Luttons Community Primary School

Inspection of Luttons Community Primary School West Lutton, Malton, North Yorkshire YO17 8TF

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Inspection dates: 21 and 22 February 2023

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Inadequate Early years provision Inadequate Previous inspection grade Good 21 and 22 February 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is an unsettled school. There have been significant changes in leadership and staffing since the last inspection. Many parents and carers are anxious about the negative impact this has had on their child’s learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The interim headteacher realised immediately that the quality of education was poor. She is leading the development of the new curriculum. The scale of this task means that in some curriculum subjects this work has only just begun. Consequently, it is too soon to see the impact of leaders’ ambitious curriculum plans.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents appreciate the many changes the interim headteacher has introduced. Although considerable progress has been made to improve pupils’ behaviour, a few pupils still worry about bullying. This makes these pupils feel anxious about school. Pupils behave well, and there is hardly any bullying now. However, some parents remain unconvinced that leaders will stop any bullying quickly. Leaders know that there is more work to be done to gain the trust and confidence of all parents.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The interim headteacher has introduced a new curriculum for pupils’ personal development. Leaders are also reviewing the curriculum for religious education. Pupils have very little knowledge of different faiths. As a result, they are not prepared well enough for life in modern Britain.

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better?

There have been changes in the leadership of the school. An interim headteacher started in October 2022 and local authority officers removed the governing body and established an interim executive board (IEB) in December 2022. The IEB met once in January 2023, prioritising safeguarding and the review of school policies.

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better?

The interim headteacher has earned the trust and respect of the whole staff team. Teachers are positive about the headteacher’s support for their workload. Leaders’ expectations of assessment are reasonable.

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better?

The curriculum for early reading is not being implemented well. The headteacher has trained staff to help them understand how to select reading books that match pupils’ phonic knowledge. Although this selection has improved, key stage 1 staff are still giving some pupils reading books that are too difficult for them. This reduces pupils’ confidence.

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better?

Some staff in Reception and Year 1 do not understand the importance of pupils developing their listening skills in phonics lessons. Lots of noise around the room causes significant distraction. Pupils cannot hear the sounds which are being taught clearly enough. This is slowing pupils’ progress. As a result, far too few pupils in Years 1 and 2 achieve the reading standard that is expected for pupils of their age. 21 and 22 February 2023

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The early years curriculum lacks ambition. It does not match the statutory expectations that came into force in September 2021. Adults have low expectations of children. The learning environment is dull and uninspiring. Staff have a poor understanding of the areas of learning they teach and the way in which young children learn. This is slowing children’s progress. Far too few children in Reception Year achieve the early learning goals.

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The curriculum is equally poor in Years 1 to 6. Core subjects of English, mathematics and science are stronger than other curriculum subjects. The science curriculum is enhanced by pupils’ investigations in the forest school. The curriculum in mathematics is improving. However, the curriculum in all other subjects is extremely weak.

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Staff are still designing the curriculum in subjects like history, music and languages. In geography, pupils’ study of rivers is not sequenced in a way that helps pupils to acquire substantive geographical knowledge. Outcomes for the quiz at the end of each unit of work show confusion in pupils’ minds between physical and human processes.

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There are multiple gaps in pupils’ knowledge in all foundation curriculum subjects. Pupils do not know simple facts that the national curriculum sets out as the expected standard for pupils in each key stage. Pupils are achieving well below age- related expectations in all year groups and all foundation curriculum subjects.

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Pupils typically behave well in lessons. Poor behaviour very rarely disrupts learning. Teachers make suitable adaptations to meet the learning needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). For example, pupils with SEND are offered alternative means of recording. Some pupils with dyslexic tendencies find it easier to use electronic devices to record their learning. Other pupils with SEND find it helpful to write with adapted pens that support their developing fine motor skills.

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This is an inclusive school. Pupils have a secure understanding of protected characteristics. They have a strong sense of justice and fairness. There is no evidence of racist or homophobic bullying. The curriculum for pupils’ moral development has helped to reduce bullying. This is because pupils understand the consequences of their behaviour and actions. Leaders have plans to widen pupils’ knowledge of people from different backgrounds, cultures and religions.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

All safeguarding policies and procedures have been reviewed and updated since October 2022. There is a vigilant culture of safeguarding.

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Safeguarding

Leaders had not made the required section 128 checks on members of the IEB to check that governors were not barred from school management and governance. These checks were completed on the first day of the inspection. 21 and 22 February 2023

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Leaders are not providing pupils with their statutory entitlement to swimming instruction. There was no swimming instruction during the 2021/22 academic year either. This does not mitigate the risk to pupils’ safety when they are near open water.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum for early reading and phonics is not implemented well. Weak teaching expertise hinders pupils’ progress. As a result, to few Year 1 pupils are meeting the standard in the phonics screening check. Books are not consistently well matched to pupils’ phonic knowledge. Pupils are not building confidence and fluency through regular practice of reading suitable books. Leaders should provide further training to improve teaching in all aspects of the early reading and phonics curriculum.  Leaders have not provided sufficient curriculum guidance in foundation subjects. Pupils have significant gaps in their learning. They are not achieving well. As a result, pupils in all key stages are not well prepared for the next stage of their education. Leaders should finalise their curriculum design, to a high quality, as a matter of urgency.  The curriculum for physical education is narrowed. There is no provision for

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

swimming lessons. This is potentially putting pupils at risk when they are near open water. Leaders should ensure that pupils receive their full statutory curriculum entitlement, including providing swimming instruction and teaching water safety.  The curriculum for children in the early years foundation stage is not suitably ambitious. It is not implemented well. By the end of Reception, children cannot communicate, read or spell as well as they should. Too few Reception children achieve the early learning goals. Leaders should provide training for all staff in the early years team to improve adults’ understanding of the areas of learning they teach and the way in which young children learn.  Some parents lack confidence in leaders’ ability to resolve the very few incidents of bullying. Some pupils share this anxiety because of their earlier experiences when bullying was not dealt with well. Leaders should ensure that they engage all

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

stakeholders, reassuring parents and pupils and fully restoring parents’ trust and confidence in school leaders.  The recently appointed IEB appropriately prioritised safeguarding and review of school policies at their first meeting. They inherited a legacy of weak governance that contributed to the school’s rapid decline in all aspects of its work. Members of the IEB should provide effective challenge and support to improve the quality of education as a matter of urgency.  Pupils cannot remember what they have learned about people with different cultures, faiths and beliefs. This inhibits pupils’ ability to engage with the views, 21 and 22 February 2023

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beliefs and opinions of others in considered ways. It does not prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain. Leaders should improve the curriculum for personal development to ensure that pupils develop tolerance and respect for all citizens.

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Leaders and those responsible for governance may not appoint early career teachers before the next monitoring inspection.

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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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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. 21 and 22 February 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority Interim executive board

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School details

Website www.woldsandvalefederation.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12 October 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This school is significantly below the average size. There are two classes. One class includes children from Nursery and Reception along with key stage 1 pupils. The second class includes key stage 2 pupils from Years 3 to 6.  The school is part of the Wolds and Vale Federation. This consists of two schools, Luttons Community Primary School and Sherburn Church of England Voluntary Controlled School. His Majesty’s Chief Inspector judged Sherburn School to require significant improvement in June 2022.  The headteacher has changed since the last inspection. The interim headteacher took up the temporary post in October 2022. This is a secondment until July 2023.  The interim headteacher is responsible for leading both schools in the federation. She divides her time between the two schools.  The interim headteacher was seconded from a multi-academy trust. The trust is providing additional leadership support for one day a week. This school is overly

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Information about this school

dependent on external support.  The school does not use alternative provision. 21 and 22 February 2023

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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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 this into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the early years foundation stage leader and the special educational needs coordinator. The leaders of reading, mathematics, science and geography also met inspectors.  Meetings were held with the chair of the IEB, the local authority school improvement officer and the head of school improvement. The chair of the IEB agreed that the director of education for the trust could attend the final feedback meeting.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading and phonics, mathematics, science and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to

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Information about this inspection

teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors evaluated curriculum plans in other subjects, including history. Inspectors also observed pupils’ learning in the forest school. Inspectors observed several pupils from Years 1 to 3 reading to a familiar adult.  Inspectors visited lessons in the early years on both days of the inspection. Inspectors evaluated other evidence, provided by leaders, of Nursery and Reception children’s learning.  Pupils with SEND, and their parents, spoke to inspectors. Inspectors also evaluated education, health and care plans.  Pupils’ behaviour and safety were evaluated in lessons, at breakfast club, in the dining room and at breaktimes. Inspectors evaluated records of bullying incidents.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including the local authority school partnership improvement plan for schools causing concern. Inspectors

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Information about this inspection

evaluated evidence of leaders’ response to parental complaints.  Senior safeguarding leaders met inspectors to discuss recruitment and safeguarding records.  Inspectors reviewed Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and survey responses from staff and pupils. The lead inspector spoke to parents before school. 21 and 22 February 2023

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Inspection team

Tracey Ralph, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Steve Kernan Ofsted Inspector 21 and 22 February 2023

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