Dunham-on-Trent CofE Primary School

Dunham-on-Trent CofE Primary School Laneham Road, Dunham-on-Trent, Newark, NG22 0UL

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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.  Pupils of all abilities make consistently good and often outstanding progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Standards are well above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics by the time pupils leave.  Teaching is good and some is outstanding. Relationships with the pupils are very effective and the pupils are eager to succeed.  The way subjects are taught is varied and interesting for the pupils and, as a result, they enjoy their learning.  Attendance has improved significantly and is now well above average.  The outstanding promotion of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development has created an ethos within school that encourages good behaviour and learning.  Behaviour is good because pupils get on well together and show respect. The pupils say that they feel safe at school and their parents unanimously agree.  The headteacher, staff and governors form a

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

strong leadership team, striving constantly for further improvements. Leaders have ensured the maintenance of good teaching and achievement.  Governance is good. Governors have attended training to improve their role and have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The accuracy of pupils’ spelling is not addressed consistently by staff and so is not as good as other aspects of literacy. Pupils have too few chances to practise spelling skills by writing at length.  Teachers’ marking does not give sufficient specific guidance to pupils on how to improve their work in literacy and mathematics.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed nine lessons or parts of lessons. All classes were observed at least twice. Four of the observations were undertaken jointly with the headteacher.  All staff, especially the headteacher and deputy headteacher, were involved in meetings with the inspector. Discussions also took place with groups of pupils and representatives of the governing body. A telephone conversation took place with the local authority’s adviser.  The inspector took account of the views of 21 parents from the online questionnaire (Parent View). Conversations were also held with parents at the start and end of the school day. The inspector also analysed the 12 questionnaires completed by staff.  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own data on pupils’ recent and current progress, planning and monitoring documentation, records relating to behaviour and attendance, documents relating to

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Information about this inspection

safeguarding, and the minutes of various meetings.

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Inspection team

Nigel Grimshaw, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The school population is almost entirely White British. There are currently no pupils who speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is well below average. This is additional funding provided to schools for children in the care of the local authority, those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and pupils with a parent in the armed forces.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is above the national average. There are currently no pupils supported at school action plus, or who have a statement of special educational needs.  The headteacher of Dunham-on-Trent Primary School provides support to a number of other local schools.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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Information about this school

for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  There is a privately run pre-school group that meets in a building on the school site. This will be subject to a separate inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of marking by:  checking that the teachers’ guidance for improving work is specific enough, in all year groups and in both literacy and mathematics, to help pupils move their learning forward  making sure that teachers allocate time for pupils to follow up on the marking guidance provided and so improve their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ spelling by:  making sure that errors in the spelling of commonly used words are consistently corrected by staff and followed up by pupils  making sure that pupils have more opportunities to practise their spelling by writing longer pieces of work independently.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ progress over recent years has been consistently good in reading, writing and mathematics. An analysis of the school’s own performance data shows that pupils continue to make consistently good or outstanding progress throughout the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 As a result of the consistently good progress, pupils’ attainment when they leave the school at the end of Year 6 is well above national averages in all subject areas. Standards are particularly strong in reading, where pupils reach levels of attainment well over a year ahead of national averages.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and knowledge that are variable but, overall, are below those typical for their age. They settle quickly into school life and routines. High expectations of working are established early and these are then carried with them during the rest of their time in the school. They make good progress in the Reception class.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 This good progress is now continuing at Key Stage 1 and the results at the end of Year 2 have shown an improving trend over the last two years. From the analysis of the pupils’ current work and the school’s own data, pupils in Year 2 are on track to reach levels above the national average this year.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress in Years 3 to 6 is well above national comparisons for all groups of pupils. The more able pupils achieve particularly well, and nearly a third of the Year 6 cohort attained Level 6 in mathematics last year. They respond well to challenging work that is set for them and this is very evident in their homework where they have the opportunity to research their own information and produce extended pieces of work.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs also achieve well-above comparative figures nationally because of the high quality support they receive, usually in small groups with well-trained staff.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils eligible for support from the pupil premium funding make similar progress to their classmates. However, the number of eligible pupils is very small and so it is not possible to comment on their attainment without identifying individuals.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In the national ‘English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Test’ for Year 6 pupils the results were disappointing last year. The school’s analysis identified this was because of weaker spelling. This view was supported by the scrutiny of pupils’ work undertaken during the inspection. The school has taken some steps to improve spelling but weaknesses remain. Common words are not always corrected when errors are evident and opportunities for pupils to practise their spelling are sometimes limited by the use of worksheets that do not require extended written answers.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The good teaching of phonics (how the letters in words represent different sounds) observed during the inspection is starting to make a greater impact on spelling. Checks of pupils’ phonics knowledge show that, at the end of Year 1, their skills are above average.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils say that they enjoy reading and most read for pleasure at home and in school. They are confident readers and are able to use phonics and the context of the story to read unfamiliar words and explain their meaning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The headteacher and all the staff are determined to maintain high standards of teaching and learning. Professional training to improve practice is high profile and valued by the staff. The school’s monitoring of results, lesson observations and pupils’ work over the last three years show that teaching is invariably good and often outstanding. The focus is clearly on how well teaching promotes pupils’ learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Excellent relationships within the school, and particularly between teachers and pupils, mean that the pupils are keen to do well and the staff are keen to help them achieve.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils have good attitudes to learning. Teachers support these by planning work that motivates the pupils and builds on their interests, particularly in their topic work that links subjects together exceptionally well and provides more relevance to the pupils’ learning. Consequently, pupils enjoy their work and this is shown by the high quality of work they achieve independently at home.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Resources within the school are used effectively, particularly information and communication technology. This was illustrated well in a Years 5 and 6 lesson, in which pupils were using their individual laptops to design logos for clothing that would be a key part of a forthcoming fashion show designed and run by the pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Well-trained teaching assistants make a valuable contribution to the good progress being made by the pupils throughout the school. They provide good support within classes and also in their work with individuals and small groups of pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 However, teachers’ marking does not give consistent or specific guidance to the pupils on how to improve their work. Often, this guidance is not provided regularly or it is too vague to be helpful in moving on learning. Teachers do not provide enough time for the pupils to respond to the marking, by making corrections or improving their work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Although improving, there are still weaknesses in the teaching of spelling.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils have targets to achieve in literacy and mathematics and they really like the challenge that these provide. The pupils often have good opportunities to use checklists to check on their own progress in lessons and that of their peers and they say that they find this very helpful.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils typically behave well in lessons and around the school. They are polite to each other as well as to adults and show high levels of respect, especially when listening to the views of others in lessons and in assemblies. They are confident and are keen to talk positively about the school and their pride in their work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils enjoy the opportunities to take on responsibilities. There is a thriving school council and many of the older pupils enjoy looking after the younger ones at break times and at lunchtimes.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 From conversations during the inspection, and from the outcomes of the staff and parent questionnaires, these views of behaviour are shared almost unanimously by everyone.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. From the outcomes of Parent View, every parent agreed that their children feel safe in school. However a small number of parents felt that the school could deal more effectively with bullying. From a review of the school’s records and from discussions with the pupils themselves, there was no evidence that appeared to support this view.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep safe and help others. They are familiar with different aspects of bullying, including safe use of the internet, and are confident that adults within school would deal with any concerns they may have.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance has improved this year as a result of rigorous efforts by the school’s leaders, including governors. Attendance had previously been in line with or just above the national averages but is currently well above average.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has developed a strong team ethic within the school with a clear focus on the quality of teaching and learning. The headteacher’s effective management of teachers’ performance over time has led to continued improvements and high standards of teaching.

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The leadership and management are good

 There is a detailed and comprehensive school development plan that is raising standards still further. Coupled with recent successes in raising attainment at Key Stage 1 and in improving still further the quality of teaching, the school has a strong capacity to continue to improve.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher is well supported by the teaching staff who all have leadership responsibilities and carry them out professionally. All staff undertake a broad range of monitoring practices that check on pupils’ attainment and progress. There is, therefore, a shared understanding of the strengths of the school and a joint determination to address any areas for improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 Information about pupils’ attainment and progress is used effectively to identify pupils who require additional support. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are well supported and make good progress. All pupils eligible for the pupil premium receive support and challenge to achieve their targets and they also make good progress. The support is provided in small groups and is focused on raising standards in literacy and mathematics.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school provides a varied and motivating range of subjects and activities, including a residential trip that took place the week before the inspection. Pupils were inspired to write interesting and informative reviews of the activities they had undertaken.

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The leadership and management are good

 The teaching of the different subjects has been well planned to make useful links between them so learning is more relevant for the pupils at this age. This was very evident when pupils were designing and making chariots as part of their topic work on ‘Romans,’ which included history, literacy, art and design and technology. They made excellent progress in many aspects of their learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 School leaders have carefully considered the use of the primary school sports funding. The school has already gained an excellent reputation for sports and has won many awards locally. The funding is now being used to enhance this, mainly through increased professional development opportunities for staff to broaden and strengthen their skills, so that they can improve the quality of teaching of sports skills for the pupils. The planned introduction of lacrosse as a result of the funding is another example of how the range of pupils’ skills is developing.  The success of the school has led to very few visits from the local authority but the staff have valued attending professional development opportunities provided through the local authority, such as network meetings for subject leaders.

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The leadership and management are good

 The outstanding promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is central to the philosophy of the school. There are strong links with the local church and pupils are also knowledgeable about other cultures. They have an excellent understanding of how to behave themselves and how to relate to others.

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The leadership and management are good

 Procedures to safeguard pupils fully meet current national requirements.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governance is good and has improved over time. Governors have been willing participants in training events that have improved their knowledge of their roles and responsibilities. Good links have been established between individual governors and teachers to focus on different aspects of the school’s work. They have an improved knowledge of the data available to them to check on pupils’ achievement. They have become more proactive in monitoring the work of the school and have, consequently, gained a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses. This includes a good overview of the quality of teaching. They are aware of the recent changes that have linked teachers’ performance and their pay but they are not all clear about the systems in place in the school to manage teachers’ performance. The governors have a good understanding of the pupil premium and sports funding and how these are being

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The leadership and management are good

used to improve standards. Governors are aware that pupils have equal access to activities and that the school tackles discrimination.

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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 122758 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 431225

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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 105 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Elizabeth Bakewell Headteacher Dorothy Hayes Date of previous school inspection 12 January 2009 Telephone number 01777 228383 Fax number 01777 229014 Email address office@dunham-on-trent.notts.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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