Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

Inspection Report Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

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121393 Unique Reference Number North Yorkshire LEA 281005 Inspection number 19 October 2005 to 20 October 2005 Inspection dates Mrs Linda Murphy 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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Main Street School address Primary Type of school Great Ouseburn Community School category York, North Yorkshire YO26 9RG 4 to 11 Age range of pupils

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01423 330 296 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01423 330 296 Fax number 79 Number on roll Mr C Newton Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr G Smith Headteacher 13 March 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281005 19 October 2005 - 4 to 11 20 October 2005 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

This is a small village primary school in an advantaged area to the north of York. About a quarter of the children attend from further afield, including children from Linton-upon-Ouse, Great Hammerton, Whixley and other neighbouring villages. The majority of children are of white British heritage; a minority are of Asian heritage. The proportions of children eligible for free school meals and those who are learning English as an additional language are low. The proportion with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is broadly average. The children's attainment on entry is usually above average but, due to the small numbers in year groups, varies year to year. Since the last inspection the number on roll has fallen but is now increasing; there have been some unavoidable disruptions to staffing; the limited accommodation has been improved to include a refurbished Foundation Stage and a computer suite.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Great Ouseburn Community Primary School, 19 October 2005 to 20 October 2005

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Grade: 3

The school provides a satisfactory education for its children. Although it understands its strengths and areas to develop, it overestimates, somewhat, its effectiveness. It provides satisfactory value for money. The main strengths are in the good quality of care and guidance given to the children. In response to this their personal development, including attendance, is good. Their behaviour and attitudes to school are outstanding. The school meets its aim to be a place where children can feel safe and happy and from which they can develop the foundations of skills and attitudes that are important in later life. Above all it develops young people who genuinely care for the world around them and for others. Standards are generally above average and the children make satisfactory progress. Disruptions to staffing has meant that over time the quality of teaching and learning has been satisfactory, although much is now good and some is outstanding. However,

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Grade: 3

there are weaknesses in the arrangements for assessment. The systems do not provide a clear overview of children's progress and consequently are not used well enough to set challenging targets. A satisfactory curriculum underpins the teaching. The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage are good and these children get a good deal. Leadership and management including governance are satisfactory. Although responsibilities are allocated to staff the subject leaders have yet to thoroughly monitor and promote high standards of achievement in their subjects. Statutory requirements are met other than in the cycle of performance management which has been interrupted through staff changes. The school has addressed the areas identified for improvement at the last inspection and it has the capacity to continue to improve.

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What the school should do to improve further

The school has already identified that in order to build on its strengths and improve standards it should: • set up a system to track the children's progress through the school so that more precise targets can be set • increase the role of subject leaders so that they have more influence on the children's achievement • ensure that statutory requirements are met in managing the performance of teachers.

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Grade: 3

As the groups of children taking the national tests each year are often very small, there is some variation in the school's results and, as such, these should be treated with caution. However, the school rightly evaluates children's achievement as satisfactory. Overall, from an above average level of attainment on entry to the school, the children make satisfactory progress. They usually reach above average levels by 2 Inspection Report: Great Ouseburn Community Primary School, 19 October 2005 to 20 October 2005 the end of Year 6 in English, mathematics and science. The school's results in the national tests in 2005 show that a good proportion of the children in Year 6 attained standards higher than usually expected for their age. Reasonable targets are set for children to achieve in the national tests and these are usually met. Children who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities, those with

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Grade: 3

particular gifts or talents and those learning English as an additional language achieve at the same rate as others. The skills of speaking and listening are well developed in the majority of children. Since the last inspection, standards in writing have improved because a new scheme has been introduced and is implemented from reception onwards. As a result, by the beginning of Year 1 most children neatly join their handwriting. By Year 6 handwriting is not as tidy or regular as it should be because the scheme has not worked its way through. However, the children can write extended pieces for a range of audiences. Standards have risen in information and communication technology (ICT) because of improved resources and planning.

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Grade: 2

The school's evaluation of this aspect of its work is correct. Children's personal development and well-being are good with some outstanding features. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good with particular strengths in the arrangements for their moral and social development. This leads to the children's exceptionally good behaviour, excellent attitudes to school and to a maturity beyond their years. The older children set a sparkling example to the younger ones and this enables the school community to thrive in a most positive and supportive way. These aspects, together with the good attendance and punctuality, set the children up well for their future. Children have great confidence; as one child commented 'I just love it here but can't wait to go to my secondary school. I know I will soon make friends.' The children gain a good sense of community through their school meetings that are

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Grade: 2

chaired by the children, the school's standing in the village and children's involvement in their local neighbourhood. The children are very aware of keeping safe and enjoying a healthy lifestyle.

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Grade: 3

The school accurately evaluates the quality of teaching and learning over time as satisfactory. This takes into account the many changes in teaching staff and the fact that on occasion the continuity in children's progress has been interrupted. The teaching and learning observed during the inspection indicates a stronger picture, with examples of some good and outstanding practice. Strengths are in the planning of lessons and the way the teaching caters for the wide range of needs in each class. 3 Inspection Report: Great Ouseburn Community Primary School, 19 October 2005 to 20 October 2005 Interesting and topical activities, together with effective support from teaching assistants, engages the children's interest and enjoyment in learning. The pace slows in Year 3 to Year 6 when the learning changes from whole class tasks to group tasks because time is not as well organised as at the beginnings of lessons. Neither is time

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Grade: 3

always used well enough to round off the teaching and whet children's appetite for the next lesson. The marking of children's work is skewed to praise rather than to diagnosing what they need to do next to improve. Speaking and listening are given high priority and effective support is given to children who are learning English as an additional language. The children's extremely positive attitudes to learning and their exemplary behaviour add much to the quality of their learning. Day-to-day assessment is satisfactory. The collation and use of the information is mostly the responsibility of individual staff. The school has not yet established a reliable system to provide a strategic overview of progress in English, mathematics and science and to identify where extra challenge can be set.

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Grade: 3

The broad and balanced curriculum meets statutory requirements. It has been refined to meet the needs of the mixed age group classes and also the limitations posed by the building. In the absence of a school hall good use is made of the village hall to teach physical education, and the school ensures that all children learn to swim as early as possible. Substantial improvements to the Foundation Stage accommodation impact well on the children's progress, and the regular use of the new suite for ICT has ensured that the full curriculum is regularly taught - an improvement since the last inspection. Links between subjects are emerging, including the use of ICT to aid learning. The format of curricular planning is inconsistent between classes. This makes it harder to monitor and provides insufficient guidance to new staff. The planning within the classes where teachers share the class is effective and much liaison takes

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Grade: 3

place to ensure a smooth transition in the children's learning. The curriculum is significantly enriched through work with the local community, including parents who provide a range of out of school activities. Children are taught the importance of healthy lifestyles and the value of working in a community for the good of all.

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Grade: 2

Children's health and safety is promoted well. Playtimes are enjoyable and energetic as children make really good use of a wide selection of games. These encourage children to share and work together very well. Good attention is paid to enjoying a healthy lifestyle. Arrangements for child protection are clear and follow the training and guidelines set down by the local authority. The children who have extra learning needs or disabilities including those who have a statement of special educational need receive good pastoral care. Close liaison between staff, and the help given to individuals, means that the children make satisfactory progress. However, the targets on the 4 Inspection Report: Great Ouseburn Community Primary School, 19 October 2005 to 20 October 2005 children's individual educational plans are inconsistent in quality and not always easily measured. The school has recently purchased material to address this weakness.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. Self-evaluation is mostly accurate although on occasion too generous. It is based upon monitoring and evaluation - an area identified for improvement at the last inspection. This informs the school improvement plan, which is of satisfactory quality, although responsibilities are not always clear enough and the success criteria insufficiently measurable. Priorities for improvement are well founded, yet the school is not always quick enough to take action. The headteacher has a large work load, including a significant teaching commitment, yet has not delegated enough responsibilities to other staff. As a result, whilst the school ensures each child's curricular entitlement is met it has not made time for subject leaders to act quickly upon the outcomes of monitoring, to make innovation in the curriculum and thus encourage flair in the teaching. Changes of staff

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Grade: 3

have also hindered the process. Each child is treated equally and the headteacher sets the tone for pastoral care and respect for the individual very well. The majority of parents and carers are supportive of the school. Children are set targets for improvement and these are clearly conveyed to children and parents. However, insufficient use is made of the tracking of children's learning in order to check thoroughly their progress over time. Governance is satisfactory. Strengths are in the governors' work in promoting the school's links with the community. The governing body fulfils most of its statutory duties although those for managing the performance of teachers have lapsed. The school has a deficit budget caused by changes to numbers on roll and is awaiting advice from the local authority on how to deal with this. The school has addressed the areas for improvement from the last inspection and has also improved the

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Grade: 3

accommodation and resources; it has the capacity to improve and provides satisfactory value for money. 5 Inspection Report: Great Ouseburn Community Primary School, 19 October 2005 to 20 October 2005 .

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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: Great Ouseburn Community Primary School, 19 October 2005 to 20 October 2005

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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 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 2 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 1 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 1 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 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 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 2 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

I really enjoyed my visit to your school. Thank you for being so friendly and for talking to me. The best things about your school are: - all the teachers and adults in the school care for you well - your school is a happy place where everybody is included - you have sparkling attitudes to your learning and your behaviour is excellent - your parents and carers are pleased that they chose this school for you. To help to make sure you always have the chance to do your very best I have asked your headteacher and teachers to do three main things, which are: - to check more closely on how well you are doing term by term - for all the teachers to take on responsibility to make sure the subjects are planned and taught well so that you can learn fast - to make sure that the teachers, like you, have targets for their work. You can help by always doing your best.

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