Summerbridge Community Primary School

Summerbridge Community Primary School Summerbridge, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG3 4JN

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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.  Achievement is good in Key Stages 1 and 2 and in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  From their different starting points, pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  The most-able pupils reach the higher Level 5 in reading and writing and the highest Level 6 in mathematics.  The standard of teaching in classrooms and small group and one-to-one activities is good.  Pupils with special educational needs make good progress because they are taught successfully.  Behaviour is good and pupils make everyone feel welcome.  Attendance is above average and has been for over three years.  Pupils say they enjoy coming to school and feel safe with all of the adults in school.  By improving teaching, leaders, especially the headteacher, are raising achievement.  Recent results show that standards are rising which demonstrates that this is an improving school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils do not have enough opportunity to respond and, therefore, to benefit fully from the comments made by teachers in their books.  Pupils are not clear enough about the standard at which they are working compared with what is expected for their age and how to improve.  Leaders, managers and teachers do not make as much use of the wide range of information that they rigorously gather to evaluate actions and check they increase pupils’ progress.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed seven lessons including parts of lessons. All teachers were observed at least once. One lesson was observed jointly with the headteacher.  The inspector met with staff, pupils and parents. He held a meeting with the Chair of the Governing Body and one other governor. He spoke on the telephone to a representative from the local authority.  The inspector took into account six staff questionnaires. There were not enough responses to the parental on-line questionnaire (Parent View) to be able to consider the views of parents from this.  The inspector talked with pupils in the playground and in classrooms and held a discussion with pupils in Key Stage 2. He listened to pupils read and observed them moving around inside and outside the school at different times of the day.  He observed the school’s work and considered a number of documents, including the school’s safeguarding and recruitment arrangements, evaluation of its performance, its improvement

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Information about this inspection

plan and minutes of governing body meetings. The inspector also reviewed the records of the actions carried out by the school to manage pupils’ behaviour.

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Inspection team

Jonathan Woodyatt, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The large majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is lower than in other schools. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is broadly average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium funding is lower than the national average. The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, children from service families and those children who are looked after by the local authority.  The school organises pupils into mixed year-group classes, because there are big differences in the size of groups entering the school in different years.  Since the last inspection, there have been two changes to the leadership of the governing body. The current Chair took up the post in September 2013.

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Information about this school

 The school is involved in the Dales Alliance, which is a partnership of local schools.  The school was flooded in summer 2012. Two of the three classes moved to temporary accommodation while repairs in the school took place from autumn 2012 to spring 2013.  The government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6, do not apply to this school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching and further raise standards in reading, writing and mathematics, by:  providing more planned opportunities for pupils to respond to the well-judged suggestions made in teachers’ marking  ensuring that pupils know what standard they are working at compared with what is expected for their age and checking that they know how to improve.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by ensuring that the extensive range of information gathered by leaders, managers and teachers is clearly presented and is scrutinised and evaluated to ensure activities are accelerating pupils’ progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children start in the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills that are broadly similar to those in other schools. However, although this is the case in the last two years, it varies from year to year due to the small numbers of pupils and their different starting points.  They make good progress in the Reception class because teaching ensures that their skills, such as in language, reading and physical activities are developed well. Children who start furthest behind quickly catch up.  Pupils progress well from Year 1 to Year 6 because of the overall good teaching in each class. Their achievement in reading, writing and mathematics is good. The results of national tests and more recent assessments in school show that the proportion of pupils who make the progress expected of them, and those who make more than this, is increasing.  The very small groups make comparisons of pupils’ attainment with national figures at the end

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The achievement of pupils is good

of Year 2 and Year 6 unreliable. Only four pupils in Year 6 took the national tests in 2013. The picture is more distorted because in Year 2 and Year 6 pupils also spent more than half a year in temporary classrooms. Losing all their books and resources due to flooding has had an impact on their test results. However, overall most pupils reach the level expected of them and more are reaching beyond this.  Reading is encouraged in each class and there is an excitement about reading amongst pupils. Those pupils with different levels of skill who read to the inspector are highly competent readers. They tackle new words with great confidence and older pupils clearly understand what they are reading and use these skills in other subjects.  In 2013, the national reading check of Year 1 pupils’ phonic skills (the knowledge of letters and sounds to help read unfamiliar words) showed that an above-average proportion of pupils

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The achievement of pupils is good

exceeded the levels expected for their age. This is a further improvement on the previous year.  The most-able pupils flourish in the school. They make good progress and reach their full potential. Test results show some success in reaching the very high Level 6.  The progress made by pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium, including those known to be eligible for free school meals, in Year 6 in 2013 clearly matches that of their classmates. This is because funding is allocated effectively: staff keep a close watch and pupils receive additional support which is well matched to their individual needs. There are too few pupils to reliably compare attainment with similar pupils in other schools.  Pupils who have special educational needs make good progress and achieve as well as similar pupils nationally, because their needs are identified accurately and suitable learning activities are

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The achievement of pupils is good

provided by teachers in the classrooms or in one-to-one activities with teaching assistants. This demonstrates that the school is fully committed to ensuring every pupil has an equal opportunity and that no pupil is discriminated against.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Most of the teaching seen by the inspector was good. Records of lessons observed by the school over time demonstrate that this is the norm for this school and that effective teaching ensures pupils make good progress.  Children have plenty of exciting resources and activities in the Early Years Foundation Stage, which ensure that they can learn new things and practise their skills regularly. Staff make sure children enjoy learning through a rich variety of activities. One of the many stimulating resources is the puppet theatre. This really promotes imagination and language. Children told the inspector about the fire-breathing dragons they had invented as part of their topic on dinosaurs.  The work set for pupils in lessons takes into account their different ages. For example, in a history lesson the teacher made good use of the school hall so that pupils from different year groups could spread out their work in their own spaces. Year 2 pupils were sorting pictures into

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The quality of teaching is good

different categories while Year 3 pupils selected words that described the pictures and were sorting them.  Writing and mathematics seen in pupils’ books clearly demonstrates that the different tasks provided by teachers meet their needs and help them to make good progress. This was very evident in Year 6 when the most-able pupils tackled complicated mathematics puzzles to further stretch their skills and extended their literacy skills by writing performance poetry.  Teaching assistants and other staff who visit the school, play a key role with supporting the development of pupils’ skills, such as reading and phonics. Work in the one-to-one or small group sessions provides well for pupils with activities are pitched at just the right level to move pupils’ learning forward rapidly.  Work in the pupils’ books is marked thoroughly. Detailed written comments and helpful advice are provided so that pupils know what to do to get their answers right. However, teachers do

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The quality of teaching is good

not always insist that pupils follow up on these helpful suggestions in order to further improve.  Opportunities are provided for pupils to know where they are up to in their learning and what aspects they are going to work on next. For example, in one class the pupils completed a chart to help them know what multiplication tables they were learning next and which ones they had already learned. However, in conversations with the inspector, not enough pupils are clear about their current standard when compared with what is expected for their age and were unsure about what they needed to do to improve.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They are very welcoming and friendly to each other, staff and visitors. While playing outside and during lunchtime they looked after each other and were quick to make sure that no-one was left out of their games or play activities.  Pupils are good at following instructions from adults and try hard to complete tasks that they are given because they have good attitudes to their learning. This is also evident in the way that they take care with their work, for example presenting their writing neatly in their books.  Pupils said that teachers and other staff are always around and this helps them to feel very safe in school. The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. For example, teachers oversee pupils by the doors when they arrive or leave. Parents and staff responses in conversations and surveys agree with this.  In conversations with the inspector, pupils know about the different types of bullying and said

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

that it rarely happens in the school. The school’s records show that there are no incidents of bullying or racist behaviour because the school’s systems for managing behaviour are highly effective.  Attendance is above the national average and has improved year-on-year for more than three years. The number of pupils who repeatedly miss school is low because teachers know the pupils and their families well and offer help when it is needed.  There have been no permanent and only one fixed-term exclusion in the last 10 years and staff are skilled in supporting the very few pupils who, on the very rare occasions, struggle to manage their own behaviour well enough.  During the inspection, pupils’ behaviour in lessons was at its best when the work thoroughly challenged them. Occasionally, pupils lose concentration and start to fidget and disrupt others around them. However, they quickly respond and regain concentration at the teachers’ request.

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The leadership and management are good

 The compassionate and hard-working headteacher is instrumental in ensuring that the school delivers the improving standards. She is highly versatile in her skills, for example, quickly moving the school to temporary classrooms when it was flooded so that standards would not slip back too far and providing support for staff and pupils who had lost all their work and resources.  The headteacher, governors and staff have an accurate view of how well the school is performing. There are clear plans to ensure that the school has appropriate next-steps in place to improve.  Monitoring of teaching is effective and has resolved most of its weaker aspects. Teachers have targets linked closely to rises in pay. As a result, staff know what they need to do and receive the right training to do it, for example, by learning from teachers in the partnership’s schools.  Middle leaders contribute well and are highly ambitious for pupils to succeed. These leaders also

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The leadership and management are good

make sure support for pupils in one-to-one groups or with teaching assistants benefits pupils well by regularly checking on the progress being made and amending learning when required.  Governors, leaders, managers and teachers have access to a wide range of information that they diligently collect on the school’s performance. However, the information is not always presented clearly enough for leaders to scrutinise and analyse closely so that they can identify how well activities impact on outcomes.  Parents are pleased with the way that the school supports their children. In conversations with the inspector, they commented on the support provided to help their children do well and are reassured that the school allows their children to flourish. Several parents said that they sent their children to this school because they felt the school would meet their needs, which they say it does.  The additional funding for primary school sport is being used well. The leaders have used it to

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The leadership and management are good

employ a sports coach to develop the staff’s and pupils’ skills and join a local school sports partnership to enable pupils to compete more with other schools. Year 6 pupils also go swimming.  A new curriculum was put in place last term, so it is too soon to measure accurately improvements in learning. It involves one literacy, numeracy, science, creative and sport day each week. Pupils say that that they value these changes and consider they sustain their concentration longer.  The curriculum is enhanced by an afternoon of music, dance and singing as well as learning languages, such as French. Pupils work outside as often as they can and go on visits, such as to a mosque, and residential activities, such as to the Lake District in Year 6.  Pupils gain a rich insight into other countries and cultures through activities such as the British Council Project, which in addition to the curriculum activities, enhances their spiritual, moral,

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The leadership and management are good

social and cultural development.  The local authority recognises that the school is well led by the headteacher and other leaders and provides basic support, which involves visiting the school three times per year.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is highly committed to making sure that the school keeps improving. Governors review data to compare how well the school is doing and so have a good knowledge of its performance. Governors have excellent relationships with the staff. They visit the school frequently and observe classroom activities for themselves. This means that they can talk about teaching and progress from their own knowledge and can identify what is or is not working well enough in order to make the necessary improvements. They have ensured that the headteacher’s targets are driving improvements and linked this to her pay. In addition, they have ensured that this is also the case for teachers. The recently appointed

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The leadership and management are good

Chair of the Governing Body is quickly building the skills she needs.  The governors have a clear view of the school’s finances and manage the budget well to reflect the changes in numbers of pupils entering the school. They carefully allocate the additional finances from the pupil premium and sport funding to make the best improvements for pupils. In conversation and in the minutes of meetings the governors were clear about what they were achieving with this money. They fulfil their statutory duties by meeting the required standards for safeguarding and recruitment.

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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 121401 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 440430

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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 5–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 60 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jane Morris Headteacher Angela Mundy Date of previous school inspection 9 June 2011 Telephone number 01423 780446 Fax number 01423 780446 Email address admin@summerbridge.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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