Ravenshead CofE Primary School

Ravenshead CofE Primary School Swinton Rise, Ravenshead, Nottingham NG15 9FS Inspection dates 22–23 June 2016

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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 strategic headteacher, leaders and governors are ambitious for the school. They have developed a clear vision which has enabled them to address the issues from the last inspection with urgency and determination. This has led to improvement, so that pupils of all ages are now making good progress.  Governors are strongly focused on pupils’ learning and progress. They hold the headteacher and senior leaders to account for the performance of the school.  Teachers now give clear guidance to pupils through the school’s marking system, following recommendations from the last inspection. Pupils understand how well they are doing and how to progress further through heeding their ‘Next Time Targets’.  Teaching is good. Teachers use a wide range of strategies, including effective questioning techniques, to support pupils’ learning very successfully.  Pupils show positive attitudes to learning and a commitment to improving their work, enhanced by

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This is a good school

the school’s successful use of the teaching and learning programme it has recently introduced.  Pupils say that they feel safe. They are caring and supportive towards each other and look after those with additional needs sensitively and naturally.  Pupils behave well overall. Classrooms are calm and orderly spaces, even for the youngest children. Pupils follow familiar routines attentively, so that lessons flow smoothly.  Children in the early years make good progress as a result of well-planned learning opportunities. They are very well prepared for Year 1.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The considerable expertise which exists within the school’s staff is not being shared widely enough to support further improvements to teaching and learning.  Occasionally, pupils’ attention strays in lessons and some are too reliant on adult support.  The school improvement plan does not easily give the reader a clear overview of the school’s key strengths and weaknesses.  Not enough pupils make more than expected rates of progress in reading and mathematics by the end of key stage 2.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards further by: increasing the proportion of pupils making more than expected progress in reading and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 supporting the less able pupils to become more independent learners.  Improve leadership and management even more by: giving middle leaders and subject coordinators more opportunities to share their expertise within the school making adaptations to the school improvement plan so that it covers a wider scope and gives the reader an easier, clearer view of the school’s key aims, strengths and weaknesses.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The strategic headteacher, senior leaders and governors have a strong ambition for the school. Together, they have developed a coherent vision which has enabled them to address the issues from the previous inspection with urgency and determination and this has led to clear improvement. Pupils of all ages are now making good progress and the quality of teaching is good.  The school’s values,‘Together, the best that we can be’ are clearly woven through every part of school life.  A comprehensive monitoring programme has been established so that senior leaders can check the quality of teaching and learning. The resulting actions have had a positive impact on outcomes for pupils.  The school has also improved the way in which its subject coordinators carry out their checks. The effects of this can be seen in the very thorough and informative subject portfolios. As a result, coordinators now have an improved awareness of standards in their subjects across the school through analysing

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

assessment information, scrutiny of teachers’ planning and sampling of pupils’ work.  The school sets aspirational targets for pupils’ achievement. It has established an assessment system which allows pupils’ progress to be measured, both according to age-related expectations and, for those who are working well below age-related expectations, from their own starting points. As a result, pupils’ progress rates are very easy to understand.  Leaders have a clear rationale for the improvements they have put in place. They have made sure that developments are strongly evidence based, for example through the carefully considered adoption of the teaching and learning programme the school has recently introduced.  Teachers speak positively about the training opportunities made available to them, both within the school and beyond. For example, as a result of training, teachers have an improved awareness of the needs of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and can now make sure that activities are closely matched to pupils’ needs.  The school’s curriculum is broad and balanced and provides an interesting range of opportunities for pupils to learn. Special activities, theme weeks (such as the British Values Week), trips and visitors and a very wide range of extra-curricular activities enhance their learning and personal development. Pupils relish these opportunities and say they feel lucky to have so much to enjoy.  The pupil premium (additional funding for disadvantaged pupils and children looked after by the local authority) is used mainly to provide support for learning and to make sure that the full range of opportunities and activities the school offers is available to all pupils. As a result, the learning gap between disadvantaged pupils and others is closing.  The physical education (PE) and sports funding is used effectively, both within lessons, through specialist

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

coaching, and through a range of extra-curricular sporting activities to encourage pupils’ physical fitness.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well promoted. They are well prepared for life in modern Britain. For example, pupils speak eloquently about the importance of school rules and they understand what democracy means.  The current systems for monitoring, whilst improved, are limited in scope. The considerable expertise which clearly exists within the school is not currently being shared widely enough to bring about more rapid improvements in teaching and learning.  The school improvement plan is lengthy, contains a lot of fine detail and is disproportionately focused on performance data. As a result, it does not easily enable the reader to have a confident grasp of the school’s key aims, or a clear overview of its strengths and weaknesses.  The governance of the school:

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

is strong. It is clear that governors hold the strategic headteacher and senior leaders to account. They do not hesitate to ask challenging questions in their well-documented meetings. Governors are strongly focused on pupils’ learning and progress has an accurate grasp of how the pupil premium funding is allocated and its impact on pupils’ learning and progress, because of the detailed and regular reports provided by school leaders is very actively involved in the life of the school, both formally, by carrying out a systematic monitoring programme, and informally, by attending events and meeting with parents. Governors maintain a visible and supportive presence in the life of the school makes sure that the school’s finances are well managed. Governors have a good understanding of teachers’ performance and salary progression. Governors also make sure that the performance management of the headteacher is carried out in a rigorous manner.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Pupils say that they feel safe in school and the vast majority of parents agree. Through the use of scrupulous procedures, leaders ensure that all staff know how to report any concerns relating to child protection. All safeguarding training is up to date, including protecting pupils from radicalisation and extremism. Site security is rigorous and visitors are supervised.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teachers have strong subject knowledge across the curriculum and they apply this knowledge to plan and deliver purposeful and interesting lessons.  Teachers skilfully use a wide range of strategies, including effective questioning techniques, to support learning for pupils of all ages. An experienced and capable team of teaching assistants takes part in many useful activities, such as working with small groups of learners in lessons or following up individual concerns through the system of ‘same-day interventions’.  Teachers check pupils’ progress carefully and adapt their teaching as needed. Teachers have high expectations of pupils and this is evident in the quality of pupils’ work on display around school and in their books. Teachers make sure that the most able pupils have opportunities to think hard and produce work that has challenged their capabilities.  Leaders have established an effective whole-school system for marking pupils’ work, following

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

recommendations from the last inspection. Teachers use this system effectively across the school, so that pupils understand how well they are doing and how to progress further through their ‘Next Time Targets’. As a result of this development work, the work in pupils’ books is well presented, gives clear evidence of progress and accurately reflects the age-related expectations for each year group.  Pupils apply their English skills well across the curriculum, to improve their work across a range of subjects; less so, however, in regard to the application of their skills in mathematics.  Younger children use their phonics knowledge of the sounds that letters represent to read accurately and fluently. Pupils enjoy books and are encouraged to read frequently, both at home and in school. Teachers promote reading skills regularly in lessons and subjects other than English.  There is a clear homework policy in place to support learning outside school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Some pupils are over-reliant on adult support because they have limited strategies to help them find their own solutions when they struggle during lessons. There is evidence that the school is addressing this particular issue through its teaching and learning programme, but the impact is not yet apparent and, as a result, learning in lessons sometimes slows for the less able pupils.  For some of the younger pupils, in particular, the ‘leaders of learning’ partners are not fully equipped for their role and they sometimes fall into the trap of doing the work for the less able partner they are trying to help.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils take a clear pride in the school and in their work. Pupils are learning to take responsibility for their own belongings and equipment. They present their work well and the school is a tidy and attractive environment, including the very spacious and well-maintained outdoor areas. All of this effectively promotes pupils’ health and well-being.  The vast majority of pupils show positive attitudes to learning and a commitment to improving their work. These positive attitudes have been enhanced through the new teaching and learning programme, which has been adopted across the whole school and shared with parents. The impact of this programme on the quality of pupils’ work is clear to see in their books as well as their attitudes in lessons.  Teachers and other adults provide good role models for pupils to emulate, in terms of their positive use of

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Personal development and welfare

language and their general conduct around school.  Pupils are safe and say that they feel safe. They are caring and supportive towards each other and look after those with additional needs sensitively and naturally.  Samples of work on the theme of British values show that pupils are able to express their ideas in a thoughtful way through themes such as ‘understanding differences’, ‘respect’ and ‘acceptance’.  Pupils are confident in the support they receive from the school if any bullying occurs, saying ‘it gets sorted out’, although they also say that such occurrences are rare. Pupils are well informed about the different forms of bullying, including cyber-bullying.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils are very positive about the school and talk confidently about the rules and expectations which are in place to help them learn. They feel that these rules are well summed up by saying ‘respect people and property’.  Classrooms are calm and orderly spaces, even for the youngest children. Pupils follow familiar routines attentively, so that lessons flow smoothly. The atmosphere is also calm and orderly in the dining hall, and behaviour at playtimes and other unstructured times is harmonious and healthily energetic. There is good supervision in place.  Staff monitor behaviour issues rigorously and keep thorough incident logs. They make sure that strategies to manage poor behaviour are tailored appropriately to the developmental needs of individuals. Staff also track the use of the coloured sanction cards, note any repeated detentions and consider alternatives for

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Behaviour

those pupils who do not respond to conventional approaches, in liaison with parents.  Attendance is strong. The school has sound systems in place to deal with any persistent absences and these are reducing.  Occasionally, pupils’ attention strays. Although lessons are typically calm and orderly, sometimes pupils lose focus and ‘switch off’ from their work, lacking the resilience to solve a problem or seek help.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Outcomes at the end of the early years and key stage 1 are consistently strong and above national figures, according to both historic data and current assessment information held by the school.  Outcomes for the Year 1 phonics screening check are also typically above national figures and improving over time.  The achievement of pupils in key stage 2 is improving. The school’s current assessments point to an improving picture in key stage 2, and this is confirmed by the standard of pupils’ work in their books and their learning in lessons. From a range of starting points, progress is improving and therefore it is clear that the improvement in outcomes at the end of key stage 2 in 2015, following a decline in 2014, has been sustained for a further year.  In particular, current Year 6 pupils have made rapid progress during the year, following a sharp drop in standards at the end of Year 5 as a result of staff upheaval. The school responded quickly by putting

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Outcomes for pupils are good

effective remedial measures in place at the beginning of Year 6, leading to accelerated progress.  Pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics improved in 2015 so that it was above national figures. Outcomes for the most able pupils also improved in 2015, especially in writing and mathematics. Evidence from learning in lessons and from the work in pupils’ books confirms that these improvements are being sustained, showing that teachers have high expectations for the most able pupils.  Disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make variable progress from their particular starting points. Although numbers are small and the majority generally do make expected progress, others do not. Not enough of these pupils make more than expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  A lower than average proportion of pupils makes more than expected progress in reading and

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Outcomes for pupils are good

mathematics through key stage 2. In particular, pupils in upper key stage 2 lack opportunities to deepen their knowledge of mathematics in order to improve their conceptual understanding of some of the higher level topics, such as fractions, ratio and proportion.

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Early years provision is good

 The leadership of the early years is strong. Leaders’ self-evaluation is accurate and staff have a very precise knowledge of the children. Leaders analyse outcomes closely and plan and initiate sensible actions in the light of any findings, because they aspire to sustain the standards that are, typically, at least good and raise them further. They produce action plans which are clear, measurable and strongly linked to children’s learning.  Children join the Nursery and Reception classes with skills and knowledge which are generally typical for their age. They make good progress as a result of well-planned learning opportunities. Staff have audited their own skills as a team and have put in place a system of ‘area champions’ to enhance provision in all areas of learning. There is an appropriate balance of carefully planned activities, with highly effective routines in place to promote children’s independence.

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Early years provision is good

 Children are highly motivated and eager to join in; they self-regulate and respect the needs of others. They show pride in their work and confidence in sharing this with adults and with each other.  Children’s behaviour in the Nursery and Reception classes is outstanding.  Early years staff liaise effectively with pre-school providers and also with parents. Parents say that they enjoy attending events such as ‘dinosaur day’ and sports days. Parents also say that they feel very well informed about their children’s learning in a variety of ways, including the use of reading diaries, email and face-to-face chats.  Children are very well prepared for Year 1.  Children are well cared for, and safeguarding in the early years is effective.  The proportion of disadvantaged children in the early years is too small to report separately on their comparative achievement. There were no children in this group in 2014 and 2015.

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Early years provision is good

 Literacy is an area of relative weakness for boys, linked to poor motivation and engagement with literacy- related activities. However, gaps between boys’ and girls’ achievements in these areas are beginning to close and leaders have rightly identified this as an area for improvement in their action plan.

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School details

Unique reference number 131814 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 10011751

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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 416 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Chris Rattenberry Headteacher Helen Thomas Telephone number 01623 456516 Website www.ravensheadcofe.co.uk Email address office@ravenshead.notts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 1  2 July 2014

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Information about this school

 This school is much larger than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are of White British background. There are very few pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds or who speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is well below average.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium (additional funding to support pupils known to be eligible for free school meals or children looked after by the local authority) is well below average.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ achievement at the end of key stage 2.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.  The school works in partnership with the Joseph Whitaker Sports College and the Candleby Lane Teaching Alliance.  The school’s leadership team has been reorganised to include a strategic headteacher, a head of teaching

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Information about this school

and learning and a head of pupils and personnel.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors visited 24 lessons or part-lessons, some of which were observed jointly with the headteacher and other members of the school’s leadership team.  The inspectors held meetings with pupils, members of the senior leadership team, the headteacher, subject leaders, the early years leader, the special educational needs coordinator, the chair of the governing body and other governors, and the school’s local authority adviser.  The inspectors took into account the 89 responses to the online Parent View questionnaire, and spoke with parents at the start of the school day.  The inspectors took into account the 13 responses to the staff questionnaire.  The inspectors observed the work of the school, including an act of collective worship.  The inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation summary, the school improvement plan, assessment information, leaders’ reports on the quality of teaching and

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Information about this inspection

learning, a wide range of pupils’ work, minutes of governing body meetings, and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.  The inspectors talked to pupils about their reading and listened to them read.

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Inspection team

Christine Watkins, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Karen Lewis Ofsted Inspector Anne White 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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