North Scarle Primary School

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

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Mrs Katherine McCann Headteacher North Scarle Primary School School Lane North Scarle Lincoln LN6 9EY

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Short inspection of North Scarle Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 14 March 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 April 2012.

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Short inspection of North Scarle Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. North Scarle Primary is a vibrant learning environment at the centre of village life. Parents and members of the local community are regularly welcomed in to see, for example, the high-quality displays of pupils’ work that pupils present when they exhibit their projects.

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Short inspection of North Scarle Primary School

Your school is a highly inclusive one where all pupils are welcomed and treated equally, regardless of their abilities, circumstances or needs. Relationships between pupils and adults are very positive and friendly. Pupils know that adults listen to their ideas with respect and, as a result, they learn to do this themselves from a young age. Because staff are effective role models, pupils cooperate extremely well in lessons, at breaktimes and at lunchtimes. Staff who responded to Ofsted’s questionnaire unanimously stated that they were proud to work at your school and believe that it is an aspirational place for pupils to attend.

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Short inspection of North Scarle Primary School

The governing body holds you to account effectively for ensuring that pupils make good progress and that, for example, the pupil premium funding is spent well to improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. You and the governing body have accurately judged the school to be a good one, and you have set out clear and compelling evidence for this in your school’s self-evaluation document. You have dealt with effectively the areas the inspector asked you to improve at the time of the previous inspection. Staff now consistently use the school’s feedback policy and give pupils good guidance to improve their work. Pupils who I met during my visit explained how this helps them understand precisely what they need to work on next.

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Short inspection of North Scarle Primary School

Pupils greatly enjoy coming to school to learn. Their overall attendance is consistently above the national average. Pupils I spoke with explained to me that lessons are fun, with plenty of exciting visits and trips. They also told me how they enjoy the opportunities they have to take part in extra-curricular clubs.

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Short inspection of North Scarle Primary School

Teaching is good in all classes in the school. Staff know pupils very well indeed, and plan work for them that matches their different needs. The effectiveness of teaching is enhanced by the good use of teaching assistants who, while supporting pupils well in their learning, encourage them so that they become more independent over time. Pupils who need to catch up say that they welcome the support that staff give them, because they understand how it helps them to improve their skills.

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Short inspection of North Scarle Primary School

As a result of good teaching, pupils make good progress from their starting points and reach standards at least broadly in line with the national average in all subjects at the end of the Reception Year, Year 2 and Year 6. They leave the school well prepared for the next stage of their education. This is because, alongside their good academic skills, staff teach pupils to become resilient and reflective young people.

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Short inspection of North Scarle Primary School

During their time at the school pupils learn, for example, methods of relaxation, as well as how to reflect on their successes and challenges, how to set personal goals and how to recognise their achievements. Pupils say that this helps them to manage difficulties they have, and to stay happy and secure.

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Short inspection of North Scarle Primary School

During the inspection, I visited all classrooms with you and saw how pupils are making good progress in different subjects. Pupils in Year 2 learning mathematics explained to me how they had used the calculation 12  6 = 2 to create other divisions and multiplications using the same numbers. Workbooks showed that pupils in Year 6 had learned how to divide, for example, two fifths by three. Pupils’ exercise books also show how they are improving the overall quality of their writing effectively, by drafting and improving their work. These books show that pupils can write for different audiences and purposes effectively, but teachers are not currently giving them sufficient opportunities to write at greater length.

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Short inspection of North Scarle Primary School

Parents hold the school in high regard. At the start of the inspection, all those who had responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, agreed that they would recommend the school to others, and that the school was well led and managed. Parents also submitted very positive responses through the website’s free text facility. One parent summed up the views of others by writing, ‘My child is now in Year 6 and has thoroughly enjoyed his time at primary school. I feel this is a very special school where children are nurtured to reach their full potential and are treated with respect, and as individuals.’ Safeguarding is effective.

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Short inspection of North Scarle Primary School

Staff have a clear understanding that they must report any safeguarding concerns they have to senior leaders immediately. Staff are vigilant for any sign that a pupil may be being harmed. You make it clear to them that the protection of pupils is the highest priority at all time. You ensure that they have been effectively trained in safeguarding matters, and that they receive regular updates for this. New staff are given effective induction in safeguarding when they commence working at the school. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality.

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Short inspection of North Scarle Primary School

Pupils I met during my visit say that they feel very safe at North Scarle Primary. They explained that everyone gets on so well together that there is almost no bullying and name-calling. They say that, on the very rare occasions when pupils fall out, staff deal with it immediately and fairly. Pupils also told me how staff teach them well about how to keep themselves safe from, for example, fire, roads and strangers. They also showed a good understanding of modern technology and explained how they should always approach an adult they trusted if they ever saw anything that concerned them when online or using a mobile phone.

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Inspection findings

 Teachers give pupils clear and consistently effective guidance on what they need to do to improve their work. Some of the pupils I met explained to me how, for example, they understood that they needed to become more confident in understanding and using different aspects of fractions in their mathematics work.

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Inspection findings

 The number of pupils who join the Reception year group at North Scarle Primary each year is small, and their attainment on entry varies from year to year. The school’s data shows that children make good progress from their starting points, however, and achieve well during their time in the early years. Records of children’s learning, as well as samples of work I saw during my visit, reflect this good progress.

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Inspection findings

 Teachers give the most able pupils work that is matched well to their ability. They ensure that these pupils receive either challenging extension work or tasks to complete which are also being set for older year groups. These pupils explained to me how the work they receive is hard and how it makes them think deeply. As a result, these pupils make good gains in their learning.

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Inspection findings

 There are too few disadvantaged pupils currently in the school to report on their progress separately without the risk of their identification. The school’s data shows that these pupils, however, combined with disadvantaged pupils who were on roll during the previous school year, make good overall progress. As a result, the differences between their attainment and that of other pupils nationally are diminishing over time.

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Inspection findings

 This year, you have made the improvement of pupils’ skills in grammar, punctuation and spelling a priority for improvement because you noted that they were not high enough. Teachers now give pupils regular work on grammar and show them consistently well how to improve their spelling. As a result, pupils’ skills in these areas are improving considerably. They are learning to spell common and unusual words with increasing accuracy, as well as applying their knowledge of punctuation and grammar in their writing.

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Inspection findings

 Teachers ensure that pupils improve their writing by giving them good advice, as well as opportunities for pupils to help each other to develop their skills. Pupils are not yet making rapid progress in writing, however. This is because teachers do not consistently require pupils to practise writing longer pieces of work. As a result, pupils do not all have the stamina to write at length.

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Inspection findings

 Pupils’ absence from school is consistently below the national average. Pupils of all groups attend regularly. The proportion of pupils who are persistently absent is considerably below the national average.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:  teachers provide all pupils with regular opportunities to write at length.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, 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 with you and shared my key lines of enquiry. I also met with the teacher for the early years, members of the governing body and the school’s local authority adviser. I considered the responses of parents from Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, along with written responses to its free text facility. We visited all classes in the school, spending a short time in each. I looked at a sample of pupils’ work. I viewed a range of documents, including leaders’ evaluation of the school’s current performance and its plans for further improvement, information on how the pupil premium is spent and a number of policy documents, including those for safeguarding. I examined the school’s website to check that it meets requirements on the publication of specified information. I observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and met with groups of them at breaktime and lunchtime. I examined all responses from Ofsted’s pupil and staff questionnaires.

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