The Butterwick Pinchbeck's Endowed CofE Primary School

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

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Mrs Samantha Towers The Butterwick Pinchbeck’s Endowed CofE Primary School School Lane Butterwick Boston Lincolnshire PE22 0HU

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School

Following my visit to the school on 6 December 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 November 2011.

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School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. The pupils enjoy their learning and are making good progress. The relationships between the pupils and the adults are very positive. Pupils are respectful and behave well. The learning environment is bright and orderly and the pupils’ work is celebrated through attractive displays.

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School

The pupils are becoming good writers. The teachers provide a range of exciting genres to encourage the pupils to write well. In Reception, the children are encouraged to write indoors and outside. The progress in their letter formation is impressive. The pupils in Year 2 are confidently adding interesting vocabulary into their sentences. One pupil wrote, ‘She saw a fierce eagle flying perfectly in the air.’

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School

The unconfirmed outcomes at the end of key stage 2 in 2016 show that the pupils’ progress was broadly average compared with other pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. The proportion of pupils who achieved the expected standard in all three subjects was higher than the national average. The proportion who achieved highly was just below the national averages in reading, writing and mathematics.

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School

The proportion of pupils who achieved the expected standard in mathematics at the end of key stage 1 was below the national average in 2016. In addition, the proportion of pupils who achieved highly at the end of key stage 1 in reading and mathematics was also below the national averages.

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School

The school leaders have wasted no time in ensuring that teachers are challenging the most able pupils better. The leaders have analysed why the pupils did not achieve highly in 2016 and have led training to raise the expectations of teachers. The leaders are now monitoring the impact of the training and have observed good teaching. Close scrutiny of pupils’ work currently shows that more pupils, particularly the boys, are achieving better, particularly in mathematics in Years 2 and 6.

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School

You are an effective leader. You know the pupils well and keep a close eye on the progress they are making. You are well supported by the able deputy headteacher, who identified that the teaching and learning for reading was not as effective as it could be. Following the implementation of training and support for teachers, the pupils have made better progress from their starting points in reading, particularly in key stage 2.

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School

At the previous inspection, the inspector asked you to ensure the work is better matched to the pupils’ abilities. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do make good progress from their starting points because the work is better matched to their needs. The teachers are currently setting more challenging work for the most able pupils. To enable more pupils to achieve highly, I have asked you and your team to provide the pupils with more opportunities to improve their mathematical reasoning skills, particularly the girls. In addition, I have asked you to further develop the pupils’ inference and deduction skills to improve their reading comprehension skills.

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School

Finally, I have asked you to improve the leadership and management of the school by setting precise success criteria for each action in the school improvement plan. This will enable you and the governors to judge if the actions taken have been successful or not.

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School

The leaders of safeguarding are proactive and work well to ensure pupils receive the correct support to meet their needs. School leaders are not afraid to challenge other professionals if they do not feel that the most appropriate support is in place. The learning mentors establish good relationships with pupils and their families and are able to secure the involvement of external agencies to support the pupils’ well- being.

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School

The school manages the pupils’ behaviour well. The special educational needs coordinator monitors the incidents of poor behaviour regularly and analyses the potential triggers for the pupils’ poor behaviour. He has put in place a range of intervention strategies to support pupils which has resulted in marked changes in the behaviour of individual pupils. As a result, the number of incidents of poor behaviour has reduced. Pupils say that the behaviour of other pupils is good, both in the classrooms and outside in the playground. The school regularly promotes anti-bullying. At a recent assembly, junior police officers led a whole-school assembly and acted out situations where bullying occurred. The pupils know it is not good enough to be a bystander and to always ask for support if they are upset. The pupils say they can talk to adults in the school, who always help them if they have a problem. The school’s records show

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School

incidents of bullying are rare. The pupils are very knowledgeable about how to stay safe online. The pupils know they should not put their personal details online.

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School

The safeguarding training for staff is comprehensive. All staff have received ‘Prevent’ training, which helps staff protect pupils from being at risk of radicalisation and extremism. The checks on staff suitability to work with children are up to date. The school’s records for safeguarding are well maintained. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose.

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Inspection findings

 You and the deputy headteacher know the school’s strengths and weaknesses well. They evaluate the effectiveness of the school accurately and are successfully driving the school forward. Leaders regularly monitor the quality of teaching and learning through the school and put in support to improve weaker teaching. As a result, teaching is now consistently good. Staff morale is high.  The progress made by pupils by the end of key stage 2 in 2015 was significantly below the national average for all subjects. There had been pupil mobility within that cohort of pupils which affected the outcomes. Nevertheless, the school took action to improve the quality of teaching and learning, particularly of reading. Consequently, the pupils’ progress has improved and was broadly average for all subjects by the end of key stage 2 in 2016.  Not enough pupils made good progress by the end of key stage 1 in 2016 from

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Inspection findings

their starting points at the end of the Reception Year. The proportion of pupils who had achieved the expected standard at the end of Reception Year in 2014, and who achieved highly in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1 in 2016, was below other pupils nationally.  The school improvement plan contains specific actions to try to improve the pupils’ outcomes, particularly of the most able pupils. However, the plan does not contain specific, measureable success criteria by which leaders and governors can judge if the actions taken have been successful or not. Consequently, the governing body are not asking enough questions about the progress of all groups of pupils, particularly the most able.  The leaders of English and mathematics have taken swift action to improve the progress of pupils in key stage 1 and for more pupils to achieve highly at the end of both key stages 1 and 2. The leaders have analysed which areas of the

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Inspection findings

curriculum that pupils struggled with in the last academic year. The leaders have observed teachers this term and found that most teachers are raising their expectations and challenging pupils better in both reading and mathematics. More boys are on track to achieve the expected standard in key stage 1 in all subjects than previously.  In key stage 1, the pupils previously did not achieve well with fractions and time in mathematics. Scrutiny of pupils’ current work in Year 2 shows pupils are being challenged with these areas of the curriculum. The pupils have been set problem-solving questions involving time, which has challenged the most able pupils. Moreover, the pupils are being set questions to develop their skills for mathematical reasoning. For example, teachers in Year 2 provided the first few shapes in a pattern and then asked the pupils to predict which shape would appear 12th in the sequence. The pupils had to explain their thinking. Both boys

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Inspection findings

and girls are currently making good progress.  Although teachers have provided more opportunities for pupils in Years 2 and 6 to develop the pupils’ mathematical reasoning, it is less evident in other year groups. Consequently, the pupils’ progress, particularly of the most able, is not as rapid as it could be through the school.  The school is promoting pupils’ mental mathematical skills. All pupils have a daily 10-minute mental mathematics lesson, in addition to their usual mathematics lessons, to improve their speed at mental calculations. Also, some pupils have been motivated by completing the computer-based mathematics homework. The pupils are set a challenge to beat the score of ‘Stig’. The latest scores of pupils are displayed on a mathematics display board in school.  Leaders are very well aware that there are fewer girls than boys achieving highly in mathematics at both key stages 1 and 2. Teachers have started intervention

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Inspection findings

groups for some girls to develop their confidence in mathematics. It is too early to judge the impact of this work.  The teachers and teaching assistants teach phonics well. The outcomes in the Year 1 phonics screening check are high compared with the national average. The enjoyment of reading is further promoted through buddy reading every Wednesday, where older pupils listen to the younger pupils read.  Leaders’ analysis of reading assessments completed by pupils in the last academic year showed that pupils’ inference and deduction skills were not as developed as they could be. Pupils in Year 6 are being set some challenging questions following their reading. The pupils are being asked to find evidence from the texts they have read to support their opinions. In other year groups, teachers set similar questions for pupils, but the most able pupils are not writing detailed answers to fully explain their thoughts.

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Inspection findings

 Pupils read fluently and with expression. Older pupils enjoy books by particular authors, including Anthony Horowitz. Pupils say there is a wide choice of books available at the school.  Pupils are being inspired to write well. In Year 4 pupils were given the title of ‘A dangerous journey into a forest’, to inspire them to write a short story. In Year 6, pupils have written travel blogs for either Florida or New York and presented their work well. Through school, pupils use their purple pens to improve their writing even further.  The pupils told me they enjoy school. Some older pupils enjoyed a recent outdoor adventure residential journey. In Year 5, pupils’ historical skills were developed by comparing the life in ancient Benin to Britain in Tudor times. They have worked with partners to produce PowerPoint presentations to show their findings.  Pupils’ enthusiasm for school is further promoted by the wide range of extra-

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Inspection findings

curricular activities on offer. One pupil said, ‘There are so many!’ There are a range of sports clubs, cookery, computing and the glee club for music and dance. Participation levels are high.  The pupils have a good knowledge of different religions and are prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils are respectful of people who may have different lifestyles to those of their own.  The school provides intervention groups to promote the achievement of disadvantaged pupils. This group of pupils made broadly average progress in reading and mathematics by the end of key stage 2 in 2016. However, their progress in writing was below the national average.  Close scrutiny of disadvantaged pupils’ current work in Year 6 and the school’s assessments shows that the proportion of disadvantaged pupils on track to achieve the expected standard in all three subjects in 2017 will be above the national average of other pupils in 2016. In addition, the proportion of

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Inspection findings

disadvantaged pupils on track to achieve highly is also above other pupils in reading and mathematics, but below in writing.  The school’s current tracking information of disadvantaged pupils in Year 2, and scrutiny of their work, shows that the proportion of disadvantaged pupils on track to achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics is above the outcomes achieved by other pupils nationally in 2016. However, the proportion of pupils on track to achieve highly in all three subjects is below that currently seen for other pupils nationally.  Pupils’ attendance has improved. Learning mentors carefully track pupils’ attendance and take prompt action if a pupil’s attendance drops. Consequently, the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent fell sharply towards the end of the last academic year. The attendance for all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, is currently above the national average.

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Inspection findings

 The governors are committed to the school and visit regularly. They compare the school’s outcomes to the national outcomes and are aware of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Governors recognise the need for the school improvement plan to contain more measureable success criteria to enable them to check if actions taken have been effective.

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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

 the school improvement plan contains measurable success criteria by which all actions taken can be judged to see if they have been successful or not  the pupils, including the most able pupils, are challenged to achieve highly by developing their inference and deduction skills in reading  the pupils, particularly the girls and the most able pupils, are routinely challenged to achieve highly by developing their mathematical reasoning skills.

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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 Lincolnshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met you, the deputy headteacher, the mathematics leader, the coordinator for the provision for pupils who have special educational needs, and two governors. I visited every classroom and looked at pupils’ work. I spoke to pupils from key stages 1 and 2. I also listened to pupils read. I reviewed records about behaviour, attendance and keeping children safe. I studied your self- evaluation, the school improvement plan, information related to the performance management of teachers and the minutes of the governing body. I looked at your information related to the monitoring of teaching. I considered the 29 responses to Parent View, the 19 responses to the Ofsted free text service, and the 32 responses to the staff survey. I also considered the response to the recent parent survey carried out by the governing body. The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website. The key lines of enquiry for this

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Information about the inspection

 the effectiveness of school leaders, including governors, in promoting better outcomes  how well teachers are challenging pupils to achieve highly at the end of both key stages, particularly the girls in mathematics  how well the current boys are achieving in key stage 1  the effectiveness of the school’s safeguarding arrangements.

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