Youlgrave, All Saints' CofE (VA) Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Youlgrave, All Saints’ CofE (VA) Primary School Alport Lane, Youlgrave, Bakewell, Derbyshire DE45 1WN

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Outcome

Youlgrave, All Saints’ CofE (VA) Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that they feel happy and safe in this small village school. Most parents and carers agree. Pupils trust adults to help them if they need it. Staff know the pupils well. Pupils are friendly, polite and well-behaved. A few receive extra support to help them to meet the school’s expectations of their conduct.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Changes in staffing have unsettled some parents and older pupils over the last two years. Even so, the majority of parents appreciate the teaching, care and extra opportunities provided by the school. One parent captured the views of many when they said: ‘This is a fantastic family-focused village school with strong links to the community.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for its pupils. There is a strong focus on pupils’ learning in the core subjects. Pupils do particularly well in their reading and speak with enthusiasm about books they have read. Outside the classroom, pupils enjoy extra opportunities to take part in sport and music. They can take on leadership roles within the school. They can also play a role in their local village community. For example, pupils can get involved in traditional well dressing.

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

The school is in the process of reviewing what the pupils are learning well. Topics are set out in a logical order for each subject. In most subjects, the school’s curriculum identifies the most important knowledge that pupils must learn. This helps teachers know what to emphasise in lessons. However, in a small number of subjects, the curriculums do not specify all of the knowledge that pupils need to know and recall. In these subjects, teachers use the national curriculum to help them to decide what to teach. The school has timely plans to make the curriculums for all subjects equally precise. This will help teachers to assess learning accurately in all subjects.

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

The reading curriculum is strong. The chosen phonics programme works well for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). All teaching staff are trained well. They follow the agreed approach, starting at the beginning 13 June 2024

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of the Reception Year. Pupils are grouped according to their need. Almost all pupils achieve very well in their phonics knowledge by the end of Year 2. The school encourages pupils to read increasingly challenging texts once they become fluent readers. Pupils enjoy this approach. A few pupils in key stage 2 did not benefit from the same rigour of teaching when they were first learning to read. The school provides skilled teaching of phonics for those pupils who continue to need it.

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In mathematics, the detailed curriculum sets out what pupils should know, and be able to do, in each year. Children in Reception join in at an appropriate level. The school chose its particular mathematics curriculum to ensure that pupils had enough practice in arithmetic and calculation. Pupils enjoy mathematics and they are learning the facts and methods well.

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The number of pupils identified as having SEND, or with additional needs, attending the school has grown over recent years. Most of these pupils are thriving. They are welcomed into the classroom and play a full part in the life of the school. For example, the school is careful to make sure that pupils with SEND get involved in the extra activities provided. When appropriate, additional adults work closely with pupils who need extra support.

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Almost all pupils attend well. Attendance has been improving over the last year. The school makes expectations of attendance clear. Good attendance is celebrated and rewarded.

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The school promotes pupils’ personal development well. Pupils are welcoming of others from all backgrounds and they learn about a range of different beliefs and ways of life. They develop leadership skills. For example, some pupils join the school council and put forward their ideas on how to improve the school. A new school library is one example of this. Pupils are also given opportunities even further afield, such as to work with the Halle Orchestra in Manchester.

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Staff acknowledge leaders’ consideration of their workload. There has been a lot to do over the last two years, but it has been paced well.

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There is robust leadership in the governing body. Governors have sourced skilled and effective interim leaders to bring stability and capacity to the school. The school is now improving securely. Governors visit the school and check the progress being made. They are knowledgeable about priorities and determined to support the school through the next stages of improvement.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 13 June 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, the curriculums are not precise enough about the knowledge that pupils need to learn. This means that teachers make their own decisions about what knowledge to prioritise and, in so doing, do not emphasise some of the important knowledge, concepts or skills in those subjects. The school should continue its planned reviews of each subject, ensuring that the full range of knowledge specified is logically sequenced for all subjects, so that pupils achieve as well as they could.

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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 June 2015.

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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 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). 13 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Interim Executive Headteacher Sophia Barker

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 February 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use alternative provision.  The school has been led by an interim executive headteacher during the absence of the substantive headteacher.

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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.  The inspectors undertook deep dives into early reading, mathematics and physical education. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke to teachers and pupils and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single central record, took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils, and considered the 13 June 2024

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extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors observed and spoke with pupils and staff during breaks and around the school site.  The inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including curriculum plans for other subjects, and the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans.  The lead inspector met with governors and discussed how they assure themselves that provision is sound.  The inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s parent, pupil and staff questionnaires. They spoke to parents at the start of the day.  The lead inspector spoke to a representative of the local authority on the telephone.

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Inspection team

Jo Ward, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Ceri Hathaway Ofsted Inspector 13 June 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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