Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

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

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Mr Nick Oswald Headteacher Great Ouseburn Community Primary School Main Street Great Ouseburn York North Yorkshire YO26 9RG

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Short inspection of Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 4 July 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 judged to be good in October 2013.

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Short inspection of Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

You are a passionate and dynamic headteacher who has worked tirelessly since your appointment to improve the school. You have established a happy staff team who want to work in your school. Your honesty and openness enable the school to know its strengths and its areas for development.

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Short inspection of Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

You, your staff and governors have developed a welcoming and warm feel to the school, with strong relationships between staff, pupils, their families and the local community. There is a tangible family ethos, and all members of the school recognise the importance of fostering strong relationships with its community. Local residents now see the school as the heart of the village. Parents welcome the changes made since your appointment, ‘improvements under the new headteacher have been considerable. He shows excellent leadership, has made the school both brilliant academically, yet kept a sense of fun about learning – the kids are still brilliantly behaved and happy. What more can you ask for!’

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Short inspection of Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

The school has many strengths, including pupils’ excellent behaviour, its commitment to the welfare and care of pupils and their families, and the progress that pupils make. There is clear determination to ensure that no pupil is ever held back by low expectations. The assumption is that every child can achieve. Teachers set high expectations for pupils and are relentless in their drive to achieve the best outcomes possible.

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Short inspection of Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

Your school is a fully inclusive school, where pupils’ differences are not only welcomed but embraced. The school ensures that all pupils’ achievements are celebrated through assemblies and high-quality displays that reflect pupil’s individual achievements for all pupils and staff to see.

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Short inspection of Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

School leaders have taken effective action to address the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. You were asked to improve the outdoor provision for early years and to ensure that more teaching is outstanding by matching work effectively to pupils’ needs. The early years outdoor area is now a strength. It has been thoughtfully designed and is used very effectively to challenge children and also to promote their independence. As a result, children’s resilience and determination is being well developed from an early age.

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Short inspection of Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

Teachers plan work which matches their assessments of pupils’ learning needs. Teachers’ effective questioning supports and challenges pupils to achieve well. Pupils of all abilities are well challenged, especially pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities, who are very well supported through effective and well-trained teaching assistants.

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Short inspection of Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

Pupils really enjoy coming to school and behave extremely well. Pupils are confident learners. They approach learning with a real energy and drive to succeed. They want to be the best they can be. Pupils are eloquent and show immense pride in their school. Recently, attendance has declined slightly due to some parents taking holidays in term times. You are aware of this and are beginning to ensure that parents make sure that their children have high attendance.

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Short inspection of Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

School leaders continue to drive school improvement successfully. You are aware that, in 2017, the progress in writing was not as strong as in reading and mathematics and the proportion of pupils achieving the higher standard was below the national average. You have worked quickly to identify this and subsequently the progress of writing is improving. However, you are aware that there is still some work to do to ensure that presentation, spelling and punctuation is the very best it can be in writing across the curriculum.

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Short inspection of Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

Governors have a good understanding of the school. Their knowledge of the local community and their varied range of skills enable them to support school improvement well. Governors use a range of information effectively to challenge school leaders. They ensure that their regular visits to school enable them to see, first hand, the work of school leaders.

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Short inspection of Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Leaders and governors are diligent in all matters relating to safeguarding and take their responsibilities very seriously. They make sure that all recruitments checks are carried out on the suitability of staff and keep up to date with safeguarding regulations. All staff have received training, for example on the ‘Prevent’ duty, so that they know how to recognise and report causes for concern. Records show that leaders take prompt and effective action to ensure that pupils receive the support they need. You involve external agencies as appropriate and are tenacious in following up referrals. Records are detailed and of high quality.

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Short inspection of Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. They talk confidently about keeping safe online. Pupils said that they feel happy, safe and settled in school. Pupils also said that bullying is rare, and if it does happen, staff quickly sort it out. They confidently stated that they can talk to any adult in the school about any worries they may have, including class teachers, lunchtime staff and senior leaders. Pupils are taught to keep safe through activities such as the recent visit from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, visits to Crucial Crew and frequent swimming lessons. The pupils also reflected on the opportunity the curriculum gives them to keep safe. Pupils talk passionately about a recent trip to London where not only did they learn about London, watch a West End show and visit the Houses of Parliament but they also learned how to keep safe in a city and when using the London underground.

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Short inspection of Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

Leaders have worked very hard to consider not only the physical health of pupils, but also their mental health. This is promoted by ensuring that all pupils have access to classroom pots which they can put their name in if they want to talk to someone. Pupils talk sensitively about how these are used and really value the opportunity to be able to speak to adults when needed. In addition, the Year 3 and Year 4 pupils went on a recent visit to ‘Happy Fest’, which was a festival that promoted good mental health.

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Inspection findings

 At the start of my visit, we agreed a number of key lines of enquiry for the inspection. First, I looked at the provision for SEN and/or disabilities. I wanted to see whether this group of pupils were making enough progress and how the classroom provision supported this. Progress is tracked carefully to ensure that the school meets the needs of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities well. Bespoke interventions are planned, carefully ensuring that the individual needs of the pupils are being met. Highly skilled teaching assistants support pupils effectively, without developing a culture of over- reliance. They ensure that pupils are taught do be independent and think for themselves.  I also looked at whether pupils were being challenged enough. This was because in 2017, the proportions of pupils achieving the higher levels at key stage 1 were below national averages in reading, writing and mathematics and were below at key stage 2

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Inspection findings

in writing and mathematics. Pupils are challenged effectively in most areas of their work to improve their learning. However, in writing, challenge is not always consistent because some basic errors in spelling and punctuation mean that pupils do not always apply more complex skills to their work.  Finally, I looked at how the school’s curriculum is designed to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain. The school’s curriculum is motivating and exciting. It is well matched to the needs of the pupils. You and your leaders ensure that pupils learn about British values. You discussed how the school’s drive is to ‘turn children on to learning’. This is evident through the school’s ‘learning adventures’, which are thematic projects that inspire and motivate pupils to learn, by allowing them to help plan their own learning journeys. Parents are also highly involved in their child’s learning by being invited to

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Inspection findings

‘launches and landings’, which act to inspire pupils to want to learn and allow them to show off their learning at the end. Parents also talk about the curriculum with enthusiasm: ‘The curriculum is exciting and really engages my sons. The staff work very hard to provide creative engaging experiences for the pupils and it has totally re- engaged my younger son in school.’

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that they:

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Next steps for the school

 work even more closely with parents, so that they make sure that their children attend regularly  ensure that pupils use correct presentation, spelling and punctuation in their written work across the curriculum.

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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 Yorkshire. 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, the special educational needs coordinator, the English leader, a group of governors, and a representative from the local authority. I evaluated documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation, the school development plan, information about pupils’ progress, minutes of governing body meetings, behaviour and attendance records, and information about safeguarding. I considered the 31 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. I listened to some pupils read. You and I visited every classroom together to observe teaching and learning and to scrutinise pupils’ work in their books.

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