South Otterington Church of England Primary School

Inspection of South Otterington Church of England Primary School South Otterington, South Otterington C of E Primary School, Northallerton, North Yorkshire DL7 9HD

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Inspection dates: 12 and 13 November 2024

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good

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Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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The headteacher of this school is Amanda Gledhill. The school is part of the Dales Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Damian Chubb, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Judy Hooton. 12 and 13 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

South Otterington Church of England Primary School is welcoming and caring. Pupils feel safe and valued and enjoy their time at school. Staff set high expectations for pupils’ achievement and behaviour. The school’s vision, to ‘shine like stars in the universe’, inspires and motivates pupils. They take pride in their work and conduct.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is high ambition for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school has introduced a well-considered curriculum. Pupils are excited by lessons and discuss their learning enthusiastically. They achieve well in most subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They show kindness and respect toward each other and their teachers. The school’s ethos is important to both pupils and parents. Pupils value the rewards and recognition they receive in collective worship time. Pupils also enjoy choosing staff members to receive a ‘shiny’ award each week.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe online and in the local area. Pupils are confident that staff will listen to them if they are worried. Relationships across the school are nurturing. Pupils are proud of the family-like atmosphere, where everyone feels they belong.

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

The school has taken effective action to improve the curriculum, with widespread curriculum changes recently implemented. It is now broad and ambitious; the school has designed the curriculum to ensure that it meets the needs of pupils. Pupils’ achievement is improving. They discuss their learning with clarity and confidence. Pupils benefit from daily opportunities to revisit prior learning. For example, the introduction of ‘early bird maths’ at the start of the day has strengthened pupils’ arithmetic skills. However, pupils are not provided with enough opportunities to apply their mathematical learning to develop their problem-solving and reasoning skills.

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

In lessons, teachers regularly check that pupils remember important knowledge before moving on to new learning. However, in some wider curriculum subjects, the school has not yet identified the important knowledge pupils need to know and remember to be successful in future lessons. As a result, in these subjects, the school has not made it clear to teachers which knowledge they should check that pupils know.

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

Pupils with SEND are an important part of the school community. They are celebrated and included in all aspects of school life. Staff promptly identify the individual needs of pupils with SEND and ensure they receive tailored support to succeed alongside their peers. Teachers adapt work to make learning accessible to them.

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

The school has established a positive reading culture. The reading curriculum is well established. Children begin to learn to read when they start in Reception. Staff are experts at teaching phonics. As a result, children learn to read quickly and fluently. Those 12 and 13 November 2024

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who need extra help with reading benefit from well-planned and timely support. This has a huge impact on how well pupils achieve in learning to read. Pupils enjoy their daily reading time and the wide variety of books made available to them.

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The early years is an engaging and nurturing environment. Children are eager to learn. Staff focus on developing children’s language and numeracy skills through structured play and well-planned activities. Children are proud to showcase their learning, such as their colour mixing knowledge and skills to create Rangoli patterns. Children play well together. They are well involved in the life of the school, including reading time with older pupils. Children quickly settle into the well-established routines and expectations of school. This develops their independence and readiness for Year 1.

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Pupils benefit from a range of opportunities that extend beyond the classroom. They eagerly participate in leadership roles, such as leading collective worship or sporting activities at playtime. These develop pupils’ social skills and self-confidence. The school prioritises celebrating pupils’ achievements, contributions to school life and living out the school values. Pupils develop a strong sense of citizenship and spirituality. They are proud of their fundraising efforts to sponsor two children in Uganda. They are keen to contribute positively to school life and the wider world.

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Leaders at all levels are committed to providing a high-quality education and nurturing pupils’ character. Those responsible for governance work very well together. They have prioritised the right improvements across the school. The school has worked closely with external agencies to develop staff expertise. Staff are well supported and appreciate the school’s emphasis on well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In mathematics, the school does not provide pupils with enough opportunities to apply their mathematical knowledge to problem-solving and reasoning activities. This limits the depth of pupils’ mathematical understanding. The school should ensure that opportunities for pupils to develop problem-solving and reasoning skills are routinely provided.  In some wider curriculum subjects, the school has not yet identified the important knowledge that they need pupils to know and remember. In these subjects, teachers do not know precisely what knowledge pupils need to be secure in to be successful in their next stage of learning. The school should ensure staff have a clear understanding of the important knowledge and skills they should prioritise for pupils to know. 12 and 13 November 2024

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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). 12 and 13 November 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Dales Academies Trust.  The school provides nursery education for two- and three-year-old children.  The school does not use any alternative education provision.  The breakfast and after-school provision are delivered by an external provider.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 12 and 13 November 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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.  Inspectors spoke to senior leaders, including representatives from the board of trustees and members of the governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors 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.  Inspectors also spoke to leaders about pupils’ learning in some other subjects.  Inspectors listened to a range of pupils from different year groups reading to a familiar adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single

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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.  Inspectors met the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator, spoke to pupils with SEND and reviewed plans to support these pupils. They visited lessons to see how pupils with SEND are supported.  Inspectors visited the early years provision to check safeguarding arrangements and discuss the learning with children and leaders.  Inspectors observed behaviour at the start of the day, at lunchtimes and in lessons.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey and staff survey. They also considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including any free-text comments.

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Inspection team

Georgina Chinaka, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Chris Pearce Ofsted Inspector 12 and 13 November 2024

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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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