Lydbury North CofE (A) Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Lydbury North CofE (A) Primary School Lydbury North, Shropshire SY7 8AU

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Outcome

Lydbury North CofE (A) Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Lydbury North CofE (A) Primary School know the school’s values off by heart. They believe in ‘growing to be the best we can be for God, ourselves and each other’. One pupil commented, ‘It’s important to always try hard in everything we do’. Parents and carers can see this vision in action, with one being typical when they said ‘Lydbury North is a lovely school where children of all ages can interact, learn and socialise together, building good friendships between all ages’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and well mannered. They behave well in and around school. Pupils understand the school rules of ‘be respectful, be ready and be safe’. One pupil commented, ‘we help each other because we know each other well’. They show respect to others. Bullying does not happen often and any concerns are followed up quickly. Pupils are happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high aspirations for pupils. They have constructed a curriculum which enables pupils to understand different societies and cultures. Carefully planned trips and visitors help pupils to deepen this understanding. Pupils enjoy learning at school; they contribute well to school life.

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

Leaders have constructed a curriculum which carefully considers the mixed-aged classes that pupils are taught in. This curriculum builds from the early years. For example, children in Nursery and the two-year-old provision are well prepared to study geography in later years. Leaders have set out the key knowledge and vocabulary they expect pupils to learn over time. This is then regularly revisited and assessed in further learning to ensure pupils remember. However, some subjects are not as well developed as others. Leaders have not had enough opportunity to check how well pupils have learned the curriculum in these subjects. They have not ensured that any identified improvements needed to the curriculum are made. 8 March 2023

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Leaders promote a love of reading. Pupils read and are read to daily. The reading curriculum is well planned. Pupils read in different subjects and leaders have ensured that pupils have access to a range of books and authors which are culturally diverse. Leaders have put in place an effective phonics and early reading curriculum. All staff are well trained to teach phonics. Teachers model sounds clearly and accurately. Pupils regularly practise the sounds they are learning. This helps them to secure their phonics knowledge from an early age. Regular assessment helps teachers to identify pupils who need more support to help them read fluently. Pupils receive extra help where needed to help them keep up.

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Staff identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) quickly. Teachers make appropriate adaptations to their teaching for pupils with SEND. For example, pupils with SEND may receive extra adult support or specialist equipment to help them to learn. As a result, these pupils participate fully in lessons, and have work and support matched to their needs.

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Leaders prioritise pupils’ personal development. This is a strength of the school. Pupils value the opportunity to take on responsibilities, which develops their understanding of being responsible citizens who contribute to society. These include opportunities to be peer mentors, well-being champions and members of the worship crew and eco crew. One pupil commented, ‘We get to support each other a lot and are well trained to do this’. In addition to this, year 5 and 6 have been trained as ‘youth leaders’ and have whole- school projects to plan and carry out. They have led on fundraising for local and national charities. Pupils enjoy a number of clubs, including in construction, sewing and sports.

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Governors know the school well and share leaders’ high ambitions for pupils. Staff feel that leaders regularly take their workload into account. Staff get the time to do what needs to be done in their role. Being able to work across the two schools in the federation supports staff’s development.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have ensured that all staff are trained to recognise the signs which indicate that a pupil may be at risk from harm. Leaders act promptly when any concerns are reported. Leaders have a secure understanding of a range of risks, including domestic abuse and county lines. Staff understand and play a valuable part in the community they serve.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn how to stay safe online and in the community. For example, they learn about keeping information private online, and what makes a healthy relationship. 8 March 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some leaders have not evaluated the impact of their subject across the school. This means that they cannot be sure that pupils learn the curriculum as intended. Leaders should ensure that subject leaders are able to develop their roles, including understanding the impact of the curriculum on pupils’ learning.

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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 November 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. 8 March 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10257005 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.stmichaelsfed.shropshire.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 December 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Leaders do not make use of any alternative provision.  The school is part of St Michael’s Federation, with one other school. The headteacher is the executive headteacher across both schools. The senior leaders and SEND coordinator work in both schools.  A Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) inspection to evaluate the distinctiveness and effectiveness of the school as a Church of England school took place in February 2023.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, the lead inspector held meetings with the headteacher. He also met two members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. 8 March 2023

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 The lead inspector held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors viewed a range of safeguarding documentation. They examined checks on safer recruitment and spoke with members of staff to check their safeguarding knowledge.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and geography. They met with subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke with teachers and pupils and viewed examples of pupils’ work.  An inspector observed children in the early years and pupils in key stage 1 read to a trusted adult.  The inspectors spoke with members of staff about their workload and well-being.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school.  The inspectors considered the responses, including the free-text comments, to Ofsted Parent View. They also considered the responses to the staff and pupil surveys. An inspector also spoke to parents and carers at the end of the school day.

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 Inspectors looked at a range of documentation provided by the school. This included the school’s self-evaluation, school improvement priorities, school policies, curriculum documents, SEND records, behaviour records, attendance records and minutes of meetings held by the governing body.

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Inspection team

Barry Yeardsley, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Anne Potter Ofsted Inspector 8 March 2023

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