Doveridge Primary School

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

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Natasha Clark Headteacher Doveridge Primary School 14 Chapel Green Doveridge Ashbourne Derbyshire DE6 5JY

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Short inspection of Doveridge Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 20 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 May 2013.

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Short inspection of Doveridge Primary School

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

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Short inspection of Doveridge Primary School

Doveridge Primary School provides a caring, happy, safe and stimulating environment in which every child is encouraged to fulfil their unique potential. The school’s motto, ‘Together we will succeed to be the best we can be’, is at the heart of every aspect of school life. Pupils and staff alike were pleased to show me what they were doing, reflecting a clear and shared sense of pride in their school community. Pupils are ambitious, enthusiastic and confident learners. You and the governing body have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. As a result, pupils’ achievement is good and improving.

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Short inspection of Doveridge Primary School

You have a relentless focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning. You have created an environment in which teachers are encouraged to reflect on their own teaching to improve their classroom practice. Teachers are confident in their practice, demonstrate a secure knowledge of the curriculum and are enthusiastic about embracing new ideas into the classroom. As a result, teaching is consistently good.

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Short inspection of Doveridge Primary School

Your thoughtful promotion of pupils’ social and emotional well-being complements their academic achievements. Pupils told me how much they enjoy coming to school and appreciate the supportive relationships they share with each other and adults. They described their school as a ‘happy family’. The school site is clean, tidy and attractive. All of these things contribute significantly to the calm and orderly atmosphere in the school and support effective learning.

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Short inspection of Doveridge Primary School

Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school and hold you in high regard. All parents who I spoke with would recommend the school to others. This is because parents value the high standards of care, support and guidance which the school provides to pupils and their families. As one parent explained, ‘Although there is a strong focus on high academic standards, children are allowed to enjoy their childhood in a happy and caring environment.’

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Short inspection of Doveridge Primary School

Areas for improvement from the previous inspection have been effectively tackled. For example, the governing body is providing a stronger strategic direction for the school. Governors are highly committed and uncompromising in their pursuit of excellence. They challenge the standards pupils achieve and gather information to check for themselves. As a result, the governing body is ensuring that the school goes from strength to strength.

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Short inspection of Doveridge Primary School

You have a sharp focus on reading, writing and mathematics but not at the expense of other subjects. Pupils are motivated and excited through a wide variety of opportunities, planned and presented through topics. I saw many attractive and informative displays of pupils’ work throughout the school, reflecting the breadth of the school’s curriculum. Pupils told me that they enjoy excellent opportunities for art, music, drama and dance.

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Short inspection of Doveridge Primary School

You have evaluated the school’s work accurately and have the capacity to make improvements successfully. Clear plans for improvement accurately identify the areas where more work is needed and you are tackling these effectively. For example, in the early years, you have rightly identified that too few children achieved a good level of development. You have worked effectively with your local authority’s associate adviser to review assessment procedures. You are now confident that assessments are happening more regularly and are increasingly accurate. As a result, your recently moderated assessments confirm that 81% of children have reached a good level of development this year. This represents a significant increase from the previous year. These assessments, however, are not always used as precisely as they should be to plan the next steps in children’s learning.

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Short inspection of Doveridge Primary School

A strong culture of safeguarding is woven through all aspects of the school’s work. The single central record indicates that all required checks are made to ensure that staff and volunteers are suitable to work with children. You ensure that staff receive the required training, including training relating to protecting pupils from extremism and radicalisation. All staff are vigilant and well aware of the actions they need to take if they think a child protection issue has arisen.

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Short inspection of Doveridge Primary School

Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe. Pupils who I spoke with said that they felt safe in all parts of the school. They told me that there is no bullying in school. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They are respectful towards adults and cooperate with each other well. Pupils are alert to the dangers of using the internet and social media. Parents told me that you do everything possible to ensure that their children are safe, happy and well.

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Inspection findings

 You are providing strong, purposeful and effective leadership. You are highly reflective on all aspects of the school and this enables you to identify accurately the priorities for improvement and take effective action to tackle them. As a result, pupils in all year groups are making good progress and you are successfully improving outcomes.  I considered carefully the progress of pupils in Years 3 and 4 because many pupils leave the school at the end of Year 4 to attend middle schools in Staffordshire and, consequently, there are no national assessments to indicate their achievement. The work in pupils’ books and the school’s most recent assessment information show that pupils continue to make strong progress in reading, writing and mathematics. They build well on their above average attainment at the end of key stage 1. Teachers plan lessons that are challenging for all pupils and capture their interest and imagination well. For example, pupils

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Inspection findings

in Year 3 played a game of ‘Simon says’ to develop their understanding of angles and then discussed whether the total sum of angles in a shape could be greater than 360 degrees. Pupils are given good opportunities to develop their basic literacy and numeracy skills across the wider curriculum. As a result, pupils are being well prepared for the next stage of their education.  Teaching is successful in helping pupils to develop a love of reading. Reading has a high profile around the school. Books are everywhere and pupils enjoy many opportunities to become familiar with different types of texts. Pupils were excited to tell me about their celebration of World Book Day earlier this year. They described the activities they enjoyed throughout the day, as well as the end-of- day Mad Hatter-style tea party. Parents work well in partnership with the school through listening to their children read regularly at home and helping to develop

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Inspection findings

their reading skills. As a result, pupils excel in reading.  Children in the early years enjoy a positive start to their school life. They have extremely good relationships with adults and trust them fully. The learning environment, both indoors and outdoors, provides children with a variety of interesting activities. Throughout the day, however, staff do not always strike an effective balance between supporting children directly and giving them opportunities to be increasingly independent. This is because children in the Reception Year are taught with pupils in Year 1 and, when the whole class is taught together, Reception children have limited opportunities to explore, investigate and share their learning.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning and their behaviour around school are consistently good and often exemplary. In lessons, pupils sustain good concentration and try hard with their work. In the playground at breaktimes and lunchtimes, pupils’

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Inspection findings

behaviour is calm and considerate. Their conduct reflects the school’s effective strategies to promote high standards of behaviour.  Pupils’ active involvement in the life of the school, for example through the school council, contributes strongly to their mature attitudes, high levels of confidence and sense of responsibility.

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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

 staff give children in the early years more opportunities to learn independently, both indoors and outdoors  teachers make more effective use of the assessment systems in the Reception Year to plan the next steps in children’s learning more precisely.

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

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Information about the inspection

I met with you, two members of the governing body, a representative of the local authority and a group of pupils. I held a telephone conversation with the chair of the governing body. We visited all classes together to see pupils and staff at work. I observed pupils’ behaviour around the school, at breaktimes and during lessons. I met a number of parents informally at the beginning of the school day and considered the views of 33 parents posted on Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View. I evaluated a range of documents, including safeguarding records and policies.

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