Gedney Drove End Primary School

Gedney Drove End Primary School Main Road, Gedney Drove End, Spalding, PE12 9PD

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Good leadership and management, particularly by the executive headteacher, have ensured improvements in teaching and rising standards over time.  Leaders have established a very positive ethos that reflects the values that are widely shared by staff, pupils and parents and the mutual support they offer each other.  Parents are very positive about the school. They appreciate the good teaching their children receive, and the way it keeps them safe and happy. All say they would recommend the school to others.  The school ensures pupils’ safety well, and promotes good behaviour and good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Attainment varies year-on-year due to the very small numbers in each year group. Currently, pupils attain above average standards in reading, mathematics and writing. The high quality of much of the work in books indicates that pupils throughout the school achieve well.  Teaching is consistently good. Leaders and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

governors systematically monitor the quality of teaching, ensuring it improves through the robust use of appraisal and the provision of good training opportunities. This has had a positive impact on pupils’ achievement.  The federation has enabled teachers to take advantage of the wide range of skills offered by the different groups of staff, and this has encouraged existing good practice to become more widespread.  All adults at the school are proud of their involvement in its success.  The governing body holds the school to account well and has worked effectively to enable the federation to be successful.  The Reception class provides children with a good start to their education. The well-planned activities provided for them prepare them well for their future schooling.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Higher attaining pupils are not always given tasks and activities that challenge them sufficiently.  Pupils do not take enough care with their handwriting and the neatness of their work.  Pupils’ spelling, punctuation and grammar are not as well developed as their other communication, reading and mathematical skills.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching in seven lessons or parts of lessons. A number of lessons were observed jointly with the head of school.  Meetings and discussions took place with the head of school and executive headteacher, a representative of the local authority, members of the governing body, staff, pupils and parents.  Samples of pupils’ work were examined, some with the head of school present, and several pupils read to the inspector.  The inspector took into account the 15 responses to the online parent survey, Parent View. The inspectors also talked to parents outside school and took account of the nine questionnaires completed by staff.  The inspector looked at a range of documents produced by the school, including data on pupils’ progress and attainment, procedures for safeguarding, the school’s own evaluations of its work, reports to the governing body and minutes of their meetings, and the action plans for raising attainment.

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Inspection team

Geof Timms, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Gedney Drove End Primary School is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The school is in a federation with two other local schools, Holbeach St Marks Church of England Primary School and Sutton Bridge Westmere Primary School. They share the same executive headteacher and governing body but have their own heads of school.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below average, at around 10%.  A broadly average proportion of pupils, around a third of the school, are disadvantaged and supported by the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals.  The school is too small to be included in the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The executive headteacher has been employed by the local authority to provide support to other schools.

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Information about this school

 Children attend the Early Years Foundation Stage provision in the Reception class on a full-time basis.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure all activities provide sufficient challenge for the most able pupils from the start of the lesson.  Raise standards in writing by:  improving pupils’ handwriting and the presentation of their work  improving pupils’ spelling, punctuation and grammar.

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The leadership and management are good

 Throughout the time that the school has been part of the federation, the executive headteacher has ensured that leadership and management remain strong. In addition, she has had a very positive impact on the school’s smooth running and strategic direction. She is well supported by the head of school who provides clear day-to-day leadership and very positive engagement with parents. Leaders have brought significant improvements to the quality of teaching and achievement and ensured that pupils behave well and thrive, both academically and personally.

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The leadership and management are good

 The monitoring of teaching, learning, attendance and behaviour is rigorous and leaders take swift action should any aspects of the school need attention. Subject leaders check the success of teaching across the federation in the areas for which they are responsible. They do this through a range of activities, including looking at pupils’ work and observing lessons. Leaders' skills are developing well through appropriate training.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s self-evaluation is detailed and accurately identifies the important issues which require further improvement. Well-focused improvement planning has enabled leaders to identify appropriate priorities, specific to the school as well as cross-federation issues, to build on the current strengths. As a result, there is a good capacity for the school to improve further. All staff share the headteacher’s ambition for the school’s continued improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 Staff make good use of available data to check how well individual pupils are making progress and to place them into the most appropriate teaching groups. For example, the school arranges for younger pupils, who are able mathematicians, to work with a group of older pupils whose skills are at the same level. Information about pupils’ achievement is carefully analysed by senior leaders and used in discussions with staff so any underachievement can be rapidly addressed. Internal, cross federation and external checks on teachers’ assessments of pupils’ work are carried out to confirm their accuracy. The school is preparing well for the removal of National Curriculum levels, and a new approach to assessing pupils’ progress is being discussed and shared across the federation.

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The leadership and management are good

 Training to improve teachers’ professional skills has been used effectively. For example, training designed to help teachers make links between different subjects has given pupils more opportunities to develop their skills by applying them to a wider variety of tasks and contexts.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has supported the school very well. Officers have supported the executive headteacher through the federation process and also made use of her leadership skills in other schools needing support. The local authority analyses data in detail, alongside the school, and has worked closely with the head of school to develop her leadership skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school ensures all pupils enjoy the same opportunities to succeed. Pupil premium funding is used well to help disadvantaged pupils play a full part in school life and benefit, where appropriate, from additional help from adults. The impact of this support is evident in the good progress being made by these pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 Good use is made of the extra funding available to promote physical education and sporting opportunities. Support for staff from a specialist coach is helping teachers develop their confidence and skills in a wider range of sports and is improving teaching.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum is wide ranging and well planned to ensure pupils can use their basic skills in a range of subjects. Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils are taught key values, which are emphasised throughout the school, such as tolerance and respect for others, and are given frequent opportunities to learn about other faiths and cultures. In this way, leaders ensure there is no discrimination and that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils from all schools in the federation were able to mix and work together, and learn about dance, foods and religious customs. The school provides a good range of clubs and extra-curricular activities which enhance pupils’ learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. This helps children make good progress. Effective use is made of resources, including the outdoor areas, and this is preparing children for the learning they will encounter further up the school very well.  The governance of the school:  The governing body carries out its statutory duties appropriately and provides good support and challenge for the school’s leaders. Governors have taken part in appropriate training with regard to safeguarding. More is planned to further their understanding of the available data on pupils’ performance. They are aware of priorities across the federation, such as the need to raise standards in writing.  Governors check the school’s work through well-planned visits. Members of the governing body know how good teaching is and check how well school leaders are improving its quality and impact. Decisions about teachers’ pay are appropriately linked to their performance and responsibilities.

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The leadership and management are good

 Governors track finances well and lead the school in deciding how to spend additional money, such as that to support disadvantaged pupils. They have a clear understanding of the impact of their decisions.  Together with leaders, governors ensure that all safeguarding requirements are fully met.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. This has a positive impact on their learning and progress. Pupils behave well in lessons and in other settings, such as at lunchtime and playtimes. Their behaviour in assembly is exemplary and they listen to each other speak with interest and very polite attentiveness.

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Behaviour

 Pupils talk enthusiastically about lessons and other aspects of school life. They clearly like school a lot. One pupil, expressing the views of many, said, ‘Teachers are really nice and lessons are fun’. Pupils show respect for the learning environment. They do not drop litter and they take pride in their work, although their handwriting and the care with which they set out their work out are not always as good as they should be.

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Behaviour

 Pupils’ response to the school’s expectations of their behaviour and social development is consistently good. Their horizons are widened through the good opportunities they are given to take responsibility, such as on the school council or as ‘Young Ambassadors’. They take their responsibilities very seriously and older pupils talked with real pride about their work to play sports with younger pupils to help ‘develop their determination’.

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Behaviour

 Pupils are very polite and interested in other people. They work together well and show a very caring and accepting nature. Pupils are very supportive of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Leaders and governors give high priority to the safeguarding of the pupils in their care.

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Safety

 Pupils say they feel safe in school, and the parents spoken to by the inspector and those who completed the online questionnaire confirmed this view. The school provides a good range of activities to help pupils learn to stay safe, and they are taught how to use computers and the internet safely.

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Safety

 Pupils demonstrate a clear understanding of different types of bullying. They say there is no bullying in school but that, if it occurred, they are confident it would be dealt with effectively. They say that there are adults in school they can trust and would talk to if they had any concerns or worries.

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Safety

 Attendance has risen consistently over the past three years and is now above average. Most parents appreciate the importance of their children’s full attendance. Pupils are punctual, both to school and to lessons.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The school’s monitoring and the evidence from a range of inspection activities show that teaching is at least good and sometimes outstanding. Teachers and teaching assistants form a good, effective team and this has a positive impact on pupils’ learning. Good teaching has resulted in pupils’ current good progress from their different starting points.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use assessment information to group pupils accurately and flexibly by ability, and this has a positive impact on their learning. They have responded well to recent changes to the National Curriculum and design activities carefully so that pupils are able to see the links between subjects. For instance, a very well-planned topic about an alchemist’s apprentice caught older pupils’ imagination and led to high quality work in art and design, literacy and mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers ensure that the learning environment throughout the school is always tidy, and it has been recently refurbished. Materials and resources are arranged so that they are easily accessible for pupils. The accommodation for the Reception children is particularly good, and all pupils benefit from bright and colourful classrooms. Displays of pupils’ work are used purposefully by teachers to support pupils’ learning, as well as to celebrate their work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils throughout the school talk positively about how they enjoy lessons. They describe the progress they have made and talk with pride about their work. For example, pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 talked knowledgeably and with pleasure about their literacy work based on the story about the Second World War, ‘Goodnight Mr Tom’.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Other adults provide good support for pupils, especially for the disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, and work closely with teachers so they understand what is expected. This helps all pupils to take a full and active part in lessons and school life.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The marking of pupils’ work is often good and makes clear exactly how they can improve or extend their learning. In one example, a Year 3 pupil, whose work had been carefully marked by her teachers, was able to extend and consolidate her learning well because of the clear guidance she had received. Older pupils have good opportunities to improve their written work through redrafting and self-correcting.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of reading, writing and mathematics has a positive impact on pupils’ achievement. However, not enough effort is put into improving pupils’ presentation skills and handwriting. Too little time is given to address weaknesses in their spelling, punctuation and grammar. In a small number of lessons, teachers do not provide sufficiently challenging work to extend pupils’ learning, particularly in the case of the most able; too frequently, pupils are given work they already know how to do before they are provided with more demanding activities.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The overall picture of attainment at the end of Year 6 varies year-on-year due to the small size of each year group. In 2014, Year 6 the results of pupils were above average in reading and almost as strong in mathematics. However, they were only broadly average in writing, including in spelling, punctuation and grammar.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress through Key Stage 2 in 2014 was broadly in line with that expected. It was not better because too few pupils reached levels higher than those expected. Current pupils, in contrast, are making good progress from their different starting points. This good achievement is evident in the school’s data showing progress throughout the school and is supported by the quality of the work in pupils’ books.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Recent improvements to the quality of teaching have resulted in improved progress for current pupils that is well above that expected in all year groups. For example, in Year 5 all of the pupils are making progress well above that expected in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Standards in the national tests at the end of Year 2 are broadly average. Progress has not been as strong as the school wanted and recent changes to staffing have had a rapid and very positive impact. Current Year 2 pupils are on track to achieve above average attainment in all three subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The results of the Year 1 check on pupils’ skills in phonics (how sounds in words are shown by different letter combinations) were well above average, and all of the pupils reached or exceeded the expected level. The pupils’ basic reading skills are good and this represents good progress given their starting points. Pupils develop into good readers with an interest in a range of books and they especially enjoy a wide range of fiction.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress in literacy and numeracy is good throughout the school. Pupils also achieve well in other subjects such as art and design, history, geography and science.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The number of disadvantaged pupils is too small for their attainment to be reported. However, the school works hard to identify any such pupils who have significant gaps in their knowledge and skills. These pupils are swiftly given support and consequently make progress that is at least in line with their classmates and often exceeds them.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Throughout the school, the most able pupils make the expected progress but too few reach the higher levels, especially in writing. The school is aware that more needs to be done to support the learning of the higher attaining pupils, both generally and in writing in particular.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress from their starting points because of the good teaching they receive and the effective additional help the school provides. Gaps in their knowledge and skills are steadily being reduced in all classes and year groups.

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The early years provision is good

 The numbers of children in Reception varies year-on-year. Currently there are only three but last year there were nine. They settle in well and quickly become used to the school’s routines. They start the day happily and productively, and enjoy sharing their learning with adults. For example, they talk very enthusiastically about the work on dinosaurs they are doing.

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The early years provision is good

 Children work and play cooperatively. They enjoy school and the range of activities provided for them. The staff plan activities to address recognised weaknesses well. As a result, the children in Reception frequently reach above-average levels of development by the end of the year. Children make good progress in all areas of learning in the Reception class.

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The early years provision is good

 The accommodation is used well by staff and enables children to learn well in all areas of learning. Well- designed adult-led activities are provided alongside tasks that the children choose for themselves. The staff have created a stimulating learning environment; all teaching spaces are rich in examples of the way that numbers can be used and the effective use of language. This provides effective support for children’s learning as well as celebrating their work.

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The early years provision is good

 Teaching is good. Assessment is detailed and the teacher has a good grasp of the available data on children’s progress. This is used effectively to plan the next steps that children need to take to move their learning on. All adults are involved in observing and recording children’s progress. This is done electronically, is very detailed and the outcomes are made accessible to all parents so that they are regularly informed about their children’s progress.

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The early years provision is good

 Good progress and standards are due to the leadership and management of the provision across the federation. Staff are very aware of each child’s prior knowledge and skills. Children’s good progress helps prepare them well for Year 1. They are clearly happy at school and are kept safe. Their behaviour is good and they are very enthusiastic learners.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 120410 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 453409

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 44 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Cooper Headteacher Karyn Wiles Date of previous school inspection 17 May 2012 Telephone number 01406 550242 Fax number 01406 550242 Email address enquiries@gedneydroveend.lincs.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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