Nafferton Primary School

Nafferton Primary School Inspection report

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117858 Unique Reference Number East Riding of Yorkshire Local Authority 290948 Inspection number 28 June 2007 Inspection date Carole Cressey Reporting inspector

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

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Primary Type of school Community School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 248 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Stuart Lister Chair Mr Michael Goy Headteacher 1 March 2003 Date of previous school inspection Westgate School address Nafferton Driffield YO25 4LJ

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01377 254307 Telephone number 01377 254307 Fax number

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4 °11 Age group 28 June 2007 Inspection date 290948 Inspection number .

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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

Most children come from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below average as is that of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. When children start school in the Foundation Stage their standards are below those typical for children of this age.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Nafferton Primary School, 28 June 2007

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Grade: 1

‘There is a lovely nurturing attitude at the school - they have good innovative ideas and know how to make learning fun and enjoyable. My children have thrived at the school both educationally and holistically - we could not have asked for more.’ This comment from one of the parents reflects those of the majority and is also the judgement of the inspection. The school judges its effectiveness as good. Its evaluation is too modest. It is an outstanding school. The school’s success is a result of the long-serving headteacher’s strongly held belief that pupils are more effective learners and able to take their place in the twenty-first century if they are provided with a boundless range of rich and exciting learning experiences, both inside school and outdoors in the community. The school overflows with evidence to show just how successful this approach is. Classrooms and shared areas are awash with examples of

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Grade: 1

exceptionally high quality work in art, music, sport, dance and drama. The high standard of pupils’ basic skills is self-evident in their topic work, whether it has a science, history, geography, personal development or other focus. It is also reflected in the very high standards pupils consistently achieve. Children enter the Reception class with attainment which is just below average. Pupils work very hard throughout their time in school and leave in Year 6 with standards which are consistently and significantly above average. Learning in this school, including the Foundation Stage, is exciting and great fun. Whether pupils are in lessons, on visits to extend their thinking, or enjoying recreational time they are engaged in exceptionally well-resourced activities which continually challenge them. From first thing in the morning to well after the end of the school day, well-behaved, confident and highly motivated pupils can be found working with each other, their teachers, and visitors

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Grade: 1

in this most exhilarating learning environment. During a week when the topic and focus was ‘sport and activity’ pupils were immersed in a diverse range of learning experiences ranging from orienteering, salsa, designing a fresco, exploring the function of their hearts, composing and editing a report about the Greek Olympics and working out the median of a related set of data. It is no wonder that the standards these pupils achieve are among the highest in the country. Outstanding teaching and care, guidance and support, along with a very innovative curriculum ensures that each year the school successfully meets or exceeds the very challenging targets it sets for the pupils. Teachers meticulously plan the school day, individual lessons and out of school activities to develop pupils’ love of learning, their understanding of how they can stay healthy, keep themselves and others safe and become responsible members of their school and local

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Grade: 1

community. The school sees these skills as being paramount to pupils becoming successful young citizens. Assessment and recording systems provide teachers and senior managers with a detailed picture of what needs to be done to accelerate learning and ensure pupils reach the highest standards they can. Parents are very supportive of their children’s education. They value how well teachers know their children and how they promote a love of learning, good behaviour and respect for themselves and others, which they say prepares them so well for secondary school. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Nafferton Primary School, 28 June 2007 The school has made excellent progress since the previous inspection; it gives excellent value for money and is exceptionally well placed to continue to be very successful.

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What the school should do to improve further

• There are no significant areas for development.

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Grade: 1

Standards are significantly above average. Pupils achieve exceptionally well because teaching is consistently of a very high quality throughout the school. Children’s attainment when they first enter the school is usually below that typical for their age. Once they are immersed in the exciting learning environment in the Reception class they make rapid progress and, by the time they move into Year 1, the majority are working at the expected levels for their ages. Pupils continue to achieve well in Years 1 and 2 and standards in 2006 were above average. Standards in the present Year 2 are even higher because targeted teaching to address weaknesses in boys’ reading has been very successful. Pupils continue to work very hard in Key Stage 2 and national test results show standards at the end of Year 6 being significantly above average for the last five years. The school’s own data indicate that standards in the present Year 6 are similar to

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Grade: 1

other years when the majority of pupils reached the expected level in English, mathematics and science with at least 50% achieving the higher levels. The attainment of boys is rising and moving closer to that of the girls. This is because the school has adopted different teaching styles and resources which capture the interests of boys. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make excellent progress and often reach and exceed the expected standards for their ages.

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Grade: 1

Personal development, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is outstanding. Pupils are exceptionally polite, friendly and well behaved because they realise this makes living in a community so much easier. They are regular attenders, show considerable enthusiasm in their lessons and are always eager to share ideas, explain a difficult task to their classmates or collaborate on a special project. The school councillors look forward to their regular ‘working lunches’ with their headteacher whom they hold in very high regard. As one pupil said ‘he helps us to make things happen’. They make a real contribution to the life of their community by inviting villagers into school to talk about how they can improve their environment. A travel plan has been prepared by the pupils and is being implemented by the parents, school and local community, all working together with the pupils and staff. Pupils show considerable pride and

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Grade: 1

self-respect and, through first-hand experiences of other cultures and faiths, they are learning to respect people different from themselves. Being healthy and safe in this school means joining in an early morning ‘wake and shake’; learning a sport such as judo; becoming proficient cyclists and careful pedestrians; choosing healthy options at lunchtime and learning in science how their bodies work and what they need to do to be effective. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Nafferton Primary School, 28 June 2007

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Grade: 1

Teaching is outstanding and enables pupils to reach the highest standards they can. Different teaching styles and resources have been used to successfully accelerate the progress of boys. Classrooms, corridors, shared areas and outdoor facilities create an ‘Aladdin’s cave’ for pupils to explore. Comfortable settees entice pupils to pick up a book and snuggle down to a good read. Displays remind pupils of what they need to do to be successful readers, writers and mathematicians. Learning is never boring in this school; pupils have always to be on their toes, because at any moment the teacher will bring in a new dimension which enriches and deepens learning. For example, an already highly challenging English lesson on improving a piece of report writing suddenly became a foreign language lesson as the teacher conversed with her pupils in French. Well-matched and challenging first-hand tasks and experiences bring relevance

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Grade: 1

and enjoyment to learning and staff are always on hand to extend pupils’ knowledge and understanding. Teaching assistants are highly skilled and work very effectively to raise standards for pupils of all abilities. Teachers use information from day-to-day assessments and tests to pinpoint each pupil’s progress and carefully identify the next steps in learning. The marking of pupils’ work is excellent and is very precise in helping pupils to improve.

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Grade: 1

The outstanding curriculum is vibrant, varied and extremely well suited to the needs of pupils. The excellent emphasis on teaching the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) through well planned exciting topics has been successful in enabling pupils to reach the highest standards they can. In addition, the programme for learning outdoors provides pupils with the opportunity to develop a very positive attitude to challenge and adventure. An excellent programme of social and health education permeates all lessons and activities and provides the pupils with the necessary tools to develop personal safety, care and healthy living. A wealth of opportunities is available for pupils to become enthusiastic team players and creative individuals. Out-of-school clubs, visits and visitors to school abound, enriching pupils’ learning and personal skills. This innovative curriculum is highly successful in

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Grade: 1

equipping pupils exceptionally well for their future role in society and promoting their economic well-being.

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Grade: 1

The school’s outstanding level of care, guidance and support enables all pupils to be highly successful learners. Effective procedures are in place for safeguarding pupils’ welfare, health and safety. The school provides excellent support for pupils who learn at different rates or who are timid, shy or unsure. For example, the ‘Circle of Friends’ provides a forum for pupils to share their fears and anxieties about being away from home as they embark on their first residential trip. The needs of pupils with complex disabilities and/or learning difficulties are meticulously met. Highly skilled support staff, along with outside agencies, provides very high quality support for these pupils and, as a result, they make rapid progress and often exceed the expected 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Nafferton Primary School, 28 June 2007 standards for their ages. ‘Digital learning’ provides high levels of challenge for very high

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Grade: 1

achieving pupils. They learn to solve very difficult problems using a computer link with a teacher in another part of the county. Rigorous assessment systems track progress and ensure that all pupils receive the right level of guidance and support to reach the challenging targets set for them.

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Grade: 1

This forward thinking headteacher leads and manages the school with an outstanding vision, resulting in excellence in all aspects of its work. This is central to the school’s success in ensuring that standards remain high and all pupils achieve as well as they can and learn to be caring and confident individuals. The headteacher is exceptionally well supported by an excellent deputy headteacher, very effective subject managers and a supportive and challenging governing body. The leadership team monitors lessons very rigorously. This ensures consistently high quality teaching in all classes and subjects and is crucial in ensuring that all pupils achieve as well as they can. This highly motivated leadership team never rests on its laurels. An area identified in need of improvement immediately galvanises the team into action. Innovative initiatives are put in place, such as the outdoor and accelerated learning projects, which are so successful in

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Grade: 1

improving standards further and narrowing the gap between the attainment of boys and girls. The school’s leadership works with a wide range of agencies both local and national to ensure the school is at the forefront of any initiatives which will further improve the provision for its pupils. The vast majority of parents’ confidence in the leadership and management of the school is rightly placed. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Nafferton Primary School, 28 June 2007 .

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Grade: 1

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Nafferton Primary School, 28 June 2007

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Inspection judgements

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

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 1 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Nafferton Primary School, 28 June 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Nafferton Primary School, 28 June 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

1 July 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Nafferton Primary School, Driffield, YO25 2LA. Thank you so much for being so friendly and welcoming when I visited your school a short while ago. These are the important things I liked about your school. • It was so good to see how very well behaved you are and how much you enjoy learning both indoors and outdoors and when you visit all the very interesting places your teachers plan for you • I could see by the work in your books and displays around the school that you are all doing well in reading, writing, mathematics and science. Your work in other subjects is also very good but I especially liked your work in art, music, and dance. Special topics and projects are really helping you to reach high standards in all of your work • The work of the school council is excellent. I so enjoyed our working lunch together and I do hope your travel plan is successful • You know the importance of eating sensible food and taking lots of exercise. Do keep that

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

up because it is so important to staying healthy and happy. Wake and shake, judo and salsa, as well as all the other sports you take part in are such fun ways to stay healthy. You go to an excellent school. Do remember to always work really hard and learn lots and lots of new and exciting things. I hope you will continue to enjoy school as much as you do now and that it will help you to become happy and successful adults. Yours sincerely Carole Cressey Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Nafferton Primary School, 28 June 2007

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