Thornton in Craven Community Primary School

Inspection Report Thornton in Craven Community Primary School

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121421 Unique Reference Number North Yorkshire LEA 281010 Inspection number 18 January 2006 to 19 January 2006 Inspection dates Mrs Rosemary Rodger 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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Cam Lane School address Primary Type of school Thornton-in-Craven Community School category Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 3SX 4 to 11 Age range of pupils

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01282 843381 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01282 841463 Fax number 60 Number on roll Mrs Sheila Jackson Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Karen Hawkins (Acting) Headteacher 11 December 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281010 18 January 2006 - 4 to 11 19 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 an additional inspector.

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Description of the school

This is a small, three class primary school providing education for boys and girls aged between 4 and 11 years. It is situated in an area of socio-economic advantage. On entry to the school pupils' attainment is slightly above that usually seen. No pupils come from minority ethnic groups or are eligible for a free school meal. A below average number of pupils have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The school has a healthy schools award and is part of a school centred initial teacher training (SCITT) group. At the time of the inspection the school had an acting headteacher.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Thornton in Craven Community Primary School, 18 January 2006 to 19 January 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school. The judgement matches the school's own evaluation of its effectiveness. Parents are justified in the confidence they have in the school and it is held in high esteem in the village. Pupils enjoy school and are keen to improve their work. Teaching is good and enables pupils to make good progress and leave school with high standards. Satisfactory teaching in the Foundation Stage helps children to settle into the routines, but the outdoor area is poorly matched to their needs. The wide age range in classes poses planning problems which are not always tackled successfully. The use of information and communication technology (ICT) to enrich teaching, learning and preparation is hampered by a lack of resources. The curriculum is good and effectively enriched by popular out of school clubs and events. Pupils' care, guidance and support are given a high priority so that pupils are safe in school.

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Grade: 2

The acting headteacher has successfully taken on the leadership role. She has acted quickly to rectify weaknesses and is well supported by a very committed governing body. Improvement since the last inspection has been hampered by staffing problems, but is now satisfactory. Under the present leadership, the school has a good capacity to move forward. Value for money is good.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Continue to improve to the quality of teaching and learning by ensuring more use of ICT and a closer match of work to the wide range of pupils. • Improve the outdoor provision in the Foundation Stage. • Make better use of targets so that pupils understand better what they need to do to improve.

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Grade: 2

Children start school with standards above those expected for their age. They enjoy school and make satisfactory progress and exceed the standards expected by the end of the Reception year. A strength of the school is the consistently well above average results in national tests at the end of Key Stage 1, although the higher attaining pupils have not always achieved so well. Results have been outstanding at the end of Key Stage 2 for the past three years, with especially high results for the more able pupils. The school exceeded its challenging targets last year. The school has successfully tackled the attainment of the more able pupils in Key Stage 1 with detailed analysis of test results and additional support for groups of pupils. As a result, the progress of the pupils in Key Stage 1 has accelerated and they are now exceeding expected levels. Pupils of all abilities make good progress in Key Stage 1 and 2 and standards are high.

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Grade: 2

Many of the pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress to reach levels expected for their age. 2 Inspection Report: Thornton in Craven Community Primary School, 18 January 2006 to 19 January 2006

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being are good. The above average attendance reflects the pupils' enjoyment of school and the after school clubs that have started recently. Attitudes and behaviour are consistently good. Pupils listen and concentrate well in lessons. Behaviour in lessons and around school is good. Pupils will not tolerate bullying and older ones take good responsibility for ensuring that this does not take place. Pupils' views are sought and have been acted upon by, for example, providing a friendship base in the playground and improving the outdoor environment to provide an area for games. The school council is effective and makes things happen. Pupils feel safe due to the care and concern shown by adults. They like the healthy school dinners. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils is good. The school has a climate in which all pupils can grow and flourish, respect others and be

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Grade: 2

respected. A daily act of collective worship and planned lessons promote personal and social development well. Pupils are encouraged to take responsibility, for example, deciding which charity to support each year.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory and improving. The strengths of teaching and learning are: the diligent marking of pupils' work, especially in the mixed age Year 1 and 2 classes; the good match of work in the class of younger pupils to meet the wide age range in the class; the challenging questioning in Years 5 and 6 and effective recall of previous learning. There are good opportunities provided for pupils to take responsibility for their learning. Areas for development include: too little use of ICT to support planning and teaching and learning and sometimes work does not match the wide age range in each class. Assessment procedures have improved in recent months and are now good. The analysis of test data has been used to identify underachieving groups of pupils who receive additional support and to give challenging targets to more able pupils, as well as targeted support for pupils with learning

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Grade: 3

difficulties and/or disabilities. Teaching and learning in the Foundation Stage are satisfactory with good features. The effective use of support staff ensures the youngest children choose what they want to do and have carefully planned play activities as well as well targeted group work to acquire basic literacy and numeracy skills. An outdoor area is available, but is inadequately resourced, for example, there is no equipment for physical development and the space is very small.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good and meets statutory requirements. A high priority is given to promoting the basic skills of literacy and numeracy. Changes to the ICT systems in 3 Inspection Report: Thornton in Craven Community Primary School, 18 January 2006 to 19 January 2006 school mean there is limited provision for ICT in some classes. This is soon to be rectified. The curriculum is carefully planned to avoid overlap of content for pupils. Visits and visitors enrich the curriculum very well. Pupils enjoy a wide range of outings, especially the residential visits and weekly trips to a nearby centre for physical education. They enjoy the recently introduced out of school clubs, such as the guitar club. Pupils make a good contribution to the local community through the concerts and carol service in the village. The Foundation Stage curriculum covers all the required areas for learning, but the outside area needs to be more purposeful and exciting.

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Grade: 2

The school takes good care of its pupils in a calm and supportive atmosphere. Staff are fully committed to pupils' welfare and to helping them develop healthy lifestyles. Child protection procedures are well established and understood by all staff. Risk assessments are thorough and safety hazards have been attended to. Arrangements to safeguard vulnerable pupils are regularly reviewed. Parents are very happy with the care, guidance and support their children receive. Children settle quickly as they start the school because of the caring and friendly welcome they receive. Pupils have books in which they record their progress in literacy and numeracy on a regular basis. Some pupils are unclear about the purpose of the targets provided in their books and how they can help them to improve their work. The support for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is good.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The acting headteacher has established a clear direction for the school's development in a supportive and caring manner. Equality of opportunity is strongly promoted and the management of the needs of all pupils is good. The school evaluation form and development plan provide a rigorous and accurate record of the strengths and strategies for promoting improvement. The views of pupils and parents are valued and included in the self-evaluation. Actions to raise standards and achievement demonstrate a good capacity for the school to move forward. Parents speak very favourably of the impact made by the headteacher since her very recent temporary appointment. Provision in the Foundation Stage has improved and is now satisfactory, as a result of intervention and support by the local authority, visits to schools and training for staff. Assessment data has been analysed. A potential shortfall

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Grade: 2

in the budget has been managed well through prudent actions of the headteacher with the support of the governing body. The recently appointed chair of the governing body has restructured it. Governors are highly committed to the school and use their expertise well to lead improvements, for example, through the purchase of additional land to provide a playing field. The school has a good capacity to improve under its current leadership following a period of considerable instability and staff changes. Value for money is good. 4 Inspection Report: Thornton in Craven Community Primary School, 18 January 2006 to 19 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. 5 Inspection Report: Thornton in Craven Community Primary School, 18 January 2006 to 19 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 3 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 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 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 welcoming me into your school. I had a great time and enjoyed watching your lessons and talking to you. I am writing to tell you what I found out when I inspected your school. What I liked about your school - You behave very well, concentrate and work hard in lessons. - You reach high standards in the literacy and numeracy tests you take each year. - You are very well looked after, eat healthily and take part in games and sports to keep fit. - The headteacher works hard to improve your school. - The governors are very clever to have worked to get the land to make a playing field for you. What needs to be improved - The outdoor area for the youngest children in school is not very exciting. - The computers and interactive whiteboards need to be working and used in your classes all the time. - You need to understand more clearly what you need to do to improve your work. I hope you continue to enjoy school, especially the new playing field that is being made for

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