Sutton Upon Derwent Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Address: Main Street, Sutton-on-Derwent, York, North Yorkshire, YO41 4BN Unique reference number (URN): 118026

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils’ attendance is in line with national averages and rates of persistent absence are low. Leaders monitor pupils’ attendance regularly, ensuring that action is taken if rates fall below pre-determined thresholds. All staff across the school promote the importance of high attendance. They also ensure pupils are welcomed warmly when they return from absence. Leaders’ actions have successfully improved the attendance of the targeted pupils. A well- attended breakfast club also encourages a prompt and positive start to the day.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

The school’s motto of ‘follow your pathway and grow with confidence’ sits at the heart of its work. Pupils respect individuality and speak confidently about their views. Staff and pupils do not tolerate discriminatory comments, so they are notably rare. Pupils also say bullying is highly unlikely. If it does happen, staff act quickly. A calm and purposeful atmosphere exists throughout the school. Simple rules help everyone learn productively. Events that bring pupils of all ages together, such as ‘team challenge days’, ensure older pupils act as positive role models for younger peers. When pupils face barriers to learning and wellbeing, leaders make reasonable adjustments to support their behaviour promptly. These actions ensure pupils participate fully and sustain positive learning habits over time.

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Early years Expected standard

Children in the early years have their needs met well. This includes those who face barriers to learning or have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders have made positive changes to the setting this year, including investment in a well-designed environment. Children enjoy learning in the outdoor area. They use the mud kitchen to work collaboratively and follow recipes. This helps them recognise numbers, follow instructions and develop their language. Adults typically engage in high-quality interactions with children. However, leaders recognise there is more to do to embed and strengthen this further.

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Early years Expected standard

Stories, rhymes and songs underpin the curriculum and support the development of communication skills. Staff prioritise building strong foundations for future learning. A revised, well-sequenced programme increasingly helps children build confidence in handwriting. In Nursery, mark-making with fingers builds carefully towards early letter formation. This contributes to children becoming more confident writers in Reception. While the phonics scheme is new and requires time to embed, children typically learn to apply their phonic knowledge with increasing fluency over time. Overall, children feel safe, happy and secure in the setting. They socialise well and sustain focus and engagement in activities.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Every pupil belongs in this inclusive school. Leaders have appropriate systems in place to identify their needs quickly and accurately. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities or those who face other barriers to their learning and wellbeing. Staff maintain high expectations for all pupils in the school. They also know pupils well, further helping to meet their needs. Pupils value the calm spaces in school. They use these to help regulate their emotions or get one-to-one support.

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Needs attention

Through the ‘pathways’ programme, leaders ensure interventions match pupils’ needs well. These help pupils to talk about their feelings while they take part in fun or creative activities. Leaders and governors ensure that additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils is spent carefully. This funding typically helps pupils make positive progress towards their individual goals. The school engages with multi-agency support for pupils when needed. This includes working closely with social care and the local authority in the best interests of pupils. Leaders commit to making reasonable adjustments when supporting pupils’ positive behaviour or their access to school. This helps pupils approach learning with confidence and remain settled within the school community.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school builds its culture on clear, shared values. Leaders and staff carefully create opportunities to develop pupils, including those with barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing, socially as well as academically. Across the curriculum, pupils enjoy opportunities to enhance their knowledge through real-life experiences. For example, they take part in trips linked to topics about women’s roles in World War 2. Pupils receive weekly lessons that teach them important topics relating to personal, social and health education. As a result, pupils talk confidently about healthy relationships, online safety and tolerance. Pupils also read well-chosen books across the curriculum. Many of these help pupils to explore themes about the wider world and deepen empathy for others.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders draw on the wider community to support their personal development programme. For example, pupils benefit from visits from emergency services, who describe their work, interact with pupils and lead group sessions. The school supports pupils to manage their emotions and resolve conflict successfully. Staff use profiling tools to identify any additional pastoral support pupils might need. This includes improving self-esteem and developing friendships. As a result, pupils are happy and know where to turn to for help if they need it.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

A range of events throughout the year capture pupils’ interest and broaden their experiences. For example, pupils speak enthusiastically about a Hindu dance workshop. Pupils also value opportunities to run a local summer fete and take part in events at the local church. Leaders recognise the need to provide more opportunities for pupils to develop their oracy in a range of different social contexts. They have started to implement focused work to strengthen this important skill. As well as clubs and activities that promote enjoyment, pupils also learn important life skills such as first aid. This prepares pupils for the world beyond school, building confidence, resilience and independence.

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Achievement Needs attention

While many pupils achieve well and remember what they have learned, some have gaps in their knowledge and skills that impact their outcomes. A small number of pupils can lose confidence when work feels too difficult. This leads them to give up on, or avoid, challenging tasks. Leaders have rightly identified writing as an area for improvement. In the past, weaknesses in how writing was taught, along with a phonics approach that was not fully effective, have left some pupils with gaps in their reading, writing and basic skills. Although leaders have started to address these issues, some of these gaps remain. Due to assessment not consistently identifying gaps in learning, some pupils do not make as much progress as they should or are not fully prepared for the next stage of learning. Across the school, the quality of pupils’ work varies too much, especially in core subject areas. This is because key skills and knowledge are not securely developed over time.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The wider curriculum is broad and well-designed but there remains more to do to ensure the writing programme builds pupils’ knowledge and skills step-by-step over time. Across subjects, teachers do not take enough action to address gaps in pupils’ core reading, writing and number skills. Teachers do not use checks on learning consistently or precisely enough, which means pupils often make slower progress than they could. As a result, some learning does not match pupils’ starting points well, particularly for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders have set appropriate ambitions for the curriculum. For example, they have identified writing as an area to improve following a recent dip in results. Staff prioritise handwriting throughout school and help pupils practise letter formation before moving on to more complex writing.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Teachers know their pupils well and their clear explanations help pupils enjoy learning. For some pupils with SEND, teachers do not break learning down into more manageable steps. This means adults sometimes complete the work for pupils, slowing these pupils' progress through the curriculum. The school promotes reading well. Pupils enjoy books and talk confidently about what they read. The new phonics programme is beginning to improve pupils’ fluency and confidence.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders understand many of the school’s strengths and have identified key priorities for improvement. However, some of these are too new to demonstrate their full impact. In addition, leaders have not focused sharply enough on the most important actions to improve pupils’ outcomes over time. Plans for improvement are not always precise or measurable and leaders do not check their impact closely enough to ensure that changes make a positive difference for pupils. Leaders have not implemented improvements to assessment practices quickly or effectively enough and they still require further work.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Governors fulfil their statutory duties appropriately and have helped to clarify the school’s direction. They recognise that further work is needed to build on this recent progress. Staff feel well supported and value leaders’ attention to their wellbeing and workload. Leaders provide a range of professional development opportunities. However, this training does not focus closely enough on key areas for improvement, such as assessment and the teaching of essential writing and number skills.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Parents are very positive about the school and appreciate the care and support their children receive. The school works well with partners, including the local authority and the diocese. Leaders place emphasis on pupils’ personal development and have created a calm, respectful and caring culture.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Sutton-upon-Derwent School is a happy place at the heart of its community. Pupils welcome visitors to their school, build warm relationships with adults and show kindness to one another. A caring and inclusive culture runs throughout the school.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

In the classroom, staff actively help pupils develop enthusiasm for learning. Pupils are keen to take part and they concentrate well. Pupils attend trips that help them bring learning to life. For example, they visit a nature reserve to enhance a topic on rivers. However, the quality of teaching pupils receive is too variable. Some pupils do not embed basic skills in reading, writing, handwriting and mathematics well enough. This means they build later learning on insecure foundations. Teachers do not consistently identify and address gaps in learning quickly enough. This limits how well-prepared some pupils are for their next steps. In addition, some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not consistently receive the precise support they need in the classroom. This is because, on occasion, the work does not match well to what they already know and can do.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils demonstrate a mature attitude towards equality and relationships. They understand what makes people different and why this should be celebrated. Pupils say that bullying and unkindness rarely happens in their school. They trust the adults around them to solve their problems and listen to their needs. Children in the early years make a positive start to their learning and development.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils appreciate discovering talents and interests through the school’s enriching offer. They can take part in a wide range of activities that help them learn about the wider world, have fun and make friends. This includes forming a rock band, learning hairdressing and participating in sport. Pupils enjoy coming to school which is reflected in their positive rates of attendance.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that robust quality assurance identifies precise, measurable priorities for improvement. Leaders' aims should help everyone understand what success looks like, enable them to evaluate how effectively actions are improving pupils’ experiences and outcomes and lead to timely adaptation where needed. Leaders should continue recent work to embed whole-school assessment processes that inform high-quality teaching, are underpinned by targeted and impactful professional development for staff and lead to improved outcomes for pupils. Leaders should ensure that teaching consistently secures pupils’ essential knowledge and skills, including the use of checks on learning to promptly identify and address gaps in reading, handwriting, spelling and number facts, so that all pupils, including those who face barriers to learning, develop accuracy and fluency over time.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data is from 2 June 2026 Staff should ensure that learning is consistently and effectively adapted to pupils’ starting points. This includes breaking learning into manageable steps, particularly for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, so that they can participate successfully and independently and make sustained progress across the curriculum.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Dan Simmons.

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About this inspection

The school is part of a federation called Bugthorpe and Sutton upon Derwent C of E Federation.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMI.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the executive headteacher, the chair of governors, special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator, a representative of the diocese and a representative of the local authority during the inspection.

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About this inspection

Inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

This school is registered as having a Church of England religious character. It is in the Diocese of York. Its last section 48 inspection was on 4 February 2025.

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About this inspection

The school currently uses no alternative provision.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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national average

2022/23 (final) 67% 60% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2022/23 (final) 67% 73% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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average

2022/23 (final) 75% 71% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2022/23 59% ‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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average

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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national average

2024/25 (3 term) 5.2% 5.2% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 6.6% 5.9% Close to average

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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national average

2024/25 (3 term) 12.5% 13.0% Close to average

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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