Greens Norton Church of England Primary School

Greens Norton Church of England Primary School Calvert Road, Greens Norton, Towcester NN12 8DD

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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

 Strong leadership at all levels and high expectations of pupils and staff have resulted in rapid improvements since the last inspection.  Members of the governing body know what is going well and what needs to change. They provide good challenge and support to leaders because they know the school well.  Pupils get off to a good start in the early years. The proportion of children reaching a good level of development has risen consistently since the previous inspection and is now above average.  Pupils’ attainment in the national phonics screening check has risen from being low to now being in line with the national average. Pupils make good progress in developing early reading skills.  Achievement in key stages 1 and 2 has improved in English and mathematics. Pupils now make good progress as they move through the school.  The most able pupils and those pupils who need extra help are identified early and are supported

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This is a good school

quickly, to good effect.  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment has improved and is now typically good. Pupils learn well because the work they do provides good levels of challenge and helps them learn new skills.  The curriculum supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively. Pupils learn the importance of tolerance and respect for others.  Pupils behave well and they are kept safe in school. They play happily together and consider each other’s needs very well. Pupils are very polite, courteous and respectful towards adults and each other.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils’ reading comprehension skills are not well enough developed. Pupils are not given enough structured opportunities to read widely and often in school in order to fully develop these skills.  Pupils’ subject-specific skills are less well developed in some subjects than they are in English and mathematics.  Pupils are not, as the school policy dictates, given sufficient opportunities to improve their work following the feedback teachers give them.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by ensuring that pupils are given opportunities to learn from the helpful feedback their teachers give them, in line with the school’s policy.  Develop pupils’ reading comprehension skills through providing pupils with more opportunities for high- quality reading and then monitoring the effectiveness of this strategy.  Deepen the understanding of pupils’ subject-specific skills and knowledge in subjects other than English and mathematics.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The headteacher, senior leaders and governors have high ambitions for the school. Their aspirations are shared by all staff and result in a school with high expectations of what pupils can achieve together with a culture of tolerance and respect.  The local authority, as well as local schools, has supported the school well since the previous inspection, which has resulted in an improvement in teaching, learning and assessment, and is now leading to good progress across the school. Leaders have also improved the quality of educational resources, for example by creating more classroom space and developing a new library area.  The school’s self-evaluation is very detailed and accurate, leading to clear plans for improvement. Leaders are relentless in their drive to improve the quality of provision of the school and raise standards.  The quality of teaching has improved because of the effective training that teachers have had, as well as

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

through the challenging targets they are set as part of the management of their performance. The school has a good programme of professional development for all staff, which is sharply focused on raising individual pupils’ achievement.  Leaders check the quality of teaching rigorously. They provide good support for teachers new to the profession or newly employed by the school, so that their skills improve quickly.  The school makes regular and rigorous checks on pupils’ attainment and progress. This supports future planning well so that lessons build on previous learning and challenge most groups of pupils. Work to improve the teaching of writing has also proved effective. Good evidence of this was seen during the inspection. For example, one Year 6 boy wrote, ‘First, all the driver saw was his reflection in the goggles, but then the reflection changed and the real image unfolded.’ Clear improvements in teaching have led to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

rapid improvements in pupils’ achievement in writing since the last inspection. Every Year 6 pupil made at least the progress expected in writing last year and higher proportions than seen nationally made better than expected progress.  The newly appointed middle leaders are developing their skills well. They understand their roles in helping the school to improve. Achievement is improving because of the effective way they share their expertise, particularly in mathematics.  Leaders regularly check the accuracy of school assessments by sharing information across the mixed-age classes and with other local schools. This ensures that leaders have an accurate view of how well pupils are doing and where further improvements in pupils’ individual levels of attainment are needed.  Pupil premium funding is used very well to support those pupils who are disadvantaged. The funding ensures that disadvantaged pupils can access a range of enrichment opportunities and receive additional

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

support, both in and out of school, to promote their learning. As a result of this, these pupils achieve as well as their peers in English and mathematics.  The additional funding for sport has been used effectively to introduce a variety of new sports, some of which were suggested by the pupils. One of these suggestions was a well-attended before-school yoga club, observed during the inspection. The school takes part in a range of local sporting events, including for example, inter-school football and cricket matches as well as a golf tournament.  The school works well with parents. Parents who spoke with the inspector said they are particularly pleased with how well pupils are welcomed into school and helped to settle into lessons ready to work. They say this has improved greatly since the last inspection.  Activities provided in lessons and through extra-curricular clubs and educational visits contribute well to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

pupils’ strong spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils are taught the importance of tolerance and respect towards others. Pupils have a strong sense of right and wrong and consider each other’s needs sensitively. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Some subjects are less well developed than English and mathematics. The school has plans to develop and deepen pupils’ subject-specific skills across the curriculum in all year groups but these have still to be implemented fully.  The governance of the school Governors provide a good level of challenge and support to leaders in school. They know how well the school is doing through the detailed reports from the headteacher and through their discussions with teachers who lead subjects. Governors challenge leaders over pupils’ achievement and question them closely about the quality of teaching across the school and how it is improving.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

Governors have established clear links between teachers’ pay and performance, so that pay awards are based on merit. Governors check how effectively the school uses additional funding for disadvantaged pupils to ensure that any such pupil at risk of not achieving well receives immediate support. Governors talk to parents and pupils frequently to help them identify how they can make the school even better. The governing body is very skilled in driving improvement and meets its statutory duties effectively. Governors visit the school regularly and volunteer for school activities, for example accompanying pupils on extra-curricular visits.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. – The school’s system for safeguarding pupils meets statutory requirements. The school is vigilant in making sure all pupils are safe from harm. Parents and pupils are right to be confident about this aspect of the school’s work.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

– Safeguarding training for all staff and members of the governing body is fully in place. The school makes the safety of staff and pupils a priority. – The school has very effective systems in place to work with outside agencies to follow up any concerns they may have about the safety of pupils.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 The quality of teaching has improved since the last inspection. It has recently been strengthened further by the appointment of new staff who are making a strong contribution to pupils’ improved progress.  Teachers have high expectations of all pupils. Most pupils, including the most able, now make at least expected or better than expected progress in lessons because they are well challenged by learning activities.  Teachers have good subject knowledge in English and mathematics. Teachers and teaching assistants use questioning very well to challenge pupils’ thinking and deepen their understanding.  Reading, writing and mathematics are linked well with other curriculum areas through topic work to develop learning across other subjects. In one science lesson seen, for example, pupils’ comprehension skills were used well and developed further as they researched information about chickens.  Pupils’ presentation of work is very good as a result of teachers’ high expectations. The school’s marking

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

policy is followed consistently. Pupils say that marking helps them make their work better. They enjoy asking for harder challenges which make them think more if they have finished their work or find the work too easy. However, sometimes, teachers do not always give pupils enough time in lessons to make the improvements identified or to extend their learning further as a result of their teachers’ helpful marking and feedback.  The school’s strong focus on improving the teaching of phonics (the link between letters and the sounds they make) has been very effective. For example, during a mixed Reception, Year 1 and 2 phonics lesson, all pupils were challenged to write sentences using the past, present and future tenses, including correct spelling and punctuation. There has been a rapid rise in the number of pupils passing the phonics check in Year 1 over the last three years.  Pupils who have been identified as needing extra help are given timely support to help them improve.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Pupils who are struggling with their work or who have special educational needs or disability generally make good progress from their starting points as a result of this additional support. Such support is particularly effective for pupils who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan.  Parents are right to be pleased with the quality of teaching at the school. They say the school is much improved since the appointment of the headteacher. One, typifying the views of others, described the teachers as ‘amazing’. Another parent said, ‘My son is in Year 6 and I feel the school has fully prepared him for his move to secondary school.’  Opportunities for pupils to read frequently and for enjoyment in school are not yet fully developed. Reading comprehension skills were below national expectations at the end of Year 6 in 2015. A recently planned, structured reading curriculum has not yet been rolled out across all classes which means that not all pupils

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

are taught how to develop their reading skills further.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils say they feel safe in school and parents agree. There are very few friendship issues, but when these do occur they are resolved straightaway. Pupils say they ‘walk away’ if other pupils are being unkind, and find an adult who can help them.  All adults know the pupils well so they are quick to spot if there are any changes in pupils’ attitudes or welfare. Leaders are vigilant in following up on any concerns, and they make sure that immediate and effective support is provided.  Pupils know about different forms of bullying, including cyber bullying. The school is successful in helping pupils know about managing risks including, for example, the potential dangers posed by strangers, and how to stay safe when using the internet in class as well as safety outside school hours.  The school grounds are very secure, with systems in place to lock outside gates during school hours once

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Personal development and welfare

parents have left the site.  Attendance is high because pupils want to be in school and there are no pupils who are regularly absent. The school checks that pupils who are away from school are safe through prompt telephone calls to parents.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They get on very well together, are polite and courteous and show respect for their classmates and all adults in the school.  Pupils look after their school well. They enjoy playing in the large amount of space available on the playground and in the field. No rough or inappropriate play was seen during the inspection because there is so much to do, such as using playground equipment like space hoppers, skipping ropes and other apparatus, and a storytelling chair, and there is plenty of room to play football.  There is a happy and purposeful atmosphere in classrooms, which starts as a result of the calm way pupils enter the school in the morning. They come straight from the playground as soon as they arrive and, after greeting their peers, settle to work straightaway.  Pupils are usually enthusiastic about their learning and respond very quickly to adults’ instructions and

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Behaviour

requests, resulting in little time being lost in lessons. Occasionally, pupils lose concentration and become inattentive and talkative if they are not being challenged or do not understand something completely.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Most children join the school with skills and abilities that are typically seen for their age. From these starting points they make good progress and by the time they leave the Reception class their achievement is generally above what is expected for their age. Pupils currently in the school continue to achieve well as they move through the school.  Pupils’ achievement in the Year 1 phonics screening check has improved very significantly over the last three years. For example, while in 2013 only one third of pupils reached the expected standard by the end of Year 1, last year three quarters of pupils achieved this standard. Hence, attainment in phonics has improved from being very low to broadly average. The current attainment of pupils in the school indicates further improvements are likely in the 2016 phonics screening check.  Most pupils make good progress in key stage 1. While published performance information shows some

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Outcomes for pupils are good

fluctuations in pupils’ attainment from year to year, this is more a result of the small class sizes which means that low attainment by a very small number of pupils has a disproportionate impact on the overall figures.  The achievement of pupils currently in key stage 1 is broadly in line with the revised national expectations for reading, writing and mathematics. Lessons observed during the inspection showed a high level of challenge for pupils. The achievement of pupils has improved over time, and more pupils than before are exceeding national expectations in the progress they are making.  In 2015, pupils’ attainment by the end of Year 6 in mathematics and writing was broadly in line with average levels seen nationally. Pupils’ attainment in reading and in the English, grammar, punctuation and spelling test was below national levels. Overall, this was a lower-attaining group of pupils than seen in

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Outcomes for pupils are good

most years in the school and almost half the pupils had special educational needs or disability. Nevertheless, from their starting points, the pupils made good progress overall. For example, even in reading, where attainment was lower than in other subjects, the number of pupils making the progress expected was in line with the national average.  The school’s accurate records show that the progress of pupils in the school currently compares favourably with previous national averages. This is particularly evident in mathematics, where every pupil is predicted to make expected or better than expected progress in this subject at the end of key stage 2 in 2016.  Scrutiny of pupils’ work, including work produced by Year 6 pupils who were not in school at the time of the inspection, provide strong evidence of pupils’ good progress across English and mathematics. Pupils continually strive to improve their writing, and good examples were seen of extended pieces of writing

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Outcomes for pupils are good

across many subjects like history, science and geography through a range of writing genres.  There were too few pupils in receipt of the pupil premium and who had special educational needs or disability currently in the school to comment on progress without identifying them in this report. However, over time pupils in receipt of the pupil premium generally achieve as well as their peers and those who have special educational needs or disability make good progress.

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The early years provision is good

 When children start in the Reception class their skills are usually typical for their age. From these starting points they now make good progress and enter Year 1 with skills that are above those expected nationally. The number of children achieving a higher-than-average level of development has risen year on year and was above average in 2015.  Leadership is good. Leaders have an accurate picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision. They identify children’s needs at a very early stage and extra support is given to ensure they that make rapid progress.  Parents are very pleased with the way staff work with them to help their children settle quickly into day-to- day routines. They say, for example, that their children are ‘flourishing’ and come to school with ‘smiles on their faces’. Where children find it difficult to let parents leave, the staff are well skilled in encouraging them to join in with school activities so they quickly settle.

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The early years provision is good

 The quality of teaching is typically good. All staff work very well together, questioning children and promoting their speaking and listening skills. During the inspection the teacher and teaching assistant were encouraging groups of children to use a range of vocabulary linked to weight, shape and size while measuring and weighing parcels.  High expectations of learning and behaviour are set from the moment children start in the Reception class. As a result, children are kind and thoughtful and help each other with their learning. One boy was seen to sound out a word for another boy so that he could concentrate on writing it carefully.  Parents work with the teacher to contribute to the school’s initial assessment using an online recording system to show their learning at home. This record, alongside books containing dated and annotated written work completed in school, helps teachers build on skills, knowledge and understanding already

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The early years provision is good

learned in order to progress learning further.  Children are enthusiastic and show good levels of interest and curiosity. They use the indoor and outdoor spaces equally but occasionally the activities are not varied or stimulating enough to sustain their concentration fully.

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School details

Unique reference number 121974 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 10009108

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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 Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 129 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Barbara Parfitt Headteacher/principal/teacher in charge Helen Smith Telephone number 01327 350648 Website www.greensnortonschool.co.uk Email address head@greensnorton.northants-ecl.gov.uk Date of previous inspection 16–17 January 2014

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The majority of pupils come from White British backgrounds.  The children in the early years are accommodated in a designated Reception class. There are five other classes in the school. One mixed-age class contains Years 3 and 4 pupils and another class Years 4 and 5 pupils.  A privately run pre-school and breakfast club share the school site, but as they are managed separately they were not subject to this inspection.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium (additional government funding to give extra support to pupils known to be eligible for free school meals or who are looked after by the local authority) is much lower than average.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is lower than the national average. The proportion of pupils who are supported through an education, health and care plan is also

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Information about this school

below average.  The school has grown in size since the last inspection and continues to expand.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by Year 6.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.  The school has experienced significant changes in staffing since the previous inspection, with many new appointments.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching in nine lessons and parts of lessons, one jointly with the headteacher. Pupils in Year 6 were not present during the inspection as they were on a residential visit. A visit was made to an assembly.  Discussions were held with pupils, parents and members of the governing body. The inspector also met with a representative of the local authority and held meetings with school staff, including senior leaders.  The 37 parental responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, were scrutinised. There were no online responses from staff.  The inspector observed the school’s work, heard some pupils read and looked at a number of documents including the school’s own information about pupils’ learning and progress; planning and monitoring documents; the school’s self-evaluation document; governors’ minutes; and documents relating to safeguarding.  The inspector scrutinised the school’s primary sport funding action plan and the pupil premium action

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Information about this inspection

plan .  The inspector observed morning playtime and lunch breaks .

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Inspection team

Julie Jane, 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

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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