Middleton-on-the-Wolds Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Middleton-on-the-Wolds Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Station Road, Middleton-on-the-Wolds, Driffield YO25 9UQ

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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 executive headteacher and senior leaders provide effective leadership to drive this improving school forward. Staff morale is high and staff work hard to achieve good outcomes for the pupils.  Governors have high aspirations for the school and an accurate view of performance. They hold school leaders and staff to account well.  Teaching is good and as a result pupils who are currently in the school are making good progress.  Pupils have good attitudes to learning and want to do well. Their behaviour in lessons and around the school is good.  Pupils feel safe in the school and have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe.  Children make an outstanding start to their education in the early years because the staff have very high expectations of them. From their starting points children make rapid progress and are currently attaining high standards.  The curriculum is planned well and the use of

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This is a good school

specialist teachers for music, mathematics and physical education adds to the quality of provision.  Outdoor learning is a key feature of the curriculum and, as a result, pupils have a heightened understanding of wildlife and environmental issues.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Just occasionally, some pupils are unable to solve more complex problems in mathematics because they have not been taught the skills necessary to complete them.  In pupils’ writing, common words are sometimes spelled incorrectly.  In some classes, pupils are not given enough opportunities to write at length in different subjects.  Pupils’ understanding of different faiths and cultures is not fully developed.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, and thereby raise achievement, by: ensuring that pupils have a secure knowledge of the skills needed to complete more complex problem-solving and investigation work in mathematics improving the ability of pupils to spell correctly, especially basic common words developing opportunities for pupils to apply their writing skills to longer pieces of writing across different subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Extend pupils’ understanding of other faiths and cultures.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The executive headteacher has effectively driven the school on a journey of improvement. He receives excellent support from the head of school and very good support from staff and governors to ensure that the school continues to improve. Staff morale is high and the school enjoys the confidence of parents and carers.  School leaders, including subject leaders, frequently check the quality of teaching and its impact on learning. This enables leaders to identify what is working well while recognising what needs to be improved.  The curriculum is broad and balanced and is well planned to meet the interests of all pupils. Pupils learn through a series of topics which are largely driven by pupils’ interests. For example the topic ‘centuries of chocolate’ resulted in some interesting work on trading fairly and calculating the ‘carbon footprint’ caused by transporting cocoa beans from South America to the United Kingdom.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The curriculum is enhanced by school visits, such as the one to France, where pupils have the opportunity to practise their French language skills. Pupils have opportunities to participate in a range of after-school sports clubs, such as cross-country running, and a gardening club that grows vegetables which are used in the school kitchen.  Outdoor learning is a particular strength and the school has been successful in reaching the national finals of the Green Ambassadors Award, organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Judges for the competition were particularly impressed with the scientific knowledge pupils had on such issues as the effect of the ozone layer on the environment.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is developed through the school’s Christian values. The school’s strong, caring ethos effectively supports pupils’ personal development and well-being. Topics

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

enable pupils to explore people and places beyond their own cultural experiences. However, pupils, leaders and governors recognise that pupils need to develop a deeper understanding of other faiths and cultures, beyond their immediate locality.  School leaders actively encourage pupils to adopt fundamental British values such as tolerance and respect for others. Assemblies and topic work enable pupils to understand equality and the rule of law. Members of the well-organised school council take their responsibilities seriously and represent other pupils in the school effectively.  The school uses the additional funding it receives for disadvantaged pupils well. It has a range of approaches to support pupils including one-to-one support and small-group work from well-trained teaching assistants. Current school information shows this has been successful and any attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils is being reduced rapidly.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The sports premium is used to provide specialist physical education and sports coaching for pupils and high- quality professional development for staff. As a result, pupils’ participation in a range of tournaments, events and clubs has significantly increased.  Systems to manage teachers’ performance are thorough. Targets for improvement are based on the teachers’ stage of career and school priorities. Teachers and support staff have access to good-quality professional development to support their continual improvement.  Following the previous inspection, the local authority has provided good support and challenge. This has been successful and has contributed to the school’s improvement.  The governance of the school Governance is good because governors have successfully challenged and supported school leaders to drive improvements since the previous inspection. They regularly visit the school to observe first-hand

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

the quality of provision pupils are receiving and how well pupils are doing. Governors make sure that additional pupil premium and primary sports funding are used effectively. They regularly check on the impact of the funding and ensure it provides good value for money. Effective systems are in place for the performance management of the headteacher and staff. Governors oversee the management of staff performance carefully.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The school has very strong systems for ensuring that pupils are safe and training for staff is thorough and up to date. Links with parents and external agencies, such as the local authority, are strong. Information meetings are held with parents alerting them to the potential dangers that the internet, social networking sites and specific video games can pose.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 The good progress that pupils make in key stage 1 is a result of high-quality teaching. A close scrutiny of pupils’ work, during the inspection, showed that they are challenged effectively with appropriate and well- thought-out learning activities.  Teaching in key stage 2 is improving and evidence collected during the inspection suggests that this is having a positive impact on pupils’ achievement. Just occasionally, in mathematics, a minority of pupils are not achieving as well as they could because they are not taught the skills necessary to solve complex problem-solving and investigation tasks.  Standards in writing are improving and pupils’ work in their English books shows a good range of different forms of writing. However, a scrutiny of books in other subjects showed that opportunities for pupils to write at length, and at a similar standard, are not consistent across the school.  The teaching of reading, including phonics (the sounds that letters represent), is good. Younger pupils use

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

their phonics knowledge well when reading and spelling unfamiliar words; older pupils read some quite challenging texts with confidence, fluency and expression.  The school’s marking and feedback policy is used consistently across the school. Pupils understand these approaches and their responses to marking assist the development of their learning most of the time. Just occasionally teachers do not address the misspelling of common everyday words.  Pupils are taught by specialist teachers in music and physical education, which has significantly improved provision in these subjects. To improve standards in mathematics, a specialist teacher has been employed to support pupils’ achievement across the school.  The most able pupils are mostly well served because teachers plan learning that provides an opportunity for all pupils to extend their skills. Evidence collected during the inspection showed that, typically, most-able

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

pupils are effectively challenged with appropriate learning activities.  Teachers and teaching assistants work well together to provide good support for individual pupils and small groups.  Leaders have refined the school’s assessment systems to track the progress pupils make in English and mathematics. Teachers’ judgements are carefully monitored by school leaders and checked through moderation meetings with other schools in the federation.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Clubs during lunchtime and after school give pupils lots of opportunities to extend their learning. These clubs are well attended and based on pupils’ preferences and interests. For example, a lunchtime story-writing club is the result of pupils organising support and presenting their views to school leaders.  Pupils are self-confident and prepared to put forward their views in a thoughtful and respectful way. The school council is well organised and very active in expressing the views of all pupils.  Pupils have a clear understanding of the different forms of bullying and feel that it is exceptionally rare in their school.  The school has good systems in place to keep pupils safe. Pupils say they feel safe in school and they have a good understanding of e-safety and the dangers of social media.  Pupils are encouraged to participate in physical activities. During break and lunchtimes pupils have a range

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Personal development and welfare

of equipment they can play with and the school offers a wide range of sports clubs that are well attended.  Parents agree that the school looks after their children very well. Parents commented that their children enjoy and love coming to school.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils conduct themselves well around the school and show respect for others. During the morning break and at lunchtimes they behave well, playing together sensibly.  Pupils listen to each other and teachers respectfully. They show a good awareness of each other’s needs and are quick to offer help.  Any rare incidents of inappropriate behaviour are dealt with effectively by school leaders.  Just occasionally, if learning slows, pupils can lose interest in what they are doing.  Rates of attendance are above those found nationally. Pupils are keen to come to school, are punctual and rarely absent.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Comparisons of the school’s outcomes with nationally published pupil progress and attainment information can be problematic at times due to the small, and fluctuating, numbers in each cohort. This is especially the case in key stage 2.  Since the previous inspection, standards have increased at key stage 1 and are now similar to, and sometimes above, national averages. Writing and mathematics in particular have shown a rapid increase in outcomes. This shows that pupils have made good progress from their starting points.  At key stage 2, outcomes dipped in 2015 but issues specific to the cohort made a significant difference to overall results. Evidence collected during the inspection shows that current pupils are making good progress across key stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils who are currently in Year 6 are well prepared for their next stage of education.  In 2015, there were too few disadvantaged pupils to comment on their outcomes. Nevertheless, the

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Outcomes for pupils are good

standards this group of pupils are achieving currently indicate that the gap in attainment is closing significantly between disadvantaged pupils and others in the school.  Pupils who have special educational needs or disability are making good progress from their different starting points. This is because teachers and teaching assistants know pupils well and give tailored support that meets their needs.  Increasing levels of challenge for the most able pupils are helping current pupils make better progress. As a result, these pupils are working above the expectations for their age.  Pupils make excellent progress in phonics and all pupils achieved the required standard in the phonics screening check for Year 1 pupils in 2015. Leaders have good evidence to suggest that this will be maintained in 2016.

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Early years provision is outstanding

 The early years is exceptionally well led and provision has improved significantly since the previous inspection. The early years leader is passionate about offering the very best provision for the children and is successful in doing so.  All staff in the early years have very high expectations that all children can and must succeed. The support that children receive is exceptional, which has resulted in the rapid progress they are currently making.  Children enter the Nursery class with skills and abilities that are below those typical for their age. Over time they have made good progress as they move through the early years, and the proportion of children who achieve a good level of development at the end of the Reception class has steadily increased over recent years. Currently, though, children are making excellent progress and nearly all are now working at a level that makes them well prepared for learning in Year 1.

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Early years provision is outstanding

 Evidence collected during the inspection showed that children who are currently in the Reception class have made rapid progress in their writing. A detailed scrutiny of children’s work showed how rapidly they have improved from simple mark-making to legible, well-structured and interesting sentences.  The teaching of phonics is excellent and children use their increasing knowledge of the sounds that letters represent to read and spell unfamiliar words.  Children learn through play and adults ensure that children are challenged to think more deeply about what they are learning. In a mathematics activity observed by the inspector, children were learning how to add together two numbers in the classroom before going outside to play a skittles activity that extended their learning further.  The outdoor area is exceptionally effective. Children take joy in working and playing in the space provided,

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Early years provision is outstanding

and with the range of stimulating activities available such as the ‘mud kitchen’ and an interesting water feature.  The early years leader, along with other early years staff, continually looks for opportunities to seize on children’s interests and carefully plans exciting activities that enhance their learning. Planned activities are also based on the specific needs of children such as developing their fine motor skills.  Children are happy learners; they cooperate well together, take turns and talk about their ideas. As a result, their behaviour is very good.  Children are kept very safe in the early years and all welfare requirements are met.

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School details

Unique reference number 117983 Local authority East Riding of Yorkshire Inspection number 10002129

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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 Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 3−11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 92 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Helen Worrell Headteacher Steve Woodhouse (executive headteacher) Telephone number 01377 217323 Website www.middletononthewoldsprimary.co.uk Email address middleton.primary@eastriding.gov.uk Date of previous inspection 3−4 December 2013

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Information about this school

 Middleton-on-the-Wolds CofE VC Primary School is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is above average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, who are known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium funding, is similar to national averages. The pupil premium is additional funding to support pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  In the early years, Nursery children attend part time and Reception children attend full time.  The school is federated with two other schools, Beswick and Watton Primary School, and Bishop Wilton

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Information about this school

Primary School, to form the Wolds Federation. The federation shares an executive headteacher and a governing body.  The executive headteacher is a local leader of education.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed learning in all classes. All were observed jointly with either the executive headteacher or head of school.  Pupils’ work was scrutinised with the head of school.  The inspector listened to pupils read.  Meetings were held with pupils, the executive headteacher, head of school, other staff, members of the governing body, and a representative of the local authority.  The inspector observed pupils moving around the school outside lessons, including on the playgrounds during breaks and in the dining hall.  The inspector met with parents at the end of the school day.  The inspector analysed the 18 responses that had been submitted to the online questionnaire for parents (Parent View).  The inspector scrutinised a number of documents, including those relating to the school’s view of its own performance, school improvement plans, attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Alan Chaffey, lead inspector 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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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