Ferryhill Station Primary School

Ferryhill Station Primary School Ferryhill Station, Ferryhill, County Durham, DL17 0DB

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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 Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils make good progress to reach average standards in writing and above average standards in reading and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  Achievement in mathematics is outstanding. Pupils use their mathematical skills to solve problems and to support their work exceptionally well in other subjects such as science.  The quality of teaching is good. Interesting activities help pupils to build their skills and understanding in order to make good progress.  Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding. Their behaviour is exemplary in lessons and around the school. They are happy, polite, confident and considerate.  Pupils feel safe and the school’s procedures for keeping them safe are outstanding. Poor behaviour and bullying are rare. If they do happen they are dealt with quickly and effectively.  Parents have high levels of confidence in the school. They describe it as a lovely, friendly school where there are never any problems.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher are held in high regard by pupils, parents and staff alike. They are determined that all pupils will enjoy school and achieve well. Governors have a good knowledge about how well the school is doing because they visit regularly.  Good leadership at all levels, combined with good management and governance, is ensuring improving achievement, rising standards and good teaching.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The quality of teaching is good rather than outstanding. Work does not always challenge the most able pupils. Marking and feedback are not yet consistently effective in helping pupils to make the best possible progress.  Achievement in writing is lower than it is in reading and mathematics, particularly for boys who are not reaching above average levels. Pupils do not write regularly at length.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed five part- lessons taught by five teachers, as well as making several shorter visits to classrooms and checking pupils’ work. Some of these activities were carried out jointly with senior leaders.  The inspector talked with pupils at break and lunchtimes, and heard others in Years 1, 2 and 6 read.  The views of 10 parents who responded to the online questionnaire (Parent View) were taken into account. The inspector also talked with parents informally at the start of the school day.  Inspectors met with senior and middle leaders, teachers, members of the governing body and spoke on the telephone to a representative of the local authority.  The school’s improvement plan and records of pupils’ achievement, records of the quality of teaching, pupils’ behaviour and safeguarding were examined.  Sixteen staff submitted their views via a questionnaire and the inspector took these into account.

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Inspection team

Christine Cottam, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Ferryhill Station is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is much higher than the national average. The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those children who are looked after by the local authority.  All pupils are of White British heritage and speak English as their first language.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is higher than that found nationally. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is higher than that found nationally.  The school meets the current floor standards, which are the government’s minimum expectations for attainment and progress in English and mathematics at the end of Year 6.  The school has a range of awards including a Young Carers award, and has recognition of

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Information about this school

commitment by UNICEF as a Rights Respecting School.  The school used to cater for pupils aged four to 11, but has been admitting three-year-olds since the closure of the local Sure Start children’s centre in February 2014.  A higher than average number of pupils join or leave the school partway through the primary phase.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ progress in writing so that a greater proportion makes at least the progress expected and more boys reach higher levels by ensuring pupils use their skills to write at length.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it is outstanding by:  ensuring work challenges the most able pupils, particularly in writing  making sure pupils know precisely what they need to do to improve  ensuring pupils respond to teachers’ feedback.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress because the quality of teaching is good in all key stages.  Children enter the Reception Year with skills and abilities that are well below those typical for their age. They make good progress so that about half have reached a good level of development by the time they start Year 1.  The school has recently admitted nursery-age children for the first time. These children have settled in well but have only been in school for four months so that it is not possible to assess the extent of their progress yet.  Pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics in Key Stage 1. Standards have risen since 2013 so that pupils are now reaching the levels expected for their age by the end of Year 2.  Pupils make good progress in reading and mathematics in Key Stage 2 to reach above average standards by the end of Year 6. Pupils’ progress is improving in writing, so that attainment is

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The achievement of pupils is good

now much closer to the national average. However, the attainment of boys in writing is lower than that of girls and is below average.  The most able pupils do not always work on sufficiently challenging activities and so too few reach above-average levels. This is particularly the case in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. It is also true of writing in Key Stage 2.  Children learn their letters and sounds extremely well from a young age. As a result, the vast majority reach the expected standard in the national phonics screening check at the end of Year 1. Pupils continue to make good progress in reading throughout the school. They enjoy reading a wide range of books and other material and older pupils can discuss with confidence their favourite authors.  Achievement in mathematics is outstanding because pupils make good progress in Key Stage 1 and outstanding progress in Key Stage 2. Pupils can use their skills and understanding to solve

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The achievement of pupils is good

problems in mathematics and to interpret their findings in science investigations.  Pupils make good progress in their handwriting, grammar, punctuation and spelling because they practise frequently. Year 6 pupils were particularly animated about writing with a real-life author, editor, illustrator and dramatist. Pupils said they were able to ‘let their minds take over’ and felt ‘writing stories was fun’. Pupils do not use regularly their skills in longer pieces of writing in their English lessons.  Pupils make good progress in other subjects, in particular science. They carry out frequent investigations and learn about the world around them.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress to reach higher levels than similar pupils nationally.  Pupils supported by the pupil premium make good progress. This group includes those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals. There were too few pupils who were not eligible for

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The achievement of pupils is good

the pupil premium in Year 6 in 2013 to make any meaningful comparisons. Those pupils known to be eligible for this support in the current Year 6 are approximately one term behind other pupils in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers plan activities that interest pupils; as pupils told the inspector, ‘the teachers make our learning fun’. As a result, pupils develop a love of learning in a broad range of subjects and work hard in lessons.  Teachers explain carefully what pupils need to do and often model examples for pupils to follow. This helps pupils to approach their work with confidence and make good progress.  Teaching assistants are deployed effectively. This is particularly the case where they are teaching specific literacy programmes to small groups of pupils. They have received good training to help them do this well.  Teachers encourage pupils to read and practise their spellings and mathematics at home. They provide good support so that parents can help their children. For example, there is a lending system for mathematics games in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  Mathematics is taught particularly effectively. This is because teachers have good subject

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The quality of teaching is good

knowledge and include lots of appropriate practical activities which develop pupils’ understanding. Pupils develop their problem-solving skills well.  Teachers assess pupils’ understanding regularly and accurately. They do this by marking pupils’ work and asking questions in class. Teachers use the information they gain from these assessments to make sure that the work set is matched well to the ability of different groups of pupils. Even so, there are times when the most able are not challenged sufficiently well.  Teachers mark pupils’ work extensively and usually give them useful feedback to try to improve their skills and understanding. There are occasions where teachers give pupils further activities to help to improve their understanding, but pupils either do not know how to respond or they have not been expected to do so.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  Pupils are delightfully friendly, polite and caring towards each other, adults and visitors. They are universally proud of their school and say, ‘this is the best school ever’.  Behaviour is equally excellent in lessons and at play and lunchtimes. There are ‘playground pals’ in every year group and a ‘friendship stop’ so that pupils always have someone to play with.  The school is working towards being a UNICEF ‘Rights Respecting School’ and this is absolutely evident in every classroom. There are high levels of mutual respect between adults and pupils with a charter that sets out high expectations for behaviour and relationships. Pupils thrive in this harmonious atmosphere.  Pupils have many opportunities to take responsibility for themselves and others. For example, older pupils run the school library and help nursery children to wash their hands at lunchtimes. A

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

number of pupils are ‘young carers’ and the school has gained recognition for its work with these pupils.  Pupils take pride in their work. They live up to the high expectations of their teachers, work hard in lessons and produce work that is beautifully presented.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding.  Pupils say they feel safe and know how to stay safe, for example on the internet. They say that bullying just does not happen here because everyone takes care of each other. Pupils who are new to the school say they are made to feel welcome because other children are friendly towards them.  Parents have high levels of confidence that the school keeps their children safe. They describe the school as safe, secure and caring. Records show that the school takes extensive steps to ensure the safety of pupils.  Attendance is above average, reflecting pupils’ keen enjoyment of school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and governors are ambitious and dedicated; they put pupils at the heart of everything they do. Leaders are relentless in their approach to promoting equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination. This drive is shared by all who work in the school.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher work closely together to carefully check the work of teachers. They give teachers good advice and opportunities for further training to help them to improve. As a result, the quality of teaching is always consistently good or better.  Leaders at all levels check the progress pupils are making and take rapid action if any fall behind. As a result, pupils make good progress and standards are rising.  Where there are any weaknesses, for example writing standards are lower than they are in reading, then leaders have detailed plans and regularly check progress in these areas to make sure they are improving.

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The leadership and management are good

 Middle leaders are knowledgeable and determined. All teachers lead a number of subjects. Their enthusiastic approach helps to keep all staff up to date. Teachers check pupils’ work in their subjects and take action to ensure it improves.  Parents hold the school in very high regard. All parents who responded to Parent View say they would recommend the school to another parent. One parent told the inspector: ‘I chose this school because it is run very well and there are high levels of empathy and care.’  Pupils have excellent opportunities to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding through a rich and varied curriculum. For example, the whole school spent a day looking at traditional tales. Older pupils enjoyed planning the case for the prosecution and defence of the ‘Big, Bad, Wolf’ and then putting him on trial.  The primary school sport funding has been used effectively to extend the range of sports

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The leadership and management are good

available and provide more competitive opportunities through a local sports partnership. In addition, pupils have greater access to lunchtime and after-school sporting activities.  The school is a caring, safe environment where safeguarding practices meet statutory requirements.  The local authority provides good support through a school improvement professional who visits the school regularly and reports directly to the governing body.  The governance of the school:  Governors share the ambition and enthusiasm of senior leaders. They are caring and professional in their approach.  Governors have an excellent knowledge of pupils’ achievement data because they have been trained by the local authority and are kept well informed by senior leaders.  Governors know about the quality of teaching because they regularly visit the school and spend time in classrooms. They are provided with good information about the performance of

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The leadership and management are good

teachers and use this to ensure teachers are rewarded where appropriate.  Governors ensure funding, such as the pupil premium, is used effectively so that the gaps in pupils’ attainment are closing.

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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 114078 Local authority Durham Inspection number 431328

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 85 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair D Evans Headteacher V Jago Date of previous school inspection 30 June 2009 Telephone number 01740 651291 Fax number 01740 655040 Email address ferryhillstation@durhamlearning.net 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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