Conisbrough Ivanhoe Primary Academy

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Mr Joe Brian Conisbrough Ivanhoe Primary Academy Old Road Conisbrough Doncaster South Yorkshire DN12 3LR

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Short inspection of Conisbrough Ivanhoe Primary Academy

Following my visit to the school on 17 February 2016, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since your predecessor school was judged to be good in December 2010 and since you converted to academy status in 2012. An interim assessment in 2014 judged that your performance as a good school had been sustained.

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Short inspection of Conisbrough Ivanhoe Primary Academy

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have addressed the areas for improvement identified in the inspection prior to your conversion to academy status. Many members of the leadership team are new to their roles since the school converted to academy status. The assistant headteacher became the deputy headteacher and three members of staff took on key roles in middle leadership positions. You have an extremely cohesive team which works well to ensure that the needs of pupils are appropriately met. You have empowered middle and senior leaders and they now enthusiastically work with you to bring about improvements. You and your team have a passion to ensure that the pupils enjoy a wide and exciting range of educational experiences, which enhance their personal and academic development.

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Short inspection of Conisbrough Ivanhoe Primary Academy

Through half-termly pupil progress meetings with every teacher, you and your team evaluate the progress and attainment of every pupil in the school. Consequently, you pick up on individual and groups of pupils who are not making the progress they should. Since the establishment of a new middle leadership team, there has been more focus on the development of the early years and Key Stage 1 provision. The positive impact of changes in the early years is already evident. However, the rate of improvement has been slower in Key Stage 1. Since becoming an academy, the school gained funding for improvements to the structure of the building, such as the new roof, which has made the school a safer and more comfortable environment for the pupils. You have also been able to ensure that by heavily subsidising all visits and visitors, all pupils are able to take part in extra-curricular activities.

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Short inspection of Conisbrough Ivanhoe Primary Academy

You have ensured that the safety of pupils in the school is a priority and that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. The designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and the parent support officer (PSO) work extremely well together and with outside agencies to make sure the needs of all pupils, but particularly vulnerable pupils, are met. Records of behaviour incidents are meticulous, these and other records are of high quality. They are monitored closely by the DSL.

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Short inspection of Conisbrough Ivanhoe Primary Academy

All staff are appropriately trained so that they have an up-to-date knowledge of the most recent government guidance. Appropriate checks are made and recorded on all adults who work with the pupils, to keep them safe. The safeguarding governor demands a termly review of all safeguarding matters so that he can check and challenge the school in making sure that pupils are safe.

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Short inspection of Conisbrough Ivanhoe Primary Academy

Pupils say they feel safe and are knowledgeable about keeping themselves safe in a range of situations. Pupils articulate how they must not always trust everybody they meet on the internet and how they must not give out personal information.

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Inspection findings

 Evidence from the inspection confirms that Conisbrough Ivanhoe Academy is still a good school. You know your school very well and work well to make sure that pupils enjoy coming to school. They value the learning experiences you plan for them. Pupils talk enthusiastically about their lessons and the visitors they have in school. Visiting experts help pupils to develop and use a range of skills. For example, pupils in Year 6 are currently working with a sculptor to design and create a piece of art which will remain in school as a lasting tribute to these pupils.  You and your senior and middle leaders have worked assiduously to find an assessment system which suits the needs of your school. The assessment system you have implemented is being carefully monitored and moderated so that it shows a realistic picture of how well the pupils in the school are doing. You are also making sure that it is a useful tool to identify any gaps in learning as they

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Inspection findings

occur.  Children enter the early years with little pre-school experience and with levels of attainment which are typically lower than expected for children of that age. A recent change in the leadership of the early years has impacted dramatically on the learning environment and progress of these younger children. In 2015, there was a noticeable improvement in the attainment of children so that by the time they left the early years they reached levels which were at or above those expected for their age. Initiatives, such as small groups of children working with adults for 10 minute mathematics and phonics (learning letter sounds) sessions, have supported this accelerated progress. The environment both inside and outside allows children access to all areas of learning. This highly stimulating learning environment means that children concentrate appropriately for considerable lengths of time on one activity and achieve well. Children are now

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Inspection findings

involved in daily planning so that their interests are taken into account when activities are organised. This has meant that boys, who have not done as well as girls in the past, are more engaged in their learning and are making better progress as a result. Assessments, both formal and informal, take place on a daily basis to check on children’s learning and ensure that they benefit from the rich learning environment.  Pupils make strong progress in Key Stage 2 in mathematics and reach high standards by the time they leave the school. This means they are well prepared to tackle this subject when they move to their chosen secondary school. Pupils say how much they enjoy mathematics lessons. Pupils in Year 3 used matchsticks and marshmallows to help them recognise the different properties of a range of three-dimensional shapes. Each morning, pupils take part in a task they call countdown, to help reinforce mathematical knowledge and use strategies they

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Inspection findings

have learned in a range of situations. This helps pupils gain a thorough understanding of mathematics and allows teachers to immediately identify any misconceptions or gaps in knowledge.  The support that pupils receive from teaching assistants is exceptional. In every literacy and numeracy lesson, teachers identify any pupil who has not fully understood. Teaching assistants then support these pupils to help them understand. This, among other strategies, has ensured that any gaps in attainment between different groups of pupils are quickly addressed. By the time pupils leave the school, there are no gaps in attainment between different groups of pupils.  Pupils leave the school attaining standards in reading, writing and mathematics that are consistently above that expected for their age and above other pupils of the same age nationally. All pupils consistently make the progress that is expected of them in reading, writing and mathematics. However, you and the

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Inspection findings

rest of the team recognise the need for more pupils to gain even higher levels of attainment and for a greater proportion to make more than expected progress in reading and writing, as they do in mathematics. Some strategies have already been put in place, for example daily guided reading sessions, class libraries, handwriting heroes, reading weeks and talk for writing, and these are already showing signs of accelerating pupils’ progress in developing these skills.  You, the governors and your leadership team recognise that the progress and attainment of pupils in Key Stage 1 is not as strong as in other areas of the school. The learning environment in Year 1 has now been adapted so that pupils are more able and willing to continue learning as they were in the early years. However, these changes are relatively new and need to be monitored. School leaders also identified some weaknesses in the quality of teaching in Key Stage 1

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Inspection findings

and addressed this issue with appropriate support plans to improve the quality of teaching in this key stage.  Pupils enjoy coming to school and their good attendance is a testament to this. Pupils work cooperatively in lessons. Relationships are strong. A carefully planned personal, social and health education programme helps pupils to develop a strong moral and social awareness and learn about fundamental British values. Religious education lessons ensure that pupils learn about the different beliefs of other people. Pupils say that bullying is rare, as is disruption in lessons from poor behaviour. The expectations for behaviour in the school are high. Pupils enjoy speaking to visitors and are proud of their school and their achievements. All parents who responded to Ofsted’s Parent View survey said that they thought their child was happy at school and made good progress.  Governors continually review their processes and practices so that they support

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Inspection findings

and challenge the school. Termly meetings give them this opportunity. They manage finances carefully, alongside the senior leadership team, to ensure the best use is made of funding, to ensure that pupils are safe and receive a good quality education. Governors have a wide range of skills which they use to support the school appropriately. They have an accurate knowledge of where the school needs to focus on improvement. They also wholeheartedly share the headteacher’s vision to ensure that the school’s curriculum meets the needs of the pupils. Two complaints received by the governors last year were recorded and dealt with appropriately. No complaints have been received this year.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 they improve attainment and progress in reading and writing so that it more closely matches that in mathematics

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Next steps for the school

 pupils learn as well in Key Stage 1 as they do in the rest of the school.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body, the Regional Schools Commissioner and the Director of Children’s Services for Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you, senior and middle leaders, and governors, including the Chair of the Governing Body and the safeguarding governor. I also spoke to pupils and groups of pupils at different times of the school day. I listened to pupils reading and discussed work in their books with them. I considered the responses from Parent View (the Ofsted online survey) and comments made by parents. We discussed your current school self-evaluation and school development plans. We visited classrooms together and discussed the quality of teaching in the school. I considered documents relating to behaviour, exclusions and complaints. I also reviewed a range of documents including those on the school’s website and those relating to safeguarding and pupils’ recent progress.

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