Cowick Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Cowick Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Snaith Road, East Cowick, Goole DN14 9DG

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Outcome

Cowick Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School continues to be a good school. However, inspectors have some concerns that standards may be declining, as set out below.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this school. One pupil said, ‘I love the interesting things we do, especially history lessons.’ Parents and carers say, ‘Staff really care and go above and beyond to make sure the children are happy.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say they feel safe in school and that bullying is very rare. Some pupils are not so sure what they should do to stay safe when using the internet. They say that some of the best things they do in school are history, physical education and the many clubs they can go to after school. Pupils enjoy taking responsibilities in the school, such as helping at lunchtime or in the playground.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are well behaved. They talk about their ‘hive five’ rules which encourage them to be honest, safe, respectful, kind and hard-working. They are keen to do their best in lessons and present their work neatly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers expect pupils to do their best. Pupils say they enjoy the work they do. They also say that it is frustrating for them when the work is too easy, for example sometimes in mathematics.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

A major strength of the school is its relationships with parents, who are very happy with the school, saying, ‘I could not wish for more.’ Pupils say it is ‘one big happy family’. Morale is high among staff. Teachers feel that leaders take their well-being into account. 23 January 2020

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The school receives high-quality support from the local authority adviser, who has been very clear about what needs improving further. However, leaders and governors have been slow to pick up on this advice. This means that there are still weaknesses in how phonics and mathematics are taught.

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Phonics is taught daily, starting in Reception. Most pupils soon begin reading fluently and enjoy reading throughout their time at the school. However, those pupils who find reading difficult do not catch up as quickly as they should. While they learn the sounds letters make, they do not practise their sounds by reading often enough. This means they forget the sounds so they have to be taught again. Reading records do not show what these pupils need to practise. There is an agreed approach to teaching phonics in school but not all teachers follow this approach.

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Where the mathematics curriculum is effective, pupils have plenty of practice to make sure that they are able to add, multiply, subtract and divide correctly. However, teachers are not consistent in moving pupils on so that they can solve problems using their mathematics. Some pupils say, ‘It’s frustrating when we have to wait to get harder work.’

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Subject leaders are working hard to improve the curriculum in subjects other than reading, writing and mathematics. For example, the history curriculum has been rewritten so that pupils learn more and remember more over time. Pupils were keen to tell an inspector what they remembered about the Sharpeville massacre in South Africa and how it was linked to apartheid. The subject leader has effective plans in place. This includes training for teachers to improve their knowledge and share their expertise.

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Teachers know their pupils well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, pupils with SEND who struggle with reading are not supported as they should be.

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In the early years, children soon learn to make friends, share toys and talk to each other politely. They learn to count and do simple mathematics while playing. Children become curious about books and soon start to begin to read, learning how sounds relate to letters. Children learn to work together, for example when choosing materials to build a bridge. The outdoor area is used well to extend children’s learning.

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Many pupils enjoy taking part in sports and musical activities outside of school time, including ‘Young Voices’, along with other schools. They also enjoy the trips and visits they make, for example to museums, which bring learning alive for them.

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Pupils behave well. They have good manners and are keen to do their best in lessons.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a good culture of safeguarding in the school. Staff have had the latest training, which keeps them fully informed of what they must do if they have any concerns. School leaders work well with outside agencies to keep pupils safe. 23 January 2020

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Pupils say bullying is rare. Although the school teaches pupils about how to stay safe online, some older pupils who use social media and games consoles have gaps in their knowledge of how to secure their privacy settings.

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Arrangements for checking the suitability of new staff and volunteers are strong.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In mathematics, teachers are not consistent in checking when pupils are ready to use their mathematics skills to solve problems. This leads to some pupils waiting for others to catch up. Leaders should ensure that teachers move pupils on when they are ready to do so.  Pupils who struggle to keep up with phonics, including pupils with SEND, do not move on as quickly as they might. This is because they are not heard reading often enough. Records are not detailed so it is not possible to see what sounds pupils need to practise. Leaders should ensure that pupils read to an adult frequently and that records are clear, indicating their next steps in learning. Teachers need to ensure that they are following the agreed approach to teaching phonics.  Pupils are safe and safeguarding meets requirements. However, there are gaps in pupils’ understanding of how to stay safe online, particularly when using gaming

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

consoles and social media. Leaders should ensure that there are opportunities in the curriculum for pupils to improve their knowledge of staying safe online.  Leaders and governors have been slow to respond to local authority advice. Checks made on the effectiveness of the quality of education, particularly teaching, have not been thorough or evaluative, which has led to slow improvements. Leaders and governors should work closely with the local authority to bring about improvements quickly in phonics and mathematics.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2016. 23 January 2020

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 23 January 2020

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School details

Local authority East Riding of Yorkshire

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School details

Inspection number 10110848 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Christine Collins

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School details

Date of previous inspection 11–12 May 2016

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Information about this school

 This is a small school serving the village of East Cowick, close to Goole. There are four mixed-year classes, which include 11 children in a Nursery class.  Most pupils in the school are of White British heritage.  There is a breakfast club which is run by the school. It begins at 7.30am each morning.

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Information about this inspection

 We held meetings with the headteacher and the deputy headteacher. We met with three members of the governing body and several groups of pupils. We met with leaders responsible for safeguarding and a representative from the East Riding of Yorkshire local authority.  We held discussions with lunchtime supervisors, office staff, teachers and teaching assistants about the actions that they take to keep pupils safe.  We agreed with the headteacher to look in detail at phonics, mathematics and history. We talked to leaders about their curriculum plans. We visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work and discussed this with them. We also talked to pupils about what they knew and remembered in these subjects. 23 January 2020

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 We looked at a range of documentation, including safeguarding documents, the school’s development plans and information on the school’s website.

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Inspection team

Robert Jones, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Christine Durand Ofsted Inspector 23 January 2020

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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