Rauceby Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Rauceby Church of England Primary School Tom Lane, North Rauceby, Sleaford, Lincolnshire NG34 8QW

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Outcome

Rauceby Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this school and most attend well. They are pleased to see their friends and the staff when they arrive promptly each morning. Pupils enjoy the company of their peers and show others respect. They know that staff look after them and keep them safe. As one pupil typically explained, ‘No one ever feels alone or bored at Rauceby.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s mantra, ‘#thischildcan’, reminds pupils that there is no limit to what they can do or achieve. Most pupils respond to this and are keen learners. Their enthusiasm and interest are reflected in their eagerness to get involved during lessons. Parents and carers appreciate the progress their children make and the successes they achieve.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils conduct themselves well in lessons and during social times. They are proud of the house points they gain for their positive attitudes and achievements. Pupils say staff are good at spotting if something is wrong and responding fairly. Bullying is uncommon and usually resolved quickly by staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love getting involved in activities that enrich the curriculum. Whether they grow vegetables as part of the School Challenge 23 club, take part in a mass-choir event, or enjoy a night away camping, there is something for everyone.

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

The headteacher has taken decisive action to strengthen the school’s leadership team. New senior leaders work together closely to evaluate the curriculum and identify what needs to be improved. Teachers make sure that the subjects they are responsible for are delivered as planned. Staff appreciate how everyone works together as a team. This helps to reduce staff workload.

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

The work to improve the curriculum in mathematics has had a positive impact. Pupils learn important mathematical knowledge in a logical order, starting in the Reception Year. There are plenty of opportunities for them to revisit what they know to deepen their 27 and 28 June 2023

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learning. Teachers use their detailed subject knowledge to ask pupils helpful questions. Pupils explain their responses with confidence to show that they understand. They like the challenge of learning mathematics and achieve well.

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Leaders have prioritised improving reading. Well-trained staff make sure that children begin to learn phonics as soon as they join the Reception Year. Well-established routines help pupils learn new letters and sounds. Most pupils decode unfamiliar words accurately. If pupils struggle, staff provide them with focused support. As they get older, pupils enjoy reading texts written in various styles and by different authors. These books often link to what pupils learn in other subjects. Pupils enjoy choosing their own books to read from the improved school library.

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In other subjects, leaders’ work to improve the curriculum is well advanced. In each subject, leaders have thought about how topics build on ones that have gone before. For instance, they have arranged the geography curriculum so that pupils can apply what they know about river environments when they study coasts. Frequent ‘flashbacks’ remind pupils what they know. For example, in the early years, children can remember that a group of jellyfish is called a smack. ‘Knowledge harvests’ at the start and end of a topic show pupils how much they have learned. Staff encourage pupils to use subject-specialist vocabulary. However, their expectations about how accurately pupils spell and use grammar in their written work are not high enough.

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Leaders carefully identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They provide staff with clear guidance about how to support each of these pupils. This allows most of these pupils to follow the same curriculum as their peers. Most parents who have a child with SEND are positive about the support their child receives.

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Leaders provide pupils with opportunities to develop their character and broaden their horizons. Pupils value responsibilities as house captains, mini-police and school ambassadors. Older pupils look after their younger peers in the playground and when eating lunch together. Pupils enjoy visits to see the ballet and residential trips to the Yorkshire Dales. They get involved in activities at the local church. However, their knowledge of other faiths and cultures is quite limited.

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Most parents are very supportive. They commonly believe that children are at the heart of everything the school does. However, some parents say they miss out on school events and activities because leaders do not give them enough notice.

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Trustees are knowledgeable about the school. They fulfil their important responsibilities well. They share leaders’ aspirations for the pupils. Trustees’ support as ‘critical friends’ is helping leaders to keep improving the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff, leaders and trustees are well trained. Some staff have completed extra training because of the number of pupils who need support with their mental health. 27 and 28 June 2023

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Staff know the pupils very well. They quickly spot if a pupil is at risk of potential harm. Leaders take any concerns about safeguarding seriously. They seek guidance promptly from external organisations if they think pupils or their families need extra support.

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Pupils learn to keep themselves safe in different situations. Most pupils have a trusted adult at school they would talk to if they were worried about something.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Teachers do not always make sure that pupils produce written work of a high quality. In some subjects, pupils’ written work contains grammatical errors, and they spell subject-specialist terms incorrectly. Leaders need to ensure that teachers have consistently high expectations of the quality of written work that pupils produce.  Leaders do not provide pupils with enough opportunities to learn about a range of different faiths and cultures. Pupils struggle to recall accurate information about the different religions they have studied. Their experience of learning about different cultures is limited. Leaders should make sure that pupils learn about the richness of Britain’s religious and cultural diversity.  Leaders’ communication with parents is sometimes not as effective as it could be. Some parents do not feel they are informed soon enough about planned events or trips that are taking place. Leaders need to ensure that they communicate effectively with

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

parents, including keeping parents up to date with information about the wide range of opportunities they arrange to promote pupils’ wider development.

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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 January 2014.

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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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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. 27 and 28 June 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection 8 February 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher took up the role in September 2021. She is also the school’s designated safeguarding leader.  The assistant headteacher was appointed in January 2022. At the same time, the leader of the early years provision and the leader of behaviour and attitudes joined the senior leadership team. The coordinator of the provision for pupils with SEND took up the post in September 2022.  Most of the school’s trustees have been appointed to their positions since the school’s previous inspection.  A section 48 inspection of the school’s religious character took place in March 2019.  The school runs a breakfast club and an after-school club. Both clubs are overseen by the trustees.  The school does not make use of the services of any alternative providers.

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 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, the assistant headteacher and the coordinator of the provision for pupils with SEND.  The inspector met with two trustees, including the chair of the board.  The inspector did deep dives in three subjects: reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector met with leaders to discuss the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, and considered pupils’ work. She spoke with pupils and teachers. On the second day of the inspection, the inspector examined the curriculum in a wider range of subjects.  The inspector listened to some pupils in Year 1 and Year 2 read with an adult.  The inspector met with groups of pupils. She spoke with pupils informally and observed

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pupils’ behaviour during social times. She also observed collective worship.  The inspector evaluated the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements by reviewing the school’s record of pre-employment checks, holding discussions with leaders, staff and pupils and reviewing documentation relating to safeguarding.  The inspector took note of the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and Ofsted’s staff survey.  The inspector reviewed a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation audit and school improvement plan. She considered information about pupils’ behaviour and attendance and the wider curriculum.

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Inspection team

Rachel Tordoff, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 27 and 28 June 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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