Slingsby Community Primary School

Inspection of Slingsby Community Primary School The Green, Slingsby, York, North Yorkshire YO62 4AA

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 29 and 30 April 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Slingsby Community Primary School prides itself on being ‘a small school with a big heart.’ Pupils are keen to explain that one of the best things about their school is ‘how kind staff and pupils are.’ They enjoy learning, spending time with friends and taking part in the diverse activities on offer like sporting competitions, board games club and learning how to dance around the village maypole.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between pupils and adults are strong. Pupils say that bullying is rare, and they know that staff will deal with it quickly if it does happen. At breaktimes, older buddies willingly support younger pupils. Pupils are happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders at all levels have high expectations. They are determined for all students to flourish, academically and personally. Overall, pupils work hard and achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school places very high value on pupils’ personal development. Pupils learn how to stay safe online and in the wider world. They know how to keep themselves healthy, both physically and mentally. Wider opportunities for pupils include visits to local places of interest and visitors coming to school, such as when a member of the community recently shared information about their beliefs and culture.

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

The school promotes pupils’ love of reading. Pupils are keen to discuss their favourite authors and books. They enjoy choosing from the class book selections and look forward to the library bus visits. The phonics programme begins as soon as children start in Reception class. Highly skilled staff teach phonics with confidence and enthusiasm. Pupils quickly become fluent and accurate readers. Any pupils who fall behind in their reading receive effective support to catch up quickly.

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

There is an ambitious curriculum in place. The school has set out clearly the knowledge and vocabulary it wants pupils to learn. For instance, in subjects such as mathematics and history, pupils successfully build their knowledge upon previous learning and make appropriate connections. This is because pupils regularly revisit previous learning. The school is still refining the curriculum in a few subjects in line with its proposed programme for school development.

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

The school identifies the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) quickly and accurately. Staff use this information to set clear targets and provide resources to support pupils with SEND in all areas of their work. This ensures that pupils with SEND successfully learn alongside their peers.

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

Children in the early years get off to a strong start. The early years curriculum is well thought out. Staff know precisely what children need to learn and when. Stories and rhymes are used effectively to bring important vocabulary to life. Children practise using new vocabulary in their play through the use of story baskets containing props such as story spoon puppets. Routines are embedded, and expectations for all children are high. 29 and 30 April 2025

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Children enjoy the opportunities to play both indoors and out. They demonstrate concentration, problem-solving and collaboration as they work together. For example, a group of children role playing pirates decided together how they could improve their ship to hide their newly found ‘treasure.’ Children are well prepared for the demands of the Year 1 curriculum by the end of the Reception Year.

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Pupils know that they need to demonstrate ‘The Slingsby Values’: respect, honesty, resilience, high expectations and caring for others. The behaviour policy has recently been refined, renewing rewards and consequences, as the school has identified that sometimes there is a lack of clarity and consistency around behaviour expectations in class. On occasions, some pupils talk in class when it is not appropriate to do so. At times this makes it difficult for pupils to concentrate on their learning and to hear what the teacher is saying.

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Pupils’ attendance is good. The school works effectively with families to ensure that this is the case.

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The school places great importance developing pupils’ learning beyond the academic curriculum. The emphasis on pupils’ personal development is evident across all aspects of everyday school life. Pupils are encouraged to be tolerant and respectful towards others. They understand the importance of equality and mutual respect. Pupils learn about risks they may face in the locality such as the nearby farms and building sites.

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Governors know the school well. They make regular and purposeful visits to school. This helps them support and hold the school to account appropriately. Staff feel valued and are very proud of the part they play within the school community. They appreciate recent initiatives to reduce their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s expectations about how pupils should behave in lessons are not being consistently applied. This can lead to some pupils talking over staff or not completely focusing on their work. The school should ensure that staff are equipped to implement its behaviour expectations consistently so that all pupils develop positive attitudes towards learning. 29 and 30 April 2025

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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). 29 and 30 April 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.slingsbyschool.n-yorks.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10 March 2020, 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 school runs a breakfast club and an after-school club on site.

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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.

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Information about this inspection

 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 this into account in their evaluation of the school. 29 and 30 April 2025

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 Inspectors met the headteacher and other school leaders.  Inspectors met with representatives of the local governing body.  Inspectors met with a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, and history. For each deep dive, they 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.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  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 culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text

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responses. They also reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils.  Inspectors spoke with parents at the start of the school day.

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Inspection team

Tracy Duffy, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Lisa Ponter Ofsted Inspector 29 and 30 April 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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