Conisbrough Ivanhoe Primary Academy

Inspection of Conisbrough Ivanhoe Primary Academy Old Road, Conisbrough, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN12 3LR

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Inspection dates: 25 and 26 February 2025

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

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The headteacher of this school is Joe Brian. This school is part of Conisbrough Ivanhoe Academy trust (a single academy trust), which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Rebecca Jane Lockwood. 25 and 26 February 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils feel safe at Conisbrough Ivanhoe Primary Academy. Pupils have strong relationships with adults at the school. The school is welcoming to a diverse range of pupil needs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have mixed views about life at school. Some pupils enjoy lessons and feel happy. Others are less positive. At times, the behaviour of some pupils makes other pupils feel uncomfortable. Pupils’ learning is occasionally disrupted. Some pupils feel that bullying can occur and that this is not always dealt with effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children in early years respond to the school’s high expectations of them. They quickly develop their communication skills. Pupils in older year groups do not achieve as highly as they could. This is because of some inconsistencies in the quality of education they receive.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils participate in a range of activities such as baking clubs, singing, cheerleading and poetry. They talk excitedly about being involved in school productions, such as ‘The Lion King’. Pupils enjoy many educational trips to locations, such as Conisbrough Castle, stately homes, theatres and coal pits. Pupil playground leaders develop a sense of responsibility by supporting younger pupils with games and activities.

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

The school’s curriculum provides a broad range of subjects that seeks to develop pupils’ knowledge and skills. Leaders ensure that all pupils have access to the curriculum. Children in the early years benefit from a carefully designed and well-delivered curriculum. This prepares them well for key stage 1. Children in early years achieve highly.

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

Pupils’ achievement in key stage 2 national tests have been inconsistent over time. This limits how well prepared they are for their next stages in education. The school has recently made several changes to improve the quality of the curriculum in core subject areas, such as reading, writing and mathematics. Although these changes show promise, it is too early to see their full impact.

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

Teachers are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the subjects they teach. In some subjects, pupils benefit from lessons that are well planned and implemented. When this occurs, pupils are fully engaged in their learning and rapidly develop their knowledge. For example, in art and design, pupils can talk confidently about what they have learned and demonstrate various sketching techniques. Children in early years access carefully chosen resources and activities that develop important skills.

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

However, the curriculum is not implemented consistently well. At times, in some subjects, teachers’ checks on how well pupils are learning do not accurately identify misconceptions. This means that some errors are not corrected, which slows pupils’ progress through the curriculum. In some subjects, tasks are not precisely matched to 25 and 26 February 2025

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what pupils know and can do. Some tasks are not broken down into well-ordered steps that pupils can understand. This also limits the rate at which pupils learn new knowledge.

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The school has made recent changes to improve the reading curriculum. All staff are well trained in phonics. Pupils who are weak readers are quickly identified and receive expert individual support. However, outcomes for pupils in the phonics screening check have remained low over time. The school has introduced various measures to develop a love of reading. Although this is having some impact, pupils currently have mixed views about their enjoyment of reading.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well by the school. Their needs are quickly identified. They benefit from a range of support measures and interventions that match their needs. Pupils with more complex social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs receive effective and dedicated support in the school’s resourced provision. However, pupils with SEND experience the same weaknesses in the curriculum as their peers. As such, they do not achieve as well as they could in some subjects.

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The school has recently introduced a new behaviour policy and strategy. This is not yet fully embedded. The expectations that staff have of pupils’ behaviour are inconsistent. For example, some pupils are not challenged when they do not engage with tasks. A small number of pupils are allowed to disrupt the learning of others. In contrast, children in the early years behave well and learn appropriate routines. Most pupils attend school regularly.

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The school provides an appropriate programme of personal development for pupils. Pupils learn about healthy eating, how to keep themselves safe and about healthy relationships. However, they lack knowledge about different world faiths and fundamental British values. This limits how well prepared pupils are for life in modern Britain.

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The school has experienced some recent turbulence with leadership. Leaders have made appropriate changes and improvements to the school’s provision to address areas of weakness. However, the school does not have well-embedded systems for monitoring and quality assuring its provision. This means that leaders do not always have a thorough understanding of which areas require further improvement.

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Staff are very positive about the school and their workload. They value the support that leaders provide. Trustees fulfil their statutory duties at the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 25 and 26 February 2025

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The implementation of the curriculum is variable. Outcomes for pupils in some national tests have been weak over time. This limits how well prepared pupils are for their future education. The school should ensure that improvements are made to the quality of education that pupils receive. The school should ensure that these improvements are reflected in the pupil outcomes at key stage 2, so that pupils are better prepared for their next steps in education.  The school’s expectations of behaviour are inconsistent. As a result, some pupils disrupt the learning of others, and some pupils elect not to fully engage in learning. The school should ensure that expectations of behaviour are consistently high and enacted across the school.  The school does not support pupils to develop their understanding of world faiths and fundamental British values sufficiently well. This limits how well they understand the

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

diverse nature of modern Britain. The school should ensure that pupils develop a secure knowledge of these areas, so that they are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  The school does not have fully embedded systems for checking the impact of different aspects of its provision. This limits leaders’ understanding of which aspects of the school’s provision are working well and which areas require further improvement. The school should ensure that systems for monitoring the school’s improvement work are fully embedded, and that it acts on this information to further improve the school’s provision.

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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, 25 and 26 February 2025

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looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 25 and 26 February 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 5 and 6 November 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 This school is part of Conisbrough Ivanhoe Academy trust, which is a single academy trust.  An acting headteacher is currently leading this school.  The school uses two unregistered alternative provisions.  The school has a specially resourced provision for 10 pupils with SEMH needs.

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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. 25 and 26 February 2025

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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 met with the acting headteacher, other leaders, staff and pupils. They met with trustees.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, physical education and art and design. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors visited lessons and considered how the needs of disadvantaged and pupils with SEND are met. They observed pupils at various times of the school day.

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 Inspectors visited the SEND hub resource provision. They observed pupils and looked at samples of 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; considered the views of parents; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors evaluated responses from parents to Ofsted Parent View. They spoke with some parents. Inspectors also evaluated the responses that staff made to Ofsted’s online survey.

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Inspection team

Chris Carr, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Stephanie Ngenda Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 February 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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