Sicklinghall Community Primary School

Inspection of Sicklinghall Community Primary School Main Street, Sicklinghall, Wetherby, North Yorkshire LS22 4BD

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Inspection dates: 22 and 23 November 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 22 and 23 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at this school embody the school’s core values which include resilience, kindness and respect. The school’s vision of ‘working together to be the best we can be’ shines through in the positive attitudes of pupils and staff. Pupils are happy, inquisitive and friendly. They feel safe at the school. Parents agree that pupils are safe. Pupils understand that the well-trained staff will do all they can to keep all members of the school ‘family’ as safe as possible.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders create an environment of high expectations for behaviour and achievement. These high expectations are realised through a positive atmosphere for learning. Pupils achieve well and behave well at this school. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff and pupils demonstrate a tangible sense of pride to be part of the school community. Attendance rates are high. Bullying is rare. Pupils are confident that staff would deal with any bullying quickly and effectively should it occur. The work that the school does to promote pupils’ personal development is exceptional. One governor summed up the school’s approach by saying, ‘We set pupils up to be their best selves, to be proud of who they are and to be good human beings.’

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better?

Children entering the school in Reception benefit from a carefully planned and well- sequenced curriculum. Accurate assessment allows adults to understand each individual child well. Adults then adapt their teaching activities to promote high- quality interactions with children. Teacher-led and independent learning allows children to develop increasing independence and resilience.

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better?

Leaders have developed bespoke subject curriculums which are comprehensive, well planned and well sequenced. These curriculums underpin the school’s ambition of allowing pupils of all abilities, including those with SEND, to succeed. This is particularly evident in the core areas of English, mathematics and science along with most foundation subjects. In these areas, the implementation of the school’s curriculum is of a high quality. The work that pupils produce is of a high standard. Assessment allows staff to identify those pupils who may need additional help. Effective support is then put in place. However, there is a small number of foundation subjects where the curriculum is not fully established. Pupils’ knowledge in these subjects is not as secure as it is in others.

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better?

Staff ensure the consistent delivery of the school’s phonics programme. This means that children from their earliest days in Reception develop secure phonics knowledge. This allows them to become confident and fluent readers as they move up through school. Where this might not be the case, adults offer additional support. As a result, pupils progress well. Reading has a high priority across the school and high-quality texts form the cornerstone of the school’s offer for reading. 22 and 23 November 2023

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Leaders have a relentless approach to promoting pupils’ attendance. They carefully monitor pupils’ attendance and punctuality. Pupils’ attendance is high and persistent absence is well below national levels.

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The curriculum for personal development is exceptional. The curriculum is explicitly planned to allow for a wide range of high-quality experiences. These strengthen pupils’ awareness of what it is to be a citizen in modern Britain. Links with a school in Keighley allow pupils the opportunity to visit, and make friends with, pupils from a diverse range of ethnicities and backgrounds. Pupils talked about these opportunities with excitement. Pupils demonstrate an exceptional understanding and appreciation of difference, equality and equity. Spiritual development, including a link with the village church, is very effective. Pupils show knowledge and understanding of different religions, faiths and cultures. A range of visitors to school and extra- curricular visits strengthens this offer. For example, visitors from the Association of Harrogate Muslims and a Humanist speaker came into school as part of the religious

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Pupils relish the opportunities to take up leadership responsibilities. This includes prefects, ambassadors and school councillors. As part of a concern that pupils raised around road safety, pupils met with the parish council, the police and crime commissioner for North Yorkshire. This resulted in increased awareness within the village of the need for a 20mph speed limit. Pupils and staff are rightly proud of the positive impact that this campaign had.

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School leaders, and those responsible for governance, have high ambition and expectations for all staff and pupils. Staff state that leaders are considerate of their workload. The school has a comprehensive, effective programme for staff professional development. This means that all adults are well trained to fulfil their roles in school. Governors have a comprehensive understanding of the school’s strengths and areas to develop. They assure themselves of how well the school is performing and provide appropriate support and challenge to the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of foundation subjects, the implementation of the curriculum is not as well established as it is in others. This means that pupils’ acquisition of knowledge and skills is variable across the curriculum subjects. The school should ensure that all curriculum subjects are fully implemented and embedded so that pupils’ acquisition of knowledge and skills is consistent in all subjects. 22 and 23 November 2023

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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 ’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 22 and 23 November 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12 June 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The current headteacher was appointed following the previous inspection.  The school is in a federation with another local primary school. It is also working with another local school under a collaboration agreement.  The school provides wraparound care on site.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 22 and 23 November 2023

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, school leaders, other school staff, representatives of the governing body, the local authority’s senior education adviser and some parents.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  An inspector listened to some pupils from Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 reading to a familiar adult.  Inspectors discussed the curriculum and looked at samples of pupils’ work in some other curriculum subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record; met with those responsible for safeguarding; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school

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has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector considered the responses to the staff and pupil online surveys and Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.

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Inspection team

Richard Beadnall, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Steve Kernan Ofsted Inspector 22 and 23 November 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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