Egton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

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

p.1

Mrs Liz Orland Headteacher Egton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Egton Whitby North Yorkshire YO21 1UT

p.1

School

Following my visit to the school on 6 February 2018, 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 June 2013.

p.1

School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You and your team have created a friendly, nurturing school, which is highly valued by parents and carers. You warmly welcome all new pupils, making strenuous efforts to meet the needs of every one. Pupils consequently enjoy school. They learn to get on well together, forming strong relationships with adults and with each other. One parent echoed the sentiments of many others when they said that their child attends a ‘lovely school run by people who care’.

p.1

School

You strive continuously to improve teaching and pupils’ all-round development. You and other staff work in partnership with the local teaching school alliance to help you make improvements, while contributing substantially to improvements in other schools. You have created an environment where teachers support and challenge each other to improve. You set an example by subjecting your own teaching to scrutiny from external professionals and from your colleagues in school. Teachers told me, ‘We love our school.’

p.1

School

At the last inspection, inspectors challenged you to improve teaching and pupils’ outcomes in mathematics. Pupils perform just a little less well in mathematics than they do in English. However, you and the leader of mathematics have taken effective action to improve the mathematics curriculum so that pupils, including the most able, make good progress. Most are well prepared for the end of key stage tests. You continue to strive to diminish the difference between pupils’ strong achievement in reading and their achievement in mathematics. You recognise that pupils still need more opportunities to use and apply their mathematical knowledge and skills in subjects other than mathematics.

p.1

School

In collaboration with partner schools, you have developed a broad and balanced curriculum that often engages children in stimulating activities. We looked at a sample of pupils’ workbooks together and agreed that teachers do not challenge pupils as well in some subjects, such as science and the humanities, as they do in reading, writing and mathematics.

p.2

School

Religious education (RE) and personal and social education make a positive contribution to pupils’ spiritual and moral development. Pupils show an open- minded respect and tolerance for each other’s differences. However, pupils demonstrate limited knowledge about faiths other than Christianity, or about a range of cultures represented in modern Britain. Similarly, when I asked them, they could recall little that they had learned about gender stereotyping.

p.2

School

The youngest children enjoy their daily learning in the new, vibrant Reception base. The development of this resource means that adults are better able to meet the particular needs of children in their early years. Adults teach children basic skills effectively but children are less well challenged when playing and learning independently.

p.2

School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. You make certain that the required checks on adults’ suitability to work with children are carried out. Adults are well trained so they understand their safeguarding duties. Strong, nurturing relationships between adults and pupils result in pupils feeling safe. You ensure that the most vulnerable pupils receive extra help from external professionals. You have taken action to limit and supervise access to the open school site.

p.2

School

Pupils understand how to stay safe online. They are happy that bullying is rare. They understand the difference between bullying and other sorts of conflict. Pupils say that adults are good at helping them to resolve minor conflicts when they arise. The vast majority of parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, agree. A few of the oldest pupils have the role of safety officer, with responsibility for teaching others about how to stay safe crossing the road.

p.2

Inspection findings

 You have developed the mathematics curriculum to meet the increased challenge of the government’s statutory requirements. Teachers routinely encourage pupils to reason and explain their thinking verbally and in writing. They ensure that pupils develop understanding of mathematical concepts as well as their ability to use the most efficient methods to calculate. Teachers make sure that all pupils, especially the most able, have regular opportunities to attempt to solve challenging mathematical problems. New resources are helping teachers to give pupils the right amount of challenge. You keep a close eye on the progress of pupils and ensure that they get extra help where it is needed. You recognise that pupils still have too few opportunities to do challenging mathematics work in subjects other than mathematics.  Pupils undertake work in all national curriculum subjects. They enjoy learning through visiting places of interest. Teachers make use of the local environment

p.2

Inspection findings

to develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the natural world. I saw some high-quality work displayed around the school, particularly pupils’ artwork. However, teachers generally do not challenge pupils in other subjects such as geography and history, and especially in science, as well as they do in English and in mathematics. This is particularly the case for the most able pupils.  The positive, nurturing ethos you have created helps pupils to behave well and to respect each other’s differences. RE lessons and assemblies contribute strongly to pupils’ spiritual and moral development. Although pupils learn about major world faiths, pupils, when I asked them, showed an underdeveloped knowledge and understanding about major world faiths or about gender equality. While in many respects they are learning to become good citizens, you and governors recognise that if pupils are to be better and more fully prepared

p.3

Inspection findings

for life in modern Britain, these aspects of their learning need to improve.  The governing body knows where the main strengths and weaknesses are in achievement because you share suitable information with governors. They make regular visits to the school to see for themselves how teachers teach and how pupils learn and behave. These visits are beginning to shine a brighter light on the school’s most important development priorities. The governing body has ensured that newly appointed governors have the skills and experience necessary for governance. This has improved the extent to which the governing body challenges you. You acknowledge that, although you share information with governors about the progress pupils make from the end of the previous year, governors do not get sufficient insight into the progress pupils make over a longer length of time.  The youngest children now have the opportunity to learn in their own separate

p.3

Inspection findings

space, as well as alongside the Year 1 and Year 2 children. You have sought advice from an external early years professional. Staff have visited another school deemed to have effective early years practice. Adults teach these children effectively. For example, I observed an adult helping a small group of children to understand the concept of subtraction using vegetables. The adult encouraged them to record their simple calculations accurately. However, sometimes children’s independent play does not promote characteristics of effective learning. For example, independent activities sometimes do not encourage children to concentrate or to challenge themselves.

p.3

Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

p.4

Next steps for the school

 they keep a closer eye on the progress of pupils from the end of each phase of their education, not just in the current year, to ensure that pupils make sufficient progress over time  work in subjects other than English and mathematics, especially in science, better matches the varying abilities of pupils, especially the most able, so that they reach higher standards  pupils have regular opportunities to practise mathematics in other subjects in addition to mathematics  pupils learn in more depth about diverse cultures, faiths and gender to better prepare them for life in modern Britain  the quality of child-initiated play and exploration in the early years improves.

p.4

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

p.4

Information about the inspection

I held regular meetings with you during the day to discuss the actions you have taken to improve the school since the last inspection. I met with six governors, a representative from the local authority and with teachers. I held a telephone conversation with a representative of the Diocese of York. You and I visited classrooms together and discussed the teaching and learning we observed. We also examined a sample of pupils’ workbooks alongside information about pupils’ attainment and progress. I observed the pupils at lunchtime and chatted with a number of them, including all the pupils in upper key stage 2. I also took account of the 34 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey. I examined a number of documents, including leaders’ monitoring notes, safeguarding records and records of visits from a local authority representative. I looked at governing body minutes and notes of governors’ visits to the school. I analysed the 28 responses to Parent View, and

p.4

Information about the inspection

considered the 18 written responses from parents. I took account of nine responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

p.4