Grewelthorpe Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Grewelthorpe Church of England Primary School Cross Hills, Grewelthorpe, Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 3BH

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Outcome

Grewelthorpe Church of England Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The executive headteacher of this school is Christopher Parkhouse. This school is part of the Leeds Diocesan Learning 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), Richard Noake, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Peter Foskett. There is also a head of school, Katie Barker, who is responsible for this school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is typically described by parents and carers as ‘a small school with a big heart’. It prides itself on being a warm, welcoming and aspirational place for pupils to learn. There is a calm and nurturing ethos. Pupils are valued as individuals. They rise to the school’s high expectations for their behaviour and learning. They attend well and achieve well. From the early years, the school encourages pupils to be curious and enthusiastic learners.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between pupils and staff are positive and respectful. Staff get to know pupils and their families well. Pupils feel safe and know who to talk to if they have any difficulties or worries. Staff promote positive behaviour. They deal with the rare incidents of poor behaviour effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy a variety of school clubs and activities, including sports, art club, cooking and learning to play musical instruments. These opportunities develop pupils’ talents and motivate them to try something new. Older pupils relish residential experiences, where they participate in outdoor education activities and develop their resilience and team building skills. Pupils can hold a range of positions of responsibility. These include members of the school council, sports crew, charity committee and reading mentors. 18 June 2025

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

The school has refined and strengthened the curriculum. Curriculum content is coherently sequenced. Leaders have carefully considered the knowledge and skills pupils will build across different subjects from the early years to Year 6. Children in the early years establish the essential skills they need to prepare them for learning in key stage 1 and beyond. Teachers check what pupils can do and remember. They identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) promptly. They tailor extra teaching, resources and support, when necessary, to meet the needs of pupils with SEND and to help them access the curriculum.

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

Pupils achieve positive outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics. However, in some wider curriculum subjects, teachers do not consistently use the checks they make on pupils’ learning to plan pupils’ next steps effectively. At times, this leads to pupils completing tasks that are too easy or does not support them well in applying their knowledge to more complex tasks.

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

Reading is the school’s highest priority. Phonics is taught with precision. Staff provide prompt and effective support to pupils who need extra help. The school is meticulous in its approach to ensuring that pupils develop the skills they need to read from the early years. They develop the phonics knowledge they need to prepare them well for early reading and writing. The joy and purpose of reading is promoted throughout the school. Children delight in dressing up and acting out stories they read as a class. There is a diverse choice of books to appeal to pupils’ interests and to support their understanding of the wider world. Pupils read for pleasure and information.

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

Attendance is high. Suitable procedures are in place to address pupils’ absence. The school highlights the importance of regular attendance to parents. They work diligently with families and external professionals to overcome any barriers to pupils’ attendance.

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

The school provides opportunities to support and enrich pupils’ personal development. Pupils benefit from high-quality pastoral care. From the early years, staff support pupils in developing their social skills, following established routines and behaving well. Leaders aspire for pupils to be able to ‘make a difference’ and forge an ambitious path in the wider world. The school provides pupils with trips and activities to give them a range of experiences that they may not otherwise be able to enjoy. These include visits to museums, castles and different places of worship and participation in sports competitions. Pupils learn about life in modern Britain. This includes the importance of equality, tolerance and respect for others. Pupils appreciate that people hold different views and opinions. They develop an age-appropriate understanding of relationships. The school ensures that pupils learn to stay safe, including when online. They highlight risks in the

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

local community such as making pupils aware of how to stay safe on the moors and around farm machinery. 18 June 2025

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The trust and the local academy council have secure and purposeful oversight of the school. Staff speak highly of leaders’ support for their professional development, workload and welfare.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 At times, in some wider curriculum subjects, teachers do not use their checks on what pupils know and remember to inform learning with sufficient precision. This means that pupils do not learn as well as they could in some subjects. The school should ensure that teachers use assessment information to inform pupils’ next steps effectively.

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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 to be 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 third ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Grewelthorpe Church of England Primary School, to be good for overall effectiveness in January 2012.

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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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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). 18 June 2025

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School details

Date of previous inspection 30 March 2022, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school offers before- and after-school care.  An inspection of the school’s religious character under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 took place in May 2025.  The school does not currently use alternative provision.  The school converted to become part of the Leeds Diocesan Learning Trust in September 2022.  The school is federated with Fountains Church of England Primary School and North Stainley Church of England Primary School. The headteacher is executive headteacher across these schools as well as Grewelthorpe.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 18 June 2025

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 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the head of school, a curriculum leader, the special educational needs coordinator, the office manager, designated safeguarding leads, the director of school effectiveness for the trust and a headteacher of another school from the trust.  The lead inspector met with the chair of the local academy council, a member of the local academy council, a trustee and the link adviser to the school for the Diocese of Leeds.  Inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke with pupils about their learning, listened to some pupils reading to a familiar adult and looked at samples of pupils’ work and considered a range of documentation.  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

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the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interest first.  Inspectors met with some pupils and staff.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and Ofsted’s survey for staff. An inspector spoke informally with some parents at the start of the school day.

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Inspection team

Stephanie Innes-Taylor, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jessica McKay His Majesty’s Inspector 18 June 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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