Lord Deramore's Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Lord Deramore’s Primary School Heslington, York, North Yorkshire YO10 5EE

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Inspection dates: 17 and 18 January 2023

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Outcome

Lord Deramore’s Primary School continues to be a good school. There is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a graded (section 5) inspection now. The school’s next inspection will be a graded inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Lord Deramore’s receive an outstanding education. They are immersed in an exciting and rigorous curriculum. Leaders provide a broad range of experiences to help pupils remember the curriculum and to develop wider skills. This holistic approach helps pupils to mature into articulate, caring young people who are well prepared for life in modern Britain. With over 20 different languages spoken, the school is a wonderfully multicultural community. Pupils value their diverse community, which they see as a real strength of the school. They celebrate people from all different backgrounds. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are challenged and supported to achieve highly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and valued. They know staff care about them. Parents are extremely positive about the school. Leaders and staff have high expectations of the pupils and themselves. Behaviour is excellent in lessons. Pupils are highly engaged in learning. At social times, pupils play well together. Bullying almost never happens. When incidents of poor behaviour occur, staff are highly effective in resolving it quickly.

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

Curriculum planning is thoughtfully developed so that classroom-based learning is reinforced through a range of extra-curricular experiences. These include educational visits that are closely tied to what pupils learn in lessons. Pupils benefit from this approach. It allows every pupil to be fully immersed in learning each stage of the curriculum. Teachers and teaching assistants have expert subject knowledge. They communicate their knowledge clearly and precisely to pupils. Teachers model tasks carefully. They provide useful examples which help pupils understand what to do, and how to do it. Pupils remember their learning well and are confident in explaining their ideas. 17 and 18 January 2023

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The support for pupils with SEND, including some pupils who have a high level of need, is exceptional. Staff are extremely well trained. They are ambitious for pupils with SEND. They make adaptations to the curriculum where necessary, while still ensuring all pupils aim high and achieve well.

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In the early years, children are cared for extremely well. Leaders’ planning is thorough. It ensures children are well prepared for the subjects they will study in Year 1. Staff know each child very well. Staff are highly trained. They expertly combine broader curriculum learning with children’s individual needs and interests. This means that activities match children’s needs precisely.

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Children learn to read quickly. Those children needing further support are given the right help at the right time. Books precisely match the sounds that children know. This helps children to read successfully, and develop confidence and skills. The provision for early reading is a strength of the school.

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The curriculum for pupils’ personal, social and health education is exceptional. All pupils learn a series of musical instruments during their time at school. They also participate in an exciting range of opportunities that expose them to new skills and experiences. For example, as part of learning the curriculum, pupils visit London. They build on their geographical knowledge by learning more about the River Thames, as well as exploring the capital city. Pupils learn about British values, including democracy. They have a strong and embedded sense of fairness and of individual responsibility. There is a wide range of extra-curricular clubs available to help pupils explore their interests and develop new hobbies.

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Governors are highly committed to the school. They bring a wealth of relevant experience to their role. This enables them to support and challenge school leaders rigorously. Leaders are supportive of staff and have high expectations for what they can achieve together. They are highly effective at implementing school improvement planning to advance the school even further. Staff morale is very high. The staff are rightly proud to work at Lord Deramore’s Primary School.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils feel safe in school. They have a trusted adult to talk to if they need help. Staff are highly vigilant. They report any concerns they have to leaders. Leaders react quickly. They involve other agencies, such as local authority children’s services, when they need to. Leaders keep detailed logs of actions taken. Staff are extremely effective in monitoring and supporting pupils who experience hardship or trauma. Pupils are part of a strong, supportive community in which everyone is valued.

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Safeguarding

Checks are carried out to ensure that staff and visitors are appropriately vetted and safe to work with children. 17 and 18 January 2023

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 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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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. 17 and 18 January 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10255883 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 February 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The number of pupils attending the school who speak English as an additional language is well above the national average.  The school makes use of one registered alternative provider for a small number of pupils.

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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 their evaluation of the school.  The inspector held several meetings with the headteacher during the inspection.  A meeting was held with members of the governing body.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and, where appropriate, looked at samples of pupils’ work. 17 and 18 January 2023

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 The inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  Pupils talked to the inspector, formally and informally, about their learning and experiences at school.  Safeguarding documentation and records for behaviour and attendance were considered.  The inspector reviewed the responses received through the Ofsted’s survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses. The inspector considered responses received through Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour throughout the school day, including during lesson visits and at breaktimes and lunchtimes. The inspector spoke to groups of pupils about their views on behaviour and the wider experiences they receive at school.

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Inspection team

Zoe Helman, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 17 and 18 January 2023

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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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