Goosnargh Oliverson's Church of England Primary School

Goosnargh Oliverson’s Church of England Primary School Goosnargh Lane, Goosnargh, Preston, Lancashire, PR3 2BN

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Overall effectiveness

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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher provide strong leadership.  Staff are very committed and hard working. Teaching is consistently good and some is outstanding due to the strong leadership of teaching and learning.  Provision in the early years has improved and is now outstanding.  By the end of Key Stage 2 the proportion of pupils who reach the expected level and the higher Level 5 is well above average in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils are prepared well for the next stage of their education.  Disadvantaged pupils attain standards in reading, writing and mathematics well above those of all pupils nationally.  Relationships are a strength of the school.  Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding both in lessons and around the school. Pupils are proud of their school, very eager to learn and show high levels of enthusiasm and responsibility.  Procedures to keep pupils safe are outstanding. Pupils feel safe and the school takes exceptionally

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

good care of them. Older pupils are excellent role models for the younger ones.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding.  Governors are rigorous and efficient in carrying out their duties and responsibilities. They are focused on supporting and challenging the school in order to improve teaching and pupils’ learning.  Most parents are highly supportive of the school. They hold the school in high esteem.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Occasionally the work set is not hard enough to enable pupils to reach the highest standards of which they are capable.  Teachers do not always adjust their teaching well enough or reshape activities to ensure that pupils receive sufficient challenge throughout lessons to enable them to make the progress of which they are capable.  Pupils are not always given enough time to respond to teachers’ marking and learn from their mistakes.  Teachers’ expectations of pupils’ presentation of their work, especially their handwriting, are not high enough.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in a range of lessons. In addition, they made a number of short visits to lessons and listened to pupils from Year 2 and Year 6 read. They also gathered other evidence relating to the quality of teaching over time.  Inspectors observed three lessons jointly with the headteacher.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and senior and middle leaders. They also met with two governors and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 33 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and of the discussions with parents who brought their children to school and of the 12 questionnaires returned by staff.  Inspectors observed the school at work and scrutinised the work in pupils’ books, the school’s own data on pupils’ current progress, improvement plans, planning and monitoring information and minutes of governing body meetings. Inspectors also reviewed records relating to behaviour and attendance and

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Information about this inspection

documents relating to safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

Anthony Kingston, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Goosnargh Oliverson’s Church of England is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The school is a member and strategic partner of the Preston Teaching School Alliance.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is well below average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, eligible for support through the pupil premium, is well below average. The pupil premium is additional funding that the school receives for those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those children who are in the care of the local authority.  Nearly all pupils are of White British heritage. All pupils speak English as their first language.  The early years comprises of one Reception class where children attend on a full-time basis.  There is an independent pre-school provider on the site of the school. This is subject to a separate inspection by Ofsted.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and increase pupils’ progress by ensuring that:  work is always hard enough for pupils of all abilities to enable them to reach the highest possible standards in reading, writing and mathematics  teachers regularly check learning in lessons and reshape activities so that pupils are continuously challenged and can move onto the next step in learning more quickly  pupils are provided with enough time to respond to teachers’ written comments in order to learn from their mistakes.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that teachers’ expectations of the presentation of pupils’ work, especially handwriting, are consistently high.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is well led by a determined and effective headteacher who is supported very ably by the deputy headteacher, senior leaders, all staff and a well-informed governing body. Teamwork is strong and morale is high. The wholly positive responses to the staff questionnaire show that staff fully support the headteacher’s leadership.  Since the previous inspection, leaders have strengthened the highly effective provision in early years.  The school takes a leading role in its work with other schools, especially within the teaching school alliance.  The local authority has a strong partnership with the school and has every confidence in the school’s ability to become outstanding.  Leaders manage staff performance well. They check the quality of teaching carefully and give staff challenging targets that reflect the school’s high expectations. The school knows where the best practice exists and this is shared within the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teachers feel well supported by the headteacher and senior leaders and welcome feedback about their performance in lessons. Feedback is sharp and focused. Clear targets are set and training and support are given to ensure that they are met. This process has played a significant role in improvements in teaching, progress and standards.  Subject leaders are effective. They contribute to the monitoring of teaching and regularly check on progress shown in pupils’ books, as well as half-termly assessments and pupil progress meetings. They have helped to make sure that staff have a good knowledge of their subjects, thereby ensuring that the school has been prepared well for the implementation of the new National Curriculum.  Leaders have recently introduced a new system of assessing pupils’ achievement in line with the new National Curriculum’s higher expectations. They use this new approach well to meet individual pupils’

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The leadership and management are good

needs.  The school checks that all pupils have equality of opportunity to succeed. Overall, the needs of all groups of pupils, especially those who have special educational needs, are identified promptly and well-targeted support is provided where most needed.  The curriculum is exciting and promotes good achievement in reading, writing and mathematics. It is enriched with a number of clubs and visits which help to bring subjects to life as well as promoting pupils’ excellent spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Sport and music are promoted throughout the school. For example, there are opportunities for pupils to learn to play a wide range of musical instruments such as the flute, oboe, guitar and piano. During the inspection pupils in Years 5 and 6 were rehearsing for a performance of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This follows a recent performance of Hansel and Gretel by pupils in Year 3 and Year 4.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school prepares pupils well for life in modern British society through assemblies, classroom activities, and activities such as the recent election within the school to elect its very own prime minister. Pupils were eager to explain that, ‘the elected leaders of each party wrote their own manifesto and held meetings to try and persuade them to vote for their party. We even had our own swingometer! which showed us how our opinions changed from day to day.’ The school promotes values such as individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.  The school shared with pupils the commemoration of the start of the First World War and took Year 6 to Belgium to visit a number of war graves. This evoked many emotions within the pupils resulting in poignant and sensitive poetry. For example, one pupil expressed their thanks by noting: ‘Our freedom belongs to them.’

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupil premium funding is used wisely. Each pupil is identified, their needs considered closely and the funds used to provide additional support or assistance for educational visits. The judicious allocation of these funds is helping to ensure that disadvantaged pupils make progress similar to that of their classmates.  The extra sports funding has been spent effectively on improving teachers’ subject knowledge and providing a wider range of sporting activities to engage more pupils in physical activities beyond the typical team games of, for example, football. Pupils can now take part in rugby, golf, gymnastics and free- style football skills and dance. The positive impact is seen in pupils’ enthusiasm and increased participation in physical activities as well as school teams that are becoming increasingly more successful in competitive events.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is very effective in challenging and supporting the work of the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Governors provide a wide and relevant range of experience and expertise and are ably led by the Chair of the Governing Body. Together, they strengthen the school leadership.  Governors share the ambition of all senior leaders to take the school forward. They have a good understanding of the priorities for raising achievement and improving teaching further.  Governors seek appropriate training to support them in fulfilling their roles to the best of their abilities. They are fully informed about the management of teachers’ performance and apply the link between this system, pupils’ progress and teachers’ pay.  They hold the school to account well for its spending and have a good understanding of the way that additional funds such as the pupil premium have been used to benefit pupils.  The governing body ensures that it carries out its statutory duties effectively. Each governor has a class to which they are linked. They visit the school regularly experiencing life in classrooms and speaking

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The leadership and management are good

with pupils and teachers. They are very much part of the life of the school and are a highly committed and effective group.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils are very proud of their school. They are polite, respectful and show consideration for others. They are confident when they talk to each other and to adults, taking turns to speak and listen. Parents, staff and pupils agree that pupils are well-behaved.  Pupils feel valued and know that they are listened to by adults. They are keen to take on responsibilities, such as by becoming members of the school council, helping in the office, answering the telephone at lunchtime and acting as ambassadors to escort visitors around the school. Pupils of all ages work alongside the Mothers’ Union to organise and run community lunches once a month to which older members of the community are invited and provide valuable experience for the young and old to compare lives and experience. One pupil said, ‘I think we should take on responsibilities because it’s a way of

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Behaviour

saying thank you for everything that our teachers do for us.’  There is a wide range of weekly rewards in place that celebrate pupils’ behaviour and academic achievements. Additionally, a special award is bestowed on the Super Citizen of the week. Pupils’ responses show that they take pleasure in the success of others.  The school’s records show that there have been very few incidents of poor behaviour over the last year. The few that have occurred have been dealt with very effectively. There have been no racist incidents recorded in the last two years. This reflects pupils’ very positive view of behaviour, exemplified by one group who proudly announced that, ‘Our school is probably the best and happiest school in the world!’

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding.  Virtually all parents who responded to Parent View agree that their children feel safe in school. A large number of pupils were engaged in informal discussions and they were unequivocal in their view that they feel extremely safe in school.  Pupils are friendly, caring and supportive. Their teachers have established excellent relationships with them. This means that pupils are confident to talk to staff should they have any problems in or out of school. Staff help pupils to develop excellent personal skills and achieve good academic standards.  Pupils say that they are not aware of any bullying in school. They are confident, however, that if any problems should arise, for example, pupils ‘falling out’ with each other, staff would help them deal with it quickly and fairly. In discussions, pupils show that they have an excellent awareness of different types of

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Safety

bullying, including prejudiced-based and cyber-bullying. Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to use the internet and social networking sites safely.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching throughout the school is typically good with some that is outstanding. This was confirmed by observations during the inspection and the work in pupils’ books. This good and better teaching enables pupils to learn well in all year groups.  Displays in classrooms, corridors and communal areas of the school help to create a lively and exciting climate for learning. They show the richness of the curriculum, serve to support pupils’ day-to-day learning by providing prompts that help them with their work and celebrate pupils’ achievements and efforts. A very good example of this was seen in the celebration of pupils’ achievements in writing in the Year 1 class.  Teachers have high expectations of pupils and provide them with work that is generally well-matched to pupils’ needs. However, observations of classrooms and pupils’ books reveal that occasionally work is too easy and that sometimes teachers do not check learning sufficiently well during lessons to reshape

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The quality of teaching is good

activities so that the level of challenge consistently promotes good progress. This prevents some pupils from making the progress of which they are capable.  Pupils enjoy their lessons and want to learn. This is because teachers plan work that interests, excites and engages pupils. Teachers’ strong subject knowledge means that explanations are very precise. This is a significant contributory factor in promoting pupils’ understanding and progress.  Teaching assistants make an enormous contribution to the good learning and progress of individuals and small groups of pupils in and out of the classroom. They skilfully use questions to enable pupils to complete tasks which they find difficult and also to provide targeted activities that move learning on.  Reading is taught well. Pupils are given regular opportunities to read and many say that they do so avidly. This is because teachers use very effective strategies in teaching them how to read for understanding and

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The quality of teaching is good

enjoyment. Pupils have favourite authors and relish the opportunities to select their own books from the library.  The teaching of mathematics is good with pupils applying their mathematical understanding to challenging problem-solving activities linked to everyday life. For example, a group of Year 6 pupils gained great enjoyment in working out and comparing differences in the interest rates banks offer on savings accounts with those charged for borrowing money.  Teachers make regular assessments of pupils’ progress and attainment. They share this information with pupils so that they know how well they are doing and understand what they need to do next in order to improve.  Teachers generally give pupils clear and constructive advice about how to improve their work. However, the time given to pupils to respond to marking is variable. Consequently, pupils do not always learn from their mistakes and continue making them in successive pieces of work.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In 2012, overall standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Key Stage 1 were significantly above average. Standards dipped to below average in 2013 but improved again in 2014 to above average. From pupils’ generally below-average starting points on entering Year 1 this reflects good progress.  In 2014, the overall standards reached by pupils by the end of Key Stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics were well above average. The proportion of pupils who made expected and better than expected progress was average in writing and close to average in reading and mathematics.  Inspection evidence from a scrutiny of pupils’ books, observations of learning in lessons and school performance data on the progress made by each year group shows that pupils who are currently in Key Stage 2 are making good or better progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Consequently, standards are rising rapidly. This is as a direct result of improvements in the quality of teaching.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Promoting strong reading skills is a priority throughout the school.  The teaching of phonics (linking letters and sounds they make) is enabling younger pupils to tackle new and unfamiliar words with greater confidence. This is reflected in the high proportion of six-year-olds who achieved the expected level in the 2014 national screening check on phonics.  As pupils move through the school they are encouraged to read widely and often. This results in instilling in pupils a love of reading. This was exemplified by a group of Year 6 pupils who agreed that, ‘books take you from the real world into new ones. You can join in the adventures and experience the feelings and emotions of the characters.’ They have well-developed skills to gain meaning from the books they read. This was demonstrated particularly well when pupils seized on the opportunity to discuss the underlying moral and ethical issues within The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, saying that, ‘It shows what an unfair world we

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The achievement of pupils is good

live in. It’s not a person’s religion or race that counts but what’s in their heart, their soul and their mind.’  Pupils’ writing is helped by the emphasis that is given to reading which boosts the range of words they understand and use, and to speaking and explaining ideas in lessons. The success of these strategies is increasingly reflected throughout pupils’ writing, enhancing the fluency and meaning of what they write.  Pupils are competent mathematicians. They possess well-developed numeracy skills which they apply confidently to a range of challenging problem-solving activities.  Invariably, the most able pupils do well. This is reflected in the high proportion of pupils who in 2014 reached the higher Level 5, especially in reading and writing. The proportion of pupils who reached the very high Level 6 compared favourably with the national average. Inspection evidence supports the school’s data which shows that the most able pupils are continuing to make good progress in all year

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The achievement of pupils is good

groups.  Pupils are proud of their work. However, their handwriting and the presentation of their work are generally not of a sufficiently high enough standard.  In 2014, the standards reached by disadvantaged pupils were two terms ahead of all pupils nationally in mathematics, two terms ahead in reading and three terms ahead in writing.  Disadvantaged pupils performed similarly well when compared with their classmates. As a consequence, they were two terms ahead of their classmates in mathematics and one term ahead in reading and writing.  The school checks that all pupils have equality of opportunity to succeed. Current data and inspection evidence show that disadvantaged pupils throughout the school are continuing to make rapid progress and reach standards similar to those of their classmates. This demonstrates the school’s success in narrowing the gaps between disadvantaged pupils and that of other pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ well-developed skills in reading, writing and mathematics ensure they are well prepared for the secondary school.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 The number of children who join the Reception class and the level of skills and knowledge they have on entering varies widely from year to year. Generally, however, children’s skills and knowledge on entry into the Reception class are slightly below those typical for their age.  Since the previous inspection, provision and outcomes in the early years have improved significantly.  Children make very rapid progress through the early years, especially in reading, writing and mathematics. This is reflected in the well-above average proportion of children who achieved a good level of development in 2014.  The leadership of the early years is highly effective. The leader is rigorous in her assessment of the progress children make and has a clear vision for the further development of the unit. Together with the early years team she has created an exceptionally vibrant, well-structured and purposeful learning

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The early years provision is outstanding

environment in which children thrive.  The quality of teaching is outstanding and provides a secure base for future learning throughout the rest of the school. Assessments are used well to plan future learning experiences that match children’s needs and interests. This promotes rapid gains in their learning.  There is a well-considered balance between activities that children choose for themselves and those led by adults, such as when they help children to learn letters and sounds. Children use these new skills well as they begin to read and write. Some are at the very early stages of using phonics to sound out letters.  Activities engage children’s interests and develop their curiosity. For example, a group of children were absorbed in cutting up vegetables which they then placed in water ready to be washed and made into soup. One child noticed that every time they put another vegetable in the water the level rose up the side

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The early years provision is outstanding

of the bowl. This fascinated the children and led the teacher to immediately set up an investigation into ‘displacement’ in which the children were enthralled.  Behaviour is excellent in the early years. Children are clearly happy and content. They thrive on the high expectations of how they should behave that are consistently and sensitively communicated to them by all adults. They take turns when playing games, share toys and resources and cooperate and collaborate extremely well with each other. This was seen during the inspection when a group of children took on the roles of greengrocer and customers. The greengrocer accepted and wrote down telephone orders while her assistant checked the coins customers gave to buy a range of vegetables.  Partnerships with parents are excellent. They say that the school and staff in the early years offer a very warm welcome to school and encourage them to become joint partners in their children’s learning.

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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 119564 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 461737

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 159 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Lindsey Barnett Headteacher Helen Sant Date of previous school inspection 10 January 2012 Telephone number 01772 865396 Fax number 01772 865396 Email address bursar@goosnargholiversons.lancs.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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