Scarborough, Overdale Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Scarborough, Overdale Community Primary School Ashmead Square, Eastfield, Scarborough, North Yorkshire YO11 3XJ

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Outcome

Scarborough, Overdale Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Overdale embody the school’s values of respect, responsibility and resilience. They understand these values and are proud to uphold them. Pupils are confident, happy, polite and safe. They welcome visitors to school with big smiles. Pupils and staff are glad to be part of the school family. The new two-year-old provision is attended by happy children who are cared for well. Parents and carers have positive attitudes towards the school, describing the staff as ‘passionate and dedicated’ and saying that they ‘always go the extra mile’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school offers highly effective pastoral support. Buddy, the school’s therapy dog, contributes to this support well. Pupils know who to speak to if they have any concerns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

A new senior leadership team, appointed in September 2023, has quickly established high ambitions and high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and achievement. The school is taking appropriate action to address the recent and disappointing academic outcomes. Leaders have put a rich and varied curriculum in place. Pupils enjoy this curriculum. They talk with confidence about their learning.

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

Children in early years benefit from an explicit focus on communication and language. Well-trained adults immerse children in stories, songs and rhymes. This prepares them well for phonics teaching in Reception. Children in early years develop respect and resilience through high-quality interactions with adults and a well-planned curriculum which responds to their emerging needs. Skilled adults deliver the phonics programme in early years and key stage 1 with consistency. Adaptations to the curriculum enable all pupils to access the planned learning. This includes those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school puts additional support in place for those pupils who need it. However, the school’s assessment procedures do not measure some 7 and 8 February 2024

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pupils’ ability closely enough. This means that some pupils read books that are not sufficiently well matched to their phonics knowledge. Some struggle to develop confidence and fluency as a result. Pupils have positive attitudes towards reading. They often listen to adults reading high-quality texts. Staff guide pupils to develop their own positive habits in reading for pleasure. Published outcomes for 2023 do not reflect the overall quality of the school’s approach to phonics and reading currently.

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Leaders have developed the curriculums across all subjects. These curriculums are well planned and well sequenced. This allows pupils to build a secure base of knowledge. These curriculums have demonstrable and positive impact. In history, for example, pupils in a range of year groups discuss their recent learning with deep understanding. In Year 1, pupils understand why the Great Fire of London spread so quickly. They know the factors that halted the spread. In Year 3, pupils speak eloquently about the Tudors, knowing why Henry VIII formed the Church of England and the impact this had on the country. Effective use of assessment allows leaders to tailor the curriculums to pupils’ emerging needs well.

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Pupils’ attendance is above the national average. The school understands the reasons why some pupils are persistently absent. It is taking effective action to reduce persistent absenteeism further. Leaders check on pupils’ behaviour closely. Poor behaviour is addressed effectively. Leaders support well-trained staff to address pupils’ challenging behaviour well. Overall, pupils’ attitudes to learning are positive.

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The school’s work around pupils’ wider development has a positive impact. A wide range of clubs are provided. Participation rates are high. There is an effective support system in place for pupils’ well-being, including the provision of a nurture club. The school’s provision for pupils’ social, emotional and mental health is comprehensive. The school organises a range of educational visits for pupils. These help pupils put their learning into context. Pupils develop a sense of equality, tolerance and respect through the teaching of the school’s wider curriculum. They develop an age-appropriate understanding of different faiths and cultures. One pupil summed up the views of many by saying, ‘It’s 100% important to treat people the same.’

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Governors in the school fulfil their legal obligations with commitment and dedication. They ask for and receive detailed information about the school. This information allows them to offer strategic support and challenge where appropriate.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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 The school’s assessment in phonics, for some pupils, is not sufficiently accurate. These pupils struggle to read with accuracy and fluency. The school must ensure that the books that early readers are given match the sounds they have learned.  Pupils did not achieve well at the end of key stages 1 and 2 in 2023. They were not prepared sufficiently well for their next stage of education. The school must ensure that the recent improvement to teaching and learning in core subjects is developed further.

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in December 2018.

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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’ is used to mean pupils with 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). 7 and 8 February 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Peter Bowdidge-Harling

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 11 and 12 December 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There has been a change in senior leadership since the last inspection.  The new headteacher and deputy headteacher took up their roles in September 2023.  The school has introduced a provision for two-year-olds since the last inspection.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The proportion of pupils who are entitled to receive the government’s additional pupil premium funding is well above average.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, school leaders, other school staff, representatives of the governing body and a representative from the local authority. 7 and 8 February 2024

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector 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.  The inspector listened to some pupils from Years 1, 2 and 3 reading to a familiar adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school 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 7 and 8 February 2024

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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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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