Kettlewell Primary School

Kettlewell Primary School Kettlewell, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 5HX

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 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

 Senior leaders, together with the governors, have raised pupils’ achievement significantly since the previous inspection. Pupils’ progress is good. All groups of pupils, including those with special educational needs, achieve well.  The provision for children in the early years is good which ensures that they have a secure foundation for their work in Year 1.  Teaching is good, particularly in reading and mathematics. Rigorous systems are in place for checking on the progress of pupils. Teachers understand what is expected of them and are very appreciative of the training they are given. This is resulting in improved teaching and faster progress for pupils.  Pupils behave well. They are well mannered, courteous and polite. The school is a very happy place where pupils and staff care for one another. There are good procedures in place to ensure that pupils are safe.  Parents are pleased with the school’s work and say

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

they would recommend the school to another parent.  Attendance has improved and is above average because pupils enjoy coming to school.  Governors are committed to ensuring that the school is at the heart of the community and ensure that the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is central to the work of the school. They use their expertise well to challenge and support staff in their determination to raise achievement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 At times, teaching does not expect enough of pupils and there are inconsistencies in marking and feedback to pupils.  The teaching of writing in Key Stage 2 is not as strong as that in reading and mathematics.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed several lessons, one of which was a joint observation with the headteacher. In addition, the inspector made a number of other short visits to lessons.  Meetings were held with members of the governing body, including the Chair, as well as with teachers and school leaders. The inspector also spoke on the telephone with a representative from the local authority.  The inspector listened to pupils read and spoke with them about their reading and their work. He spent time in the dining hall and on the school playground where he also spoke to pupils.  The inspector took account of the 11 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) for the current school year and reviewed 12 questionnaire responses from staff.  A number of documents were looked at, including the school’s own information relating to pupils’ achievement, the school’s self-evaluation summary and plan of action, records relating to behaviour and

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Information about this inspection

attendance and checks on teaching, and documents relating to safeguarding. The inspector also consulted the school’s website.

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Inspection team

Andrew Morley, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Kettlewell Primary School is a much smaller than average sized primary school. There are two classes, one combining the Reception-aged children with Key Stage 1 pupils, and the other incorporating all the pupils in Key Stage 2.  The Reception-aged children attend full time.  The vast majority of pupils are White British and speak English as their first language.  There are a small number of disadvantaged pupils, those eligible for support through the pupil premium funding. The pupil premium is additional funding the school receives for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those children that are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils or those with special educational needs is above average.  A higher proportion of pupils join or leave the school during the year than is typical.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards which are the minimum expectations for

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Information about this school

pupils’ attainment and progress.  The executive headteacher oversees another local school, spending part of the week in each school.  The school is currently in a partnership with Upper Wharfedale Secondary School.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and learning by ensuring that:  teachers have consistently high expectations of pupils in every lesson  pupils have a greater understanding of their responsibility to produce work to the best of their ability at all times  marking of work clearly shows pupils how to improve their work and teachers check that pupils act on their advice  teachers learn from the good practice within the school and other schools in the local area.  Further raise achievement in writing at Key Stage 2 by ensuring:  pupils, particularly boys, are always expected to do their best writing and present it well  when writing in subjects other than English, pupils produce a good standard of handwriting, spelling, grammar and punctuation.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders and governors share, and consistently communicate, their high expectations and ambition for pupils to achieve and behave as well as possible. Since the previous inspection, they have worked to raise achievement and the quality of teaching.  Over the last two years, the executive headteacher, supported by the school manager, has successfully raised the expectations of all the staff about what pupils can achieve. Significant changes have been introduced. These include rigorous systems to track the progress of pupils and procedures to check on the quality of teaching. The staff are a committed team who work well together.  The leadership is very clear about the strengths and areas for improvement. Leaders, including, governors, are clear about the priorities for improvement and have a good plan to ensure priorities are achieved.  Systems for checking the performance of staff are rigorous. There are high expectations for the quality of

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The leadership and management are good

teaching. Training is provided once needs are identified. The management of teachers’ performance is firmly linked to pupils’ progress. Pay enhancement is not awarded unless teachers meet targets for pupils’ achievement. While teachers are well motivated and value the opportunities they are given to improve their teaching, leaders do not fully utilise the expertise both in school and in other local schools.  The senior leaders have focused on improving the quality of teaching and have a very efficient system to check whether teaching is improving. The school has worked in close partnership with the local authority to improve the quality of provision in the early years and Key Stage 1. This has resulted in improved provision and better outcomes being achieved by the pupils.  As a small school, leadership is shared. Senior and middle leaders are supported by staff from Upper Wharfedale High School. For example, the leadership of special educational needs is of high quality,

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The leadership and management are good

ensuring that the progress of this group of children is sharply tracked and provision of a good quality is provided.  The school promotes equality of opportunity well by tracking the progress of pupils precisely and taking necessary action if there are signs of potential underachievement. While there are only a small number of pupils entitled to pupil premium funding, the additional funds are targeted effectively to provide disadvantaged pupils with the support they need to enable them to overcome difficulties and to help them make faster progress.  The well-organised curriculum supports not only literacy and numeracy but also promotes very effectively the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The curriculum is enhanced by a whole range of enrichment activities. Pupils are very appreciative of the opportunities that they have. For example, they said they enjoyed their visit to York Museum and Year 6 pupils said they loved their residential visit to

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The leadership and management are good

Carlton Lodge.  Leaders, including governors, work hard to support the pupils’ understanding of values such as perseverance, tolerance, honesty and responsibility. This is exemplified in their recent ‘Values Day’ in which the pupils and the community came together to explore their values, which included learning about other cultures. Such work helps to create the calm atmosphere and positive ethos within the school. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  The leadership has used the government’s additional primary school sports funding to ensure more pupils regularly participate in sport. Pupils enjoy swimming and sports sessions led by specialist teachers at Upper Wharfedale Secondary School. Pupils’ enjoyment of physical activity and improved competence in a range of physical education activities has increased as a consequence.  The school benefits further from the partnership with Upper Wharfedale Secondary School with pupils

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The leadership and management are good

enjoying specialist language lessons.  The school enjoys very good relationships with parents who are very supportive. Parents who completed the online survey would recommend the school to others. The school is very much at the heart of the local community and this is evident in the ‘scarecrow festival’ which raises much appreciated funds to support the school.  The school meets all safeguarding statutory requirements. Risk assessments are thorough, as are policies, and these contribute to the effective arrangements for keeping children safe.  The governance of the school:  Since the previous inspection, the governors have worked successfully to galvanise all involved in the school community to respond to the issues raised and ensure that they provide the very best for the pupils.  The governing body understands its role to challenge the leadership of the school. They are well informed about the school’s progress towards its priorities. Governors are well placed to challenge

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The leadership and management are good

leaders to speed up pupils’ progress because they closely analyse data and understand how well different groups of pupils are doing.  Governors have a detailed understanding of the quality of teaching and its impact on pupils’ performance, including those eligible for the pupil premium. They know that teachers’ salaries and targets are linked to pupils’ progress.  The governing body is committed to ensuring pupils have rich opportunities and understand the impact that primary sports funding is having on staff expertise and pupils’ health and well-being.  Governors ensure that current safeguarding requirements are met.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils show respect for one another, staff and visitors. They are aware of the importance of good behaviour and understand what will happen when they do not behave as well as they should.  All parents who responded to Parent View, felt that pupils are well behaved and well looked after. The school is ‘a wonderful environment and my child is very happy’ was one parent’s description, typical of many.  Pupils show a very caring attitude to one another and the older pupils show great maturity in carrying out jobs, including serving lunch and taking care of the younger children at playtime.  Attitudes to learning are good and on most occasions pupils work hard in lessons. However, on some occasions, pupils do not take enough care with their work. This is particularly the case in writing, when sometimes pupils, mainly boys, do not take pride in their presentation. Grammar and spelling can be less

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Behaviour

than good.  The school has worked successfully to ensure the attendance of pupils is good. Attendance is improving and is now above the national average. This is because pupils enjoy coming to school and are very happy.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Commitment to child protection is a priority for the school and all adults receive the necessary training to ensure they can recognise and report any possible signs of abuse.  Pupils know how to keep themselves safe when using the internet. They are aware of different kinds of bullying and the impact this can have on them and their friends. Parents and pupils know who to speak to if they are worried, and are confident that their concerns will be dealt with quickly and thoroughly.  The school’s emphasis on promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development means there are few incidents of name calling or use of discriminatory language.  The school’s procedures to ensure the site is secure are rigorous, and regular checks are made by leaders to make sure that health and safety requirements are being met. Pupils feel safe and parents agree.

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Safety

 Procedures to ensure that staff are well trained in how to keep pupils safe and to ensure that visitors are checked are thorough.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers plan lessons that the pupils find interesting and are motivated in their learning. A Key Stage 1 science lesson typified this. Pupils were exploring their nature area to observe plants and insects. Prior to entering the nature area they enjoyed a video clip on plants and the worksheet they used was attractive and stimulating. This ensured pupils enjoyed their learning and they demonstrated good observational skills.  Relationships between teachers and pupils, and among the pupils themselves, are excellent. Pupils work hard to participate and when they are asked a question they are always willing to respond. They listen well and are respectful of each other’s answers and comments.  Reading is taught well and pupils gain a lot of pleasure from reading a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books. They have a good grasp of the sounds letters make (phonics), which gives them confidence in

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The quality of teaching is good

reading new words. Teachers provide activities across the curriculum which require pupils to draw on their good reading skills.  Pupils enjoy their mathematics lessons. They are given opportunities to apply their learning of new concepts within practical problems and are encouraged to think about the methods that they use.  The teaching for pupils with special educational needs is well planned and organised. The teacher with responsibility for these pupils is passionate about ensuring that this group of pupils does well. A mixture of whole-class, small-group and individual sessions is used effectively to help these pupils make good progress. They are well supported by a small team of teaching assistants who help them to take a full part in the lesson and generally give them enough time to try and resolve difficulties themselves. This enables them to learn well and not be over reliant on adult help.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Most teaching makes sure that the tasks set for the pupils are challenging. However, on occasions pupils are given tasks that are too easy and even when this is recognised teachers do not change what they are expecting pupils to do. This means that learning and progress slow for some of the pupils, particularly the most able.  When writing, teachers ensure that pupils gain a clear understanding of spelling, punctuation and grammar. That said, they do not all insist that pupils apply these skills consistently in their writing in other subjects of the curriculum. The presentation of writing is sometimes below what the pupils, particularly boys, are capable of and they make errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar when doing their topic work.  Teachers’ marking is generally accurate and pupils appreciate the corrections that are made to their work and the supportive comments that are often made responding to them. On occasions, marking does not

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The quality of teaching is good

follow the school’s policy and give pupils precise enough guidance as to how they can improve their work. As a result, pupils do not always understand how they can do better.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils join the school with a wide range of skills and the school builds on these well. This enables pupils to make good progress and attain national averages in reading, writing and mathematics by the time they leave in Year 6.  Children make good progress in the early years and enter Year 1 well prepared for the next stage in their learning. All of the children in the current Reception class achieved a good level of development.  The school leaders have worked hard to raise achievement in Key Stage 1 since the previous inspection. Pupils are now making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Attainment by the end of Year 6 is broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics. Achievement dipped at the end of Year 6 in 2014, but school data and pupils’ work show that pupils are now making good progress across the school. The current Year 6 are on track to do better than in the last two years

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The achievement of pupils is good

with pupils achieving above the national average in reading and mathematics but only in line with average in writing.  By the time pupils leave the school, there is little difference in the attainment of boys and girls, who achieve well.  Pupils with special educational needs make good, and sometimes rapid, progress. The needs of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are carefully identified. Staff match work to their needs meticulously. This is also true for pupils at risk of falling behind, who are now filling the gaps in their learning quickly. Their good progress shows the school is successful in providing equality of learning for all.  There are too few pupils eligible for the pupil premium funding to comment on their attainment in comparison to others. The school uses additional funding well to quicken the progress of the small number of eligible pupils. They receive extra support from teachers and other adults, sometimes through small-

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The achievement of pupils is good

group and one-to-one sessions, and so achieve as well as, and often better than, other pupils.  The most able pupils make similar progress to other pupils. On most occasions, teachers plan work that challenges them to think more deeply and advance their learning.  Pupils are very appreciative of the opportunities they get in other subjects of the curriculum. However, pupils, particularly the boys, do not always achieve to their potential or take pride in their written when doing their topic work.

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The early years provision is good

 Children achieve well in the early years, making good progress from starting points which are wide ranging, especially in language and communication skills, and in their understanding of the world. Attainment is rising year on year and by the end of the early years children are prepared well for entry to Key Stage 1. All of the current Reception-aged children will enter Year 1 with a good level of development.  Teaching is good and staff work extremely well together. ‘Learning journeys’ provide detailed description of the progress of each child and these are used by staff to plan next steps in learning. Well-planned activities that are relevant to children’s ages and interest capture their curiosity. Children are well motivated and become quickly engaged in learning.  The children are safe and secure. They follow classroom routines without fuss, behave and work together well, supporting one another in discussion or when working on activities. They show confidence and a

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The early years provision is good

readiness to learn, which comes in part from the good example set by the older pupils in the class.  Children acquire good knowledge of phonics, and use this to make a good start with reading. With the assistance of adults, the most able children are able to write simple sentences.  Good leadership and management of the early years have improved the provision found at the time of the previous inspection. The environment is stimulating and resources are colourful and are organised to provide many exciting opportunities through which children can learn.

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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 121406 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 462230

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 29 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Anne Vetch Executive Headteacher Andrew Taylor Date of previous school inspection 26 June 2013 Telephone number 01756 760280 Fax number 01756 760280 Email address admin@kettlewell.n-yorks.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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