East Ravendale CofE Primary School Academy

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mr Richard Mottram Principal East Ravendale Church of England Primary School Academy East Ravendale Grimsby Lincolnshire DN37 0RX

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Academy

Following my visit to the school on 22 November 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 the school was judged to be good in July 2012.

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Academy

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Academy

You have significantly improved the quality of education since the governing body appointed you in 2014. You are ambitious and clear about what you want from staff and pupils. You are reflective and analytical and evaluate strengths and weaknesses accurately. Your actions focus sharply on specific areas for development and implementation of change is effective. Your leadership has inspired the confidence and commitment of pupils, staff, parents and governors.

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Academy

The previous inspection recommended that the school improve the quality of teaching and of subject leadership. Since you arrived, new appointments have strengthened teaching and subject leadership. New approaches to teaching have improved the quality of learning. As a result, outcomes have improved at all key stages. In 2016, attainment was well above average in the early years, phonics, and in reading, writing and mathematics at key stage 1.

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Academy

At key stage 2, in 2015, attainment rose to above the national average. In 2016, attainment and progress in writing were above the provisional national averages. However, progress in reading was not as strong and the most able did not make enough progress in mathematics. Leaders have taken effective action to tackle the weaknesses identified. Compared with last year, current pupils in Years 4 to 6 are making faster progress. More are on track to meet the school’s ambitious targets for progress from their starting points at key stage 1.

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Academy

Attendance has improved significantly over the last three years and is above average. Pupils behave and concentrate well. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, successfully develop their social and academic confidence and self-esteem through the good opportunities to work independently, take responsibility, contribute to the life of the school and take part in extra-curricular activities.

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Academy

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Leaders routinely check with staff to identify any emerging safeguarding issues. Detailed records enable leaders to link concerns and understand the pattern of events. As a result, leaders take appropriate and timely action. Effective liaison with other agencies results in relevant support for children and their families. The rolling audit of safeguarding maintains a consistent scrutiny of procedures. Governors regularly check with pupils how safe they feel. A governor with professional safeguarding expertise contributes to staff training. The school ethos actively promotes pupils’ social and emotional well-being. Pupils feel safe. They learn how to ride a bike safely and about the dangers of providing too much personal information online.

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Inspection findings

 Parents are very happy with the ethos of the school and your leadership. They are rightly confident in the progress made by their children. They find you approachable and that any issues are resolved quickly. A high proportion of parents responded to the Ofsted online survey and almost all gave positive responses. Their written responses and verbal comments gave strong praise for the quality of education, including by parents of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.  Governors are ambitious and bring a useful range of expertise to monitoring and influencing school improvement. They keep in close touch with developments through frequent learning visits and regular reports from you and subject leaders. Governors rightly praised the leadership and direction provided by the chair of the governing body.  The improved learning environment and wall displays provide effective stimulus

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Inspection findings

and guidance for learning. Pupils value the improvements to the sporting facilities, the residential trips, the greater range of extra-curricular activities, including drama, and their frequent involvement in leading school assemblies. Most pupils responding to the Ofsted online survey said that the school encourages them to be independent and take on responsibilities.  You communicate your vision effectively to staff. Staff value your leadership and share your commitment to improvement. All teachers have a leadership responsibility and communicate the corporate endeavour. You have delegated responsibility well to subject leaders and they show initiative and expertise in developing the curriculum and monitoring action plans. Their regular written reports for governors evaluate the implementation of plans well. The impact of actions is not always as clear as it could be.  The early years leader has improved the quality of planning, teaching and

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Inspection findings

assessment. As a result, children make strong progress in their development. All reached a good level of development in 2015 and most in 2016. Assessment systems contain well-documented evidence of children’s learning, supplemented well by parents’ comments and evidence.  Well-trained teachers and assistants teach phonics effectively in the early years and at key stage 1. Well-considered and flexible deployment of staff, plus regular monitoring of the quality of teaching, ensure consistency in pupils’ learning of phonics. All Year 1 pupils reached the required standard in 2015 and most did in 2016. The library has been reorganised well and staff encourage and reward reading effectively.  Pupils, including weaker readers, enjoy reading. Weaker readers sound letters out and blend them well. They are developing their accuracy and understanding of difficult words. The most able at key stage 2 enjoy long books and have

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Inspection findings

favourite authors. However, they are not challenged enough to read a wider range of genres and more demanding texts.  Leaders identified a weakness in pupils’ ability to make inferences when reading texts. They introduced new strategies to develop skills in understanding the meaning of texts.  Teachers are using novels effectively as a vehicle for engaging pupils and developing their skills in writing. In 2016, attainment and progress in writing were above average at both key stages 1 and 2. However, attainment dipped in grammar, spelling and punctuation.  More varied and imaginative activities are deepening pupils’ use of language and vocabulary. For example, when a teacher took and showed photographs of pupils’ writing in the lesson, pupils appreciated the examples of effective writing and got ideas about how they could improve.  The new mathematics programme has improved the quality, consistency and

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Inspection findings

impact of teaching. Pupils use practical resources that enable them to develop their understanding of mathematical methods and concepts. The most able in mathematics do not always receive sufficient challenge.  In 2015 and 2016, pupils made at least the expected progress at key stage 1 from their different starting points at the end of the early years.  At this point of the year, pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 have made more progress from key stage 1, in reading, writing and mathematics, than at the equivalent point last year. In almost all year groups and subjects, the great majority of pupils are on track to meet their targets, including disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.  Ambitious targets set high expectations of what pupils should achieve. Staff know pupils well. They identify and respond to their needs effectively. Tasks meet the range of needs in the mixed-age classes. Additional support before a

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Inspection findings

lesson is helping weaker pupils to prepare for the learning. Support afterwards is improving their understanding of what they found difficult. Additional help also supports pupils’ special educational needs well.  The climate in lessons is purposeful and calm. Dialogue and questioning between teaching staff and pupils promote learning well. Pupils regularly contribute to the learning from the front of the class. Positive relationships encourage pupils to contribute and explain their ideas and ask questions.

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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

 improved teaching and a better curriculum for reading and mathematics result in greater progress and higher attainment by the end of Year 6  the most able are challenged with harder mathematical problems and reading books that are more demanding.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the diocese of Lincoln, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for North East Lincolnshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I pursued the following lines of enquiry:

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Information about the inspection

 What explains the improvement in early years and phonics outcomes?  How effective is teaching at key stage 2 in promoting progress in reading and mathematics, including for the most able?  How effectively have the headteacher and subject leaders brought about improvement? Is safeguarding effective? I met with you, middle leaders, a group of pupils and three members of the governing body who also represented the trust. I also spoke with parents after school. I jointly observed teaching with you and we discussed the learning and pupils’ work. I heard pupils read and examined pupils’ books.

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Information about the inspection

I checked the school website and examined a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, assessment information, the school development plan and safeguarding records. I took account of 73 responses from parents, eight responses from staff and 22 responses from pupils to the Ofsted online questionnaires.

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