North Wheatley Church of England Primary School

North Wheatley Church of England Primary School Sturton Road, South Wheatley, Retford, DN22 9DH

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Early years provision Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Outstanding leadership by the headteacher and subject leaders, with strong support and challenge from the governing body, is enabling the school to improve since its previous inspection.  Leaders and governors make sure that teaching and achievement are outstanding. They have fully implemented the new curriculum and systems for assessment and ensure all pupils make at least good progress in literacy and numeracy.  Leaders are promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, including understanding of British values, exceptionally well.  Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and throughout the school is outstanding. They greatly enjoy school and have excellent attitudes to learning. This is seen in their high attendance and in the great pride they take in their work.  Pupils feel very safe in school because staff and governors are very effective in ensuring their safety.  Teachers have good subject knowledge and set

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

consistently high expectations for learning. As a result, pupils do their very best and acquire new knowledge, skills and understanding rapidly.  Teachers make excellent use of well-chosen resources to stimulate learning and set regular homework to consolidate pupils’ new knowledge, skills and understanding.  Teaching assistants provide consistently good support for learning and behaviour.  Pupils throughout the school are making outstanding progress in reading, writing and mathematics. The grammar, punctuation and spelling and mental mathematics skills, of a very few pupils, are slightly less strong than their other skills.  The very few disadvantaged pupils make the same excellent progress as their classmates in reading, writing and mathematics.  The early years provision is exceptionally well led. As a result, links with parents are excellent, and provision is outstanding. All children of Nursery and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

Reception age are very happy, safe and settled in school and make outstanding progress.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector visited nine lessons to look at the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning. All teachers were seen and nearly all observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher.  The inspector heard a few pupils read and looked at samples of pupils’ work across the school, including from the early years provision.  The inspector met with the headteacher, the leader of the Early Years Foundation Stage, subject leaders, four members of the governing body and a group of eight pupils from Key Stages 1 and 2. He held informal discussions with different pupils at break time and lunchtime. The inspector also carried out a telephone discussion with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector took account of parents’ views. The 34 responses to the school’s most recent survey of parents and the 54 responses to Parent View (the online questionnaire for parents) were considered. He held informal discussions with six parents who worked with children in the early years provision. The

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Information about this inspection

inspector also considered written responses submitted by parents.  The inspector took account of the 45 responses to the school’s most recent survey of pupils’ views and examined the 12 completed questionnaires returned by staff.  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documentation, including: the school’s evaluation of its work; the school development plan; minutes of governing body meetings; safeguarding policies; records of behaviour and attendance; minutes of governing body meetings; information about children’s progress in the early years provision and information about pupils’ progress throughout the school over time.

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Inspection team

Declan McCarthy, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is much smaller than the average primary school.  Most pupils are of White British heritage and a few are at an early stage of learning English.  A much lower proportion of pupils are eligible for the pupil premium than in most schools. The pupil premium provides funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those in care.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is below average.  The numbers of pupils in Year 6 in 2014 were too few to report reliably on whether the school reached the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The children of Nursery age in the early years provision attend part time and those of Reception age attend full time.  More pupils than in most schools join the school throughout term time.  The school received an interim assessment by Ofsted in June 2013, which stated that good performance

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Information about this school

had been sustained.  In April 2014, the school introduced before- and after-school clubs.  Since the last inspection, the school has become a teacher-training school with Bishop Grosseteste University and Activemark. The school is also a member of the Cotgrave Candleby Lane Teaching School Alliance. The headteacher has undertaken school-to-school support work on behalf of the local authority.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Sustain high-quality teaching and learning in literacy and numeracy across the school, so that more pupils reach the highest levels of attainment by making sure:  subject leaders fully apply the strategies to improve pupils’ attainment in grammar, punctuation and spelling and their mental fluency in mathematics.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Under the inspired leadership of the headteacher with excellent support from other leaders, teaching, learning and achievement have improved from good to outstanding. Leaders, with strong support from governors, have created a culture where outstanding teaching and pupils’ positive behaviour thrive. As a result, the school has improved considerably since its previous inspection.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Improvement is focused on the most important priorities for development because leaders and governors have an accurate view of school performance. They use the information from rigorous monitoring to ensure teaching, pupils’ achievement and their behaviour remain key priorities. The result is exceptional performance in all areas.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Leadership of teaching is outstanding. Leaders use a highly accurate analysis of the impact of teaching on the learning of all pupils effectively so as to improve it. Every teacher is observed termly. Leaders apply robust criteria to determine the impact of their teaching on pupils’ learning. This information is used alongside the findings from thorough examination of pupils’ work and the termly review of the progress every pupil makes. As a result, leaders’ evaluation of strengths and areas for development in teaching is accurate and improvement in teachers’ practice is well directed.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Leaders rigorously challenge any underperformance in teaching and deal with it effectively to ensure its quality remains high. Staff training is closely linked to the school development plan and the system for managing staff performance. Consequently, all staff, particularly newly qualified teachers and those new to the school, benefit from excellent support and guidance from leaders to improve their practice.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Subject leaders are very effective in ensuring subject provision is outstanding by supporting and guiding staff to give pupils the best teaching and learning opportunities possible. These leaders’ rigorous monitoring and support for staff contribute greatly to sustaining the high quality of teaching across the school.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The early years provision is exceptionally well led and managed. As a result, very strong links with parents and excellent teaching and support combine to ensure successful learning and the well-being of all children of Nursery and Reception ages.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The new curriculum gives strong emphasis to developing reading, writing and mathematical skills. New strategies to develop pupils’ use of grammar, punctuation and spelling and mental fluency in mathematics are raising achievement, but have not yet resulted in increasing the proportion of pupils reaching the very highest levels of attainment in writing and mathematics.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 New systems of assessment to complement the new curriculum determine how well pupils are acquiring knowledge, skills and understanding. Good tracking of the progress for every pupil in each subject ensures that any pupil found to be underachieving can be readily supported. Consequently, these measures have contributed well to better teaching and learning since the last inspection.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Leaders ensure that learning opportunities meet the needs of all pupils, including the most able, the disabled and those with special educational needs. Community links are strengthened through the local church, where pupils participate in a range of religious festivals. Through religious education and assemblies, pupils celebrate and learn to appreciate other religious traditions, such as Islam and Judaism. Consequently, pupils gain a better understanding of the diversity of people in modern British society.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The curriculum prepares pupils very well for life in modern Britain. They learn about democracy through elections to the school council, and Years 5 and 6 debate questions, such as, moral ownership of the Elgin Marbles. Pupils gain a strong sense of responsibility from the annual ‘pupils-as-teachers day’, when Year 6 apply for posts, are interviewed and selected to lead the class or whole school for one day. They learn what the rule of law, rights and responsibilities mean in practice, and gain respect for individual liberty. This excellent provision, is strongly reflected in the school’s ethos of respect for others and personal responsibility.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted extremely well. They experience a sense of awe and wonder in the world through the subjects they learn. For example, they find religious art inspiring. Their spiritual understanding is supported by reflection in lessons, in the quiet reflection space in

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The leadership and management are outstanding

school, in collective worship, and in termly meetings with their mentor. Praise and support for making responsible choices reinforce their moral development and excellent behaviour.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Pupils’ social development is promoted through excellent relationships among pupils and staff, who are all positive role models. Pupils learn to take turns, listen to others when sharing ideas and work well together in lessons. Their appreciation and respect for different cultural traditions are stimulated by visits to different places of worship, visitors of different faiths and links with other schools, including Suryapal in Nepal and Spanish schools, arranged through the Chesterfield Centre. The very many worthwhile learning opportunities that pupils receive provide exceptionally well for their personal development.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school’s strong links with secondary schools ensure a smooth transfer of pupils at the end of Year 6 to secondary education.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Leaders make good use of pupil premium funding to provide individual extra support for the very few pupils who require it. This support enables them to make excellent progress.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Primary sports funding is used well to provide additional coaching to develop pupils’ skills and to train staff. Pupils benefit from more physical activities, such as swimming, and gain in health and physical well- being.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school promotes equality of opportunity exceptionally well. Consequently, all pupils – including the most able, the disabled and those with special educational needs – make outstanding progress and participate in all the school offers. Any discrimination is tackled effectively and is anathema to this school.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The local authority is providing an appropriate level of support for the school. It reviews its work and challenges it as necessary. The local authority has a positive impact in promoting networking between the school and others to share good practice, such as in the early years provision.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school ensures that the statutory requirements for safeguarding are met. Staff maintain high levels of supervision throughout the day. Procedures for checking the suitability of staff and visitors to work with pupils and children in the early years provision are rigorous and all training is up to date. As a result, all pupils are very safe in school.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Parents are right to be highly supportive of the school and would recommend it to others.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  Governors are very effective in supporting and challenging the work of the school through regular visits. They have an accurate view of the quality of teaching and its impact on learning because each governor is linked to a discrete year group.  They stringently hold school leaders to account on all aspects of the school’s performance through their links and assigned responsibility for specific priorities in the school development plan.  Governors manage the headteacher’s performance very effectively, setting targets linked to the priorities set out in the school development plan. They manage the performance of teachers well by making sure good teaching is recognised and any weaknesses are dealt with effectively by training.  Governors make good use of data on pupils’ achievements to challenge the school. They make sure that the additional funding the school receives for pupil premium and primary sports is used effectively to

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The leadership and management are outstanding

ensure good value for money.  They have good oversight of safeguarding arrangements, regularly review health and safety and make sure that all polices are up to date.  They make sure that the school is promoting British values and set out clear guidance to deal with any form of extremism should it occur.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils behave exceptionally well in the playground and in lessons. They respond very well to staff management of their behaviour.

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Behaviour

 Pupils are very polite and courteous to visitors and show great respect for others. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development has considerable impact on ensuring their behaviour is outstanding.

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Behaviour

 All pupils spoken to said they enjoy coming to school and are very keen to participate in school activities, such as choir and sports clubs. Their enthusiasm is reflected in their high levels of attendance and punctuality. They wear their school uniform with pride and take great care of their books.

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Behaviour

 Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning, concentrate in class and are tenacious in completing their work to the best of their ability.

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Behaviour

 Children of Nursery and Reception ages settle into their routines very quickly and have excellent attitudes to learning. They behave very well indoors and outdoors.

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Behaviour

 Older pupils are very good role models for younger ones. All pupils learn to be part of a team and show leadership qualities, as in competitive sports.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Attendance is promoted exceptionally well. Any potential risks to pupils while in school or on educational visits are rigorously assessed. The security of the school grounds is checked regularly to ensure all pupils remain safe.

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Safety

 The school is meticulous in checking the suitability of staff and visitors to work with pupils.

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Safety

 Pupils, parents and staff say that bullying is rare and is dealt with effectively should it occur. School records of behaviour over time and observations during the inspection confirm this situation. In discussion, pupils demonstrate a good understanding of different types of bullying and know how to use the internet safely.

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Safety

 Pupils say they feel very safe in school. They play happily in the playground and move confidently from one area of the school to another. They use the internet and school equipment in an informed way and abide by safe rules of play in competitive sports. They are safe in the before- and after-school clubs.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers’ good subject knowledge and consistently high expectations of what pupils can achieve ensure that learning builds on pupils’ knowledge and skills so they reach higher standards.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Outstanding teaching of reading, writing and mathematics is preparing pupils extremely well for the next stage of their education.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The excellent use of learning resources was seen in all lessons. For example, in mathematics in Years 5 and 6, pupils recorded weights in grams and confidently converted findings to kilograms. The teacher challenged them to convert their findings to imperial weights from an old cookery book. They used computers to make rapid calculations and manipulated weight conversions with remarkable confidence. Pupils thoroughly enjoyed the learning, worked very hard and made rapid progress in calculation.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching assistants provide consistently good support for learning and behaviour in all lessons. They ensure pupils remain focused on learning by clarifying any misunderstanding and using feedback, praise and encouragement to very good effect. Consequently, pupils have very positive attitudes to learning, which contribute greatly to what they achieve.  Teachers ask questions to check pupils’ knowledge and understanding. For example, in Year 2, the teacher asked pupils to give examples of how writing could be improved. Their responses led to the challenge to use capital letters with proper nouns in full sentences, and to use a range of adjectives and adverbs to improve their writing, all of which they did with enthusiasm.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Disadvantaged pupils, those with special educational needs, those at an early stage of learning English and pupils who arrived at school during term time, greatly benefit from well-targeted support. This enables them to make the same excellent progress, over time, as their classmates.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers’ marking has improved significantly since the last inspection and enables pupils to know exactly how well they are doing and how they can improve. Teachers are focusing on pupils’ use of grammar punctuation and spelling across a range of subjects, which is further improving their writing. However, pupils’ written accuracy and competence in mental mathematics remain a focus for further improvement.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers make sure that the thinking of the most-able pupils is always challenged by making them work to their full potential. As a result, they make rapid progress from their higher starting points.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching in the early years provision is outstanding. As a result, the children greatly enjoy their learning and make rapid progress.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children enter the Nursery with attainment which is broadly typical for their age, but occasionally weaker in communication, language, literacy and social and emotional development. They make rapid progress in all areas of learning as they move through the early years provision, so by the end of the Reception Year they are very well prepared for entry into Year 1.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 As year groups are small, results can vary from year to year. For example, results in the 2014 national phonics check, which tests pupils’ understanding of the sounds that letters make, were broadly average. Nevertheless, this represented a competent performance, given these pupils’ attainment on entry. Most of the few pupils involved in the Year 2 repeated check reached the expected standard. The school’s accurate data show that, currently, all pupils in Year 1 are on course to reach the required standard.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The attainment of pupils in Year 2 was above that in most schools in 2014, in reading, writing and mathematics. These pupils made excellent progress in all areas from their starting points as a result of outstanding teaching. Currently, attainment in Key Stage 1 is strong in all subjects and has risen over the last three years.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 In 2014, the attainment of pupils in Year 6 was above that in most schools in English and mathematics but less strong in grammar, punctuation and spelling. Attainment has risen in recent years. Current Year 6 pupils are on course to maintain standards ahead of those gained nationally. The 2014 results showed that Year 6 pupils made excellent progress from their starting points. Pupils who were present through Years 5 and 6 achieved very well and reached the higher levels, particularly in mathematics and in writing.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The few pupils who entered the school late made good progress from their starting points, although they were not in school long enough to benefit fully from the strong teaching in Years 5 and 6. The school’s reliable data show that in 2014 pupils made much better progress from their various starting points than that reflected in the published data. Currently, Year 6 pupils are making outstanding progress.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 In 2014, the most-able pupils in Key Stage 1 were well ahead of similar pupils nationally in attaining the higher Level 3 in reading, writing and mathematics. At Key Stage 2, the most able were well ahead of similar pupils nationally in attaining the high Level 6 in mathematics, and Level 5 in writing. A few missed Level 5 in reading by one mark. Currently, the most-able Years 5 and 6 pupils are achieving very well and are on course to reach the higher levels in all subjects. However, a very few pupils in Years 3 and 4 do not apply their grammar, punctuation and spelling and mental mathematics skills with sufficient accuracy to reach the highest levels of attainment.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make at least good, and often outstanding, progress from their starting points because staff make work suitably challenging for all individual needs.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils make at least good progress in all other subjects, including: music, art, science, humanities and computing. They progress very well in physical education, for example, in street dance, competitive sport and swimming as a result of excellent use of primary sports funding.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 There were too few disadvantaged pupils in Year 6 in 2014 to evaluate their progress and attainment reliably without identifying individuals. Currently, disadvantaged pupils are achieving very well and fully in line with their classmates in all subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The very few pupils at an early stage of learning English are making the same outstanding progress as their classmates.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 Outstanding leadership of the early years provision has led to considerable improvement in children’s achievement since the last inspection. Links with parents are much stronger and are now excellent.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 New tracking systems are recording even the smallest steps of progress each child makes. Every child has an individual ‘blog’ where parents can see the progress their children are making at any given time and can contribute to the ‘learning journey’ records their children are making.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 Nearly all parents work with their children in the early years provision termly in community open mornings and class celebrations, and they are extremely positive about all aspects of this provision. As a result, children are very happy and settle into their routines quickly.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 The early years leader has developed excellent teamwork with staff. Together they strongly promote children’s safety and well-being. Staff provide high levels of supervision and engagement in learning activities. They ensure that all safety and safeguarding requirements are robustly applied. Consequently all children feel very safe and secure at school.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 Children make excellent progress in all areas of learning because teaching is outstanding and staff provide a rich variety of activities to capture children’s interest. For example, in lessons seen, children were making rapid gains in counting to 20 and in using letter sounds to read simple words. All children reach a good level of development in all areas of learning on entry to Year 1, and have done so over the last two years.

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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 122772 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 449635

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 85 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Elizabeth Stanley Headteacher Joanna Hall Date of previous school inspection 29 April 2010 Telephone number 01427 880409 Fax number 01427 880442 Email address head@northwheatley.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 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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