Reedness Primary School

Reedness Primary School Reedness, Goole, DN14 8HG,

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 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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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Most pupils make the progress expected of them, although few make better than expected progress.  Standards in English and mathematics are broadly average by the time they leave the school. Standards in writing are lower than those expected.  The quality of teaching is inconsistent across the school. Not enough teaching is good or outstanding to enable the majority of pupils to make as much progress as they could.  The school’s curriculum is too narrow and does not fully stretch pupils’ learning in a range of subjects.  Subject leaders are too newly appointed to have made significant impact on monitoring and developing their subjects.  Although changes to the work of the governing body are beginning to show improvement in monitoring the school’s performance, these changes are too recent to have had significant influence on improving achievement and raising standards.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils enjoy school. They say that they feel totally safe in school and that they all get on well together.  In lessons where teaching is good, pupils generally make better than expected progress. This is particularly the case for pupils in Years 5 and 6.  Pupils behave well around school. The older pupils care for and support the younger ones well.  The newly appointed headteacher leads this rapidly improving school well. She has introduced many initiatives in a short time, which are showing signs of improving the quality of teaching and the progress pupils make.  The school places much importance on regular attendance and because of this, attendance levels are high.  The school enjoys good support from parents.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed four teachers teaching in six lessons.  He observed pupils in lessons, at play and as they moved around the school.  Discussions were held with the staff, the Chair and other members of the Governing Body, pupils, a representative of the local authority and a few parents.  The inspector heard children read from Years 2 and 6. He analysed in detail pupils’ work from across the school.  The inspector took account of the 16 responses from the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) and the views of a few parents he met during the inspection.

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Inspection team

John Foster, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is much smaller than the average sized primary school.  Almost all pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action, by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is broadly average. The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, those who are looked after by the local authority and those of serving forces personnel.  In 2013, the school met the government’s current floor standards that set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Continue to raise the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good or better by:  eradicating all inadequate teaching  ensuring that learning moves at a fast pace in all lessons  assessing pupils’ work carefully and using the information gained to plan work that meets individual pupil’s learning needs  ensuring that marking of pupils’ work is consistent so that pupils know how well they are doing and how their work can be improved  ensuring that pupils are given time to complete work that challenges them fully  sharing good practice within the school and with colleagues from other schools.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment in English, particularly in writing, and in mathematics by:  raising the expectations of staff about what their pupils, and particularly the most able, can achieve  focusing on developing pupils’ reading, writing and mathematical skills throughout the school  using the results of robust assessment to plan challenging tasks that are at the right level for individual pupils to make the best progress possible  developing opportunities for pupils to develop their writing skills across a range of subjects  ensuring that handwriting is taught systematically and that the presentation of pupils’ work is their best at all times.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management, including governance by:  developing the role of subject leaders in monitoring their subjects  involving governors more closely in checking the school’s performance in order to gain first- hand knowledge of the school’s work and plan for its future.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The very low number of pupils on roll and hence the small size of cohorts means that data relating to the school’s performance is unreliable. The small cohorts mean that when compared to national data, the school’s results do not paint an accurate picture of the progress or attainment made by pupils overall.  Children start school with a very wide range of experiences but overall their skills and knowledge are broadly those expected for their age. However, while some children are articulate and confident, others have significant difficulties in communicating and with the most basic skills. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, the nursery and reception children are currently taught alongside Year 1. They are given a range of opportunities to develop their skills but because the teaching does not focus enough on individual needs, their progress is not always as good as it should be.  Throughout their time at the school, pupils make expected progress overall based on their

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

starting points. By the time pupils leave Year 6, standards in English and mathematics are, again, extremely variable but, overall, most pupils reach standards expected for their age. Too few pupils, however, exceed expected standards. Standards in writing are lower than those in reading and mathematics. Recent strategies to improve standards in writing have yet to bear fruit. The major reason for this is the lack of good or better teaching that pupils experience throughout their school life. In some lessons, particularly for the Years 5 and 6 pupils, the work is set for their particular needs and allows some of them to make good progress. This practice is not consistent across the school and too often pupils, particularly the most able, are not challenged well enough.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make similar levels of progress to other groups of pupils. Their needs are identified early and appropriate strategies are put in

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

place to develop their learning.  Pupils eligible for pupil premium funding, including those known to be eligible for free school meals make similar progress to other groups of pupils. Very small numbers of eligible pupils in each year group make direct comparisons of their attainment with that of non-eligible pupils unreliable. The funding has been used recently to give this group of pupils specific support through the provision of one-to-one support and by providing extra support staff. This extra support has yet to impact on raising standards for this group of pupils. The school works hard to ensure that there is no discrimination and that all pupils are treated fairly.  Pupils enjoy reading. They choose books sensibly and most work out unknown words by using the skills they have learned in their phonics lessons.  By the end of Year 6, pupils’ numeracy and literacy skills are developed soundly so that they are

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

satisfactorily prepared for the next stage of their education.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching is variable across the school. The teaching experienced by the Years 5 and 6 pupils is generally good and helps them to progress well. In other areas of the school, the teaching is inconsistent and not enough is good to allow pupils to make good progress overall.  Where the teaching is good, the teacher ensures that work is planned for individual learning needs and pupils are expected to work hard and complete their tasks quickly and accurately. In a mathematics lesson, for example, the most-able pupils were identifying increasing and decreasing numbers using decimals and fractions. The lower ability pupils were doing similar tasks but with whole numbers.  Where teaching is less effective, teachers spend too much time talking to pupils and their expectations of what pupils are capable of doing are too low. Too often in these lessons pupils of differing ages and abilities are given the same work to complete, with tasks being too easy for

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

the most-able and too difficult for the less able. The pace of teaching is often slow resulting in slower progress.  The quality of teaching for disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs and those eligible for the pupil premium is similar to other groups of pupils and thus allows them to make similar rates of progress.  Overall, support staff are used well to support teaching. They work with small groups or with individual pupils. They understand their role and what is required of them during lessons.  The quality of teachers’ marking varies widely across the school and the marking policy is not adhered to consistently. The best marking informs pupils about what they are doing well and how their work can be improved. In many cases, however, teachers do not give a clear enough indication of the strengths and weaknesses in pupils’ work.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted soundly. They are given

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

opportunities to work together and discuss their work in lessons and do so enthusiastically.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils generally behave well in lessons and for the most part when they are moving about the school. They are polite and care for each other well. Occasionally, some inappropriate behaviour occurs in lessons when pupils are not challenged enough and they lose interest in their learning.  Following a period when behaviour was often not as good as it should have been, the headteacher introduced a behaviour policy which staff and pupils understand and implement closely. This has resulted in a significant fall in the reported cases of poor behaviour in the school.  Pupils are proud of their school and are adamant that there is no bullying. They told the inspector that, should bullying occur, it would be dealt with swiftly and effectively by the staff. All ages of pupils get on well together and the older pupils care for the younger ones well. For example, they help them with their coats at playtimes and include them in their games in the

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

playground.  Pupils told the inspector that they feel totally safe in school and that, should they have a problem, they can always talk to an adult, knowing that they will be listened to and their worries acted upon. Should they feel that they cannot discuss their problem with a member of staff, they have a ‘worry box’ where they can highlight their concerns in writing.  Overall pupils’ attitudes to learning are positive. However, the presentation of their work is frequently untidy with poor writing skills. Too often this is not highlighted by teachers so the presentation of pupils’ work does not improve.  Levels of attendance are high overall. The school encourages regular attendance and few pupils take time off from school. The school has recently adopted an ‘exceptional leave’ policy and this has had a positive effect on maintaining high attendance.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The newly appointed headteacher leads the school well and has a clear view of how successful the school can be. In a short space of time, she has introduced many strategies to improve the school and these are beginning to help to improve the quality of teaching and hence raise standards. She has the full support of governors and staff in her efforts to improve the education provided by the school.  The school’s evaluation of its performance is now largely accurate. The headteacher has undertaken a full evaluation and has identified weaknesses in the quality of teaching and learning, that need to be tackled. Strategies to address the weaknesses identified have been implemented and signs of improvement are visible in the school’s improving performance.  Effective monitoring of teaching and learning are at the heart of the improvements. With good support from the local authority, the headteacher has undertaken a series of lesson observations

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The leadership and management requires improvement

which have highlighted weaknesses in teaching. This information has been used well to implement strategies to improve the quality of teaching. This has been successful in developing more consistency in the quality of teaching, although the headteacher recognises that further improvements are needed.  Subject leaders are all recently appointed and have limited influence on improving their subjects. For example, they are yet to undertake lesson observation in their subjects.  There are efficient systems for checking the performance of the staff. A planned programme of lesson observations and discussions with staff ensure that the headteacher knows what is happening in the school and targets to improve the school’s performance further are agreed with staff. The staff recognise that these targets must be achieved before the governing body considers any increases in salary.  The school’s curriculum is sound. In order to raise standards in English and mathematics much

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The leadership and management requires improvement

time has been spent working on these subjects, with other subjects taught through a range of topics. Visits and visitors are used well to enhance the curriculum, including residential visits for the older pupils. These pupils speak animatedly about the visits they have made.  The recent Primary School Sport funding to develop pupils’ sporting skills has been used effectively. The school has linked with other cluster schools to employ a coach to teach sporting skills. He works alongside the staff, sharing planning and expertise, so that the staff’s skills are developed well.  Safeguarding arrangements are good and fully meet the current requirements.  The governance of the school:  Governance requires improvement, but has improved recently. Governors say that they are now more involved in the life of the school and in evaluating its performance. The Chair of the Governing Body provides a positive lead and is well supported by other governors. Over the

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The leadership and management requires improvement

past year, governors have worked closely with the headteacher and have a clearer understanding of the strengths of the school and where improvements need to be made. They are still reliant on the headteacher for information. The links they have developed with subject leaders are beginning to enable governors to gain more information at first-hand. However, they are not involved well enough in planning for the school’s future as this is mainly completed by the headteacher. Governors are fully involved in the staff’s performance management and staff recognise that they have to meet their exacting targets before they are eligible for movement through the pay scale. Governors understand the school’s finances. They ensure that funding, such as the pupil premium, is used effectively for its appropriate purpose.

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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 117939 Local authority East Riding of Yorkshire Inspection number 425817

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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 53 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Becky Dixon Headteacher Melanie Lawrence Date of previous school inspection 13 December 2011 Telephone number 01405 704264 Fax number 01405 704264 Email address reedness.primary@eastriding.gov.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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