Nocton Community Primary School

Inspection of Nocton Community Primary School The Green, Nocton, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN4 2BJ

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 5 and 6 March 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Nocton Community Primary School is a small school with a big ambition. It lives out its vision of ‘Opening Doors and Opening Minds’. Parents and carers commented on how the school is at the heart of this community. They value the staff and what they do for their children and say that every child is 'celebrated' as an individual. Pupils perform at the local care home and support the ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ in the village.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very proud of their school. They behave well because they know it is the ‘right thing to do’. Play times are social occasions and pupils enjoy playing together and look after each other. Pupils feel safe and know that there are trusted adults they can talk to if they have any worries. When the occasional fall out happens, the ‘Well-being Warriors’ help to quickly resolve it.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The personal development offer of the school is of high quality. Pupils’ interests and talents are well catered for. Sporting events are carefully planned to meet the needs of all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They enjoy the enrichment opportunities provided to them, such as visiting local farms and the Galleries of Justice.

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better?

Reading is prioritised across the school and begins promptly in the early years. The knowledge that pupils need has been carefully identified throughout the school. Staff are skilled at delivering phonic sessions and identify pupils who are at risk of falling behind. Any pupils who are not where they should be are provided with support so that they ‘keep up’ not ‘catch up’. Staff model how to read individual sounds and use this to help children start to read basic words. Pupils read widely and often and can discuss their favourite books and authors in depth.

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better?

The curriculum is well planned and sequenced. It identifies the core knowledge that is needed so that the pupils learn more and remember more. Most pupils develop detailed knowledge across the curriculum. Assessment systems are in place using ‘Thinking Squares’ so that pupils progress is tracked carefully. However, in a small number of subjects, the school has not ensured that the curriculum is implemented in a way that allows knowledge to build and deepen, particularly for pupils with SEND.

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better?

Children in the early years foundation stage (EYFS) get off to a strong start. They enjoy listening to and responding to stories. There is a strong focus on language and communication. They enjoy the different and engaging learning opportunities on offer. Leaders have created a rich curriculum and are continuing to refine this, so all individual learning needs are fully catered for. This will support the learning development of pre-school and part-time children even further. The learning environment is bright and welcoming. 5 and 6 March 2024

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This is an inclusive school. Staff are skilled in identifying pupils with SEND and accessing a range of external services to meet their individual needs. Leaders are passionate for every child to succeed and carefully monitor pupils’ progress. Support plans are detailed and take into the account the views of parents and pupils. There is a range of interventions in place to support learners. However, the curriculum is still being refined to ensure the that the needs of pupils with SEND are being met even better.

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Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. For example, they can describe the importance of democracy and rule of law. Staff have created a comprehensive personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum so that differences and diversity are celebrated. For example, pupils learn about Alan Turing and Mala Yousafzai. They have a detailed understanding of the protected characteristics and their importance. As one pupil said, that is reflective of many: ‘I wish everything would be a protective characteristic, so it puts an end to discrimination.’ Pupils enjoy taking part in debates and discussions and learning about different careers.

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Pupils attend well and are eager to learn. This applies to pupils with SEND and other disadvantaged pupils. The school has precise recording and monitoring systems that alerts them when the absence of a pupil becomes a concern. Leaders then provide some support for the family to help them improve their child’s attendance. This has led to a strong improvement in the rates of pupil attendance.

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Governors ensure that all leaders are well supported and challenged. They share the ambitious vision to provide all pupils with the very best education and range of opportunities. Leaders know the school well and quality assure the school's work carefully. All staff feel leaders are very supportive of their workload and well-being. There is a high quality and comprehensive training offer in place for all staff, using external support where needed.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some lessons, the curriculum is not adapted as successfully to meet the needs of all the learners as it could be. This means that some pupils with SEND are not learning the intended curriculum as well as they should. The school should continue to further refine their curriculum adaptations and implementation so that all pupils succeed well.  In the EYFS, staff do not always match their implementation of the curriculum to the learning needs of the children. As a result, some children are not always being taught specifically to meet their learning needs. Leaders need to ensure 5 and 6 March 2024

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that the curriculum planning makes clear the desired implementation so that all children can achieve their potential.

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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). 5 and 6 March 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 9 and 10 November 2021, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Spires Federation and shares an executive headteacher and senior leadership team across the three schools in this federation. The federation consists of this school, as well as Digby Church of England Primary School and Dunston St Peter's Church of England Primary School.  The school does not use the services of any alternative providers.  The school provides a breakfast- and after-school club which is managed by the governing body.

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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.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 5 and 6 March 2024

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 The inspectors met with the executive headteacher and other senior leaders. They met with groups of pupils and staff.  The lead inspector met with representatives of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors 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. They listened to pupils read.  An inspector also looked at samples of pupils’ work and curriculum documentation in a range of other subjects, including science, geography, religious education and personal, social and health education (PSHE).  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and

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considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ first.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons, during playtimes and around the school site.  The lead inspector visited an assembly.  The lead inspector spoke to parents at the start of the school day and read emails that had been sent to him.  The lead inspector considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and reviewed the responses to the school staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Jon Brown, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Mark Westmoreland Ofsted Inspector 5 and 6 March 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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