Castledyke Primary School

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

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Mrs Rose-Marie Pugh Castledyke Primary School Castledyke West Barton-upon-Humber North Lincolnshire DN18 5AW

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Short inspection of Castledyke Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 12 June 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 October 2013.

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Short inspection of Castledyke Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I am of the opinion that the school has demonstrated strong practice and marked improvement in specific areas. This may indicate that the school has improved significantly overall. Therefore, I am recommending that the school’s next inspection be a section 5 inspection.

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Short inspection of Castledyke Primary School

Your inspirational leadership has led to significant improvement since the last inspection. Your determination that all pupils will succeed and your high aspirations are shared by your leadership team, staff and governors. Staff morale is high and there is a strong sense of purpose across the school. As a result, pupils’ outcomes have improved rapidly since the previous inspection. In the early years, key stage 1 and key stage 2, a high proportion of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, make very strong progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Short inspection of Castledyke Primary School

Governors are experienced and share the same aspirations as school leaders. They have a clear understanding of what needs to be done to secure further improvements. They are well informed through the detailed information they receive from you and their regular visits to the school.

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Short inspection of Castledyke Primary School

You have addressed successfully those aspects for improvement that were identified at the last inspection. The progress pupils make in writing and mathematics has improved significantly and is now above average across the school. You and your leadership team carefully track pupils’ progress to ensure that their needs are met and that pupils are making the progress of which they are capable. Your monitoring of teaching, learning and assessment has identified where there are weaknesses in provision and you have provided effective support to teachers to help them improve and develop their practice. As a result of your actions and your leaders’ actions, the quality of teaching has improved since the previous inspection, which has led to rapidly improving outcomes for pupils.

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Short inspection of Castledyke Primary School

You and your leaders have accurately identified the correct priorities for continued improvement. You are quite rightly proud of how well pupils achieve and the success you have had over time. However, you recognise that the progress pupils make in reading in key stage 2 is not as rapid as their progress in writing and mathematics.

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Short inspection of Castledyke Primary School

Your organised and well-trained team ensures that safeguarding requirements are met and fit for purpose. Leaders, including governors, ensure that safeguarding arrangements are robust. Records, including checks made on adults who work at the school, are vigilantly checked, monitored and reviewed.

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Short inspection of Castledyke Primary School

All staff and governors receive regular training updates and new information is passed on to staff promptly. Leaders take swift and appropriate action to ensure that pupils are protected when there is the risk of danger.

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Short inspection of Castledyke Primary School

Parents and staff overwhelmingly agree that children are safe and well cared for. A culture of safeguarding is clearly established and reflected in policies, procedures and day-to-day activities. You work effectively with outside agencies to ensure that pupils and families receive support when necessary.

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Inspection findings

 During this inspection I wanted to establish what action leaders have taken that has resulted in the rapidly improved outcomes in key stage 1. Standards in phonics, reading, writing and mathematics are well above average and have been over time. You have provided highly effective professional development opportunities for teachers that have strengthened teaching significantly. You and your leaders also track pupils’ progress rigorously to identify pupils who need additional support.  You recognised that to improve outcomes in key stage 1, children need to leave the early years with skills, knowledge and understanding that prepares them for learning in Year 1. As a result of leaders’ actions to improve teaching and learning in the early years, a higher-than-average proportion of children are ready for their next stage of education in key stage 1.  I also wanted to investigate whether the most able pupils in key stage 2 are

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Inspection findings

being challenged sufficiently in mathematics. You and your leadership team have worked hard at ensuring the mathematics curriculum meets pupils’ needs, including those pupils who are most able. You and your staff have worked closely with an adviser for mathematics and with other local schools. Evidence collected during the inspection shows that this is having a positive impact. Work in pupils’ books, and in lessons, shows that pupils who are most able are applying their arithmetic skills to a range of challenging problem-solving activities. As a result, the most able pupils currently in the school are making strong progress.  You have developed an effective and determined group of leaders who are resolute in their desire to provide a first-class education for pupils. Leaders for English and mathematics know their subjects well and show an unwavering approach to continued improvement. They have an accurate view of how well

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Inspection findings

pupils are achieving and where additional intervention is needed. They are supported by subject teams: groups of teachers from a range of year groups who contribute their own valuable skills and understanding to improving teaching and learning in all key stages.  You have taken determined action, which includes the retraining of staff and a more rigorous approach to assessment, to rapidly improve standards in all areas of the school. The impact of this is significant. In the early years and key stage 1 the proportion of children and pupils achieving and exceeding the expected standards is well above average in reading, writing and mathematics; at key stage 2, progress in writing is well above average and mathematics is above. These impressive outcomes have improved over time as you have built on success year-on-year.  My final focus for the inspection was to see what actions leaders have taken to further improve reading attainment for disadvantaged pupils in key stage 2. The

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Inspection findings

progress these pupils make has noticeably improved over time, from well below average to average; however, their attainment remains below that of other pupils. Inspection evidence shows that you carefully track the progress of these pupils and provide targeted support when needed. Although progress for these pupils is improving, it is not at the same pace as for writing and mathematics.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:  progress in reading in key stage 2 is accelerated further, particularly for those pupils who are disadvantaged.

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

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I held meetings with you and your leadership team. I also met with four members of the governing body and had a telephone conversation with an external consultant who is supporting the school. I spoke with pupils when listening to some of them read. I made short visits to classrooms in each year group with you and looked at pupils’ books with your leadership team. I scrutinised various documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, improvement plans and safeguarding documents. I considered the 99 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey and the 27 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey. In addition, I also took account of the 27 responses I received from parents via free-text and the 40 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire.

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