Dallimore Primary & Nursery School

Dallimore Primary School Dallimore Road, Kirk Hallam, Ilkeston, DE7 4GZ

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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.  Teaching is good and some is outstanding. Teachers have high expectations for pupils’ achievement, behaviour and the presentation of their work.  Good achievement begins in the Nursery and Reception classes and continues in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Pupils’ achievement has improved significantly since the last inspection and standards are rising.  The skilful teaching assistants provide highly effective support to groups and individual pupils, in lessons and intervention sessions.  Pupils with specific barriers to learning and those facing more challenging circumstances, are ably supported to enable them to learn and make good progress.  Pupils’ good behaviour and attitudes to learning make a significant contribution to their good progress in lessons. Pupils are respectful of staff and each other. They feel safe and are well cared for.  Leaders and managers work effectively as a

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

successful team to improve teaching and raise standards.  The headteacher and her deputy lead by example. They have high expectations and their monitoring of the quality of teaching is rigorous.  Governors know their school well, and are prepared to challenge as well as support school leaders.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 While most of the teaching is good, it is not yet consistent in all classes and not enough is outstanding.  The revised homework policy is not yet effective in enabling parents to be more involved in improving their children’s learning and progress.  Teachers do not always ensure sufficient challenge for pupils, particularly the more able, to enable them to reach the standards they are capable of in lessons.  Not all teachers make sure that pupils understand and respond to marking; this prevents them from always knowing their targets and how they can improve their work.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 13 lessons, five of which were seen together with the headteacher and the deputy headteacher. In addition, the inspectors made a number of other short visits to lessons and learning areas.  Separate meetings were conducted with governors, staff, senior leaders, an adviser from the local authority and two groups of pupils. The inspectors talked to pupils during lessons, listened to pupils read and scrutinised samples of their work.  There were too few responses to the online questionnaire Parent View to be reported but inspectors took account of the results of the school’s own surveys of parents’ views. The views of several parents who communicated with inspectors during the inspection were also taken into consideration.  The inspectors took account of the 27 responses to the staff questionnaire.  A number of documents were reviewed. These included the school’s development plan, its self-

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Information about this inspection

evaluation report, information about pupils’ current progress, arrangements for safeguarding and records of pupils’ behaviour and attendance. Reports from the local authority about the school’s effectiveness were also examined.

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Inspection team

Cathy Morgan, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Elizabeth Needham Additional Inspector Malcolm Johnstone Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This above-average-sized primary school has three mixed-age classes in Years 5 and 6, two in Years 3 and 4 and one in Years 1 and 2. All other classes accommodate a single year group.  Almost all pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is above average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also above average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is above average. (The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority among others.)  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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Information about this school

 The school provides a breakfast club on site which was included as part of this inspection.  The school operates a longstanding nurture programme for potentially vulnerable pupils in ‘The Lighthouse’ and ‘the Beach Hut’.  A major building project is currently underway and is due to complete at the end of March 2014. This has reduced the amount of space available to children at playtimes and lunchtime.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to outstanding and further raise achievement by:  making sure that all pupils, particularly the most able, are provided with appropriate tasks which help them to reach the standards they are capable of in lessons  improving the consistency of teachers’ marking to ensure that pupils always know their targets and receive clear guidance on how to improve their work  increasing opportunities for pupils to complete homework which more effectively involves parents in their children’s learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children typically join the school with skills and knowledge which are well below those expected for their age. Careful guidance in the Early Years Foundation Stage combined with highly effective teaching, ensure that children make good progress in preparation for their move into Key Stage 1.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Although pupils’ achievement has improved significantly since the last inspection, the most able pupils are not given difficult enough targets in some lessons to enable them to reach their full potential.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 At the end of Key Stage 1, pupils make good progress to reach the standards expected for their age and a small number are exceeding these levels. The strong focus on developing pupils’ reading and writing skills and recent improvements in the teaching of phonics (the sounds that letters make), have enabled pupils in Year 1 to do better than expected for their age in the 2013 national reading check.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils achieve well in English and mathematics by the end of Key stage 2 because they are well taught and their progress is checked regularly to make sure that they receive timely and effective support. Unvalidated test results for 2013 show that standards continue to rise above the levels expected and this represents at least good progress for pupils, particularly in mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs receive intensive support from very skilful teaching assistants and they make good progress in their learning. Those pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium are also targeted well through interventions and specific one-to-one support. In 2012, the attainment of this group of pupils was one term behind their classmates in writing and mathematics. Inspection evidence shows that this gap has narrowed quickly and in 2013 more pupils achieved the highest levels when compared to similar pupils nationally in English and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school encourages pupils to read widely and less-able readers benefit from a successful support programme to help them to improve. Older pupils read with expression and interest and talk with great enthusiasm about their favourite authors.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Close checking of teaching and a consistent approach to improving it, led by the deputy headteacher, have rapidly improved its quality. Teaching is now uniformly good and an increasing proportion is outstanding. Teachers are adept at teaching in mixed-age classes but there is not enough outstanding teaching overall to ensure that pupils always make the best possible progress in lessons.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have good subject knowledge, particularly in mathematics. This inspires pupils and promotes a love of the subject. In one successful lesson, the teacher and her assistants planned meticulously to enable Year 5 and Year 6 pupils of all abilities to move between a range of stimulating activities. These were effectively designed to extend pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the order of operations. All pupils were challenged to think hard in order to find accurate responses to complex calculations. Their sense of achievement was audible!  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is highly effective because of good teamwork and well-established routines. Children are happy and thrive in the stimulating indoor and outdoor areas. They are carefully guided and encouraged quickly to develop communication and problem-solving skills and to become more independent in their learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Marking varies between classes. In the best examples, pupils receive clear and informative feedback about what they have done well, errors are corrected and next steps identified. However, there is inconsistency in the quality of feedback which prevents pupils from always knowing how to improve.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In some lessons, teachers set work that is not demanding enough for all pupils, and the more able are sometimes expected to complete very similar tasks to those of other pupils. These aspects slow the rate of progress made by pupils in these lessons.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Homework is set regularly and the school has recently revised the homework policy to enable pupils to produce work online. However, this is not yet used well to promote family learning or to motivate parents to be more actively involved in improving their children’s progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 High expectations, consistent approaches, and very effective use of rewards and sanctions help pupils to develop high levels of self-discipline, confidence and self-esteem. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is dealt with effectively through the curriculum and assembly programmes.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 All pupils are taught well how to carefully consider the feelings of others. The intervention programme organised through the Lighthouse and Beach Hut, for pupils with significant learning or behavioural needs , is highly effective in enabling them to manage their own behaviour and encouraging positive attitudes.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The breakfast club gives pupils a quiet and purposeful start to the school day. Pupils behave well in all group situations, in intervention groups and in their whole school assemblies. Pupils have good attitudes to learning in lessons which is a key factor in the school’s continuing success. However, when tasks are not sufficiently challenging, their concentration wanes.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say that they feel very safe at school and know what they can do to help keep themselves safe. Most pupils have a good understanding of the nature of different types of bullying and are confident that incidents will be dealt with swiftly. Pupils say that behaviour is now consistently good and any minor misbehaviour is quickly dealt with by their teachers.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Relationships between staff and pupils are strong and the school provides a calm and purposeful atmosphere for learning. Pupils are happy, polite and very caring. All staff and those parents who spoke to inspectors agreed that pupils are safe and happy at the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance rates are now at the national average and are continuing to improve, reflecting the school’s effective relationships with parents and the local family and multi-agency teams.

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The leadership and management are good

 The positive vision and ambition of the headteacher, ably supported by her deputy, are acknowledged and welcomed by the governing body and by staff. All staff and governors have high aspirations for pupils’ academic and personal development and they respond well to the relentless focus on improving the quality of teaching, learning and achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 Staff lead by example and all work effectively as a cohesive team. Teachers, their assistants and managers clearly understand their roles, responsibilities and lines of accountability. Monitoring of teaching is rigorous and shortcomings are being resolved through a well-designed professional development programme. Performance management targets for teachers and their assistants are closely related to pupils’ achievement and teachers’ pay.

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The leadership and management are good

 Equality of opportunity is promoted well by the school. This is demonstrated by the positive impact of the Early Years Foundation Stage and the intervention programme within the Lighthouse and Beach Hut, in preparing pupils well for the next stage in their learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 Systems are in place to check the progress of individual pupils regularly, and are used well to improve teaching and raise standards. However, the school is aware of the need to accelerate the progress of pupils, particularly the most able, and has implemented strategies to address this quickly.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum is well designed to focus on developing pupils’ reading, writing and numeracy skills. Pupils particularly enjoy opportunities to use the schools’ extensive outdoor facilities and attend the wide range of lunch-time and after-school clubs.

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The leadership and management are good

 The primary school sport funding is enabling pupils and staff to receive expert tuition from specialist sport and dance teachers and the school is monitoring its effectiveness in improving the health and well-being of pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 School leaders are successfully managing and minimising the impact of a major building project on the quality of teaching. Their accurate identification of the schools’ strengths and priorities for improvement informs clear action plans and demonstrates a good capacity for further development.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority provides good support to the school. This is providing valuable professional development opportunities for staff and is encouraging greater collaboration to ensure that effective practice is shared across the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governors provide valuable support and their active involvement in the school has been strengthened since the time of the last inspection. Governors know the school well and ask the right questions in relation to staff performance and the quality of teaching. Governors make sure any areas of weakness are eliminated to secure appropriate staff progression through the salary scales. Governors’ actions have a positive impact on school improvement and they are not afraid to take difficult decisions. Governors hold the school to account for efficient financial management, including the spending of pupil premium funding and the new primary school sport funding. They fulfil their statutory responsibilities in setting and monitoring challenging performance management objectives for the headteacher and the arrangements for child protection and pupils’ safeguarding.

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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 112675 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 424966

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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 270 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Chris Phillips Headteacher Rachel Crowther Date of previous school inspection 7 November 2011 Telephone number 01159 320741 Fax number 01594 440292 Email address info@dallimore.derbyshire.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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