Sinnington Primary School

Inspection Report Sinnington Primary School

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121355 Unique Reference Number North Yorkshire LEA 280992 Inspection number 25 January 2006 to 26 January 2006 Inspection dates Mr Roger Gill CfBT Lead Inspector Reporting inspector

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

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Friars Hill School address Primary Type of school Sinnington Community School category York, North Yorkshire YO62 6SL 4 to 11 Age range of pupils

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01751 431725 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01751 431725 Fax number 87 Number on roll Mrs Clare Wallis Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Carol Youngs Headteacher 6 December 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280992 25 January 2006 - 4 to 11 26 January 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 is a small primary school situated in a relatively advantaged rural area near Pickering. All children are of white British heritage. A below average proportion of children has learning difficulties and/or disabilities; none has a statement of special educational needs. Children start school with skills and knowledge typical for their age, but this can vary greatly from year to year. Since the school was last inspected, there has been a change of headteacher and a substantial turnover in staff.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Sinnington Primary School, 25 January 2006 to 26 January 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school with outstanding features, which provides good value for money. The school judges its strengths and weaknesses accurately; inspectors agree with the school in virtually every respect. Children progress well due to good teaching in the Foundation Stage and most reach the nationally expected levels by the end of the Reception class. Achievement elsewhere is good overall with some pockets of slower progress in writing linked, partly, to a lack of consistency in the otherwise good quality teaching and learning. The school's ethos is energetic and inclusive. It has maintained a good standard of education since 1999 despite the many changes to staffing; it has preserved its strong reputation locally. This is a well led and managed school in which children matter as individuals; it is well placed to improve even further. The headteacher, with the help of a very willing team of staff, motivates everyone in the pursuit of good achievement. The school's top

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Grade: 2

quality methods of care and support produce children with a social poise and a zest for sharing their enthusiasms. The headteacher is, in partnership with many others, the prime mover behind this positive sense of well-being. Parents readily voice their appreciation: one rightly described the school as, 'caring, positive and forward looking'. The way that the children's progress is tracked, test results are analysed and the quality of teaching is evaluated, is good. However, the information is not yet used effectively enough in terms of guiding children towards targets and involving them fully in the evaluation of their own progress.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Consolidate and extend methods of teaching writing to make children's progress consistently good throughout the school. • Involve children more in the evaluation of their own progress: what is successful and what could be improved.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good. Children achieve challenging targets throughout the school, except in writing by those in Year 2. The children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and those identified as have special gifts or talents, progress as well as the other children. The good progress made by children in their Reception year is particularly evident in mathematics and reading which are consistently stronger than writing. Good progress continues in Years 1 and 2 even though standards at the end of Year 2 have been below average for the last two years. Most children have achieved well, but test results are often influenced by small groups that find learning difficult. Nevertheless, by the end of Year 2 progress in writing is satisfactory rather than good; it could be better. 2 Inspection Report: Sinnington Primary School, 25 January 2006 to 26 January 2006 By the end of Year 6, standards are well above average. This represents good

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Grade: 2

achievement in English, mathematics and science despite the effect on results produced by late entrants, some of whom find learning particularly difficult. Writing improves in Years 5 and 6 because the quality of teaching is more consistent. Gaps remain in children's repertoire of writing, but lost ground is recovered. Standards in information and communication technology meet national expectations and progress is good, particularly now the computer room has been established. Children make satisfactory progress in other subjects.

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Grade: 2

Children's well-being is at the heart of school life: an understanding about healthy lifestyle choices and the need for safety is developed well. Pupils' enjoyment of school is reflected in their good attendance. Good behaviour and positive attitudes exist throughout the school. A minority of children find it hard to behave well, but they are generally successful. Pupils' contribution to the community in and beyond the school is first-rate. The school council takes its responsibilities seriously and works confidently. Children know they have a voice that is listened to and acted upon. They trust their teachers to help them resolve problems so bullying is uncommon. The good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through activities that knit them together. Social skills are developed well through the extensive and enriching cultural and multicultural activities. Gardening ensures that children experience the

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Grade: 2

spiritual aspects of growth and business aspects of harvesting. Funds raised this year, from raffling produce - such as school made green tomato chutney - were used to buy seeds for children in Africa to grow. A sense of communal pride is nurtured in the lively assemblies and at lunchtimes when older children serve meals in a family setting.

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Grade: 2

Children learn well as a result of good teaching. This is an achievement because half of the teaching force changed in September 2005. The new arrangements are working to the children's advantage: the quality of teaching is embellished by fresh ideas rather than weakened unduly by variations in method. Parents are rightly pleased with this good and improving situation. Children who find learning difficult feel proud of what they do and learn well as a result. Relationships are often excellent so children's interests are nurtured very well. Learning is particularly effective when, for example, lessons tap into children's interest in sustainable development and global affairs. Visitors often add excitement to proceedings and computers are used well to broaden the scope of investigation. Lessons have a clear purpose and this is shared with children. The quality of teaching is good at judging what level children have attained in their

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Grade: 2

work and the degree of progress being made, but children are not involved well enough in this process. This relative shortcoming limits children's involvement in lessons. This 3 Inspection Report: Sinnington Primary School, 25 January 2006 to 26 January 2006 applies in all subjects, but particularly in writing. Teaching does set targets for children, but these lack consistency and are sometimes not precise enough to help them evaluate their own success.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum ensures that children progress well in the development of basic skills. It also contains a wide range of additional activities that children find exciting: special events such as the 'The India Days' help children delve deeply into another culture. Some aspects of the curriculum are first-rate in the way that they have a profound resonance on children's personal development. As one child said about an arts project, 'I could jump up and down because I was so excited'. Enterprises like gardening teach children how to contribute at a local and international level. In doing so, they learn about safety, health, working together and managing a budget all in one go. The curriculum is a little overloaded. Planning in the past has been too ambitious; refinement and revision has not been undertaken. Consequently, learning in some subjects like geography is rushed and there is too little time for children to practise

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Grade: 2

Care and support are outstanding. Parents are consulted well and this enhances their children's progress. Care is superb and in return pupils contribute to school life enthusiastically. Those who experience difficulties in learning succeed partly due to the help received from the capable and well trained teaching assistants. The school provides very well for the health and safety of pupils; thorough risk assessments are conducted regularly. Child protection procedures are in place and all staff are trained to use them. Pupils know who to turn to for help and as a result feel safe. Teachers recognise where children are up to in their learning, but the guidance given about academic progress lacks consistency. There is a variety of good ideas being used throughout the school to inform children about what they need to do next, but these have not yet been moulded into a comprehensive system of guidance.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good and help children achieve well. The headteacher's leadership works very well on many levels: for example, teaching by example, leading from the front and marshalling the support of parents and the local community. All staff realise that they all feel involved and support each other very well because the headteacher is so hard working, helpful and enthusiastic. Moreover, parents and children admire what the school has to offer: this is a small rural school with a global perspective. Children feel valued; they talk about what they are learning as if they belonged to a big family. 4 Inspection Report: Sinnington Primary School, 25 January 2006 to 26 January 2006 Leadership responsibilities are undertaken well, but the real success of management results from collaborative teamwork. New members of staff are inducted smoothly and quickly get into their stride. Subject leaders, teachers and teaching assistants

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Grade: 2

acquire new skills and expertise and share these with colleagues in a beneficial way. Governors fulfil their responsibilities and know the school well. They are supportive, knowledgeable about school matters and informed well by their regular visits. The school understands its own strengths and weaknesses well: only in personal development and well-being does its own evaluation exceed that of the inspection. There is a well implemented programme to monitor the quality of teaching and learning. Children's attainment is recorded meticulously. However, how well they have done is not always recorded because so much is discussed informally. This method leaves the school without hard evidence about its successes: a gap in an otherwise thorough system of evaluation. 5 Inspection Report: Sinnington Primary School, 25 January 2006 to 26 January 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. 6 Inspection Report: Sinnington Primary School, 25 January 2006 to 26 January 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 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 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 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 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 1 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 2 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 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 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

Thank you for your help when I inspected your school. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit because everyone was so helpful and friendly. I would like to share with you what I thought. These are some of the things that I enjoyed: - the family feeling that exists throughout the school - the way that you have helped your new teachers to settle in - the good teaching and how you achieve well in lessons - the school gardens and the way that a group of gardeners talked about your projects - the way that you all repay the care shown to you by joining in with enthusiasm. I know everyone wants to do even better and I have suggested a couple of things that I think will help: - I would like your teachers to help you to make even quicker progress in your writing - I would like your teachers to look even closer at the progress you are making and involve you more in discussing how well you are doing and what still needs to be improved.

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