Osmotherley Primary School

Osmotherley Primary School School Lane, Osmotherley, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL6 3BW

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Require improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Early years provision Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 From their starting points, pupils do not make good progress. This is the case in the early years and across Key Stages 1 and 2 in reading, writing and mathematics.  Teaching quality is not consistently good because it is not always planned to match pupils’ learning needs. Work is too easy for some and too difficult for others.  When teachers check pupils’ work, they do not always give feedback which will help pupils to move their learning on. Pupils do not always respond to the feedback that they do receive.  When teachers question pupils, they do not always ensure that all pupils have an equal opportunity to answer. Furthermore, they do not always ensure that pupils have the chance to give full answers, with reasons for their responses.  Leaders do not yet ensure that training for teachers is having a fully positive impact on the quality of teaching in school.  Leaders do not always check that improvements in

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

teaching are carried out consistently.  Governors do not have a clear enough understanding of how well pupils are doing. They do not have an accurate view of the quality of teaching.  The early years provision is not good. Children do not make rapid progress because they are not always given the chance to reinforce important skills. Planning does not always ensure that work is well matched to children’s different needs.  The wider curriculum does not give pupils regular opportunities to reinforce the key skills of writing and mathematics, which slows their progress in these areas.

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The school has the following strengths

 The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils is a strength of the school. Pupils’ behaviour is good. They conduct themselves well and strong relationships are fostered between all pupils and adults in school.  By the end of Year 1, most pupils have a good understanding of letters and the sounds they make, which helps them with their reading.  The school’s use of the primary sport funding is good and means there have been much higher levels of participation in a variety of sports.  Pupils’ attendance is very good. They are always punctual to school as well. This is because they enjoy school.  The headteacher’s work to federate the school with two others has already started to impact on the achievement of pupils and the quality of teaching.  The headteacher engages parents well and parents appreciate that his hard work has secured the future of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed a range of lessons. Four lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher.  The inspector observed and spoke with pupils during lessons and assembly, at break times and at lunchtime. She also met formally with groups of pupils from the early years, Key Stages 1 and 2.  Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders. A meeting also took place with members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documents, including pupils’ work in their books, the school’s arrangements for safeguarding, performance management procedures, and pupils’ attendance data. The inspectors also looked at information about pupil progress and attainment.  The inspector considered parental responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and spoke to parents as they brought their children to school.

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Inspection team

Fiona McNally, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a much smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The majority of pupils are White British.  None of the pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is lower than the national average. The pupil premium is additional government funding to support pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals or who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below the national average.  Children enter the school in Reception on a full-time basis.  Pupils are taught in two classes, with pupils from Reception to Year 2 in one class and pupils from Year 3 to Year 6 in the second class.  The headteacher, who arrived in September 2013, has worked effectively with parents and the wider community to bring about the federation of Osmotherley with two other small schools, Swainby and Potto

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Information about this school

primary schools. This is to improve the opportunities for pupils’ learning and experiences, as well as the training and development of teachers.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that teaching is consistently good or better across all key stages, including the early years, so that pupils’ achievement improves by:  ensuring that teachers check accurately how well pupils are doing on a consistent basis and use this information to plan activities which are more challenging and which meet pupils’ needs more closely  ensuring that teachers give feedback consistently which pupils can use to make their work better, and that pupils have time to respond to the feedback  making sure that when questioning pupils, teachers give the pupils, including the youngest learners, the chance to respond and to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding fully, thus improving their oral communication and deepening their learning  making sure that all lessons across different subjects offer pupils opportunities to develop key skills, such as writing and mathematics, on a regular basis.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the impact of leaders and managers by:  ensuring that checks on teachers lead to training which meets teachers’ needs closely and that there are regular reviews on the impact of the training  ensuring that governors gain a wider view of the school’s assessment information and how this compares with national data  checking that improvements in teaching are carried out consistently.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Leadership and management have not yet secured strong achievement for all pupils. This is because, while the headteacher understands the need for further improvement in teaching, the training in place has not met teachers’ needs fully and brought about the necessary improvement.  While there have been clear improvements in the quality of teaching over the past 12 to 18 months, thanks to the headteacher’s initial accurate assessment of teachers’ needs, these improvements have not been consistent enough. For instance, marking is now done regularly and teachers always offer pupils feedback on their work; however, it does not identify what pupils need to do to improve their work. Equally, teachers do not always use the information they have on pupils’ progress to plan their next activities so that pupils move their learning on rapidly.  The appraisal of teachers is clear and ensures that the progress of pupils is the primary focus for all

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The leadership and management require improvement

teachers. It is starting to make teachers more accountable for the progress the pupils make.  All teachers have subject and area responsibilities in this small school. They organise intervention for those who need it, including support funded through the use of premium premium, but it does not always have a strong impact.  The primary sport funding is used to good effect. The headteacher has worked shrewdly with another school to maximise the funding and shares the skilful sports coach who has changed the way sport is approached in the school. Pupils now have much more regular access to a wide variety of sports. Despite being a small school with low numbers in each year group, the school is now competing at a high level locally, often with young pupils competing against older ones from other schools. Not only do pupils compete at this high level, they also win tournaments, with particular success in hockey. Pupils love the

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The leadership and management require improvement

breadth of sports they can play, as well as the chance to compete.  The headteacher has a very clear understanding of the challenges which face a very small school. He has worked very effectively to secure the school’s plans for the future to strengthen leadership, teaching and provision for the pupils. Much of his time has been focused on drawing together three small schools into a federation, so that through collaborative governance and use of funding, strong practice can be shared and classes can be focused on specific age groups. Where teaching has already started to focus on narrower age ranges, evidence shows that pupils make faster progress.  The curriculum is broad and pupils have regular opportunities to learn about a range of subjects, including a lot of time learning outside. However, the different subjects do not always reinforce the key skills. Opportunities are missed to ensure that pupils write and apply their mathematical skills across different

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The leadership and management require improvement

subjects. As a result, they do not make good progress in these areas.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils have a lot of opportunities to go on trips and hear visitors in school. They support children from other parts of the world through the charitable fundraising events. During the inspection, youngsters from Chernobyl were visiting, thanks to funds raised. As well as visiting local areas of interest, all these visiting children were provided with healthcare checks, dental treatment and access to new clothes and shoes. In this way, the pupils demonstrated compassion and interest in lifestyles which are different from their own. They are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Assessment of pupils is undertaken regularly and takes account of the standards pupils are reaching and the progress they are making. This shows that pupils make expected progress but not more than expected

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The leadership and management require improvement

progress. Governors are not fully aware of how well pupils are doing. They are aware of outcomes at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 but other pupils’ achievement is not understood clearly.  When the headteacher arrived, the standards in the school had declined since the last inspection in 2010. He has engaged parents so that they are full supporters of his work to make improvements. Evidence shows that the planned succession into a federation is already having some impact on pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching.  Different groups of pupils get on well. Discrimination of any sort is not tolerated and there are positive relationships fostered between different groups of pupils. There is sometimes inequality in the amount of focus given to older and younger pupils in each class, which slows the progress made by some of the younger ones.  The school works closely with the local authority. Officers have a clear understanding of the challenges

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The leadership and management require improvement

facing the school and they praise the headteacher’s work to make improvements. However, they also recognise that the work done to improve the succession planning for the school’s future has had an impact on how well leaders have moved the provision forward, which means achievement and teaching require further improvement.  The school’s arrangements for safeguarding are rigorous and meet statutory requirements. As a result, pupils are safe and they know how to keep themselves safe. Staff receive regular training, so that they know how to ensure that pupils remain safe.  The governance of the school:  Governance requires further improvement. Governors do not have a clear understanding of how well pupils achieve in comparison with other schools nationally. As a result, they have an overly generous understanding of how well different groups of pupils do. Assessment information is provided for governors, but they have not used this information accurately to gauge the quality of teaching and the

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The leadership and management require improvement

impact of this on pupils’ achievement.  Governors know that they receive funding for disadvantaged pupils and can explain how the money is used. However, they are unable to identify what the impact of this is on the very small numbers of disadvantaged pupils in school.  Governors ensure that the headteacher has targets to meet through the performance management system. They use this to ensure that he is accountable to the needs of the pupils.  Governors have worked hard with the headteacher to ensure that there is financial stability within the school, so that provision and opportunities for the pupils can develop. Early signs show that this work is having a positive impact on the pupils and that parents are pleased with these developments.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils conduct themselves well, especially when they are allowed to work more independently or when they are out of the classroom. They are very respectful of each other and all groups of pupils get on well together, including those from different background and pupils of different ages.  Pupils do not always have good attitudes to learning because activities do not always meet their needs closely enough. When this is the case, pupils finish their work and do not ask for more challenging work. When the teacher takes a longer than expected time to explain activities, pupils can become restless. Although they do not disrupt the class as a whole, they lose focus and concentration and do not listen carefully.  The attendance of pupils is much higher than the national average and has been for a number of years. Where there were specific concerns about individual pupils’ attendance, the leaders worked well with

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Behaviour

families to support the pupils and, as a result, their attendance has improved significantly. This has also meant that the overall attendance in the school rose significantly. Over a quarter of pupils have not had any absences reported this year. This demonstrates the pupils’ high level of enjoyment in coming to school.  Pupils arrive to school on time and get to lessons on time. Lateness is very rare and this shows that pupils are ready and keen to learn.  Pupils feel valued by teachers and leaders in school. They appreciate that their school is different from other schools because it is small and that all adults work to make sure they know them all very well. This is very evident as adults talk regularly with pupils at social times, including staff at lunch time who kindly guide pupils so that they can settle to their lunch quickly and make the most of their time playing outside.  Older pupils like the fact that they are asked to help the younger children and they do this very skilfully,

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Behaviour

learning from adults how to interact with each other positively. All groups of pupils display a strong understanding of how to share and take turns so that the social times and spaces are used well by all pupils.  Parents and staff, as well as pupils, feel that behaviour is managed well by leaders and teachers in school.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep safe and report that they always feel safe because of the close, family nature of their school.  Pupils report that there is no bullying. Nearly all pupils were spoken to throughout the inspection and this was a consistent message from them. Parents share this view and the records show that this is the case.  Pupils understand the different types of bullying there could be, including prejudice-based bullying and cyber bullying, thanks to regular teaching and events in school to help pupils keep themselves safe in various situations.  All adults are well trained to ensure that pupils are safe. There are higher levels of training for the person who has specific responsibility for pupils who may be vulnerable.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers do not check on pupils’ understanding closely enough on a regular basis. While this is done at times, it is not consistent. As a result, while teachers always prepare a variety of activities for the pupils to accommodate the different age groups within each class, they do not always ensure that these activities are appropriate for the pupils, based on what they know and can already do.  Where teaching is not good, activities are mostly not challenging enough and pupils find the work too easy. This means that their progress is slowed. Equally, for some low ability pupils, the work provided can represent too much of a jump from what they have done before and they do not receive enough support. As a result, these pupils’ progress is also slowed.  Teachers question pupils regularly. When this is done well, pupils listen carefully and are offered the chance to answer questions and give full answers, thus developing their oral communication skills.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

However, questioning is not done consistently well. At times, it is clear that the older pupils in each class are given more attention during questioning. Too often, the younger pupils in the class do not get the opportunity to answer. Equally, when questioning pupils, teachers do not always give pupils the chance to explain their answers. This means that pupils do not practise their oral communication skills well.  Literacy is not taught consistently well. As a result, pupils do not have the chance to write at length in a variety of styles across different areas of the curriculum. Equally, where spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes are made, they are not always identified by teachers. When they are highlighted, pupils do not always respond by making the corrections. This means that over time they do not make rapid progress in their learning.  Pupils are taught the mechanics of how to read well through the learning of phonics (letters and the

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

sounds they make). However, they are then not consistently challenged enough when they have passed the Year 1 national phonics check to move their learning on and make only expected progress in their reading over time.  Numeracy skills are not reinforced throughout the different subjects. In mathematics lessons, pupils do not always have the opportunity to apply their mathematical learning and this slows their progress. Where mathematics is taught well, pupils have the chance to solve problems and apply their learning to real life situations. They often go outside and use their mathematical knowledge creatively. However, opportunities to solve problems do not happen regularly enough.  Teachers do not always create a positive learning environment for the pupils. Of necessity, most of the time, lessons are taught to a wide range of age groups. Teachers usually have different activities for each age group; however, they often explain the different activities to the whole class, which is not useful for

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

the different groups of learners. The youngest learners, especially, can become restless and are less ready to learn when the activity begins. However, pupils rarely disrupt each other’s learning and remain quiet when the teacher explains work.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 From their different starting points, pupils do not make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. This is the case in all key stages. Pupils reach average standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the time they leave Year 6.  In 2014, as in some previous years, pupils in Year 2 left Key Stage 1 with higher than average standards in reading, writing and mathematics. In Year 2, pupils make more rapid progress than seen in other year groups. This has been the case consistently in Year 2 for the past two years and for those in Year 2 currently. These pupils do more challenging work which means more of them reach standards of reading, writing and mathematics beyond what is expected for their age. However, this does not continue when they move into Key Stage 2 and, therefore, they do not continue to reach the higher standards.  During lessons, pupils in Key Stage 2 are not fully challenged and this means that they do not have the

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

chance to move their learning on rapidly.  As pupils arrive in Year 1, they do so with expected levels of development in reading, writing and mathematics. The teaching of phonics is good and so a higher than average proportion passes the national screening check on phonics by the time they leave Year 1. In mathematics and writing, pupils make expected progress during Year 1 and enter Year 2 with average levels of attainment.  There are too few disadvantaged pupils in the school to make a viable judgment on how well these pupils do or compare their progress to that of others. There were too few disadvantaged pupils in the school in 2014 for their results to be published.  There are a few pupils with special educational needs. These pupils make the same progress as other pupils. They are given support in small groups but the effectiveness of this support is not checked on sufficiently to enable leaders to judge its impact.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The more-able pupils in school do not make good progress. Over time, they make expected progress but do not always make better than expected progress. As a result, by the time they leave school, they do not reach the highest standards in reading, writing and mathematics as they are capable of doing.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 Children in the early years do not make rapid progress. They arrive with levels of development in line with what is expected for their age. During their time in Reception, they do not make rapid progress and do not develop their skills well. Consequently, children’s skill level is in line with what is expected of them when they leave Reception.  The teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they make) is good so children make a good start to their reading. Therefore, children move into Year 1 with a good understanding of the mechanics of reading. However, other skills are not given the same focus and there are not enough opportunities for children to develop their mathematical or writing skills. This slows their development in these areas. This is also the case for other aspects of their development, such as their physical development.  Adults do not plan well enough to provide activities that meet the learning needs of all children. For

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The early years provision requires improvement

example, as the youngest children in a class with Year 1 and Year 2 pupils, these children are not expected to enter into class discussions and are not always involved in the questioning in class. Equally, they are expected, at times, to listen to the instructions for the older pupils, before their activities are explained. This makes these young children restless and they need more support to settle to their learning when this happens, otherwise their progress slows.  When children are taught with older pupils, they are not given enough opportunity to work things out for themselves and the older pupils can overwhelm them, with the result that they become less curious and confident in their own ideas.  Children in the early years conduct themselves well, despite being disengaged at times. They are polite to the adults and respect one another. They get on well with one another and are confident around the older

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The early years provision requires improvement

pupils at social times, during break and lunchtime. They are always safe and can describe what it means to be safe.  Leaders have not ensured that training for adults in the early years is having a positive impact on children’s learning. Training has been available and some feedback has been offered by the local authority which has identified that the provision requires some further improvement. However, the improvements have not been made consistently and this means that children are not making good progress during their time in Reception.

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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 121310 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 449758

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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 39 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Trevor Mitchell Headteacher David Sims Date of previous school inspection 14 January 2010 Telephone number 01609 883329 Fax number 01609 883146 Email address admin@osmotherley.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

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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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