Youlgrave, All Saints' CofE (VA) Primary School

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

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Mrs Heather Stelling Headteacher Youlgrave, All Saints’ CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School Alport Lane Youlgrave Bakewell Derbyshire DE45 1WN

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School

Following my visit to the school on 5 February 2019, 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 2015.

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School

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

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School

The school environment is bright and welcoming. Pupils, parents and governors speak proudly of the strong links the school has within the local community. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are positive. They are polite and courteous around school and give examples of when they are democratically given additional responsibilities such as house captains or becoming a member of the school council. The older pupils speak enthusiastically about events such as a planned residential visit to Lea Green which happens every other year or when they put on a performance to the rest of the school. The breakfast club which the school offers provides a calm and sociable start to the day for pupils who attend. The children I spoke to were keen to tell me about having a healthy breakfast, as they are currently working towards gaining the Healthy Schools Gold Award.

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School

Pupils are extremely proud of their school and speak respectfully about the importance of fundraising events in school, such as Children in Need. Parents are very supportive of the school and speak positively about the nurturing environment that the staff provide. Parents are pleased that the pupils are involved with community events such as attending the local village pantomime. Pupils enjoy taking part in a wide range of curriculum activities both during the school day and after school. These include dance lessons and enjoying the ‘mile a day’ running sessions to keep them fit and healthy.

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School

You are well supported by governors as well as the cluster of schools in the local area. Governors have a clear understanding of the school’s priorities and how they are being met through the school’s improvement plan. Governors monitor the progress the school is making towards its targets through regular visits to school and reports from you and subject leaders.

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School

You and the governors have a detailed and accurate view of the school. At the last inspection, you were asked to develop further the role of the subject leaders in school so that they could be more effective when checking on the standards of teaching and learning in school. The newly appointed mathematics and English subject leaders are now tracking the progress of pupils to ensure that all pupils are making good progress. They visit classrooms regularly with you to see the quality of teaching in every class and carry out learning walks with the link governor. They ensure that governors receive reports on all aspects of their monitoring. This information supports governors to hold you to account and challenge the findings.

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School

At the previous inspection, you were asked to improve the quality of teaching so that pupils know how to improve their work and to ensure that presentation of work was of the highest standard. In all the classrooms we visited, pupils were proud of their work and tried hard with their handwriting and the general presentation of their work.

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School

You have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and fully meet requirements. The Every Child Matters records are detailed, kept securely and are of a good quality. Staff see safeguarding as everyone’s responsibility. It is a standard agenda item for all meetings, including staff meetings and governors’ meetings. You provide all staff with relevant and regular training so that they know what to do if they have any concerns. There is a thorough induction process for all new staff. The governing body has a good understanding of safeguarding procedures. The lead governor for safeguarding has recently conducted a review, and she makes regular checks of safeguarding records in school. External agencies are appropriately involved in safeguarding issues where necessary.

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School

Pupils I met with told me they feel safe in school and can cite examples of how the school grounds are keeping them safe, including ‘not crossing over the red line’ at break time. Pupils say that bullying is not a problem in their school and that they can speak to any member of staff if they are worried about something. An overwhelming majority of parents who responded to the survey agreed that their children are being kept safe in school.

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Inspection findings

 Over the past three years there has been a decline in the number of children achieving a good level of development by the time they reach the end of the Reception Year.  You have made changes to the early years provision by appointing an additional member of staff and looked at best practice within the local cluster of schools. Rigorous tracking of children’s progress using your new assessment tool is making sure that provision and activities are now planned carefully. You are confident that children will make faster progress from their starting points than in previous years.  The most recent analysis of performance data shows that children are now making better progress and that a greater proportion of children in the Reception class are on track to achieve a good level of development in line with other children nationally.  The proportion of the pupils who reached the required standard in the Year 1

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Inspection findings

phonics screening check has declined over the last three years. You have increased the consistency of teaching by introducing a new literacy scheme. Staff are attending training with the local cluster of schools to improve their practice in the teaching of letters and sounds. Your current attainment information indicates that the proportion of pupils who are currently on track to meet the standard has increased this year. However, it is too early for leaders to be sure that the changes introduced will have the impact they intend and be sustained over time.  Pupils’ attainment at the end of key stage 1 has been inconsistent for the past three years in reading, writing and mathematics. In 2018, standards in writing and mathematics were well below the national averages. You are aware of this and have put a range of strategies in place, including a specific programme of work to accelerate the progress of pupils in Year 2. You and your staff take part

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Inspection findings

in regular checks on the progress of pupils’ writing with colleagues from the local cluster of schools. These checks are increasing teachers’ understanding and ensure that the assessments the school make are accurate. Rigorous tracking of the assessments made by teachers are being monitored by you and the mathematics and English subject leaders. This tracking ensures you can identify vulnerable pupils who need additional support. The impact of any interventions is carefully evaluated to ensure that pupils make as much progress as possible.  Pupils now take part in one-to-one reading programmes and are given more opportunities to write in the classroom across a range of topics. Pupils in Year 2 are now benefiting from discrete teaching in mathematics and English which is helping them towards achieving the expected standard for their age. The mathematics leader has introduced a new approach to the teaching of

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Inspection findings

mathematics in school, but this is at an early stage and needs to be embedded.  An analysis of the school’s current assessment information indicates that the progress of boys is still slower than that of girls, specifically in writing. This is an area that you identified the school is still working on in your school improvement plan.  Governors are aware of, and informed about, the attainment of pupils at the end of key stage 1. They understand and support the steps you are taking to improve outcomes.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 the teaching of phonics is consistently effective so that the proportion of pupils who achieve the required standard in the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 is at least broadly in line with the national average  pupils’ progress in writing at the end of key stage 1 improves, so that the majority of pupils, including boys, move into key stage 2 with skills in writing that are broadly in line with those typically found in other pupils of the same age.

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

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you and shared my lines of enquiry. I also met with representatives from the school’s governing body, subject leaders for English and mathematics and members of staff, including the school office manager. I considered the responses of parents from Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and the 26 free-text comments. I also spoke to parents at the beginning of the school day. We jointly observed teaching and learning in all classes and I examined samples of pupils’ work during the observations. I visited the breakfast club and I listened to some pupils read. I met with four Year 5 and Year 6 pupils to discuss behaviour and safeguarding. I looked at a range of documents, including leaders’ evaluation of the school’s current performance, its plans for further improvement and published data. I had a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority. I evaluated the school’s website to check that it meets requirements

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Information about the inspection

on the publication of specified information.

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