Setting

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

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Miss Diane Risley Tickhill Estfeld Primary School Common Lane Tickhill Doncaster South Yorkshire DN11 9JA

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No formal designation inspection of Tickhill Estfeld Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 23 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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No formal designation inspection of Tickhill Estfeld Primary School

This 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.

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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. We spent time discussing safeguarding arrangements within the school and recent changes you have made to aspects such as site security and recording systems. I met with your assistant headteachers, who are also deputy safeguarding leaders, the school business manager, pupils, staff, parents and carers, and two representatives from the governing body, including the chair. I spoke to a representative from the local authority.

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Evidence

I checked a number of documents relating to safeguarding, including behaviour and exclusions records, health and safety documents, risk assessments, school policies and evidence of work with external agencies. I also looked at the school’s improvement priorities in the development plan, the school’s self-evaluation, attendance information, governors’ minutes and external reports. I observed procedures before school and during break and lunchtime and observed pupils in school and in the playground. I considered the views of the 97 parents who had completed Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View.

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Evidence

Having considered the evidence, I am of the opinion that at this time:

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Context

Tickhill Estfeld Primary School was judged to be outstanding at its last full inspection in 2007. The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school, with 212 pupils on roll. There are currently no pupils in receipt of free school meals and the proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is much lower than the national average. There have been very few changes in staffing over recent years.

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Inspection Findings

Since the last inspection, the end of key stage outcomes have remained high. You say that you have a stable and dedicated team who want the very best for the pupils, with pupils’ safety being the top priority. The confident, respectful and thoughtful responses from pupils during the inspection are testament to the positive environment that leaders and staff have created. A significant majority of parents and carers agree that their children are safe and happy in school.

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Inspection Findings

You have recently improved a number of procedures relating to safeguarding. You have reorganised the system for recording the checks made on adults working with pupils. You and governors have completed training in safer recruitment. We agreed that the questions you ask of referees for prospective employees, and at interview, could be more directly focused on safeguarding. There are clear induction procedures for new staff.

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Inspection Findings

A range of different safeguarding training takes place for staff across the year. Everyone receives an annual update in safeguarding training and school procedures, as well as regular updates and information across the year through team meetings and shared documentation. Further, specialist training is completed by the safeguarding lead teachers and staff working with pupils with specific needs. Staff receive support if they are working directly with pupils whose safety and welfare are at risk. As a result, all staff are confident in how to recognise potential concerns and how to report these. Leaders are currently implementing a new, electronic system for recording and monitoring concerns and actions taken. We discussed how arrangements could be further improved by ensuring that all staff are trained and confident in using initial concern forms.

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Inspection Findings

Safeguarding information is clearly visible around school. There is detailed information and guidance in the staffroom, direction to visitors about who the safeguarding lead teachers are and about how to report concerns. A summary booklet for staff makes sure that they have key information and telephone numbers to hand. Notices on doors remind pupils that they should not open external doors, but should tell an adult so that they can help.

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Inspection Findings

When challenging situations arise, the school is proactive in quickly seeking external support and guidance. Leaders have had regular discussions with the local authority about the security of the site. You have put temporary measures in place to improve the safety of the school site, but you are right in your judgement that these arrangements are reliant on there being no human error. You are delighted, therefore, that your funding bid for secure gates with controlled access and cameras has been successful.

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Inspection Findings

You have also reviewed the way in which pupils access and exit the school building at the start and end of the day. While not wanting to exclude parents from speaking to staff each morning, you wanted to make sure that pupils were settled safely in the building. Pupils and parents now wait together until the doors are opened and staff are positioned on doors so that they can see pupils safely inside. Parents I spoke to understand that school is taking these actions to improve safety for their children. Staff say that it has also had the benefit of creating a much calmer start to the day.

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Inspection Findings

The school manages potential risks well. Risk assessments seen, for residential trips, the playground and the school building, are thorough and identify appropriate risks and control measures. Most importantly, they are understood and carried out by everyone. All staff are aware of their responsibility in being vigilant and reporting concerns. Pupils are very clear about their responsibility in keeping themselves and each other safe. They know why certain rules and procedures are in place and how these help to keep them safe. In a delightful example, children in Reception work daily as site managers. They don hard hats and use safety sheets on clipboards to carry out checks such as, ‘Is the gate to the playground padlocked?’ and ‘Are the chairs tucked under tables?’ Leaders use a number of external specialist visitors to support learning, in internet safety and drug awareness, for example.

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Inspection Findings

Leaders are keenly aware of the link between good attendance and safeguarding. Pupils’ attendance continues to be better than the national average. Leaders promote the importance of good attendance and pupils are eager not to miss a day at school. School works closely with families where any attendance dips to being less than good.

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Inspection Findings

All pupils spoken to throughout my visit said that they felt safe in school. They are confident in the support that staff give them in addressing any worries or concerns they may have. They know that if they have concerns about another pupil, they should also seek an adult’s help. Staff have put a number of systems in place to make this as easy and comfortable as possible for pupils, such as the classroom ‘ask it baskets’. Pupils are positive about and proud of their school. Leaders have put strategies in place to promote positive behaviour and help pupils when they need more support. Pupils say that they are not aware of any bullying, but know that if it did occur, staff would quickly step in to help them. They showed a very good understanding of why one person may bully another, maturely saying that this may be ‘because they are unhappy or struggling to deal with something’. Pupils say that behaviour is very good. Evidence seen in the polite manners, kindness and

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Inspection Findings

interaction between pupils and with adults in school and on the playground during my visit confirm this.

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Inspection Findings

The vast majority of parents are confident that the school makes sure their children are safe and happy at school. Some parents have had concerns related to safeguarding. Leaders know that they need to make sure that parents are well- informed about the actions the school is taking to keep pupils safe. Regular newsletters inform parents of reasons for some of the changes taking place and leaders are very keen to work with parents when they have a concern.

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Inspection Findings

Governors know that they have responsibility for checking how successfully leaders are creating a culture of safeguarding. They are given clear information from school leaders about improvements in safeguarding practice and any concerns that arise. However, although governors do ask some questions about this work, these are not always focused on the impact for pupils or consistently followed up. Governors visit school and make checks on various aspects of leaders’ work. They provide positive feedback about the work going on. A governor has been nominated to take responsibility for safeguarding. Due to the timing of the inspection, this governor was not available to speak to me during my visit. Although some information around her work could be seen through notes she had made in school during her visits, and some information shared during meetings, other governors’ understanding of some aspects of safeguarding was limited. We discussed the importance of all governors

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Inspection Findings

being fully up to date on training and work related to safeguarding. Governors show a commitment to improving their own practice to ensure that the school is the best it can be, so are very willing to improve this aspect of their work.

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External support

You regularly work with a number of different agencies to ensure that pupils are safe and that their needs are addressed. The local authority continues to have confidence that you and your staff provide high-quality care and education for pupils. You have consulted with them closely to seek improvement in safeguarding arrangements. You also work with other schools and their leaders to ensure that safeguarding practices are strong.

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Priorities for further improvement

 Ensure that governors make their checks and questions about safeguarding more precise, using a wide range of information to check that school leaders are continually sharpening systems and procedures to ensure that all aspects of safeguarding are highly effective.  Leaders should make sure that parents understand how the school keeps their children safe. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Doncaster. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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