Fiskerton Church of England Primary School

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

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Mrs Sandra Rycroft Headteacher Fiskerton Church of England Primary School Ferry Road Fiskerton Lincoln Lincolnshire LN3 4HU

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Short inspection of Fiskerton Church of England Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 6 June 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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Short inspection of Fiskerton Church of England Primary School

Since the previous inspection, you have been appointed as headteacher. You have appointed new staff to the senior leadership team.

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Short inspection of Fiskerton Church of England Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. An effective governing body, which has a sound knowledge of the strengths of the school and the areas that require further work, provides support and challenge. You are held in high regard by staff, governors and parents alike.

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Short inspection of Fiskerton Church of England Primary School

Your determination to improve the quality of teaching and learning is clear. Your vision for the school has inspired and motivated your staff to drive forward improvements. You have created a cohesive team of staff who share a common purpose and work together to support pupils to achieve their best. You have clear and accurate plans for school improvement. You involve other staff and governors to help you identify the strengths and areas for development for the school. As a result, standards continue to rise.

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Short inspection of Fiskerton Church of England Primary School

The school is a friendly, happy place and pupils enjoy coming to school. Pupils are enthusiastic about their learning and are proud of their school. Consequently, pupils’ attendance is very good. Classrooms are purposeful, positive learning environments where pupils work well. Pupils can explain clearly what they are learning and are determined to succeed. They help each other and speak politely to adults. Those I met told me they felt very well cared for and that their teachers help them with any difficulties they might experience. This includes dealing with incidences of bullying, although pupils said bullying is very rare.

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Short inspection of Fiskerton Church of England Primary School

Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school and the good leadership that you provide. Parents who spoke with me during the inspection felt listened to and that communication with parents is a strength. Parents are happy with the progress their children are making. They feel that pupils are treated as individuals and are well cared for. Every parent who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, would recommend the school to other parents.

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Short inspection of Fiskerton Church of England Primary School

At the last inspection, inspectors asked the headteacher to involve all staff in monitoring and evaluating the work of the school. You have successfully addressed this area for improvement. You hold regular meetings with staff and governors to discuss the progress pupils are making. In addition, leaders were asked to ensure that teachers share good practice to improve pupils’ achievement. Senior leaders explained how the culture of the school enables and encourages teachers to talk openly about what is working well in their classrooms. Furthermore, teachers have a strong sense of their own professional development and welcome the opportunity to improve their practice. Leaders were also asked to make better use of assessment information to provide more challenge for pupils. You have implemented an effective assessment system that identifies accurately gaps in pupils’ learning. The system has been especially effective at helping teachers to raise standards in

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Short inspection of Fiskerton Church of England Primary School

mathematics. However, you have recognised that there is still some work to do to ensure that all pupils are sufficiently challenged. This is particularly the case for the most able pupils.

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Short inspection of Fiskerton Church of England Primary School

You recognised that achievement in mathematics needed to improve. You appointed a new mathematics leader who has received support from a local teaching school alliance. Teachers have received effective training and are clear how mathematics should be taught in Fiskerton. Observations of learning and work in pupils’ books show that the changes you have made in mathematics have had a positive impact on standards in this subject.

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Short inspection of Fiskerton Church of England Primary School

Published data indicates that boys do not always reach the same standards as girls, from similar starting points. You and your team recognised this and consequently made some changes to the curriculum. However, you have acknowledged that the achievement of boys needs more closely monitoring to ensure that all boys make the progress of which they are capable. Boys have responded well to the introduction of an outdoor learning programme. Pupils who I spoke with told me how they enjoy the practical work they do outdoors. They were able to tell me how this work helped them to prepare for their writing tasks. In addition, your Year 6 teacher has found that encouraging boys to make use of voice recorders helps them to prepare for their writing. Safeguarding is effective.

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Short inspection of Fiskerton Church of England Primary School

Your staff have a clear understanding of their responsibility to report to you immediately any concerns they have about a pupil’s safety. They also understand their individual responsibility to report concerns directly to children’s services and the police, when appropriate. They receive comprehensive training on safeguarding at the start of each academic year and have a good understanding of how to keep pupils safe. However, some support staff were not as clear as they should be on the ‘Prevent’ duty, which protects pupils from radicalisation and extremism. You have recognised this and plan to review the frequency of your safeguarding training to refresh staff’s knowledge throughout the school year.

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Short inspection of Fiskerton Church of England Primary School

You provided clear evidence that concerns about pupils’ safety are dealt with quickly and actions are followed up in a timely manner. You keep records of your concerns about individual pupils. You have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. However, you have recognised that your system for recording concerns is not as robust as it could be. Consequently, you have plans to introduce an electronic system of logging concerns by the end of the school year.

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Inspection findings

 Your self-evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas for development is accurate. Consequently, actions for improvements are appropriate and focus on raising the attainment of pupils across the school.  You have a clear vision for developing the curriculum to meet the needs of all pupils and address your identified areas for improvement. The work that you have already done motivates pupils to want to learn. Staff are on board with your plans and share your vision for success.  Governors provide effective support and challenge. They have a good understanding of the direction the school is moving in and are committed to school improvement.  Pupils’ progress in mathematics was below the national average in 2016 and this has been a consistent pattern over time. You have identified this and have put plans in place to raise standards in mathematics and improve outcomes for pupils. Pupils are able to apply their skills to solve problems in mathematics

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Inspection findings

lessons and are developing their ability to reason and justify their thinking. Pupils need further opportunities to develop their mathematical skills in other subjects, but, because of your plans, pupils’ mathematical ability has improved and the majority of pupils are making good progress.  You have raised teachers’ expectations of what pupils should and could achieve. However, there is still some work to do to ensure that more pupils reach the higher levels, particularly in mathematics.  Boys have enjoyed following topics that are linked to their interests and, as a result, have been motivated and enthused to learn. You have taken care not to stereotype boys’ interests and the changes you have made to the topics that pupils study have not had a negative impact on girls. Children in Reception enjoyed their work on pirates and all pupils, especially the boys, were excited when a ‘pirate’ came to visit them. The boys, in particular, where motivated to

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Inspection findings

write letters to the naughty ‘pirate’ to encourage him to improve his behaviour. Pupils in Year 2 have enjoyed their work around ‘The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch’. The boys were keen to learn how to be fishermen and how to keep fish. Because of your changes to the curriculum, gaps between boys’ and girls’ performance are diminishing in certain year groups.

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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

 teachers continue to raise their expectations of what pupils can do, so that more pupils reach the highest standards for their age, particularly in mathematics  pupils are provided with greater opportunities to apply and develop their mathematical skills across the curriculum  the performance of boys across the school is more closely tracked, to make sure that they make the progress of which they are capable.

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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 with you, other school leaders and members of your governing body. I also spoke with your school improvement consultant. I spoke to parents at the start of the day and considered the 23 responses from parents on Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire. We visited classrooms together and we looked at a range of pupils’ work in writing and mathematics. I spoke to pupils informally in lessons and in a meeting.

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Information about the inspection

In addition, I considered evidence from a range of documentation, including the school’s safeguarding records and the single central register of staff. I analysed your self-evaluation and your current action plans.

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