Follifoot Church of England Primary School

Follifoot Church of England Primary School Main Street, Follifoot, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG3 1DU

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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.  Progress in writing is not fast enough and standards are not as good as they could be.  Pupils in Key Stage 2 struggle with some aspects of writing because of a weak foundation earlier in their time in school in the sounds that letters make (phonics).  The most-able pupils are not reaching the standards of which they are capable.  Teaching has not been consistently good over time. Expectations for pupils’ academic achievement have not always been high enough.  Pupils do not make enough use of their skills in English when they work in different subjects.  Not all pupils are given precise enough expectations in lessons. This limits their ability to understand how well they have achieved and what they need to do to improve.  The leadership of subjects is not shared enough between all staff, and procedures for monitoring standards in all subjects are not yet secure.

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The school has the following strengths

 The headteacher has outstanding leadership qualities; decisive actions are accelerating progress and improving pupils’ achievement.  Good progress is underway to remove the impact of weak teaching in the past.  Good systems for checking what pupils know are sharpening the quality of teachers’ planning for individual pupils.  Behaviour and safety are good. Pupils have good attitudes to learning. They are respectful and cooperate well together.  The vast majority of parents support the school and are willing partners in their children’s education.  The new staff team is well managed and accesses excellent opportunities to train within the local schools’ alliance.  Governors play an important and successful role in evaluating the school’s performance and supporting and challenging leaders.  The school is well placed to sustain its current improvement in future.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed seven part lessons.  Meetings were conducted with governors, the staff team, all pupils in Key Stage 2 and some pupils read with an inspector. In addition, separate conversations were held with a representative of the local authority and of the local diocese.  Information from the scrutiny of a range of school documentation added to inspection judgements. This included: - samples of pupils’ work in their books - the details relating to safeguarding and the school’s development plan - the school’s procedures for gaining an accurate view of its performance - records held by the school of pupils’ standards and progress.  The views of parents were ascertained by analysing 13 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View). In addition, a meeting with two parents and the comments made by parents at a recent parents’ evening were taken into consideration.  An analysis of eight staff questionnaires, together with an ongoing dialogue with teachers and

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Information about this inspection

teaching assistants, gave the inspectors an insight into the views of the staff.

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Inspection team

David Byrne, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Janet Keefe Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is much smaller than the average-sized primary school. Pupils are educated in two mixed-age classes.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is below average. The proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium funding is well below average. (The pupil premium is additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, children from service families and children looked after by the local authority.)  The numbers of pupils in each year group are below the figure required to report on whether or not the school meets the government’s current floor standard. This sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  Since the previous inspection, there have been significant staff changes. The headteacher took

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Information about this school

up post in April 2012, and all teaching staff, other than two teaching assistants, have changed. In addition, significant changes have occurred in the membership of the governing body. During the inspection there was a newly qualified teacher leading one class and a long-term temporary teacher leading the other class.  The school is a member of the Harrogate and Rural Teaching Schools Alliance (HART) which enables effective training and collaboration to improve the school.  The school has gained Healthy School’s status.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching to be consistently good or better and raise achievement in writing and for the most-able pupils by: - giving all staff a secure understanding of the best practice in teaching phonics - making sure that all teachers set work that is at the right level of challenge for all pupils, and especially the most-able pupils - developing the skills of pupils to apply their skills of literacy to different subjects and contexts and to write more often using their imagination - giving precise guidance to pupils about what is expected of them in lessons, suited to their ability, so that they understand how well they achieve and where they can improve.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the impact of leadership and management on achievement by: - securing an effective strategy for managing all subjects that is shared between staff - embed the systems for checking on the achievement of pupils in all subjects in addition to English and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Weaknesses in teaching in the past have left a legacy in which standards, while average, are not as good as they should be. The most-able pupils have been underachieving because their needs were not fully met.  It is, however, evident from information gathered by observing lessons, talking with staff and pupils, analysing school data and reviewing pupils’ work that progress is currently accelerating rapidly. Very effective leadership by the headteacher has secured higher quality teaching and raised the expectations for pupils’ performance.  Children start school in Reception with levels of development that are for many above typical for their age. They are relatively confident, articulate and have well-developed personal and social skills. Progress in the Reception class, from this good starting point, is now accelerating after a period when it was too slow.  Standards at Year 2 are typically average. This indicates that until now, the good starting points

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

to Year 1 have not developed enough. Better teaching means that pupils in Years 1 and 2 are now making better progress. They are developing a more secure understanding of phonics after results in the national screening test at Years 1 and 2 had fallen below the national average. Pupils are now making better progress and starting to achieve more closely to their ability in reading, writing and mathematics.  In Key Stage 2, pupils are increasingly working at the level of which they are capable. Standards at Year 6 are generally average, although in some tests, for example in English grammar, punctuation and spelling, results in 2013 were high. Staff are taking steps to remove the gaps in learning that developed in their previous education but deficits remain.  While most pupils are articulate with a good command of English, their natural talent is not exploited enough to promote good learning. In Key Stage 2, too many pupils struggle with

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

spelling, aspects of vocabulary and sentence structure. Their ability to write well is evident in some of their work, but there is too little independent writing across the curriculum for pupils to reach the levels of which they are capable. Pupils generally read well and at standards that are better than writing. They read regularly at home and during the school day.  In mathematics, pupils are secure in their knowledge of the basic skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and are capable of applying such knowledge to solve mathematical problems. The school is currently widening opportunities for pupils to work at the higher levels so that the most able do as well as they should.  The school is committed to promoting equality of opportunities for all and keeps a close eye on the progress and achievement of all pupils. The very few pupils with disabilities and special educational needs are identified and their achievement and progress are tracked. The numbers

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

in the school are too small to make a secure judgement about their overall attainment but progress is currently in line with that of other pupils. The school has improved its systems for identifying pupils with disabilities and special educational needs. Staff give support to secure their inclusion in all aspects of school. Their progress is good in moving towards their individual targets for improvement.  Pupils’ involvement in sport enhances their health and well-being. Pupils participate in a number of inter-schools sports events. The school plans to use the recently received primary sports funding to involve more pupils in sporting activities and improve staff expertise.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The very effective leadership of teaching by the headteacher is making significant inroads to removing weaknesses to teaching of the past. The appointment of specialist staff for physical education and music has strengthened the skills of the staff team. The changes in staffing are in the process of settling down, although some inconsistencies in the expectations made of pupils reduce aspects of pupils’ learning.  Lessons run smoothly. Good relationships exist between staff and pupils for most of the time, and pupils are keen to learn and enjoy their lessons. Recent improvements to assessment, coupled with the introduction of systematic reviews of pupils’ progress have improved the staff’s knowledge of pupils’ achievement and progress. This is improving their ability to meet the differing needs of pupils, especially pupils with disabilities and special educational needs and the most able.  In the Reception class and Key Stage 1, children and pupils are taught well. Younger children in

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

their first year at school are well cared for and enabled to become good learners. Provision is better indoors because the opportunity for children to regularly learn outdoors is restricted by the organisation of the outdoor space. Children in Reception are well prepared for taking advantage of learning when they move into Year 1.  The essential skills of learning phonics have a high profile and pupils are developing a secure understanding of their ability to use their knowledge to read and write. Number and mathematics are taught well and the teacher and her teaching assistant team are gelling together to benefit pupils.  In Key Stage 2, the expectations for the different ability groups, especially the most-able pupils, are not precise enough. As a result, pupils are at times confused and not clear about what is expected of them and whether or not they have achieved well enough. This reduces the

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

opportunity for pupils to understand how to improve their work.  Marking is frequent and often offers good guidance about the next step for pupils to improve. While pupils do respond to comments, this is not consistent and where it does not occur reduces the value of the teacher’s efforts to improve work.  Teachers and teaching assistants are a relatively new team. Increasingly, assistants take responsibility for supporting individuals and tailoring work to meet the pupils’ needs. Teaching assistants make a positive contribution to enabling pupils with disabilities and special educational needs to be included in all lessons. Good recognition is made of pupils known to be eligible for additional funding through pupil premium and teaching assistants.  The assistants’ involvement in supporting most-able pupils is less well developed and is an area being addressed by the school.  The very large majority of parents say that the provision for homework is appropriate. Pupils

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

report that they enjoy what is given and particularly enjoy completing their topic-based work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 A strong sense of comradeship is evident between pupils. Pupils usually have very positive attitudes to learning which, in the opinion of parents, is due to the way their children are valued and treated as individuals. Pupils’ enjoyment of school is reflected in the above average rate of attendance.  Behaviour is good with occasional low-level restlessness when lessons do not stretch pupils enough. All parents who gave an opinion, and the views of pupils, support the judgement that bullying is virtually non-existent. If fall outs occur for any reason, staff and pupils work together to resolve the issues.  Pupils are safe at all times and enabled to play and lean without undue risk. Pupils naturally care for others and it is common to see older ones helping younger ones during the school day. Pupils understand about internet safety, the school’s security procedures and safety around school.  Pupils respond to the options to grow their leadership qualities. During play, older pupils make

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

playtimes fun by taking on roles such as playground leaders, organising play resources.  They are proud of being school councillors influencing decisions within the school. The two school ambassadors represent the school proudly meeting similar pupils in other schools locally. They are keen to take action to promote environmental awareness by tending for and producing vegetables in the excellent school garden. The village shop sells its products.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher is passionate about the school and has a very clear philosophy about its educational direction. Staff are 100% behind her and the very large majority of parents recognise the improvements occurring in the school. This has led to rising numbers applying for their children to join it.  Decisive actions have created a virtually brand new team of staff who share the same belief and determination to raise standards to where they should be. Since the appointment of the headteacher a lot of progress has been made but there is still more to do.  Many essential systems are now in place to improve the school. They are very recent and not yet impacting fully on the outcomes for pupils. These include rigorous and accurate assessments to track pupils’ progress in English and mathematics, the development of a number of required school policies and sharpening the procedures for evaluating the school and planning the next

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The leadership and management requires improvement

steps for its improvement.  Effective procedures for managing the performance of staff are now in place. The appraisal of the performance of staff is supported by effective strategies for professional development. There is a close link between how well they do and their progression along the salary scale.  Excellent partnerships with the local schools’ alliance are building the capacity of staff to manage subjects. This area of management is underdeveloped and places undue burden on the headteacher. Currently, procedures for monitoring standards in all subjects are not yet secure. The partnerships with local schools also enable high quality training and support for all staff, for example to develop and build the skills of staff managing the Early Years Foundation Stage.  The curriculum is in the process of being further improved to reflect the imminent new curriculum. There is a strengthened approach to phonics, reading, writing and mathematics. The

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The leadership and management requires improvement

needs of pupils with disabilities and special educational needs and the most-able pupils are now much better accommodated.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good and benefits from a good range of extra-curricular clubs, for example in art and sport. Residential stays for older pupils with pupils from another school increase the pupils’ understanding of the wider world and people from other backgrounds.  Partnerships with parents are actively encouraged and of those who gave a response, parents are unanimous in recommending the school to others. The school is as open as possible with parents and they have access to much information and are welcome to meet staff if there are concerns. Detail about each child’s progress is reported and regular meetings are held for staff to meet parents.  Support and guidance from the local authority are available for the school; in addition, the

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The leadership and management requires improvement

diocese gives effective support to the headteacher and staff as required.  The governance of the school:  Governors have a very good understanding of the school. It has changed significantly since the previous inspection. Several recently appointed governors bring useful skills and, with other governors, take part in regular training. The governing body offers the school a good capacity to sustain the school’s recovery after a time when it had declined.  Governors check appropriately on the overall quality of teaching and are aware of how this links to policies for teachers’ remuneration. The school’s budget is managed prudently; the previous deficit has been eradicated. Resources allocated to the school for a specific purpose, such as the pupil premium, are used as intended and have a positive impact on pupils’ progress. Governors meet their duty in relation to safeguarding pupils’ safety.  In summary, the governing body is a dynamic and well-informed group which is making a

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The leadership and management requires improvement

considerable contribution to the rapid improvements taking place in the school.

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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 121560 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 425995

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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 53 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Richard Keyse Headteacher Lisa Metcalfe Date of previous school inspection 6 December 2010 Telephone number 01423 872580 Fax number - Email address admin@follifoot.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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