Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Amy Blackburn Headteacher Ormesby Primary School Henry Taylor Court Ormesby Middlesbrough Cleveland TS7 9AB

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Serious weaknesses monitoring inspection of Ormesby Primary School

This letter sets out the findings from the monitoring inspection that took place on 13 December 2023, on behalf of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills. The monitoring inspection was carried out under section 8(2) of the Education Act 2005 and was the third monitoring inspection since the school was judged to have serious weaknesses following the graded (section 5) inspection that took place in June 2022.

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Serious weaknesses monitoring inspection of Ormesby Primary School

The purpose of a monitoring inspection is not to grade the school’s overall effectiveness, but to identify and report on the school’s progress. It is to highlight to the school and parents any improvements that school leaders have made since the school’s previous graded inspection.

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Serious weaknesses monitoring inspection of Ormesby Primary School

During the inspection, Angela Spencer Brooke, Ofsted Inspector (OI), and I discussed with you and other senior leaders, the chair of the trust and a trustee the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent graded inspection. We discussed the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also spoke to pupils and staff, visited lessons, looked at examples of pupils’ work and observed behaviour at social times. I have considered all this in coming to my judgement.

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Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but more work is

necessary for the school to be no longer judged as having serious weaknesses.

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designation

Since the previous monitoring inspection, the school leadership team has been strengthened by the appointment of a new permanent deputy headteacher and the appointment or return of other leaders. The trust has also appointed an experienced chair of governors and a range of other governors, so that the local governing body is now in a stronger position to hold school leaders to account. This visit focused primarily on the provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and pupils’ achievement in mathematics. We also spoke to groups of pupils about behaviour and personal development.

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designation

The school is ambitious for pupils with SEND. Leaders have recently prioritised staff training around the provision of support for these pupils. Staff are now well equipped to identify pupils who might have additional needs. You have ensured that teachers have access to individual support plans to help them understand how to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. However, you are aware that in some instances, these documents need to be more specific and focused on the small steps that will help these pupils to achieve well. Further staff training around this is ongoing. There was some evidence of pupils with SEND being well supported in the classroom, but this remains inconsistent.

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designation

The school has improved the curriculum for mathematics, ensuring that it is designed to help pupils secure the most important knowledge. Staff are positive about the changes to the curriculum. They particularly value the new progression maps that have been introduced to help them identify the knowledge that pupils should already know. Teachers now adapt the curriculum to help pupils recover gaps in their learning. Some older pupils still have significant gaps in their mathematical knowledge due to previous weaknesses in the curriculum. The new curriculum is beginning to have a notable impact for younger pupils.

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designation

The school’s development plan shows that you have a strong understanding of what the priorities for improvement are. Your development plan is realistic and tightly focused on measurable progress. Trustees are well informed about the improvements that are taking place in school. A range of supportive measures remain in place to ensure that the progress the school is making is sustainable.

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designation

Pupils agree that behaviour in school continues to improve. Pupils can talk about the school’s rules and why these are important. Pupils value the rewards system and enjoy earning points to spend in the ‘pride shop’. You are creating a culture where leadership and hard work are celebrated. Pupils value their positions of responsibility. Behaviour in lessons is generally positive. However, there are still some pupils whose behaviour at playtimes is less positive. Some pupils suggest that behaviour in toilets continues to be an issue. Pupils learn about bullying and what it is. Most pupils agree that teachers would take it seriously. However, some pupils feel that bullying still happens and is sometimes not dealt with effectively.

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The school has introduced an improved curriculum for personal development. This is designed to build pupils’ character and encourage them to aim high. The focus that the school has placed on character development is clear. Pupils have a good understanding of resilience and integrity. Pupils learn about diversity and tolerance in school. However, some pupils do not feel that pupils demonstrate these attitudes towards each other. Staff feel that improvements in school are being managed effectively and that their workload is considered. Staff believe that leaders take account of their views. There is a clear commitment from staff at all levels to continued, rapid improvement.

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designation

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees and the chief executive officer of Ironstone Academy Trust, the Department for Education’s regional director and the director of children’s services for Redcar and Cleveland. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website.

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