Normanby Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Normanby Primary School Flatts Lane, Normanby, Middlesbrough TS6 0NP

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Outcome

Normanby Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Normanby Primary School radiates a calm, peaceful and purposeful atmosphere. Pupils talk confidently about the school’s STAR values - self-belief, teamwork, achievement and respect. Pupils know these values will help them at school and throughout their lives. Pupils demonstrate excellent behaviour. They concentrate in lessons, responding quickly to adult instruction. Teachers ensure that pupils take an active part in every lesson. The use of individual whiteboards means all pupils answer questions asked by adults. Pupils say that bullying does not happen very often. They know to tell a trusted adult who will deal with it and help them. Pupils say they can talk to trusted adults about anything that worries them. Pupils access a different residential experience every year in key stage 2. These varied overnight stays help to build pupil’s social skills, resilience and independence. Pupils know how to stay mentally and physically healthy. They know to reduce the time

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What is it like to attend this school?

they spend on technology and to make sure they exercise. Leaders use emotional literacy support assistants to support individuals with well-being needs such as anxiety. Everyone loves Luna, the school dog! Pupils describe her as ‘the school mascot’. Staff are incredibly positive about working at Normanby. They enjoy celebrating pupil success in every ‘Feel Good Friday’ assembly.

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

Leaders use their vision of ‘enjoy, believe, achieve’ to shape their curriculum thinking. Curriculum planning starts from early years. However, the detailed early years curriculum is separate to the rest of the school’s curriculum. Leaders are working to unite the two curriculums. Some subject leaders are early in their leadership development. Leaders plan for them to work alongside more experienced subject leaders and the early years staff to help them make explicit links in their subject from Nursery Year through to Year 6. The school’s curriculum builds to ensure that pupils are ready for more complex learning over time. For example, in physical education (PE) early years children focus on 5 and 6 July 2022

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fundamental movements like walking, travelling, crawling and balancing. In Year 2 they begin to link these movements in a routine. In Year 4 they add in equipment like springboards and vaults and in Year 6 they plan, perform and evaluate a routine. Teachers ensure pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have bespoke resources and equipment, pre-teaching and adult support, to help them access the curriculum. Year group teams collaborate to write support plans for pupils with SEND. This ensures that all staff understand the needs, adjustments and targets for each pupil. Phonics teaching happens daily in early years and key stage 1. Reading books are well- matched to pupils’ phonics knowledge. Adults skilfully support pupils with questions and fluency. Pupils’ phonics and word recognition are assessed regularly. Teachers use this information to identify pupils who are not keeping up. These pupils receive extra phonics

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sessions. Leaders have identified that, because of the pandemic, more pupils in key stage 2 require daily phonics teaching. A new phonics scheme has been introduced to support all staff, including teachers in key stage 2, to teach phonics consistently and confidently. Some teachers have accessed training but have not yet had an opportunity to teach the scheme. There is ambition for all pupils within the mathematics curriculum. Leaders use a scheme to support teachers in the small steps of mathematics planning. However, they have reorganised the units of work within the scheme to suit the needs of their pupils. This ensures teachers are revisiting, consolidating and developing concepts throughout the year. All pupils access the content of the lesson. Teachers tailor individual tasks to pupils’ specific mathematics ability. Higher attaining pupils broaden and extend their understanding through explaining a ‘marvellous mistake’. Children in the early years

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confidently use mathematical vocabulary. They make up their own games with dice, counters and counting frames. Teachers in Nursery Year use every opportunity to promote mathematics. For example, at snack time each child counts out their own snack. Leaders have a whole school approach to teaching personal, social and health education and relationship and sex education. This means concepts like consent and healthy relationships build year on year on what pupils already know. Pupils know how to stay safe online. This is especially important as they use technology daily to enhance their learning. Trustees receive regular updates from the local governing body on the strengths and areas for development within the school. Governors hold leaders to account. For example, they challenged leaders effectively to ensure value for money in allocating the COVID-19 recovery funding to help pupils catch-up.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders recognise families face different challenges. To support them, the early intervention support assistant helps families with safeguarding, financial, parenting or attendance advice. All staff have annual safeguarding training to ensure they can identify the key indicators of harm. Leaders know that the local park is an area that poses a risk to the pupils in the 5 and 6 July 2022

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locality. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 can recall the police community support officer’s advice about the dangers of using drugs or vaping. Leaders are aware of the dangers posed by the busy road near the school. They have initiated pedestrian, cycling and road safety training to support pupil safety.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Staff are getting to know the structure of a new phonics scheme in readiness for its implementation in September 2022. Some teachers have received training but have not yet had an opportunity to teach, with fidelity, the new scheme. Leaders should ensure consistency of practise as staff embed the new scheme.  Leaders have started to consider how the early years curriculum connects to the rest of the school’s curriculum. Some curriculum leaders are at the early stages of knowing how their subject builds knowledge and skills from Nursery Year. Curriculum leaders should work with early years staff to establish the curriculum links from Nursery Year to key stages 1 and 2.

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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 predecessor school, of the same name, to be good in May 2010.

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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 . 5 and 6 July 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. 5 and 6 July 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10240155 Type of school Primary School category Academy converter

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School details

Headteacher Carl Faulkner (executive headteacher)

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School details

Website www.normanby.ironstoneacademy.org.uk

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Information about this school

 The school joined Ironstone Academy Trust in June 2014.  There is an executive headteacher and head of school within the leadership team.  The executive headteacher is also the chief executive officer of the trust.  This is a larger-than-average primary school.  There is a lower than national percentage of pupils with SEND, who speak English as an additional language and who receive pupil premium funding.  The school uses one registered alternative provider.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine onsite inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 5 and 6 July 2022

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 The inspector met with the head of school, curriculum leaders, staff and pupils. Meetings were also held with a representative of the trust and the local governing body.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and PE. For each deep dive, the inspector met with curriculum leaders, spoke to pupils and teachers, visited lessons and looked at their work. The inspector heard pupils read.  The inspector examined safeguarding records, attendance figures, curriculum plans and policies.  The inspector considered the views of parents from the responses to Ofsted’s survey, Parent View.  The views of staff were considered from meeting with them and from the responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire.  The views of pupils were considered from meetings with them.

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Inspection team

Alison Stephenson, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 5 and 6 July 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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