inspection report: Gillamoor Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 11 July 2013 8 of 9

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School details

Unique reference number 121493 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 411924

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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 46 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sue Mumford Headteacher Alison Tweddle Date of previous school inspection 13 October 2009 Telephone number 01751 431643 Fax number Not applicable Email address headteacher@gillamoor.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

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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