Yardley Gobion Church of England Primary School

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

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Carolyn Gleeson Headteacher Yardley Gobion Church of England Primary School School Lane Yardley Gobion Towcester Northamptonshire NN12 7UL

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Short inspection of Yardley Gobion Church of England Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 7 November 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 February 2013.

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Short inspection of Yardley Gobion Church of England Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. You have recently restructured the senior leadership team, and the actions you have taken to move the school forward have been successful.

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Short inspection of Yardley Gobion Church of England Primary School

Staff are proud to be part of the school. You work well together, with each member of staff taking on a variety of roles. Staff support each other and work collaboratively to ensure that all aspects of the curriculum are covered and that it meets the needs of your pupils. Staff feel that the parents are supportive of the work of the school and that staff and families are a team in pupils’ education.

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Short inspection of Yardley Gobion Church of England Primary School

Pupils understand the school’s values and Christian ethos. They enjoy the challenge of achieving team points for work and good deeds, and strive to be recognised as the ‘star pupil’ awarded by teachers each week. During my visit, pupils were polite and very well mannered. They spoke confidently to visitors and opened doors for others.

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Short inspection of Yardley Gobion Church of England Primary School

Pupils feel that their teachers challenge them to achieve their best and will help them if they get stuck. They enjoy whole-school projects such as the topic based on ‘The Firebird’ by Stravinsky for which pupils produced art or computer games inspired by the music and the story.

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Short inspection of Yardley Gobion Church of England Primary School

You make a wide range of extra-curricular activities available for pupils. Clubs include young voices, tag rugby, science club and dodge ball. Pupils enjoy taking part in inter-school sporting competitions and are proud to represent the school in external competitions such as the small schools football tournament.

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Short inspection of Yardley Gobion Church of England Primary School

Parents are very positive about the school. Almost every parent who responded to the online survey, Parent View, or who spoke with me during the inspection believes that the school is well led. They feel that staff listen to them and act on any concerns they may have. Several parents commented that you and other staff work hard to support pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities.

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Short inspection of Yardley Gobion Church of England Primary School

You have developed good links with the local community including the local church. You use the church as an effective resource to support learning across the curriculum. Pupils attend events such as ‘Experience Harvest’, an event run by the church for pupils to learn what harvest is, including the wider impact of food production on the environment and the global community.

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Short inspection of Yardley Gobion Church of England Primary School

Following the last inspection, you were asked to ensure that teachers provide pupils with guidance on how to improve their work and to develop boys’ writing. Teachers use assessment information to plan next steps in learning. They set work that matches the different abilities in the class. Teachers and teaching assistants provide instant feedback during lessons to develop pupils’ understanding. You have ensured that there are opportunities for pupils to write in a range of genres, across the curriculum, and for real-life purposes, such as writing invitations to a friendship party.

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Short inspection of Yardley Gobion Church of England Primary School

The governing body makes a good contribution to the school’s leadership. Governors are committed to the school and are passionate about meeting the needs of pupils. They strive for improvement and provide you with robust challenge about how well the school is doing. Governors have good knowledge of the attainment and progress of groups of children. This includes attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities. Governors understand that safeguarding has a high priority and that safeguarding is everyone’s business.

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Short inspection of Yardley Gobion Church of England Primary School

You ensure that all the necessary checks are in place before an adult starts working or volunteering at the school. You and the school bursar have a clear understanding of the safer recruitment procedures. Records are well organised, clear and fit for purpose. You have made sure that your staff are fully trained and aware of their duty to safeguard pupils. All staff I spoke with were clear about how to pass on concerns. Although there have been very few safeguarding referrals, you are not complacent. You have ensured that staff and volunteers are vigilant in identifying concerns. You have taken particular care to ensure that staff are trained in the dangers of radicalisation, child sexual exploitation and female genital mutilation. Staff and governors are aware of the ‘Prevent’ duty, and you fully understand what the concerns are within your locality.

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Inspection findings

 You and your staff are passionate about providing your pupils with the best possible opportunities and strive for improvement. You respond well to changes in pupil numbers each year and adapt quickly to meet the needs of all your pupils.  In order to assess the learning of all your pupils, you carry out termly assessments to track and monitor progress. Assessment information is used to finely target pupils’ gaps in learning and, as a result, they make good progress. Teachers support pupils well to develop and learn new skills.  You and your teachers have ensured that pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities receive appropriate support. These pupils settle well and make good progress.  Teachers and teaching assistants use questioning well to develop and deepen pupils’ understanding. They provide pupils with support to solve tricky problems or deepen understanding, or provide support when they are stuck. Occasionally,

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Inspection findings

teachers do not move learning on quickly enough and, as a result, some pupils disengage from learning.  You recognised that your pupils needed further opportunities to develop their reading comprehension. You have introduced a new system to encourage pupils to read more and a greater variety of books. An online system has supported pupils in developing their reading and comprehension skills at home. Pupils have responded well to this new system. They enjoy the challenge of achieving reading miles awarded for each time they read at home or in school.  The quality of teaching and learning in phonics is not as well developed as the rest of the curriculum. Pupils are not provided with enough opportunities to practise new and previously learned sounds. There is no clear method in place for teaching phonics systematically and with continuity across the school. The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics

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Inspection findings

screening check has improved and is now at the national average. However, when compared with standards in the rest of the school, the attainment in phonics is not as strong.  You and other leaders identified that pupils were not making as much progress in writing as in other areas of the curriculum. You have reviewed the skills that pupils need to master, and teachers are using assessment information to track and monitor pupils’ progress. However, sometimes teachers do not use this information carefully enough to provide opportunities for pupils to develop their skills further.  You and your staff have high expectations of pupils in mathematics. Pupils are encouraged and supported to learn basic skills in order for them to be secure when tackling new concepts. Pupils said that they are good at mathematics because they know their times tables. They also said that they relish teachers giving them hard problems to work out.

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Inspection findings

 The curriculum is broad and balanced and designed to interest all pupils. Topics include history, geography and science knowledge as well as social concepts, such as celebrating differences and the value of friendship. You provide your pupils with many opportunities to learn about other faiths and cultures.  Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. Pupils said that there are no incidents of bullying. If they have a problem, they said that they know who they can talk to. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, including online.  Pupils play well together. Older pupils help younger pupils and make sure that they have someone to play with. There is a buddy bench on the playground, but pupils said that this is never needed, as everyone is always nice to each other. Pupils understand the importance of good attendance and strive to achieve 100% attendance. They are keen to learn and to challenge themselves and have

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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 quality of teaching and learning in phonics is developed to ensure that there is a consistent approach to developing pupils’ knowledge and that pupils are provided with opportunities to practise and use sounds  teachers utilise time in lessons to ensure that learning time is not lost  teachers use their knowledge of what pupils can do in writing to set work that challenges them.

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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 Peterborough, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Northamptonshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I met with you and the vice chair of the governing body. I spoke with teachers and the school bursar. Four pupils gave me a tour of the school. I observed learning taking place during the morning. I scrutinised a selection of pupils’ workbooks. I examined a range of the school’s documentation, including its self-evaluation document, its improvement plan and documents relating to safeguarding. I considered the views of parents by speaking with some of them before school. I also analysed the 26 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View.

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