St Martin's CofE Primary School

St Martin's CofE Primary School Burnham Road, Owston Ferry, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN9 1AY

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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

 The school is well led by the executive headteacher. She provides a clear sense of direction with high expectations for the school. These aspirations are shared by the staff and governors to promote improvement in pupils’ behaviour, achievement and the quality of teaching.  The governors provide a good level of challenge and support to the senior leadership team.  The school effectively promotes British values. Tolerance and respect thread through all aspects of the school’s curriculum.  Pupils’ behaviour is good. They are polite and proud of their school. Pupils enjoy coming to school, enabling attendance to be consistently above the national average.  Pupils feel safe in school because adults create a secure and caring atmosphere.  As a result of good teaching, current pupils are now making good or better progress from their different starting points in reading, writing and mathematics.  Standards at the end of Key Stage 1 are

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

consistently in line with or above national average. Standards improved in reading, writing and mathematics last year.  Standards in reading at the end of Key Stage 2 in 2014 improved rapidly to be significantly above national standards.  Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ work and behaviour. They use effective marking and feedback in English and mathematics to enhance pupils’ learning.  Provision in the early years is good. Children enjoy interesting activities and are well prepared for Year 1.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Attainment in writing and mathematics in Key Stage 2 is not as high as that in reading.  Pupils are not always moved on to more challenging tasks quickly enough, particularly the most-able pupils.  Pupils do not have enough opportunities to write at length in subjects across the curriculum.  Pupils do not have enough opportunities to apply their mathematical skills in other subjects and in real-life contexts to deepen their mathematical thinking further.  The new strategies that have recently been put in place to improve the quality of teaching are not yet fully established in order to make a positive impact on pupils’ achievement over time.  New assessment systems are in the early stages of implementation. Checks with other schools have not yet taken place to ensure the accuracy and rigour of these systems, and support further improvements in pupils’ learning and progress.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching and learning in 10 lessons and also visited an assembly. Three lesson observations were carried out jointly with the executive headteacher.  The inspector held meetings with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Governing Body, a representative of the local authority and school staff, including senior and middle leaders.  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at documentation including: teachers’ planning; the school’s analysis of its strengths and weaknesses; information on pupils’ attainment and progress; records of behaviour and safety; the monitoring of teaching and management of teachers’ performance; minutes of governing body meetings; and safeguarding documents.  A discussion was held with a group of pupils, as well as informal conversations with them during lessons and at break times. The inspector listened to pupils read and talked to them about the books they enjoy.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector took account of 22 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents, Parent View, and spoke with parents informally at the start of the school day. The questionnaires completed by 14 members of staff were also considered.

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Inspection team

Julie Harrison, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium (additional funding the school receives for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals or who are looked after by the local authority) is below the national average.  Most pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below the national average.  Early years provision is full time for children in the Reception Year and part time for those in the Nursery.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The school is a member of the South Isle cluster of schools.  The school is part of the Trentside federation with West Butterwick Church of England Primary School. The

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Information about this school

two schools share the executive headteacher and the same governing body.  The executive headteacher is a local leader of education (LLE).

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching across the whole school to raise standards and speed up pupils’ progress in writing and mathematics, especially in Key Stage 2, by:  providing work that is sufficiently challenging for all pupils, especially the most able  ensuring that teachers check on pupils’ learning as they work to ensure that all pupils move on to the next challenge quickly  providing more opportunities for pupils to write at length across the curriculum to further improve their writing skills  providing more opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical skills in other subjects and in real- life contexts to deepen further their understanding of mathematical concepts.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the leadership and management by:  establishing the strategies that are improving the pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching across the whole school  checking with other schools that the new assessment systems are accurate and rigorous to improve pupils’ learning and progress further.

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The leadership and management are good

 The executive headteacher provides effective leadership. She uses the expertise of the leaders across the federation to improve the quality of teaching, pupils’ achievement, behaviour and safety so that all aspects are good. The governors and staff have high aspirations for the school. Leaders at all levels are in a good position to make further improvements and the executive headteacher knows how to make these happen.  The school’s development plan is reviewed regularly and identifies what the school can do better. The implementation of the school’s new strategies to raise achievement and the quality of teaching are beginning to improve pupils’ attainment and progress in mathematics and writing in Key Stage 2. This is closing the gap with reading, which is a strength of the school. These improvements are not fully established.  The school is implementing its new approach to assessment following the removal of national curriculum

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The leadership and management are good

levels. Teachers and leaders collect information about pupils’ attainment and progress regularly. The leaders understand the importance of checking these new assessment systems across the federation and with other cluster schools to ensure that analysis is accurate in order to improve pupils’ achievement further. These checks have not taken place so far.  Effective systems are in place to assess the performance of teachers. These ensure that teachers are held to account for the progress of pupils in their class. These arrangements also ensure that subject and middle leaders are held more accountable for the progress pupils make in their areas of responsibility. These leaders regularly review pupils’ progress and discuss this information with governors. Staff have opportunities to share professional development within the federation and with other cluster schools to improve their teaching skills.  Senior and middle leaders accurately identify what makes teaching effective and what needs to be

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The leadership and management are good

improved. Teachers themselves recognise how to improve their teaching and learning skills. This provides a firm base for future improvement to the quality of teaching.  Leadership of the early years provision is good. The children enjoy their exciting activities so that they make a positive start to their school lives.  The school’s curriculum is planned effectively to provide exciting learning experiences for all pupils. There is a particular focus on writing and mathematics, which are key priorities for the school. Pupils have a good understanding of British values, including tolerance and respect. These aspects are threaded through the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, which prepares them well for life in modern Britain. Pupils know that discrimination is not tolerated. The curriculum promotes equality of opportunity for all pupils, whatever their needs.  Effective use is made of the pupil premium funding to support the few disadvantaged pupils on roll. These

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The leadership and management are good

pupils make similar or better progress than other pupils within the school. The provision of an additional part-time Key Stage 2 teacher, combined with the work of teaching assistants and the school’s counsellor, is improving learning for disadvantaged pupils, especially in writing and mathematics in Key Stage 2.  The special educational needs coordinator works across the two federated schools. She ensures pupils do well from their various starting points. Any underachievement is identified and additional support is put in place to ensure that the differing needs of pupils are met.  Parental responses from Parent View and from those who spoke to the inspector are positive about all aspects of the school.  The school makes good use of its primary school physical education and sport funding to extend sporting opportunities for pupils and to develop teachers’ confidence and skills. Clubs, such as taekwondo, and

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The leadership and management are good

regional events, such as the golf tournament, have increased pupils’ participation in sporting activities. The funding has also enabled pupils to take part in more sporting events with other schools. Key Stage 1 pupils enjoy their Phizzy Fun Club at lunchtime, which improves their physical well-being while they learn about eating healthily.  The local authority has worked well with the school, regularly monitoring the overall effectiveness of the school.  Safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements and ensure that all pupils are well cared for.  The governance of the school:  Governors know the school well. The governing body has an accurate view of the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement by analysing data about the school’s performance. Governors receive comprehensive reports from the executive headteacher and visit the school regularly to check the impact of recent actions on the school development plan.

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The leadership and management are good

 Governors check that systems to monitor staff performance are in place and that teachers’ pay awards reflect how effective they are in ensuring that pupils achieve well. They ensure that statutory requirements are met and that pupils and staff are kept safe. Governors ensure that the school’s budget and any additional funding are spent effectively. Governors also check that the school is helping pupils to understand tolerance and respect for different faiths and cultures.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils respect one another and the adults around them. This contributes to a friendly, welcoming atmosphere around the school.  The pupils have good attitudes to learning, which contribute to their improving progress. Pupils want to learn and they work well with one another. They take pride in their school and in their work. Disruption caused by pupils’ poor behaviour is rare.  Pupils are polite and helpful. They move around the school carefully and eat their healthy hot dinners sensibly. Older pupils willingly support the younger children.  Attendance is higher than the national average and reflects how much the pupils enjoy coming to school. Pupils enjoy their lessons and say ‘every day is a surprise’. There have been no recent exclusions.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils say they feel safe in school and they form positive relationships with one another and staff.  All relevant policies and procedures for ensuring pupils’ health, safety and well-being are in place. Any safeguarding issues are logged and followed through effectively.  The ‘We’ve stamped out bullying’ display and pupils’ discussions show that they understand the different forms of bullying well. They say that bullying is very rare at this school.  Pupils develop a good understanding of how to be safe in school and in different surroundings. The curriculum helps them to understand about cyber bullying, safety on the internet, road safety and the dangers of electricity and water.  Parental responses to the online questionnaire and discussions with the inspector show positive support for the school’s behaviour and safety strategies. School staff and governors agree that the school provides

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Safety

a secure and caring learning environment for all pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Work seen in pupils’ books, displays around the school and the school’s own information confirm that teaching is good across the school. Pupils in Key Stage 2 now have the opportunity to work in smaller classes with an additional part-time teacher. This is having a positive impact on pupils’ progress and attainment.  Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and pace of work. They have good subject knowledge and use questioning well to extend pupils’ learning. Pupils enjoy their learning and willingly discuss what they are doing. They work well together, sharing their ideas in pairs or groups. They listen to and respect the views of others.  Some teachers, however, do not check pupils’ learning during lessons to make sure pupils move on to the next task fast enough. There are occasions when tasks are too easy for the most-able pupils and this slows their progress.  The teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they make) is taught well in the Reception Year and Key

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The quality of teaching is good

Stage 1. Effective support from teachers and teaching assistants enables pupils to make good progress. For example, the Reception children learnt a new sound ‘ur’ and then used this sound to read and spell unfamiliar words. Key Stage 1 pupils use their knowledge of phonics to work out unfamiliar words to support their spelling and reading.  Teachers provide pupils with examples of effective writing to enable them to write independently. The Year 1 and Year 2 pupils made good progress writing about their mums for Mother’s Day cards while concentrating on appropriate punctuation and spelling. The Years 5 and 6 pupils discussed features of high-quality writing before putting this knowledge into their biography of Herodotus, the Greek historian.  Teachers are using the new calculation policy and practical resources to deepen pupils’ understanding of mathematical concepts. The Year 4 and Year 5 pupils used fraction cards to deepen their understanding of

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The quality of teaching is good

how to convert improper fractions into mixed numbers. Years 5 and 6 pupils’ discussions and explanations showed their understanding of the relevant skills to solve real-life problems involving multiplication.  Teaching assistants are usually used well to provide support for all pupils, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs and disadvantaged pupils. The school’s counsellor is developing pupils’ self-esteem and improving their attitudes towards learning.  Marking and feedback in literacy and mathematics books show pupils what they have done well and how to improve their work. Pupils usually have time to respond to teachers’ comments to improve their learning.  Pupils’ topic and religious education books contain a wide variety of work based on interesting activities across the curriculum. The work is of a high standard in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. However, there is little evidence of writing at length or the use of mathematical skills, which means there are missed

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The quality of teaching is good

opportunities to improve pupils’ skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Most children start in the Nursery with knowledge and skills below those typical for their age. Through the early years, children make good progress from their various starting points. In 2014, the large majority of children achieved a good level of development, which is the expected standard at the end of the Reception Year, and this proportion is improving over time.  In 2014, the results for the Year 1 phonics screening check were in line with those found nationally. Current pupils are already at an improved standard thanks to the clear focus in the early years and Key Stage 1 on the teaching of phonics.  Pupils make good progress in Key Stage 1 because of good teaching. By the end of Year 2, pupils reach standards that are consistently in line with or above the national standards in reading, writing and mathematics. All three subjects showed an improvement in 2014.  Key Stage 2 standards vary over time. Reading standards in 2014 showed rapid improvement from

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The achievement of pupils is good

previous years to become significantly above national standards. Mathematics and writing declined. However, this decline has been halted.  The proportion of pupils who make expected progress from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2 shows a better picture. In 2014, the proportion of pupils who made expected progress for reading and writing was in line with national figures and the proportion in mathematics was well above. The current Year 6 pupils are showing a higher standard of work in their writing and mathematics books than the previous year group, combined with good progress. Additionally, school information shows that a greater proportion of pupils are already making more than expected progress than in 2014.  Reading is taught well throughout the school. Year 2 and Year 6 pupils read confidently, with expression and at a good level for their age. Pupils enjoy reading independently and to adults, and this develops their

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The achievement of pupils is good

love of reading.  The most-able pupils do not consistently achieve as well as they could. In 2014, too few pupils reached the higher levels of attainment in writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6. The most-able pupils are not always moved on quickly enough with sufficient challenge to enable them to make the best possible progress. Year 6 writing and mathematics books show that these pupils are beginning to work at the higher levels.  The few disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are making good progress from their various starting points because of the work of the special educational needs leader, effective targeted support and the support of the school’s counsellor.  The school uses the extra funding it receives for disadvantaged pupils well. The small number of pupils supported by this funding makes similar or better progress to other pupils in the school. Too few

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The achievement of pupils is good

disadvantaged pupils took the Year 6 national tests in 2014 to comment on their attainment without risk of identifying individuals.

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The early years provision is good

 Provision in the early years is good. The children in the Nursery only attend part time and this sometimes has a negative impact on their overall progress throughout the year. Thanks to good teaching, Reception children make good progress from their various starting points. Many achieve a good level of development, which prepares them well for learning in Year 1.  The children play well together in the vibrant, safe indoor and outdoor learning areas. They take turns to play with different equipment. They behave well and show good manners towards one another and adults.  The early years is well led and managed. Staff work together and know the children well. They build activities around the children’s interests. Resources are easily accessible to the children. Children have the opportunity to enjoy teacher-led activities and to explore for themselves, so that they can practise the skills they learn as they play.

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The early years provision is good

 In the Nursery and Reception areas many activities are focused on a theme to reinforce learning. Nursery children walked carefully over a bridge made out of crates and planks of wood to enter Dinosaur Land. Here, dinosaur bones were buried in the soil, ready to be found. Reception children learnt the names of skeleton bones such as ‘skull’, ‘spine’ and ‘ribs’. They carefully placed their excavated bones on to a large chalk Tyrannosaurus Rex drawn on the playground. These children recognised different dinosaurs and talked about the differences between plant-eaters and meat-eaters. They also had the opportunity to write sentences about dinosaurs, using their knowledge of phonics to support their spelling. The children looked for information in a book about dinosaurs by using the contents page. They also had the opportunity to buy dinosaurs from the shop using the correct coins. The most-able pupils were able to pay for their

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The early years provision is good

dinosaurs using different combinations of the correct coins.  Children make good progress in their learning and development. The needs of individual children, including disabled children and those who have special educational needs and those for whom the school receives additional funding are well met. Staff continuously assess how well children are doing and use this information to plan the next learning activities.  The learning journeys, which are records of a child’s achievement during the early years, are informative for parents and staff. Parents are encouraged to contribute toward them by sharing children’s achievements at home. Good relationships are built between the parents and staff.  All safeguarding policies and procedures are implemented consistently.

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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 118037 Local authority North Lincolnshire Inspection number 456119

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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 aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 98 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Susan Coggon Headteacher Josephine Buckle Date of previous school inspection 20 March 2012 Telephone number 01427 728258 Fax number 01427 728258 Email address admin.stmartins@northlincs.gov.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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