Overseal Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Overseal Primary School Woodville Road, Overseal, Swadlincote, Derbyshire DE12 6LU

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 February 2022

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Outcome

Overseal Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a happy school where every pupil is valued. Cheerful voices can be heard wherever you go.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say they get on well together. They say their teachers are kind and fair. They enjoy the ‘good to be green’ system that promotes good behaviour. It motivates pupils to get it right so they can enjoy the rewards each class receives. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They say that the school is ‘amazing’ and they would ‘definitely’ recommend this school to another child.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe. Teachers make sure pupils understand what bullying is. Pupils know they need to tell someone if they have a problem. They trust the adults in school to help them to sort these problems out. Leaders have made sure that well-trained staff are available for pupils to talk to. The school’s ‘Chill Den’ provides a safe place where pupils can go to talk about and learn how to manage their feelings.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for pupils. They are determined that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), will receive the support they need to do well and be included in all aspects of school life.

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

Leaders have designed a curriculum that is ordered logically. This means that pupils’ new learning builds on what they already know. Key knowledge is identified. There are clear goals for what pupils need to know by the time they leave school. This is exemplified by the mathematics curriculum. Children in the early years begin by developing a secure understanding of number. They learn to look for patterns in numbers. By the time pupils are in Year 6, carefully sequenced teaching enables them to confidently explore the relationship between fractions and decimals. This precise approach is evident in almost all curriculum plans. However, curriculum plans in geography are not as clearly laid out. 15 and 16 February 2022

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The teaching of reading is a priority. Pupils are provided with a wide range of books to stimulate their interest in, and enjoyment of, reading. Leaders have made sure that texts are available to support pupils’ understanding of the diverse world in which they live. Pupils also read across a range of subjects. For example, Year 6 pupils learn to ‘read like geographers’. Teachers introduce pupils to a wide range of vocabulary. As a result, pupils use subject-specific words to explain what they have learned. In geography, Year 4 pupils discuss areas of ‘high population density’. In Year 6, pupils describe how plateau mountains are formed, using accurate geographical terms: ‘erosion’, ‘valleys’ and ‘landscapes’.

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Leaders make sure that pupils get off to a swift start in learning phonics. Teachers regularly check the sounds that pupils know. Pupils who are not keeping up get extra help. Pupils are given books with words that match the sounds they know. As a result, pupils become confident and fluent readers. A few members of staff are not skilled enough when supporting pupils to use phonics. Leaders have not identified that this is a training need for these staff.

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Staff quickly identify pupils with SEND. They make sure their needs are met. Pupils’ sensory needs are managed well. Pupils who struggle to manage their feelings are provided with strategies that help them to cope in a busy school environment. The leader with responsibility for SEND monitors the targets that are set for pupils. She makes sure that parents are informed about the help their child is receiving. Parents of pupils with SEND are highly positive about the support their children receive.

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Pupils have a wide range of experiences and opportunities to promote their wider personal development. These are outlined in the school’s ‘Cultural Passport’. During their time at the school, pupils visit the theatre, participate in a wide range of sporting activities and learn to play a musical instrument. The curriculum is used to develop pupils’ character and to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain. Pupils learn about diversity, how to manage relationships and the importance of respect. Leaders have prioritised pupils’ well-being. They know that pupils have faced many challenges during the past couple of years. They have worked tirelessly to make sure pupils do well academically, and personally.

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Pupils, staff, parents and governors are all proud to be a part of Overseal Primary School. Their support for the school is unanimous.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Clear safeguarding procedures are in place to ensure that pupils are safe in school. Staff understand their responsibilities to pass on concerns about pupils. They receive appropriate training and updates. They know how to spot a pupil who may be at risk of harm. Leaders work with other agencies to make sure that families and pupils get the support they need. 15 and 16 February 2022

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Leaders make sure that pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. They learn about online safety, stranger danger and fire safety. Older pupils learn about how to deal with issues that may arise as a result of peer pressure.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 A very small number of curriculum plans are not as consistently well planned as others. In these subjects, the key knowledge that pupils need to remember is not clearly laid out. Leaders should ensure that all curriculum plans set out what pupils need to know, and in what order, from the Reception Year to Year 6.  Some staff do not have good-enough subject knowledge to support pupils well in phonics. They do not correct pupils when they make mistakes or model how to use pure sounds to pupils. Leaders should ensure that all staff have the training they need to teach phonics well. Leaders should regularly check that staff are accurate when teaching phonics.

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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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2012.

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How can I feed back my views?

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 . 15 and 16 February 2022

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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. 15 and 16 February 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Helen Moreton and Josh Hughes (Co- Chairs) Headteacher Fiona Hughes

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6 December 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been no significant changes since the previous inspection.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, other school leaders and members of the governing body, including the co-chairs of governors. The inspector held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders to discuss the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to a group of pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 15 and 16 February 2022

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 The inspector listened to pupils in the Reception Year and in Years 1, 2 and 3 reading to a member of staff.  The inspector reviewed the school’s systems for keeping pupils safe. A meeting was held with the designated safeguarding leader. The inspector also scrutinised the school’s single central record.  Pupils’ behaviour was observed in lessons, around the school and at lunchtime.  The inspector spoke with groups of pupils and staff. She considered the responses to the staff survey. She spoke to parents at the start of the school day and reviewed the views of parents through Ofsted’s online survey.

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Inspection team

Caroline Poole, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 15 and 16 February 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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