Danby Church of England Voluntary Aided School

Inspection of Danby Church of England Voluntary Aided School Ainthorpe Lane, Danby, Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO21 2NG

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Inspection dates: 19 and 20 January 2022

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires Improvement 19 and 20 January 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships are strong. Staff and pupils know each other well. The school values of trust, respect and friendship appear in action each day. Pupils say behaviour is much improved and bullying never happens. Pupils know how to be responsible citizens, in and outside of school, and how to spot potential dangers online.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Some older pupils play with younger pupils at breaktime. There is a mix of ages at tables during lunch. Older pupils take responsibility for serving food and clearing away. Manners are excellent. Conversation is lively. No one leaves the dining room until everyone has finished. ‘Please, thank you’ and ‘you’re welcome’ ring around the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love being outside. They enjoy visiting the nearby forest as part of their learning. Key stage 2 pupils look forward to their residential trips. Pupils choose which after-school clubs should be run. These include computing, sports and gardening. Staff care for pupils and expect the best from them. Pupils work hard in lessons.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their vibrant school environment. A group of pupils told an inspector of their joy with the refurbished toilets.

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better?

Children in Reception quickly learn to read. They know most letter sounds and can blend them together to read simple words. Children are excited to read words to each other independently. Daily phonics teaching helps pupils to learn different sounds and read words they do not recognise. Books they take home to practise reading are closely matched to their phonics skills. This helps them become confident and fluent readers. Some younger pupils also read with expression. They use different voices for different characters.

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better?

The mathematics curriculum is well planned and sequenced. Leaders have prioritised pupils’ understanding of number and basic calculation, due to gaps in pupils’ knowledge related to COVID-19 restrictions. Teachers use extra resources to support pupils’ learning effectively. Reasoning and problem-solving are less well developed. There are too few regular opportunities presented to pupils in daily mathematics lessons to explain and prove their thinking.

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better?

Leaders have decided on the essential knowledge pupils need in other subjects across the curriculum. Leaders work collaboratively with leaders from local schools and make effective use of other external support. In each topic, the knowledge expected from the previous year is listed on ‘knowledge organisers’. Leaders have identified challenging tasks that pupils need to do at the end of each sequence of learning. This helps teachers plan lessons that build on what pupils have learned already, 19 and 20 January 2022

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including in Reception. Teachers plan learning that builds progressively. The quality of planned work does vary between subjects. Leaders have not identified the key concepts that run through separate subjects to allow pupils to make connections in their learning.

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Teachers use assessment of pupils’ learning to plan their next steps. Teachers identify where pupils struggle and make sure that they revisit and recap this knowledge. In topic work, teachers check to ensure pupils have grasped and remembered the essential knowledge needed to move on.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not miss out on any aspect of school life. This includes learning in the classroom. Teachers provide sensible and appropriate support to lessons and the learning environment. This helps pupils to succeed.

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Leaders are aware of the narrow cultural context of the school and have taken steps to address this. The religious education curriculum, for example, teaches pupils about six different faiths. The personal, social and health education curriculum prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain. Pupils are taught about respect, tolerance and inequality. Pupils know about different kinds of families, such as those with parents of the same gender. They know about healthy eating and mental and emotional well- being. Before COVID-19, pupils enjoyed a planned programme of trips and visits. These included attendance at the Eskdale Festival, various places of worship, art galleries and the North York Moors.

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Staff appreciate the regular communication from leaders. They say they can speak to any colleague because levels of trust are strong. There is a shared determination to excel. All staff acknowledge the pupils’ good behaviour and attitudes. This helps pupils to learn as they try hard, concentrate and do their best.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders constantly look for ways to improve their safeguarding systems. They work closely with external partners to ensure there are no cracks in school systems or record keeping. Leaders respond quickly to the smallest suggestions for improvement in systems after regular external audits. Training for all staff and governors is timely and appropriate. Staff know how to spot a potential issue and report any concern about a pupil, no matter how small. Safeguarding features prominently in the staff handbook and in the induction process for new staff.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s curriculum is not yet sufficiently well planned and sequenced in some subjects. Key concepts that run through subjects are not clearly identified. Pupils 19 and 20 January 2022

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are unable to integrate knowledge into larger ideas. However, it is clear from leaders’ actions that they are in the process of bringing these changes about. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied.  There are too few opportunities for pupils to practise their reasoning and problem-solving skills in mathematics. Pupils find it difficult to apply their mathematical skills in different contexts or explain their thinking. Teachers should ensure that reasoning and problem-solving tasks are planned as part of regular mathematics lessons.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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. 19 and 20 January 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10211679 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 1 October 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is federated with Egton Church of England Primary School.  The school is part of the Esk Valley Alliance.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pan- demic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, teachers, school administrator and teaching assistants. An inspector also met four members of the local governing body. Meetings via telephone were held with the local authority educational advi- sor and the diocesan representative.  Deep dives were carried out in reading, science, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspectors met with leaders, looked at curriculum plans, vis- ited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers and teaching assistants, spoke to 19 and 20 January 2022

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some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. An in- spector also listened to some pupils read.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to the headteacher about some other subjects.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during lesson visits and at break and lunchtime. They spoke to pupils about their views on behaviour.  Safeguarding records, including the single central record, were reviewed. The in- spectors talked to pupils, governors and staff about what they knew about safe- guarding.  The views of 17 parents who responded to Ofsted’s questionnaire, Parent View were considered.  The inspectors met with staff to discuss their well-being and workload. The inspectors considered the six responses from Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Phil Scott, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Julie McGrane Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 January 2022

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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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