Threshfield School

Threshfield School Low Road, Threshfield, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 5NP

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Pupils’ achievement is not yet consistently good, particularly in Key Stage 2.  Too many pupils are leaving at the end of Year 6 not having reached the standards they are capable of, especially in mathematics.  Teaching is not consistently good or better and does not ensure that all pupils make good progress.  Teachers do not always check how well pupils are learning. In addition, they do not always reshape tasks quickly enough when it is clear that some pupils are having difficulties. This slows pupils’ learning.  Marking does not always help pupils to improve their work. Even where there are comments for improvement, teachers do not give sufficient opportunities for pupils to respond to them.  Teachers do not always pick up on poor presentation and handwriting. A few boys have untidy handwriting, which they themselves cannot read. This impacts negatively on their learning and progress.  Teachers in charge of subjects do not play a

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

large enough role in checking the learning and progress of pupils in their areas of responsibility.

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The school has the following strengths

 The Early Years Foundation Stage provides a good start to school. Children settle well and are very keen to learn.  Pupils are happy and feel very safe. Their behaviour is good.  The headteacher and governors have taken decisive action following the dip results at the end of Year 6 last year. Management of teaching has been effective and achievement is rising. The achievement of the most able pupils is good.  Governors support the school well and hold the school to account more rigorously for the progress pupils make.  The school is good at helping pupils to enhance their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Parents are positive about the school. They say that their children are safe and well looked after and the inspector agrees.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed 11 lessons, taught by three teachers, two of which were joint observations with the headteacher. In addition, the inspector made additional short visits to lessons and listened to pupils in Year 1 and Year 2 read.  The inspector examined information about current pupils’ learning and progress as well as learning and progress over time. The inspector also looked at work in pupils’ books.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, teachers, the Chair and vice-chair of Governors, the school council and a representative from the local authority. The inspector also talked to many pupils informally in class, at break and at lunchtimes.  The inspector looked at a range of documents, including those relating to safeguarding and child protection, the school development plans and also minutes of the governing body.  Records on attendance and behaviour were also scrutinised, along with information about the

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Information about this inspection

quality of teaching and the performance of staff.  The inspector took account of the 25 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and responses from eight members of staff.

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Inspection team

Alison Thomson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Threshfield is a much smaller than average-sized primary school.  Almost all pupils are from a White British background.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium is below average. The pupil premium is additional funding provided to support those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school means and those children who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportions of pupils who are supported at school action, school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs are above average.  Pupils are taught in three classes. Kingfishers comprises of pupils from the Early Years Foundation Stage, Year 1 and Year 2. Curlews comprises of Years 3 and 4. Red Kites comprises of Year 5 and 6.  In 2013 the school did not meet the government’s floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year

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Information about this school

6.  The number on roll is falling due to the low number of births in the area.  There has been a considerable turnover of staff at Key Stage 2.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it ensures all groups of pupils make consistently good or better progress, especially in mathematics and in Key Stage 2 by:  checking the learning of all pupils and reshaping tasks so that pupils learn more readily  marking pupils’ work with clear advice about how they can improve it  giving pupils opportunities to respond to that guidance  not accepting work that is illegible or poorly presented.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop the role of subject leaders to maximise the progress pupils make by ensuring that they:  have a clear overview of how well pupils across the school are doing in their areas of responsibility  check the quality of work and progress in pupils’ books.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Nationally published data and the school’s assessment data all indicate that progress made by pupils in Key Stage 2 is inconsistent. Inspection evidence on the progress of current pupils confirms this. As a result, achievement requires improvement.  Progress has improved substantially this year compared to the previous year, although there is still some lost ground to be made up for slower progress last year, particularly in mathematics. However, a daily before-school mathematics club, attended by all Years 5 and 6 pupils is helping to redress this deficit.  The achievement of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is improving, but still requires improvement. In 2013, the pupils in Year 6 who were known to be entitled to free school meals were about half a term behind their peers in reading, writing and mathematics. There is evidence from the school’s data and inspection evidence that this gap is closing.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The progress of pupils who have special educational needs also requires improvement. Occasionally, they find their work difficult to understand. Nevertheless, they tend to make progress in line with their peers because of the guidance of the learning support assistants.  The very small cohorts mean that children’s skills vary from year to year. Overall though, these are broadly as expected for their age when children enter the school. Achievement in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good, because of good teaching. This means that by the end of reception, children generally have a good level of development for their age.  Standards reached at the end of Key Stage 1 are routinely above average, with pupils making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. The school’s data, confirmed by the local authority, and inspection evidence confirm that progress continues to be good for all groups of

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

pupils in this key stage. Pupils use their good knowledge and understanding of letters and the sounds they make to read successfully. Time is given over to reading in all classes and pupils talk enthusiastically about the books that they have read.  The most able pupils make good progress throughout the school. This includes those pupils in Key Stage 2. The work they do challenges them to think deeply. For example, Year 5 and 6 were observed enthusiastically calculating the permutations for the number of people and photographs that might be taken when the Tour de France passes close to the school.  Sport has a high profile in the school helped by good use of the primary school sport funding. Pupils take part in many sporting events to a high standard.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because teachers do not always check how well each pupil is learning. Tasks are not reshaped quickly enough when pupils are struggling. This means that some pupils, particularly the less able and those with special educational needs do not make as much progress as they should do.  Marking is not of a consistently high quality. Some marking informs pupils about how they can improve their work, but too much in Key Stage 2 is superficial. Where there are comments that tell pupils how to improve, they are not always given enough opportunity to act upon the teacher’s advice. There are some very good examples, however, of where pupils have taken notice of the advice given. This was particularly apparent in some of the Key Stage 1 pupils’ work in literacy.  A few pupils, mainly boys, do not take enough care with their handwriting and with the presentation of the work. Teachers do not always pick up on this and this limits the progress of

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

some pupils as they cannot read or understand what they have written.  There is some good teaching in school that enables pupils to make good progress. This is particularly so of the more able pupils who relish work that gives them a challenge. Some teaching is skilful at making sure the needs of mixed age and mixed ability pupils are met well. Teaching assistants are deployed well to work with the pupils in small groups which enhances pupils’ progress.  Children in reception make good progress because teachers set work at the right level to meet their needs. Children were observed making good progress in numeracy when they were learning how to multiply. The teacher skilfully extended their learning in the outside area with an exciting range of tasks, such grouping and counting toy animals and painting groups of spiders.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 It is clear that pupils take a great pride in their school. It is well kept, classrooms are very tidy and it is virtually litter-free. One young pupil described the school as small and friendly whilst another said, ‘It’s just lovely’.  The behaviour of pupils is good. School records, the staff questionnaires and discussions of pupils show that this is the norm. Disruptions to lessons are very unusual, although a few pupils do have to be told off in lessons. This is usually when the work is too hard for them or they are unsure of what to do.  Pupils of all ages get on well with each other and are respectful towards adults and also to each other. Younger children take turns well when they are given a choice of activities. This even included handling the newly-hatched chicks the school was looking after.  Older pupils take on responsibility well, for example, by acting as monitors serving out the

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

lunches. The school council takes its role seriously and are proud of their many achievements, such as choosing and sourcing equipment for the playground.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils’ understanding of different forms of bullying, including racist bullying is evident. They say people do not fall out often and if some do, adults sort it out very quickly. Pupils feel safe, as they know adults take very good care of them and they are taught how to keep themselves safe.  Parents strongly agreed that their children feel safe, the school looks after them well and that behaviour is good.  Attendance is above average and pupils arrive to school on time.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leadership and management, including governance, are good because leaders and managers know the school’s areas to develop and are addressing them well. They have reacted very purposely and largely successfully to the dip in standards last year in Year 6.  Performance management of teaching is good. The headteacher keeps a very close eye on the quality of teaching. This has improved strongly as all teachers know clearly the areas of their teaching to improve and have acted swiftly to make their practice better.  There are improved systems to check how well pupils are progressing and these are leading to improved achievement because rapid action is taken if pupils fall behind.  Teachers in charge of subjects are becoming more involved in checking how well pupils are progressing. However, not all have a sufficiently clear overview of how the pupils are achieving across the whole school in their areas.

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The leadership and management are good

 Gaps between the performance of those pupils in receipt of the pupil premium funding are starting to close reflecting the school’s inclusiveness and equality of opportunity.  Staff are positive about all aspects of the school, including what the school is trying to achieve. They are very committed and give up their time willingly to offer a wide range of extra activities for the pupils out of school, such as attendance at a local carnival or residential visits.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through many activities, including daily assemblies and a strong link with a school in a town where there are many pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds. The inspector observed a senior resident teaching French to Reception children, immersing them in the language, as they all enjoyed a picnic, complete with baguette and chocolate spread.  All statutory requirements relating to safeguarding are met.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority is providing good support in helping the school to improve, for example, they have helped to improve the effectiveness of the governing body.  The governance of the school:  The governors are highly committed to the school and want the best for it. The Chair of Governors and the headteacher work well together and have successfully driven up achievement and the quality of teaching. Governors manage the budget well, including pupil premium funding. They undergo training, including training to understand data. This has enabled them to hold the school to account increasingly well for the performance of its pupils. They have a realistic view of the quality of teaching by coming into school regularly. They ensure that the pay of teachers is linked closely to their performance.

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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 121594 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 439913

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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 62 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mary Maxfield Headteacher Susan Payne Date of previous school inspection 25 May 2010 Telephone number 01756 752348 Fax number Not applicable Email address admin@threshfield.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 and 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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