Ramsden Primary School

Ramsden Primary School High Road, Carlton-in-Lindrick, Worksop, Nottinghamshire S81 9DY

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 The headteacher has developed an ambitious and positive learning environment. Pupils are proud to attend Ramsden Primary School and as a consequence, their progress is improving.  Teaching, learning and assessment are good. Teaching in Key Stage 2 has improved since the previous inspection.  Children make good progress in the early years as a result of good teaching. The creative outdoor environment enables children to achieve well.  Teachers are enthusiastic and care about the pupils. As a result, pupils present their work well and follow the advice given by their teachers.  The school has strong links with parents to inform them about their child’s learning. As a result, parents are strongly supportive of the school.  Pupils are polite, courteous and behave well.  Teaching assistants are deployed well to support pupils’ learning.  Governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Governors are

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This is a good school

committed to the school and visit the school regularly.  The school offers a wide range of extra-curricular activities. Pupil participation for these activities is high.  The school has developed a highly engaging curriculum which involves learning outside as well as in the classrooms. The curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Standards in writing are not as high as those in reading and mathematics.  Teaching and leaders’ monitoring does not always focus well enough on the needs of the most-able pupils, particularly in Key Stage 1.  School improvement planning does not always have measureable targets by which governors can check if actions taken have been successful.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by: – ensuring that the school improvement priorities have measureable success criteria to enable governors to hold leaders to account – subject leaders checking more closely on the quality of teaching and learning for their subjects to address any weaknesses promptly and ensure good progress for the most-able pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment to raise pupils’ outcomes, particularly in Key Stage 1, by: – setting more challenging activities for the most-able pupils across the curriculum – improving pupils’ grammar and vocabulary in their writing composition.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The headteacher is passionate about raising the aspirations of all pupils and has successfully communicated this aim to pupils and staff. The school has invited role models into school – such as a professor, a doctor, a nurse and a meteorologist – to enhance the pupils’ learning as well as to inspire them to aim high. As a result, pupils are engaged in their learning and want to achieve well.  All members of staff are supportive of the leadership of the headteacher and feel the school has improved since the previous inspection. The headteacher is well supported by the two able assistant headteachers, who lead by example in the classroom. The school works well with local schools and a range of other organisations to support teachers’ continuous professional development in order to raise standards. Leaders use performance management targets of teachers effectively to ensure that pupils make good

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

progress. Results of the staff questionnaire show that morale is high and staff are proud to work at the school.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. The use of the outside facilities allows pupils to appreciate the natural world. In addition, the invitation to people from different cultures and faiths into school improves pupils’ knowledge and ensures that they are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils have a good understanding of right and wrong and know there could be consequences if they make the wrong choices.  At the end of Key Stage 2 attainment is rising in reading, mathematics and English grammar, spelling and punctuation. Pupils are making better progress through the school than they were previously. The standard of pupils’ writing has not improved as quickly because pupils are not applying their grammatical skills to their writing composition.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Leaders have planned a broad and balanced curriculum both inside the classroom and outside in the school grounds and local forest. Pupils perform plays for parents in the amphitheatre and have studied the types of birds who feed from the school’s feeding stations. In addition, pupils are provided with regular opportunities to investigate scientifically and enjoy the creative music lessons. There are a range of extra-curricular activities, including cookery and homework clubs, to support pupils’ learning. As a result, pupils are making better progress through the school.  Leaders are committed to ensuring equality of opportunity for all groups of pupils. Disadvantaged pupils have been able to attend a multi-modal club, which has allowed pupils to design and make items such as mechanical clocks and then complete writing tasks to improve the pupils’ literacy skills. The pupil premium funding is used to well to support a range of intervention groups to boost the progress of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

disadvantaged pupils in reading, writing and mathematics. Current school assessment information shows this group of pupils are making good progress through the school.  The school uses the sports premium funding well to increase pupils’ participation in sport. Leaders monitor how many pupils take up an extra-curricular sports club and actively encourage pupils who may be reluctant at sport to try a club. As a result, pupils’ participation in extra-curricular sports clubs is high. The sports coach also puts on extra clubs at lunchtimes for pupils and the school has increased the amount of time pupils go swimming to ensure that more pupils reach the required standard by the end of Key Stage 2.  Parents are very supportive of the school and recognise the improvements made since the arrival of the headteacher. The school engages well with parents. There are opportunities for parents to speak to teachers in the morning before school begins and regular drop-in sessions for parents to stay for the first

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

half hour of the day to participate in the pupils’ learning. In addition, parents are invited to the celebration assembly on a Friday and enjoy reading the pupils’ blogs on the website.  The headteacher and other senior leaders regularly monitor the progress of pupils through a range of lesson observations, using evidence from pupils’ work and pupils’ assessment information. As a result, almost all groups of pupils are making better progress. However, subject leaders do not regularly review how their subject is being delivered to ensure that any weaknesses are identified and addressed quickly to enable all groups of pupils, particularly the most-able pupils, to make accelerated progress.  The governance of the school – Governance is good because governors have a range of expertise to challenge and support the school. The Chair of Governors and other governors regularly visit the school to speak to staff and pupils and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

produce reports to share their findings at governing body meetings. – Governors regularly check on the performance of disadvantaged pupils and monitor the effectiveness of the pupil premium funding. They are committed to promoting equality of opportunity and fund educational visits and clubs to enable disadvantaged pupils to ensure that there are no barriers to learning. – Spending is monitored well and the school’s finances are in a healthy position. – Governors use the advice of the local authority advisor to set performance targets for the headteacher and review the progress towards these targets mid-year. – Governors are aware of the need to improve pupils’ writing and have set up their own rewards to celebrate pupils’ writing in each class. In addition, the governor responsible for literacy comes into school to talk to pupils and look at their writing. – Governors’ monitoring of the school’s performance is not as robust as it could be because the school’s

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

improvement plan does not always have measurable success criteria by which governors can check if actions taken by the school leaders has been effective.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders are very proactive about safeguarding and all statutory requirements are met. All staff have received the appropriate safeguarding training and all teachers have completed the ‘Prevent’ programme to identify pupils who may be at risk of radicalisation. Leaders work very well with different agencies to ensure that pupils are safely protected. All parents who completed the Parent View survey said their child was safe at school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teaching in Key Stage 2 has improved rapidly from the previous inspection. Teachers are enthusiastic and closely check on the progress that pupils make in lessons and carefully plan the next steps of learning. As a consequence, most groups of pupils are making good progress.  The teaching of reading is highly effective. In a Year 3/4 lesson, pupils studied The iron man by Ted Hughes, and were given opportunities to explore the author’s choice of words and phrases and the effect they have on the reader. There is a good choice of books available in Bookland and pupils are encouraged to read at home. As a result, pupils achieve highly at the end of Key Stage 2.  Pupils are improving their spelling, punctuation and grammar skills. Teachers regularly reinforce the need for good punctuation and pupils respond well and make good progress. Pupils have a good understanding of the technical vocabulary associated with grammar. However, they are not always applying these skills

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

effectively when they are completing their own writing composition or using ambitious vocabulary. Writing targets for the most-able pupils are not always as challenging as they could be to ensure that this group of pupils make consistently good progress.  The school provides a range of intervention groups to boost the pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics. The progress of these groups is monitored regularly by senior leaders and they are proving effective to accelerate pupils’ learning.  All teachers follow the school’s marking and feedback policy. Pupils respond well to the teachers’ advice and act upon it. Teaching assistants are deployed well and ask good questions to pupils to move their learning forward. As a consequence, the standard of their work is improving.  The teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds that they make) has been reorganised and has improved as a result. Teachers and teaching assistants have good subject knowledge and pupils are using their

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

phonics to help them read unfamiliar words in their reading books.  Pupils have good opportunities to investigate in science, particularly in Years 5 and 6. For example, pupils have investigated how they can change the brightness of a bulb and the speed of a motor. In addition, the school organised for a professor of science to come and talk to the pupils when they were studying the theory of evolution. Pupils are also expected to write up detailed conclusions to their investigations. As a result, pupils are adequately prepared for science in Key Stage 3.  Pupils are being given opportunities to problem solve in mathematics to develop their mathematical understanding. Pupils are developing a fluency in their calculation skills. However, some of the older pupils have not yet learnt their times tables and teachers have quite rightly focused pupils’ learning on this area of mathematics. The most-able group of pupils are not always challenged to deepen their

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

mathematical reasoning skills, particularly in Key Stage 1.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupil’s personal development and welfare is good. Pupils enjoy the responsibilities that are available, including being a member of the school council or an eco-warrior. Pupils are respectful and told inspectors that you should never judge anyone before getting to know them.  Pupils have a good understanding of all forms of bullying. The whole school took part in activities for anti- bullying week. Pupils have a good understanding of cyber bullying and homophobic bullying and know what to do if bullying happens. A governor visit, planned during anti-bullying week, concluded that even the youngest pupils were confident in telling adults if anything upset them and that the school was a safe environment. Pupils said that bullying is rare at the school and are confident that adults at school would deal with it effectively. As a result, pupils’ emotional well-being is taken care of.

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Personal development and welfare

 Pupils have opportunities to learn about other cultures and faiths. Pupils enjoyed Polish food tasting and have learnt about Diwali. During the inspection, pupils listened attentively to a Chinese traditional story in preparation for Chinese New Year.  Pupils are encouraged to be healthy and participate in physical activity. There are a range of extra- curricular sport clubs, such as fencing, archery, hockey and tag rugby. The school has a girls’ and boys’ football team playing in local leagues and the school participates in a wide range of tournaments and festivals with other local schools in the cluster. As a consequence, the number of pupils who participate in sport is high.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils move around the school in an orderly manner and they say behaviour is good in classrooms. Pupils take care to present their work neatly and enjoy the creative homework tasks. Some of their homework is on display in the school.  Pupils’ relationships with adults are good. They are courteous to adults and each other. Pupils listen well in lessons and work hard. Pupils are eager to earn dojo points and team points as a reward for good work. Occasionally, some of the most-able pupils, particularly in Key Stage 1, lose focus in their learning because the tasks are not challenging enough.  Attendance overall is good. The school’s business manager closely tracks the attendance of all pupils. However, leaders are aware of a small minority of pupils whose attendance is not good and are working with outside agencies to improve the attendance levels. This has started to have a positive effect for

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Behaviour

some of these pupils. The school has recently written to parents to inform them that they will issue penalty fines for unauthorised leave of absence.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Outcomes at the end of Key Stage 2 have risen over the last two years in reading, English grammar, punctuation and spelling, and mathematics. The writing outcomes dropped in 2015. Girls attained higher than boys in all subjects. Attainment in reading in 2015 was significantly above the national average and pupils made very good progress from their starting points at the end of Key Stage 1.  Disadvantaged pupils made good progress through Key Stage 2. They made broadly the same expected progress or better compared to other pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. In addition, they made more than expected progress compared to other pupils nationally in reading and mathematics. They attained higher than their classmates in reading and mathematics but lower in writing.  The most-able pupils also made good progress through Key Stage 2. The proportion of pupils who attained the higher Level 5 in the end of Key Stage 2 assessments in 2015 was broadly the same as other

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Outcomes for pupils are good

pupils nationally in mathematics, English grammar, punctuation and spelling, higher in reading, but lower in writing. Observations of teaching and scrutiny of pupils’ current work shows that this group of pupils could be challenged more to extend their learning.  Outcomes at the end of Key Stage 1 have been broadly in line with the national average until last year, when they dipped. Leaders have taken swift action to improve the quality of teaching and as a result outcomes are expected to rise in 2016.  The large majority of pupils have passed the phonics check in Year 1 in the last three years. However, there had been a steady decline in the pass rate. As a result, the school has changed the way it teaches phonics and pupils’ current progress is good and the pass rate is expected to rise this year.  The provision for pupils who have special educational needs or disability is good. Pupils receive tailored

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Outcomes for pupils are good

programmes of support, which can include support from external agencies, and their progress is closely tracked. The teaching is focused and as a result this group of pupils makes good progress. The progress of pupils who have English as an additional language is also closely tracked and currently this group is also making good progress.  Current school information shows that progress for most pupils continues to be good across the school in most subjects. More pupils are on track to reach age-related expectations. However, writing attainment still lags behind reading and mathematics, although the gap is closing. The boys’ attainment is rising to that of the girls across the school.

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Early years provision is good

 The well-planned curriculum enables children to learn through adult-led activities as well as child-initiated play. The outdoor learning environment engages the children. The construction hut, designed to coincide with the school’s building works, is of particular interest to the children. During Arts week, the children were painting in the style of Jackson Pollock. As a result, children are enthused to learn and make good progress.  The teaching is good. The teacher and teaching assistants are a skilful team. They know the children well and carefully plan the next steps of learning. One teaching assistant skilfully engaged two boys to complete addition calculations while another took a boy outside to practise writing his name with a big piece of chalk.  Reading is promoted well. Children are eager to reach the top of the reading rocket for reading frequently at home. Children are currently learning about traditional tales and have a good recollection of the stories

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Early years provision is good

they have read and the features of traditional tales. Children have been eager to act out the stories in the role-play area and thus further develop their communication and language skills. In addition, children enjoyed a music session linked to the Three little pigs and learned the correct names of musical instruments.  The school has good links with the parents. The parents are engaged in the transition process into Reception and are encouraged to complete their child’s I am unique book, to share their child’s achievements at home with their classmates.  The teaching of phonics is good. Staff have good subject knowledge, which enables pupils to have a good understanding of what they are learning. The children’s phonic knowledge is further supported through the teaching of writing, where pupils are encouraged to use their phonics to spell words.  The leader has tailored the curriculum to meet the needs of all pupils. Targeted intervention linked to

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Early years provision is good

communication, reading and writing is having a positive impact upon the children’s achievement. The gender gap is beginning to close, with more boys expected to achieve a good level of development this year than previously. Overall, the children make good progress from their starting points and more children attain a good level of development than achieved nationally. As a result, the children are well prepared to start in Year 1.  Links with external agencies to support the children’s needs are good. Safeguarding arrangements in the early years are effective.

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School details

Unique reference number 122627 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 10001804

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School details

This inspection 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 181 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Unwin Headteacher/Principal/Teacher in charge Christopher Wilson Telephone number 01909 730408 Website www.ramsdenschool.com Email address Ramsden.office@ramsden.notts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 29–30 October 2013

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The very large majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils for whom the pupil premium provides support is just below average. This is the additional funding to support pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The school runs its own breakfast club, which is managed by the governing body.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below the national average.  The headteacher has been in post since April 2014.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed in 24 lessons, some jointly with the headteacher and one assistant headteacher.  Inspectors looked at pupils’ work covering a range of subjects.  Inspectors met with a group of Key Stage 2 children and listened to pupils read from Key Stage 1.  Meetings were held with: senior leaders; leaders for English, mathematics and science; the leaders responsible for early years and pupils who have and special educational needs or disability; six members of the governing body and the representative from the local authority.  Inspectors spoke to parents informally at the start of the school day and also considered the 33 responses to the online Ofsted questionnaire Parent View.  The inspector also considered the questionnaires completed by 16 members of the school staff.  Inspectors looked at a range of documentation, including: the school’s self-evaluation; school improvement plan; minutes of meetings of the governing body; the school’s most recent information on

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Information about this inspection

pupil achievement; and information related to teaching, performance management, attendance, behaviour and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Martin Finch, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Graham Boyd Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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