North Frodingham Primary School

Inspection Report North Frodingham Primary School

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117861 Unique Reference Number East Riding of Yorkshire LEA 280169 Inspection number 16 March 2006 to 17 March 2006 Inspection dates Mrs Carole Cressey Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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North Frodingham School address Primary Type of school Driffield Community School category YO25 8LA 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01262 488227 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01262 488227 Fax number 79 Number on roll Mr A Crabtree Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr J David Wragg Headteacher 1 July 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280169 16 March 2006 - 4 to 11 17 March 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one additional inspector.

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Description of the school

This very small primary school is located in the village of North Frodingham near Driffield. All the pupils are white British and come from a mix of socio-economic backgrounds. Although the take up of free school meals is much lower than average, there are small pockets of social and emotional disadvantage. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is well below average. Attainment of children when they start the school is broadly average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: North Frodingham Primary School, 16 March 2006 to 17 March 2006

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Grade: 3

The inspection confirms the school’s own view that it provides a satisfactory education, with some good features, some developing strengths, and some areas needing improvement. It gives satisfactory value for money. Children enter and leave the school with broadly average standards for their age. Their achievement is satisfactory overall, but good in English, where attainment is above average in Year 6. Standards at the end of Year 2 have been well below average for several years and progress has been poor. Because of better teaching in Years 1 and 2, pupils’ progress is now more rapid and standards are rising, though still below average. In the Foundation Stage, the same improvement means that provision and progress are good. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. They are often good, but significant weaknesses in the school’s assessment procedures hold back achievement, particularly for pupils with learning

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Grade: 3

difficulties and/or disabilities. Personal development is good. Pupils behave well, care for each other, and are secure, happy and eager learners. However, they are not yet fully involved in assessing their own learning or in making decisions about their school. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The long-serving headteacher sets a high standard for pupils’ care and personal development, and parents and pupils hold him in high regard for this reason. He commands the support of parents, although many want the school to take more notice of their views. Given the good recent improvements, the full commitment of staff, the enthusiasm of pupils and the strong support of parents and the local authority, the school has a satisfactory capacity to improve further. not applicable

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that standards in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 continue to rise by using monitoring to reinforce and extend the recent improvement in teaching and learning. • Raise standards further across the school by using the assessment system consistently and rigorously to track pupils’ progress, so that teachers plan precisely for pupils’ known needs and pupils know exactly how to improve their work and reach the next level. • Write and use individual education plans for those children who need them. • Provide more opportunities for pupils and parents to express their views and influence school development.

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Grade: 3

The school accurately judges that achievement is satisfactory overall and standards rising. Children start school in reception with broadly average standards. For some years, their progress through reception and Key Stage 1 has been so poor that standards at the end of Year 2 have been well below average. The school has now acted to remedy 2 Inspection Report: North Frodingham Primary School, 16 March 2006 to 17 March 2006 this situation and much better teaching is beginning to raise standards. Children in the Foundation Stage are now making good progress and on course to reach the standards expected at the end of the reception year. Standards in Year 2 are below average in English and mathematics. Progress is good but pupils have not benefited from the improved arrangements long enough to attain the standards of which they are capable. Throughout Key Stage 2, consistently good teaching maintains a good

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Grade: 3

rate of progress. As a result, almost all pupils reach the standards expected by the end of Year 6, and a significant proportion achieves the higher levels. This represents good achievement from their low attainment four years earlier. In English, expectations are high, pupils achieve particularly well and standards are consistently above average. However, assessment systems are in their infancy. Teachers do not yet use assessment effectively to monitor pupils’ progress, or to identify pupils who are not achieving well enough, or to gain the information needed to guide the next steps in learning. Sensitive support from teaching assistants enables pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities to make satisfactory progress. However, because there are no individual learning plans for these pupils, staff do not plan, target and monitor their progress well enough.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are good. This matches the school’s own judgement. Pupils enjoy their lessons, like their teachers and say that school is fun. Their above average attendance and punctuality reflect this. Good behaviour and thoughtfulness are the norm, and pupils are particularly kind to those who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Pupils are confident and eager learners who readily engage in conversations that are peppered with good humour and mature observations. They say they feel very safe and report that there are no bullying or racist comments. Pupils have a good understanding of the importance of staying healthy, including good diet. Pupils make good use of their regular access to drinking water, and the recently formed school parliament is keen to organise a healthy tuck shop. Pupils know the importance of

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Grade: 2

exercise and value their regular lessons in the village hall and the many sporting clubs available at lunchtime and after school. Older pupils show a good understanding of the importance of learning about different cultures and religions and develop a mature respect for others. Their sound grasp of key skills prepares them adequately for future stages of education and life. Despite some recent initiatives to encourage pupils to contribute to the running of the school, their involvement is relatively underdeveloped.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. The lessons seen during the inspection were good and one was outstanding. The teaching of literacy and numeracy in the 3 Inspection Report: North Frodingham Primary School, 16 March 2006 to 17 March 2006 Foundation Stage and Years 1 and 2 is now good, after a long period of time when it was unsatisfactory and children did not achieve well enough. However for Foundation Stage children, because the tasks and activities that children choose for themselves are not challenging enough, learning is not as rapid as it could be. Throughout the school, lessons take proper account of the ages of pupils in mixed-age classes. In Years 3 to 6, good teaching reverses pupils’ earlier underachievement and engages their interest and capabilities. In an outstanding literacy lesson in Years 5 and 6, the teacher and pupils embarked on an exciting journey to write high quality individual poems.

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Grade: 3

Similes and metaphors were used frequently as pupils prompted each other’s imagination to create verse of an exceptionally high standard. As a result, the least confident child wrote thoughtfully of ‘a ghost being the soul that is inside you’. The use of assessment is at an early stage of development. It is not consistent across the school and does not adequately inform teachers’ planning. This is because assessments do not give a sufficiently clear or detailed picture of each pupil’s progress and attainment. Older pupils know which level they are working at but not know what they need to do to move on to the next. Individual targets for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are not detailed in individual plans. This leads to a lack of rigour in measuring the progress these pupils make and in planning accurately for their future learning.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum meets requirements and is satisfactory, with good elements. The Foundation Stage curriculum covers all the areas of learning, but the activities and resources children choose for themselves lack challenge. Throughout the school, proper emphasis is placed on developing pupils’ skills in reading, writing, mathematics and information and communication technology (ICT). Pupils also have very good opportunities for developing historical and geographical skills. They are very lucky to have their own archeological dig and they speak very enthusiastically about their findings. The use of specialist teachers and well-planned links between subjects deepen pupils’ knowledge and understanding. Personal and social skills are enhanced by a variety of educational visits, and pupils eagerly participate in a good range of after-school clubs.The planning for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities

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Grade: 3

is not as good as it should be. Individual plans are not in place and there is a lack of evidence of how well teaching and learning promote progress for these pupils. The school works very hard and does well to compensate for its limited space for sports and exercise. However, the pupils and their parents anxiously await the building of a new hall so that all pupils have access to the level of exercise now demanded nationally.

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Grade: 3

These are satisfactory overall. The school takes good care of all its pupils, supports them well and treats them with respect, but it does not guide their academic progress well enough. Child protection procedures are well established and the headteacher 4 Inspection Report: North Frodingham Primary School, 16 March 2006 to 17 March 2006 ensures that staff understand them fully. All staff are vigilant, sensitive and supportive in their care of children who are vulnerable. The headteacher goes to some lengths to ensure that he always has time for those children who, from time to time, need additional support to settle into school or to come to terms with a personal problem. Parents of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities speak very highly of the good level of care their children receive. However, procedures for monitoring and guiding the progress of all pupils, including those with learning difficulties and/or

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Grade: 3

disabilities, are not good enough. Teachers are beginning to track each pupil’s academic progress, but the information is not used to set targets or to guide pupils towards the next steps in their learning. Individual learning plans are not in place for those who need them, and the school relies too much on the support of the local authority to record and monitor the progress of pupils with a statement of special educational need.

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Grade: 3

The school has an accurate view of its strengths and areas for development, although it lacks the rigour to know itself well. Leadership and management are satisfactory with some strong features, but also with room for improvement in significant areas. The headteacher has created a very strong ethos of care and enjoyment within an orderly, calm and purposeful environment where everyone feels safe and valued. Staff are deployed well so that, for example, all teachers have their planned preparation time while still helping to enrich pupils’ academic and creative skills. However, until recently leadership has not been as effective as it should be in improving children’s progress and standards by the end of Year 2. This is now being achieved, but better monitoring of teaching and learning and support in reception and Years 1 and 2 must be a priority, to ensure that the improvements now taking place are

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Grade: 3

sustained and standards continue to rise for all pupils. Assessment and recording systems are not yet rigorous enough to create the conditions for standards to rise further and for all pupils to achieve as well as they can. Individual plans should be in place to support the progress of those children who require them. The governing body is working closely with the headteacher to ensure that resources are well used, and that standards rise and children do well throughout the school. The vast majority of parents and pupils are satisfied with the school’s provision, but many would like the school to find ways to gather and take account of their views and suggestions. The school has a satisfactory capacity to improve further. 5 Inspection Report: North Frodingham Primary School, 16 March 2006 to 17 March 2006 .

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Grade: 3

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: North Frodingham Primary School, 16 March 2006 to 17 March 2006

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Inspection judgements

16-19 School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Overall effectiveness

NA 3 How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? NA 3 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 3 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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Personal development and well-being

NA 2 How good is the overall personal development and well-being of the learners? NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 3 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 3 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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The quality of provision

NA 3 How effective are teaching and learning in meeting the full range of the learners' needs? NA 3 How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? NA 3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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The quality of provision

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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Leadership and management

NA 3 How effective are leadership and management in raising achievement and supporting all learners? NA 3 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 4 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 3 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 3 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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Leadership and management

The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them The extent to which learners make a positive contribution Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the

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Leadership and management

wider community The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0207 421 6800 F 0207 421 6707 Ofsted helpline 08456 404045 Mr J David Wragg North Frodingham Primary School North Frodingham Driffield YO25 8LA 17 March 2006 Dear Children Thank you so much for being so friendly and welcoming when I visited your school a short while ago. I really enjoyed talking with you and your teachers and I could see that you enjoy your lessons and work hard. I was pleased to see how very well you behave, how very kind you are to each other and how important you think it is to learn about other cultures and religions. I particularly enjoyed the literacy lesson I observed. You worked very hard in the lesson and your ideas were excellent. I can easily see some of you becoming poets and writers. Whenever I read about ghosts in the future, I will think of your spine-chilling similes and metaphors. I also remember that, when I talked to you, there were some really good ideas on how you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

thought the new school parliament could improve your school. Perhaps you should share these ideas with your teachers. I am sure they will be able to help you set them up. There are a few things I have asked your teachers to do to make the school better: to help Year 1 and Year 2 children to reach higher standards in their work to tell you all how you can improve your work even further to listen to your ideas on how to improve your school. I know you will enjoy learning new things and I hope you will always enjoy school and that it will help you to become happy, sensible and successful adults. Carole Cressey (Lead inspector)

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