North Ferriby Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

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

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Mr Russell Orr North Ferriby Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Church Road North Ferriby HU14 3BZ

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Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 1 February 2017, 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 October 2012.

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Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You, your leaders and governors have continued to ensure that pupils achieve well. Although outcomes dipped at key stage 2 in 2016 in a way that is not typical for this school, you have responded to these issues with speed and determination.

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Primary School

A strong sense of community pervades the school that promotes the achievement of every pupil within a caring ethos based on Christian values. You and your team have created an environment where pupils learn well and feel welcome and happy. Pupils say they like school and they get on well together. Their behaviour is impeccable and their attitudes to learning are highly positive.

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Primary School

At the previous inspection you and your leaders were asked to improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good or better and to make sure that work is set at the right level, especially for those pupils who are most-able. Current evidence shows that teaching is strong, and staff are now planning learning activities that are well matched to pupils’ needs, so that they make good progress.

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Primary School

At the time of the previous inspection, you were also asked to develop the work of senior and middle leaders by embedding the good practice that is in place, and ensuring that all leaders are fully involved in evaluating the school’s performance and planning for the future. You and your leadership team have developed robust plans to move the school forward. You rightly identified that pupils’ progress in mathematics is not as strong as in reading and writing. Consequently, you and your leadership team have been very proactive in introducing ways of teaching mathematics which are beginning to have a more positive impact on pupils’ progress. Pupils are now completing more complex problem-solving activities in mathematics, but you acknowledge the provision of these activities needs to be more consistent.

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Primary School

You have ensured that the new curriculum and assessment systems are now well established and recognise which areas of the curriculum still require further modification, particularly science. During discussions with you and your governors, systems for tracking pupils’ progress were clearly demonstrated. This allows leaders to identify where pupils are not making sufficient progress so that timely intervention can be used to help pupils catch up. You and your leaders accept that a minority of teachers need further support so that the assessments they make on how well pupils are achieving are more accurate.

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Primary School

You and your leaders have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of good quality. You ensure that staff, including those who are new to the school, receive regular and relevant training, and you keep them informed of recent legislation and updates. Staff are clear about the school’s systems and what to do if they have any concerns over children’s welfare. There are good links with external agencies and clear channels for recording and following up any child protection issues.

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Primary School

There are well-planned opportunities for pupils to learn to keep themselves safe when using the computer and you provide appropriate advice to parents on internet safety. Pupils say that they feel safe and all parents who completed Parent View agree.

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Inspection findings

 Governors are very knowledgeable and highly committed to their roles. They have an excellent understanding of the strengths and areas where improvements are needed. They are well informed about the quality of teaching and how well pupils are progressing. This helps them to properly challenge and support leaders.  In the early years, the proportion of children reaching a good level of development continues to be above average. Similarly in key stage 1, outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics have been maintained at above the standards seen nationally.  The dip in outcomes in writing and mathematics in 2016 at key stage 2 is not reflected in the evidence collected during the inspection. Standards in writing are high overall for pupils currently in the school. A scrutiny of books shows that pupils use a range of grammar techniques and interesting vocabulary that brings their written work to life. In mathematics, pupils’ arithmetic skills are good;

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Inspection findings

occasionally, however, these are not applied to problem-solving and reasoning activities soon enough.  Pupils’ books show that most-able pupils are attaining well in writing because teachers challenge them effectively. The quality of writing that most-able pupils are producing, including those most-able pupils who are disadvantaged, is impressive. In mathematics, most-able pupils are also attaining well, but as with other groups of pupils, they are sometimes not moved onto more complex problem-solving and reasoning activities when they are ready.  The most able pupils read with fluency, confidence and expression. They have good comprehension skills and speak confidently about the books they have read and their enjoyment of reading.  You and your governors ensure that that the funding the school receives through the pupil premium grant is used effectively to support the small number of disadvantaged pupils in the school. Evidence collected during the inspection

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Inspection findings

shows that disadvantaged pupils are receiving excellent support and as a result achieving well.  You and your leaders have developed an effective system for tracking pupils’ progress so that underperformance can be acted upon swiftly. You quite rightly acknowledge that while the assessments teachers make on how well pupils are achieving are mostly accurate, in a minority of classes they are less secure.  The science curriculum is not covered in sufficient depth in some year groups. Although there is good evidence that science is addressed effectively in some classes, such as part of a topic on the second world war, in other classes the coverage of science is noticeably less strong.

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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

 there is a consistent approach to teaching reasoning and problem-solving in mathematics  assessments teachers make consistently reflect the standards pupils are achieving  greater attention is paid to the teaching of science and the progress pupils are making.

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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 York, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for East Riding of Yorkshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you, subject leaders for mathematics and English and seven governors. I also had a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority. I visited all classes with you to observe the teaching of writing and mathematics. I spoke to pupils during lessons and during lunchtime, and listened to some of the most able and the less able pupils read. I reviewed samples of pupils’ work in writing, mathematics, science and topic books; this was done jointly with you and subject leaders for mathematics and English. I examined a range of documentation, including the school’s own self-evaluation, current development plans, safeguarding and child protection records, the single central record and the school’s own assessment information. I also took into account the views of 130 parents who responded to Parent View, the 34 staff questionnaires, and the 107 responses to the pupil questionnaire.

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Information about the inspection

In particular, this short inspection focused on the impact of leaders’ actions to improve standards in writing and mathematics, challenge for the most able and rates of progress for disadvantaged pupils.

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