Sherburn Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Sherburn Primary School Cookshold Lane, Sherburn Village, Durham, County Durham DH6 1DU

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Outcome

Sherburn Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this caring school. They rise to the high expectations the school has for their behaviour. They are quick to settle to learning and keen to share their ideas. Pupils enjoy the calm learning atmosphere in their lessons. During playtimes, pupils interact well with each other. They enjoy the recent additions to the playground. For example, pupils enjoy performing on the outdoor stage or building a den. Pupils approach their leadership roles with a mature attitude. Pupil play leaders support their peers at playtime. This helps them develop important leadership skills.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils achieve well at this school. The high standards the school sets for pupils’ learning begin in the early years. Children learn the school routines quickly. The caring relationships help to give them a positive start to school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn about different careers in their personal, social and health education lessons. From the early years, children engage with meaningful visits from different professionals. This includes the National Health Service and the police. This helps to build pupils’ understanding of different careers from a young age. They talk with enthusiasm about the possibility of pursuing careers in diverse areas such as archaeology or engineering.

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

The school places high importance on reading. Trained adults support pupils in developing their phonics skills. The school identifies those pupils who need further support. Tailored intervention helps these pupils to catch up. As a result, pupils develop effective reading skills over time. Pupils enjoy reading. They talk animatedly about the class books they read. These carefully selected books help pupils develop an understanding of difference 7 and 8 January 2025

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and diversity. Year 4 pupils described how their class books teach them about different families. These and other texts help broaden pupils’ understanding of the world.

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In some of the foundation subjects, the school has recently redeveloped the curriculum. The school identifies the key skills and knowledge pupils should remember. This helps pupils explain the skills they need to be successful. For example, pupils in Year 5 explain how they need to use different tones and shades when creating pastel drawings.

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In most subjects, the school considers how pupils need to build knowledge over time. This includes approaches such as revisiting previous topics to check that pupils have remembered important ideas. However, in some subjects, these opportunities are not as frequent or embedded, and pupils’ knowledge is less secure.

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The school gives pupils a rich set of experiences beyond the curriculum. Children in the early years and key stage 1 love their visit to the beach. Pupils in Year 5 and 6 speak with great joy about their residential visit. Such experiences help to build pupils’ independence and their teamwork skills. The school goes to great lengths to ensure all pupils access these opportunities.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. The school ensures that adults know how to provide meaningful help and support for these pupils. As a result, pupils with SEND progress through the curriculum well. Adaptations in school help children to access the ambitious curriculum. For example, visual timetables help young children understand their routines and voice recorders help some older pupils to record their notes.

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Children in early years have a positive start to their school journey. Effective transition arrangements ensure children settle into school with ease. Children enjoy exploring different themes in their book of the week. Well-planned activities help children develop key skills. For example, children develop their fine motor skills when using scissors to cut out the correct clothes, and dress a key character from the book ‘One Snowy Night’. Children also discuss why the character needs to keep warm. This helps them develop an understanding of keeping safe in cold weather.

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The school has made recent changes to how it supports positive attendance. This work is starting to have an impact. However, the attendance of some pupils remains too low. These pupils miss out on valuable learning opportunities.

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Leaders, governors and the local authority are determined to give pupils a positive school experience. They recognise when improvements are necessary and implement them. Staff in the school know that they are valued. They know that their workload and well-being matter. Staff are proud to work at the school. Parents value the caring ethos of the school. One parent represented the views of many when they said, ‘All of the teachers and staff are so caring, and it shows how much they enjoy their job.’ 7 and 8 January 2025

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, pupils do not build their knowledge as securely as in others. They do not get sufficient opportunities to review or practise what they have learned. This means that new learning does not always build on what pupils can or cannot do. The school should ensure that pupils are given the opportunity to build their knowledge consistently well across all subjects.  The absence of some pupils is too high. This means they miss out on the learning opportunities the school offers. The school should further develop its attendance strategy to work more closely with parents to raise pupils’ attendance.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 for overall effectiveness in June 2016.

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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. 7 and 8 January 2025

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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). 7 and 8 January 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.sherburnprimary.durham.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 27 and 28 February 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not currently use any alternative provision for its pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  The inspector discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and the special educational needs coordinator during the inspection.  The inspector spoke with a representative from the local authority.  The inspector met with members of the local governing body, including the chair.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 7 and 8 January 2025

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 The inspector met with the leader responsible for early years. They also spent time in the early years provision across the course of the inspection.  The inspector reviewed a range of school documents, including the school’s self- evaluation and improvement plans.  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 views of parents through the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents, Ofsted Parent View.  The inspector considered the views of staff through meetings held with them and through their responses to Ofsted’s online survey.  The inspector considered the views of pupils through meetings held with them.

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Inspection team

Andrew Gibbins, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 7 and 8 January 2025

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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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