Norbury CofE Primary School

Norbury CofE Primary School Lid Lane, Ashbourne, DE6 2EG

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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.  Good teaching enables the pupils to make good progress in reading, writing and science, and expected progress in mathematics.  The headteacher leads the school well and keeps the quality of teaching under constant review, which improves its quality.  Pupils behave well. They work and play cordially together and support one another. They have a good appreciation of how to keep themselves safe.  Pupils enjoy a wide range of learning experiences. They take on responsibilities, which extend their interests and help their social development. Pupils take pride in their achievements.  Staff work as an effective team and find it a privilege to teach at this friendly, family school. Staff are keen to be the best that they can be.  The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good and develops the pupils’ maturity.  The school links in well with the local community and church. Community members

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

are invited for lunch.  Governors visit regularly and are very involved with the school.  The large majority of parents are very supportive of the school and would recommend it to others.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils’ progress and attainment in mathematics are not as good as they are in reading and writing.  Staff who are responsible for subjects other than English, mathematics and science do not have the skills to oversee and develop the subjects for which they have responsibility.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching in 11 lessons or parts of lessons. Two observations were undertaken jointly with the headteacher.  Discussions took place with the headteacher, some other staff and two governors, including the Chair of the Governing Body.  The inspector had a meeting with a representative of the local authority’s advisory staff.  Pupils were heard reading and observations were made of the teaching of reading.  The inspector sampled pupils’ work in different year groups, examined records of pupils’ progress and read the school’s development plan. A range of other documentation was examined, including policies, practice and procedures that relate to safeguarding.  The views of staff were sought and 11 responded to a written questionnaire.  The inspector looked at the 45 responses from parents on Parent View, the government’s website for parents’ views about their children’s school.

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Inspection team

Peter Sudworth, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  There are three classes: Reception and Year 1 and 2 pupils, Years 3 and 4, and Years 5 and 6. Additional staffing allows for the formation of smaller group teaching in the Reception, Year 1 and 2 class.  All pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils who are supported by the pupil premium is lower than average. This is additional government funding for pupils who are looked after by the local authority, known to be eligible for free school meals or who have a parent in the armed forces.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported by school action and school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Apart from the headteacher, all teachers are part-time and teach their subject specialisms in

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ progress and attainment in mathematics by:  ensuring that the work pupils are given always builds on their previous knowledge  systematically teaching mental arithmetic skills throughout the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Provide guidance and training for staff who have responsibility for foundation subjects (subjects other than mathematics, English and science) to take forward their areas of responsibility.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Small numbers of pupils in any one year group mean that results vary from year to year dependent on the abilities of the group. The performance of any one pupil can significantly affect overall results. This is reflected, for example, in end of Key Stage 2 results which were above average in 2012 but broadly average in 2013, when the group contained pupils who had specific learning difficulties.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Results over time indicate that pupils make good progress overall in relation to their different starting points. This is confirmed by current pupils’ data, which indicate that all year groups in Key Stage 2 are currently making good progress. Progress is particularly good in reading, writing and science, although it is not as rapid in mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ attainment in the 2013 Year 1 screening check of pupils’ knowledge of phonics (the sounds letters make) was above the national average.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment ranges widely when the children start in the Reception class. At the end of the Reception Year in 2013, children were assessed as above average in their personal and social development and in their communication and language skills. Their progress was good. They made expected progress in other aspects of their learning. Pupils build well on the firm foundations laid in the Reception Year.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress in science because they have lots of opportunities to carry out investigations for themselves. Key Stage 1 pupils used a ramp and let toy cars run down it and checked to see if there was a relationship between raising the height of the ramp and the length the car travelled after reaching the bottom.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils develop speaking and listening skills well because the small groups in which they are taught enable them to develop confidence in speaking in front of others. They have regular opportunities to take part in discussions. In a Year 5 and 6 lesson, some pupils took on the role of characters in a book that they had studied while others asked them questions.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make similarly good rates of progress to other pupils. More-able pupils do particularly well in reading and writing and did better in 2013 than similar pupils nationally. However, their progress in mathematics was not as good.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupil premium funding has been spent on extra hours to support individual and small-group work. Its use ensures equal opportunities for all pupils. Pupils supported through this funding make the same good progress as their classmates. The very small number of pupils in Year 6 supported through the pupil premium means it is not possible to make comparisons between the attainment of this group of pupils and others.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use their specialist skills effectively to teach in different classes across the school and pupils benefit well from their varied expertise. Teachers manage the pupils well and respectful relationships between staff and pupils support a calm atmosphere in lessons which helps pupils to make good progress in their learning.  Teachers prepare lesson material effectively when planning for different ages and abilities. Learning resources are ready so that pupils can get on with their activities quickly when these begin.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Marking praises pupils for what they have done well and gives them suggestions for how to improve. Pupils know what they need to do to complete the level they are working towards because they are provided with information about this in language they can understand.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of reading is good. Teaching assistants are used well with small groups of pupils and individuals. This is particularly effective in the teaching of phonics so that pupils can work at their own level.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers explain to pupils what they will be learning about and indicate to them what they must do to be successful. This contributes to their good progress. Teachers have high expectations of how pupils should present their work and, consequently, it is neat and this contributes to accuracy.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Good use is made of computers and digital cameras. Pupils showed much confidence in a Year 3 and 4 lesson taking photographs of the surrounding landscape and using the images to trial descriptive sentences and to try out their own similes.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers do not give enough attention to teaching mental arithmetic skills in order to speed up pupils’ thinking in mathematics, and some pupils are too reliant on their fingers for calculating. Sometimes work in mathematics does not extend pupils’ learning enough because it does not build enough on what they already know.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In mathematics lessons, more-able pupils sometimes sit through explanations that cover what they already know instead of getting on with work more suited to their abilities.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils demonstrate good attitudes to learning in all classes and enjoy their work, which contributes to their good progress. They take pride in what they do. They are keen to do their best.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are polite. They are responsible at lunchtimes and fulfil their duties well, including entertaining visitors from the community to lunch.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ attendance is above average and pupils are punctual for school. They develop a good appreciation of moral values and spirituality through thoughtful acts of worship which interest them. They compose their own prayers.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school council is active and takes its duties seriously. Members consulted other pupils about equipment they would like for the playground and then organised cake sales and joke books to raise the money. Pupils also raise money to support a school in South Africa. The exchange of letters gives them a good understanding of the way that others live and the difficulties they face.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils state that behaviour is usually good but occasional silliness can creep in, especially when not being directly supervised. They state that there is no bullying. There have been no racist incidents. Behaviour logs indicate that behaviour is usually good.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Safeguarding arrangements fulfil current requirements.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils feel safe in school. One said, ‘The teachers look after us and they look out for us.’

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils know how to keep themselves safe out of school. They know what to do if they are the victim of cyber-bullying or if they see unsuitable material on the internet.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is well led and good progress has been made since the last inspection; for example, in analysing data and in raised expectations of the quantity of pupils’ work.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum gives pupils a broad range of experiences which develop both their academic attainment and also their social skills. For example, the residential visits and good range of extra-curricular activities help to widen pupils’ interests. Good attention is paid to basic skills, although the school recognises more refinements are needed to the teaching of mathematics, including the teaching of mental mathematics.

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The leadership and management are good

 Reviews of staff performance are arranged well and based on the Teachers’ Standards. Leaders and staff are easily able to measure their progress towards the targets because these are linked to statistical data.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher uses a range of methods to check the quality of teaching, such as looking at pupils’ work books and observing lessons. These help to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 The primary sports funding has been spent on a sports coach and a local schools’ sporting network, both of which have contributed to a greater involvement of pupils in sport through a greater range of activities.

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The leadership and management are good

 Some subject leaders fulfil their duties well but staff responsible for foundation subjects are not as confident as others in managing and driving improvements in the subjects for which they have responsibility because they have not developed these specific skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school development plan has the correct priorities to improve the school further and actions are listed but it is not easy for leaders and governors to identify how success will be measured because the priorities are not linked sufficiently to attainment and rates of progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has worked effectively with the school and contributed well to the improvements made through its advisory support.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors understand the school’s strengths and know where improvements can still be made. They have a good range of expertise and are both supportive and challenging of school leaders. They have a good understanding of data so that they can ask questions about the pupils’ progress.  Governors were involved in the arrangements to spend the pupil premium allocation and the sports grant and are aware of the positive impact these have had.  Their visits to school to review aspects of development enable governors to gain a good grasp of teaching quality. They are familiar with the arrangements for the review of teachers’ performance, the link to the Teachers’ Standards and to pay.

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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 112845 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 430687

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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 59 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Brown Headteacher Karen Forrest Date of previous school inspection 30 March 2011 Telephone number 01335 324337 Fax number 01335 324337 Email address info@norbury.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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