Neatishead Church of England Primary School

Neatishead Church of England Primary School School Road, Neatishead, Norwich, NR12 8XN

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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.  Since the last inspection, the headteacher has successfully improved the progress pupils make so that it is now good in all subjects.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs achieve well and are making good progress.  Pupils enjoy school and feel safe. Behaviour in class and around school is good.  Pupils’ attendance is above average.  Leaders have successfully improved the quality of teaching for all pupils, so that it is good.  Teaching assistants provide valuable support in lessons, so that all pupils can make good progress.  Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals achieve well.  The early teaching of letters and sounds to young pupils helps them to quickly learn to read and write.  Teachers know how well pupils are doing and what they need to improve on next. They use this information to plan activities at just the right level to help pupils learn quickly.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The quality of pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is outstanding. Pupils show considerable care for one another.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils do not yet make consistently outstanding progress in reading, writing or mathematics in Key Stage 2.  Pupils are not fully attentive in all lessons and marking does not provide enough guidance so that pupils can move on rapidly in their learning.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed seven lessons or part lessons, including time spent in brief observations in every classroom with the headteacher. In addition, the inspectors made a number of shorter visits to lessons, looked in on pupils during lunchtime and visited break times.  The inspectors heard pupils read and looked closely at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors looked at a wide range of school documents, including development plans, policies, the school’s self-evaluation report, monitoring files and safeguarding files.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, teachers and representatives of the governing body. A telephone call was held with a representative of the local authority.  Ten responses from parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire (Parent View) were considered. Inspectors also spoke with several parents in the playground.

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Inspection team

Duncan Ramsey, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Ken Parry Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Because of its size, pupils learn in two classes with four age groups in each.  The school has recently federated with Salhouse Primary School, sharing one headteacher and one governing body.  Most pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is very low.  A below-average proportion of the pupils are eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in local authority care and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is below average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also below average.  In the recent past, a relatively high proportion of pupils have joined the school partway through the year.  There were too few pupils in Year 6 in 2013 for the government’s floor standards to be

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Information about this school

applicable.  The school has experienced a number of staff changes over the past year. It now has a stable complement of staff who have been in place since September 2013.  A nursery shares the school site, but it is independently managed and is inspected separately.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further accelerate pupils’ progress in both classes by:  providing all pupils with constructive feedback through marking that shows them what they need to do to improve their work  ensuring that pupils are interested and engaged in lessons.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children start in the first class with skills that are broadly typical for those of their age group. They enjoy being with the Key Stage 1 pupils and benefit from teaching that helps them to make good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Effective support is given to pupils who join school partway through Key Stages 1 or 2 so that they make good progress. Pupils are assessed quickly so that they are given appropriately challenging work as soon as possible. Additional adult support is provided where extra help is needed.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In the Year 1 national screening check in phonics (letters and sounds) in 2013, all the pupils met or exceeded the nationally expected standard. This was because pupils were set work at a challenging level so that their progress was good. Lessons are made enjoyable so that pupils are enthusiastic to learn new sounds and words.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Reading is taught well throughout the school. In 2013, pupils left with reading and writing levels which were the equivalent of around 18 months ahead of the national average. Pupils of all ages express their enthusiasm for reading.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils are achieving levels above their peers nationally. Pupils make good progress because teachers have high expectations of what pupils can do. They set them challenging work which is appropriate to their abilities and each year group within the mixed- aged classes.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Good progress continues in Key Stage 2. In the 2013 national tests, pupils were a year ahead of the nationally expected level. They performed particularly well in reading and writing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Inspectors’ observations in lessons and of pupils’ work, and the school’s own information, show that this pattern of high attainment is set to continue. The quality of work in English and mathematics books is good. Pupils take pride in their work and the presentation is neat and tidy.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress. They are doing well because of effective and targeted teaching and the use of additional adults. The frequent use of small groups means that pupils get a high level of attention which helps them learn quickly. The additional adults are skilful at using questions to help pupils think more deeply.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils whose circumstances mean they are at risk of not doing well and those who need extra help make good progress. Once again this is because of well focused teaching and effective use of additional adults who have high expectations for their performance.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupil premium funding is being used effectively. It ensures small mathematics groups, improves support for language development, and provides extra teaching assistants and support for emotional needs so that the eligible pupils make good progress throughout the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Since the last inspection, the school has successfully focused on improving the consistency of teaching. As a result, teaching is never less than good in all subjects.

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The quality of teaching is good

 One of the key reasons for the recent rapid improvement in this school since its last inspection is the high expectations that all teachers have of what pupils can achieve. Teachers use information from regular assessments to plan their work for different year groups. This means that pupils’ work is almost always challenging enough to secure good rates of progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use questions effectively in class to help pupils think more deeply about their learning. In a lesson about volcanoes, the teacher skilfully questioned pupils in different year groups so that they could all learn at the correct level.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Younger pupils in the mixed-age classes who are particularly able are often given work at higher levels so that many are on target to reach the highest levels of attainment by Year 6.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Reception children in the first class achieve well. They enjoy working with the older pupils and have activities planned at the right level of difficulty for their needs and abilities because assessments are very accurate. The outside environment is used effectively to help children learn well. A range of purposeful activities for children include those for developing their physical abilities and encouraging their literacy and counting skills.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress because pupils are given work at just the right level to make good progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of letters and sounds is good. The work is planned thoroughly, with pupils being split into groups depending upon their ability. This means that all pupils are provided with work at an appropriately challenging level.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In some cases, marking gives pupils detailed feedback explaining what they need to do in order to improve their work, but this is not consistent across all year groups. Feedback to older pupils does not give them enough guidance on the quality of their work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Where teaching is most effective, pupils concentrate hard for long periods of time. This is when pupils find their learning interesting and relevant and they make good and often rapid progress. In a mathematics lesson about angles, the teacher started by providing a lively review of angles which enthused pupils to deepen their understanding. They kept working hard on their activities until the end of the lesson. This is not always a key feature in teaching.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They enjoy coming to school and have very positive attitudes to learning. They are polite to one another and respectful to adults. Pupils say that lessons are fun.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils all get on well together. Older ones play with younger ones. There is no discrimination as all pupils are treated equally.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Occasionally, the rate of learning slows in some lessons when pupils call out or do not give their full attention to the teacher.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The attendance of pupils is better than average and there is very little persistent absence.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. The school meets all safeguarding requirements, ensures pupils are kept safe, and makes certain staff appointments are carried out correctly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe in school and know about different types of bullying and how to deal with it. They have a good understanding of how to stay safe when using the internet.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say there is no bullying of any kind and that adults are always available to help sort out any problems.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Good support is given to pupils who join school part way through the year. One parent said, ‘My child has just joined school and I’m absolutely thrilled with the school.’

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Almost all parents and carers who responded to the survey agreed that their children are happy, behave well and that the school keeps their children safe. Pupils, too, say they are looked after well.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher’s strong desire to improve the quality of learning for all pupils has helped to drive the many improvements since the last inspection. There has been a dramatic rise in the quality of teaching, the progress pupils make, and the expectations of what can be achieved. The team spirit amongst staff is excellent and there is a clear and determined focus to keep improving.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum has been developed so that standards in a wide number of subjects are good or better. The quality of music and sports is good. During the inspection, pupils were heard to sing tunefully, and they perform two-part harmonies. Sports teams compete enthusiastically with schools that are much larger, and pupils show a good level of skill. Links are often made to literacy and numeracy in other subjects so that pupils make rapid progress in lessons.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has developed good systems to check the progress that pupils are making. Self- evaluation is accurate and clear targets for improvements are set.

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The leadership and management are good

 Subject leaders across the federation provide good leadership. Standards are rising in all subjects because of clear targets being set for all pupils to make good or better progress. Staff development provides effective training for teachers to keep on improving, and subject leaders have a clear vision of how they want to improve their subjects so that they become outstanding.

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The leadership and management are good

 Arrangements for checking the performance of teachers are good and are linked to the national Teachers’ Standards. Objectives set for teachers are also linked to pupils’ progress and specific targets in the whole-school development plan.

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The leadership and management are good

 The extra funding for primary school sports has been used to increase participation in a wide range of activities such as extra-curricular sports. The impact of this is greater enjoyment and better fitness levels for most pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Pupils show high levels of respect for one another and take considerable pride in the responsibilities they have. They behave well on school trips. They look after the school environment well. They respond well to times of reflection in class and in acts of worship. The school effectively supports the cultural development of pupils through teaching that includes learning about other countries such as China, and developing a greater understanding of life in British cities. The quality of relationships is outstanding. Older pupils show high levels of care for the younger one and have developed impressive maturity in the way they deal with each other and adults.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has made a positive contribution to school improvements through regular support that involves a high level of challenge. In addition, two local leaders of education have worked in partnership with the headteacher to support the rapid improvements that have been made.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body has undergone considerable change during the formation of a two- school federation. The governing body is now settled. Governors ensure that all policies and procedures are up to date, including those relating to safeguarding requirements. The school website complies with requirements. Governors visit the school regularly, and the results of these visits are presented to the whole governing body. Governors have adapted the school development plan to include more challenging and focused targets for the standards that should be achieved in each area. Governors have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school and understand the quality of teaching well. The financial management of the school is good, and effective use is made of the pupil premium money to ensure good progress for eligible pupils. Governors are aware of its use and monitor its

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The leadership and management are good

impact on a termly basis. Governors have a good understanding of the link between the performance of teachers and the progress pupils make. They check that teachers’ pay reflects this.

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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 121090 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 432099

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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 41 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Peter Jefford Headteacher Karen Dukes Date of previous school inspection 4 October 2012 Telephone number 01692 630241 Fax number 01692 630241 Email address office@neatishead.norfolk.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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