Kirmington CofE Primary School

Inspection Report Kirmington Church of England Primary School

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118014 Unique Reference Number North Lincolnshire LEA 280214 Inspection number 4 April 2006 to 4 April 2006 Inspection dates Mrs Kathleen Yates Reporting inspector

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

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Kirmington School address Primary Type of school Ulceby Voluntary controlled School category DN39 6YP 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 01652 688451 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01652 688451 Fax number 36 Number on roll Mrs Karen Pickering Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Elizabeth Lockwood Headteacher 1 November 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280214 4 April 2006 - 3 to 11 4 April 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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Kirmington is a much smaller than average primary school. All pupils are white British. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below average. When children join the school their knowledge and skills are average for their age. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Kirmington Church of England Primary School, 4 April 2006 to 4 April 2006

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Grade: 3

Kirmington School provides a satisfactory standard of education. For the most part, this is also the school’s view of itself. Teaching and learning are satisfactory and pupils make satisfactory progress, achieving average standards by the ends of Years 2 and 6. Assessment procedures are satisfactory. Pupils’ behaviour, attitudes and personal development are all good and lead to the school’s friendly ethos, much appreciated by parents. The curriculum is satisfactory. The care pupils receive is good, and the support and guidance they receive are satisfactory. Teachers do not set targets regularly enough and consequently pupils are not clear about what they should do to improve their work. Resources to support teaching and learning have improved; for example, the library and information and communication technology (ICT). The school is now an attractive place for pupils to learn. Foundation Stage provision is satisfactory, and

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Grade: 3

children make satisfactory progress in all areas of learning. The last inspection recommended a number of improvements. These have mostly been dealt with, but more needs to be done to improve writing. Leadership, management and governance are all satisfactory, rather than good, as the school judges. Monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning are not carried out rigorously and the school needs a clearer understanding of the progress children make to be able to help them achieve more. The school views its improvement as good but inspection evidence shows it is only satisfactory. However, the school has a good capacity to improve further and, given the current standards and achievement, the school is providing satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Continue to work on raising standards, especially in writing. • Raise expectations of pupils’ achievement throughout the school by more rigorous monitoring of standards. • Set clear, individual targets more regularly so that pupils and their parents know what the pupils have to do to improve their work.

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Grade: 3

On entry to the Reception class, attainment is average. By the end of the year, most children have made satisfactory progress and reach the expected standards in all areas of learning. Achievement is satisfactory. The standards pupils attain overall are average but vary considerably from year to year because there are very small numbers in year groups. For example, in 2005 there were only five pupils in Year 2. They did well in mathematics, especially at the higher Level 3, but they did less well in reading and no pupil achieved the higher Level 3 in writing. Overall standards for the nine pupils in Year 6 were at the expected level and showed a marked improvement on the previous year. Pupils achieved slightly better than expected in English, close to the national average in mathematics and slightly below average in science. Most pupils met their 2 Inspection Report: Kirmington Church of England Primary School, 4 April 2006 to 4 April 2006

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Grade: 3

targets and made satisfactory progress. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities achieve as well as their peers. Current work in lessons indicates that no pupils are likely to attain the higher Level 3 at the end of Year 2. Action to raise standards and achievement is set out in the school’s improvement plan but the focus on writing is not sharp enough.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being are good. Pupils like coming to school. Relationships are very good and pupils are well behaved. They enjoy their lessons and are eager to take part. Attendance is above average. Children settle well in Nursery and Reception classes. Pupils learn to follow rules. They are keen to take on responsibilities and know how to keep themselves safe. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They are polite and friendly to visitors and understand how their behaviour and attitudes affect others. The school supports many charities and this helps pupils to understand their social responsibilities. For example, they have raised funds to support immunisation projects to save children’s lives in Niger and Madagascar. The school council takes its duties seriously and has helped to draw up plans for a sensory garden. Pupils enjoy a range of fruit at break time and understand that they need to take regular exercise to stay

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Grade: 2

fit. They develop a good range of computer skills. The pupils are well prepared for the next stage in their education and for their future economic well-being. For example, on a visit to the local supermarket pupils learned how bar codes work and used tills to record their purchases.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Relationships between teachers and pupils are very good and classrooms provide a stimulating and attractive environment for learning. In the good lessons, the pace of learning is brisk and activities are varied and interesting. As a result, pupils are keen to learn and make good progress. Teaching assistants make a strong contribution to learning by their support for pupils with learning difficulties. Where the pace of learning is slow, lessons do not challenge the pupils sufficiently to enable them to make better than satisfactory progress. This is often because pupils are not being involved enough in the lesson; for example, in reading the instructions for activities they are to pursue. The marking of pupils’ work is helpful and often tells pupils what they need to do to improve. The school has identified areas of weakness in pupils’ work; for example,

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Grade: 3

spelling and writing, and has flagged these up for the teachers, but there is not enough challenge in the targets which are set to ensure that pupils make progress that is better than satisfactory. 3 Inspection Report: Kirmington Church of England Primary School, 4 April 2006 to 4 April 2006

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory in all stages. There has been a major drive to improve mathematics. This has been particularly successful but the school has yet to develop writing in a similar way. The school has improved the use pupils make of ICT to support learning in other subjects. There is a suitable range of after school clubs, which parents greatly appreciate. The clubs involve sport, music and other creative activities. Visits and visitors to the school support pupils’ learning, for example about other religions and countries. Pupils are learning to speak French, and studies of the Chinese New Year enrich their knowledge of other cultures and lifestyles.

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Grade: 3

Care, guidance and support for learners are satisfactory. There are real strengths in the pastoral care of pupils and parents appreciate the way in which staff promote their children’s safety and give them good guidance about how to remain healthy and happy in school. Child protection arrangements are understood clearly and reviewed regularly. Pupils are confident they can talk to an adult if they have any concerns. Risk assessment is done carefully. Any pupil at risk is identified early and support arrangements are put in place. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are well cared for and supported. There is some weakness in the support pupils receive for their learning. The school does not set clear targets which are regularly updated to show pupils and parents what they need to do next to improve their learning. Consequently, some pupils do not achieve as well as they might.

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Grade: 3

The headteacher is new to headship and in a short time has brought about many improvements, particularly in the school’s accommodation and resources. There is good teamwork among all the staff and governors. The allocation of most responsibilities has fallen largely on the headteacher since the two additional teaching staff are recently qualified or part time. The school’s self-evaluation is satisfactory overall, but lacks the regular and rigorous monitoring of teaching and learning which is necessary to improve teaching, learning and pupils’ progress. Professional development has made all staff become more proficient in teaching ICT. Writing remains the key area for improvement. The school knows this but has yet to set out clearly how the necessary changes are to be made and how pupils and their parents can contribute to those changes. Governors are supportive of the school and have a clear view of its strengths. However, they do not yet challenge the school

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Grade: 3

sufficiently or monitor the progress in its priorities rigorously. Day-to-day management is effective and parents are very pleased with the school’s work. There is a clear vision and determination and the school has good capacity to improve further. 4 Inspection Report: Kirmington Church of England Primary School, 4 April 2006 to 4 April 2006 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 5 Inspection Report: Kirmington Church of England Primary School, 4 April 2006 to 4 April 2006

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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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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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 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

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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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 3 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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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

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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

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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 wider community

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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 The Children Kirmington C of E Primary School Kirmington Ulceby DN39 6YP 4 April 2006 Dear Children As you know, I came to your school recently to carry out an inspection. This letter is to thank you for the warm welcome you gave me and for helping me with my work, and to let you know what I found out about your school. This is what I liked about your school. You receive a very warm welcome from all your teachers so that you are happy in school and enjoy your work. Your teachers work hard and are constantly trying to improve the school for you. The school encourages you to be fit and healthy and you are learning how to stay safe. You are making good use of computers to help your learning in all subjects. This is what I have asked the school to do now. Help you to improve your writing. Check more closely at the progress you are making.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Provide you with individual targets so that you and your parents understand what you need to do to improve. All my good wishes for your future at school. Yours faithfully Kathleen Yates Lead inspector

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