Lord Deramore's Primary School

Inspection of Lord Deramore’s Primary School School Lane, Heslington, York, North Yorkshire YO10 5EE

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Good 11 and 12 June 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, staff and parents are happy to be part of Lord Deramore’s Primary School. They are proud of their school and the diverse community it serves. The school embraces the many languages spoken and different home countries of the community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Attendance is high. Pupils enjoy coming to school. They experience an exceptional standard of education. Opportunities and enrichment are at the centre of school life. Pupils engage in many exciting opportunities that go beyond the curriculum. This includes musical performances, career events and forest school sessions.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour in lessons and around school is exemplary. Pupils have a thirst for learning. They are deeply engaged in all aspects of school life, from classroom- based activities to taking part in the many enrichment opportunities available to them. Pupils work and play harmoniously together. Any instances of disagreement or low-level disruption in class are extremely rare.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The expectations for all pupils in school are extremely high. Many new pupils join Lord Deramore’s during the school year, often with a wide range of different starting points and backgrounds. The school’s high expectations and effective transition strategies help these pupils to get the support they need immediately. Pupils at Lord Deramore’s achieve exceptionally well.

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better?

The school has created an exciting and ambitious curriculum for all pupils. This is very well planned and sequenced. Leaders leave nothing to chance in their design of the curriculum. They regularly make refinements and adaptations to ensure the curriculum meets the needs of pupils. This work has a strong impact on what pupils know and achieve.

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better?

Outcomes for all pupils are exceptionally strong. Pupils produce high-quality work. They articulate their knowledge well. Pupils speak with confidence about periods of history they have studied. They demonstrate strong proficiency when singing and playing music.

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better?

Ongoing staff training and development is effective. Staff are subject experts. Teachers are highly effective in explaining and creating connections across the curriculum. In lessons, pupils are supported to build independence and understanding. For example, pupils could explain their historical understanding of Egyptian canopic jars while creating their own models in art and design. They could select the best method for building them from the range of strategies they had previously learned.

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better?

The school supports all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), very well. Staff identify 11 and 12 June 2024

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very clearly the barriers that children face. They take intelligent steps to ensure these are overcome effectively.

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Reading has an extremely high status in the school. Pupils enjoy a rich, diverse reading offer. Reading is a clear priority for all staff. Pupils engage well with the school’s embedded phonics programme. Where pupils do need support, staff are well trained and provide highly effective intervention quickly. Pupils enjoy hearing their teachers read to them. This includes a poem every day, or other texts from the school’s busy library.

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Children in the early years are happy. They engage in extended periods of focused play. This is because their curriculum is well planned and sparks their interest. Children enjoy making links with their learning through play, such as building power stations, or creating erupting volcanoes. Children are resilient. Staff know the children in early years very well. They offer effective support when it is needed. Children make excellent progress and are ready for the demands of Year 1.

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The school’s programme to develop and ‘nurture learners for life’ is exceptional. Pupils enjoy many wide-ranging activities that support their personal development. Opportunities such as reading leaders and well-being leaders enable pupils to take on vital roles in school. There are many clubs for pupils to attend too, including a highly skilled and longstanding orchestra. Leaders have taken intelligent action to make sure that many pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, or who have SEND, attend these clubs. The curriculum for personal, social and health education is highly effective. This means that pupils understand discrimination and prejudice. Pupils have a clear understanding about how to keep themselves safe, including online. Pupils’ knowledge of different religions is a strength. They engage in rich experiences to help strengthen their understanding.

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Lord Deramore’s is highly respected in the community. Leaders build effective relationships at all levels. As a result, families say they feel ‘lucky’ to be part of the school and that their children ‘thrive’. Staff workload is carefully considered. Morale is high. Governors are very experienced and know the school well. They receive detailed information from leaders and regularly check this. Governors are highly effective in their support and challenge.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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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. 11 and 12 June 2024

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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). 11 and 12 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 17 and 18 January 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.  The proportion of pupils in receipt of free school meals is well below national averages.  The proportion of pupils in the school who speak English as an additional language is well above the national average.

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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.  Inspectors met with senior leaders, curriculum leaders, teachers and support staff. 11 and 12 June 2024

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 The lead inspector also met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  The lead inspector held discussions with representatives from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: reading, mathematics, history and music. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also listened to a sample of pupils read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors also considered the curriculum in some other subjects by visiting a sample of lessons and looking at pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: 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

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culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of other documentation, including records of pupils’ behaviour and attendance, school improvement plans, minutes from governing body meetings and the leaders’ own evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the special education needs coordinator, spoke to pupils with SEND and reviewed the plans in place to support these pupils. They visited lessons to see how well pupils with SEND are supported.  Inspectors visited the early years provision to discuss the learning with children and leaders.  Inspectors spoke informally to pupils to gather their views on school life and reviewed responses gathered on the Ofsted surveys.  To gather parents’ views, inspectors took account of the views of parents from Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, including the free-text comments. The lead inspector also talked to parents at the start of the school day.

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 To gather the views of staff, inspectors reviewed the responses to the Ofsted surveys.

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Inspection team

Scott Grason-Taylor, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Martin Featherstone Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 June 2024

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