Setting

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

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Mrs Carole Middleton Acting Headteacher Saxton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Dam Lane Saxton Tadcaster North Yorkshire LS24 9QF

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Controlled Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 17 January 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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Controlled Primary School

This monitoring inspection was conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and in accordance with Ofsted’s published procedures for inspecting schools with no formal designation. The inspection was carried out because Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector was concerned about the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements at the school.

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Evidence

During my visit I scrutinised the single central record of the checks made on adults working with the pupils and other documents relating to safeguarding and child protection arrangements. I also met with yourself; your assistant headteacher; a group of pupils; staff; parents and carers; the chair of the governing body; governors, including the governor linked to safeguarding; a representative of the local authority and a representative of the Diocese.

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Evidence

I also evaluated external reviews, your school’s self-evaluation and post-Ofsted action plans, safer recruitment procedures, records of staff training, governors’ minutes, risk assessments and attendance and behaviour records. Together, we conducted a safety check of the school site and observed the behaviour of pupils during playtimes, lunchtime and in lessons. Having considered the evidence, I am of the opinion that at this time:

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Context

Saxton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School was inspected in March 2017 and it was judged to require special measures, with safeguarding judged as ineffective. Since the last inspection, the previous headteacher, the office manager and a teaching assistant left the school. The governors secured the temporary appointment of the current experienced acting headteacher and the appointment of a new teaching assistant and a new office manager. The school is likely to join a local multi-academy trust very soon.

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Context

Following the last inspection, the governors of the school secured your temporary appointment as acting headteacher, in order to address the issues identified in the report as quickly as possible, prioritising safeguarding. Your extensive knowledge and experience, along with your commitment to the school, have been crucial in securing rapid improvements in safeguarding.

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You worked closely and effectively with governors and staff and formulated clear action plans. As a result, you and your staff put in place new systems to address the safety of the pupils in the playground. You swiftly introduced split playtimes for different age groups. Consequently, you reduced significantly the number of pupils on the playground at any time. The playground is now a safer environment and the number of accidents significantly reduced. Pupils reported that there is no more congestion in the playground and that they are much happier playing out.

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You and your staff also acted quickly to introduce different zones in the playground to separate the more competitive activities from the less intense ones. As a result, pupils now feel safer as they can choose which zone to go to depending on what they want to do at playtime, for example playing football, skipping rope or just reading. Pupils from Year 6 reported that they enjoy being ‘play leaders’ as they get to interact more with the younger children and they have more responsibility during playtimes. As a result, older pupils act with care, kindness and consideration towards the younger children.

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In addition, you increased the number of staff supervising the pupils at playtimes. The staff all now wear high visibility vests and are proactive in their supervising duties. When required, the reduced number of pupils out in the playground follow any staff advice immediately and, as a result, there is a happy and orderly atmosphere during playtimes and lunchtime.

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Following the last inspection, you revised the procedures for pupils entering the school building from the playground. Pupils now form orderly queues and enter the school calm and better prepared for lessons. As a result, behaviour at the beginning of and during lessons is good.

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You have ensured that the single central record is fully compliant, up to date, and regularly checked and monitored. There are appropriate checking mechanisms in place to ensure the suitability of staff working at the school. You have ensured that recruitment procedures follow safer recruitment guidelines and you and the chair of the governing body are trained in safer recruitment. All staff and governors have received appropriate and up-to-date safeguarding training.

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You have taken swift actions to ensure that the recording and monitoring of pupils’ behaviour is more effective. As a result, staff record behaviour incidents and sanctions accurately and timely, at classroom level and whole-school level. You and your assistant headteacher regularly carry out playground observations. Consequently, you can effectively monitor the implementation of the revised procedures and quickly identify any issues with behaviour. However, the analysis of the behaviour information does not enable you to robustly evaluate the impact of your actions. Although staff have extensive knowledge of the pupils, you acknowledge that more work is needed here to further enhance the analysis of behaviour patterns for different year groups and individual pupils.

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The governing body has been strengthened since the last inspection. The chair of the governing body and two other governors, including the safeguarding governor, acted swiftly and worked closely with you to form the rapid improvement group. As a result, you clearly prioritised safeguarding and you were able to make rapid improvements in a short space of time. Following the recommended external governance review, governors have significantly developed their confidence and knowledge and are increasingly providing more robust challenge. You and your governors reviewed all safeguarding policies and procedures, and ensured that your website is compliant. All governors are now linked to different areas of the school and are actively engaged and involved with school life. For example, once a week, governors carry out gate duties and have the opportunity to interact with parents and monitor school procedures and the impact of actions taken. All governors have

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Context

received appropriate and up-to-date training to support them in their roles.

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External support

The local authority has provided effective support to the school since the last inspection through a new school improvement adviser on a number of areas, including the provision of safeguarding. The local authority has acted swiftly to conduct external safeguarding audits and regular progress reviews. They have worked closely with the acting headteacher to ensure that work is undertaken quickly to ensure safeguarding is effective. The diocese has also been effective in supporting the school through a thorough programme of training for governors. As a result, governance of the school is now becoming a strength moving forward. Both the local authority and the diocese support the plans for the school to join the local multi-academy trust as the school already has strong working relationships with a local outstanding school.

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Priorities for further improvement

 Further develop the analysis of behaviour data so that leaders evaluate more robustly the impact of actions taken.

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Priorities for further improvement

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 North Yorkshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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