Beeford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Inspection Report Beeford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

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117969 Unique Reference Number East Riding of Yorkshire Local Authority 290983 Inspection number 1 °2 February 2007 Inspection dates David Shearsmith 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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Main Street School address Primary Type of school Beeford, Driffield Voluntary controlled School category YO25 8AY 3 °11 Age range of pupils 01262 488444 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01262 488444 Fax number 69 Number on roll (school) Mrs Hilary Winterbottom Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Mark Sutcliffe Headteacher 1 September 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 290983 1 °2 February 2007 3°11 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. Inspection Report: Beeford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 1 °2 February 2007

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This small rural primary school takes pupils mainly from the local village as well as the surrounding area. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below average. The number of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is around average. The school roll is declining because of the falling birth rate. Classes are organised in mixed ages, containing two year groups in each class. The school has a Foundation Stage Unit which was very new at the time of the inspection. The headteacher joined the school in January 2006.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Beeford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 1 °2 February 2007

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Grade: 3

Beeford is a satisfactory school that is moving forward with renewed momentum under the purposeful leadership of the headteacher. Pupils are well cared for and their personal development is good. There is a calm, happy and welcoming atmosphere in school. Pupils develop good social skills, quickly grow in confidence and their sense of community prepares them well for life in the wider world. Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory overall. Children make good progress in the newly established Foundation Stage but this is not yet reflected in the standards at the end of Reception, which are below expectations. In 2006, standards were above average at the end of Year 2 but below average at the end of Year 6. Few of the pupils achieved the higher levels of attainment at the end of Key Stage 2, especially in writing. However, staffing difficulties affected the provision for the older Key Stage 2 pupils last year.

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Grade: 3

Progress is now satisfactory overall and good in Year 5/6 due to raised expectations and improvements in the quality of teaching. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall. They are good in the Foundation Stage and Year 5/6 because teachers have high expectations of what pupils should achieve. This is not always the case in other classes but teachers are increasingly using assessment information to set challenging tasks for all pupils. The pace of learning is therefore increasing. Recent improvements have been introduced in the marking of work and providing feedback to pupils. This has been a positive development and pupils are now clear on what they need to do next in order to improve. There are good relationships between teachers and pupils. Skilled teaching assistants contribute well to the learning, particularly when working with small groups of pupils or those who have learning difficulties and disabilities.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory with a good range of enrichment activities. Planning caters appropriately for the mixed age classes and provides a good emphasis on personal and social development, which ensures that pupils understand how to stay safe and maintain a healthy lifestyle. However, the time allocated to the curriculum in Years 3 to 6 is below that recommended nationally. Recently developed systems to track pupils’ progress are being used well to identify strengths and weaknesses in the quality of teaching and learning. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher has systematically set in place many new initiatives that are beginning to have a positive impact on the pupils’ progress. Subject leaders are becoming increasingly effective as they take a more prominent role in checking the school’s performance. Some initial improvements are evident but the full impact, in terms of promoting consistently good achievement

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Grade: 3

across all classes, has yet to become embedded in practice. There are good links with parents and they are pleased with the improvements so far. Overall, improvement since the last inspection is satisfactory but the capacity of the new leadership team to take the school forward at a faster pace, is good. 2 Inspection Report: Beeford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 1 °2 February 2007

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that the teaching provides challenge for all groups of pupils, especially for the higher attaining pupils in Key Stage 2. • Increase the length of curriculum time for Years 3 to 6. • Consolidate the initiatives that are already developing well to achieve consistently good practice throughout the whole school.

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Grade: 3

It is unreliable to judge progress in raising standards by comparing national test results year by year due to the very small numbers in each cohort. One pupil can make a significant difference to the statistics. Judgements on achievement are based on the starting points of individual pupils. Achievement is satisfactory overall. It is good in the Foundation Stage and Year 5/6. There is no significant difference between the achievement of boys and girls. Children enter the Foundation Stage with skills that are below those normally expected for their age. They make good progress but this is not yet reflected in the standards achieved overall by the end of Reception, which are still below expectations. However, children make very good progress in personal, social and emotional skills due to the particularly effective learning environment in the newly created Foundation Stage Unit. Pupils make satisfactory progress through the infants and standards are average by

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Grade: 3

the end of Key Stage 1. In 2006, standards were above average at the end of Year 2 with all pupils achieving the nationally expected levels in reading, writing and mathematics. This represented satisfactory achievement for that particular cohort of pupils. Pupils make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 2 and achieve appropriately by the end of the Key Stage. Although standards were below average in the national tests for 11 year olds in 2006, staffing difficulties had affected the outcomes for Year 6 pupils. Progress made by pupils currently in Year 5/6 this year is good. More able pupils did not achieve well in the national tests in 2006, especially in writing. There are signs of improvement but this remains a priority for the school this year. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make satisfactory progress.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and well-being are good. Pupils are friendly, polite and well behaved. Pupils are calm and contribute to the happy and welcoming atmosphere in school. It is clear that they enjoy their work. Attendance is average. Pupils say they feel safe and secure. They know about healthy living and the importance of taking exercise, talking enthusiastically about planned developments in the playground and their involvement in the different sporting activities that they take part in. They play a full part in the life of the school. Members of the school council make suggestions 3 Inspection Report: Beeford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 1 °2 February 2007 for improvements that are then taken forward and lead to changes at the school; for example, in the purchase of litter bins for the school playground. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils is good. They respond

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Grade: 2

well to the opportunities provided for them to reflect during acts of worship and they demonstrate a strong awareness of the spiritual aspect of life. Pupils develop good social skills and have a good understanding of the differences between right and wrong. They know about, and respect different faiths and cultures. Through the school council, pupils learn how to manage responsibility and make decisions. Most children quickly grow in confidence. Their sense of community and their acquisition of basic skills prepare them well for life in the wider world.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall. They are good in the newly established Foundation Stage and in Year 5/6. Children in the Foundation Stage develop a sense of curiosity and the ability to work independently because teaching provides a good balance between work that is directed by the teacher and that which children explore for themselves. Good working relationships are fostered in all classes, which encourage pupils to work hard. Teachers make good use of the interactive whiteboards to promote learning; for example, in mathematics. In the best lessons, there are high expectations of what pupils should achieve and teachers provide the support to enable children to reach these. Although expectations are not consistently high in all classes, the school is aware of this and teachers are increasingly making better use of assessment information to set challenging tasks for all pupils. Consequently, the pace of learning

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Grade: 3

is increasing and the overall quality of teaching at the school is improving. Marking and feedback to pupils has improved recently and pupils know what they need to do to improve. Skilled teaching assistants contribute well in supporting learning, particularly when working with small groups of pupils or those who have learning difficulties and disabilities.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. An interesting range of activities promote good progress and independent learning for children in the Foundation Stage. The new learning environment is used well to promote the children’s learning. Curriculum planning caters appropriately for pupils of different ages taught in the same class. Care is taken to build a programme to cover the content of different subjects over a two year cycle to ensure that all children experience a broad curriculum, which builds upon their previous learning. However, there is insufficient time allocated to Years 3 to 6 because the teaching week falls short of the national recommendations. 4 Inspection Report: Beeford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 1 °2 February 2007 After school clubs are popular and offer a wide range of activities to meet pupils’ interests. Older pupils in the school are taught French once a week through partnership

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Grade: 3

with a local school. Provision for science is satisfactory and has improved since the last inspection. The school gives appropriate opportunities for pupils to investigate and solve problems. This has improved since the last inspection. Provision for information and communication technology (ICT) is now satisfactory and improving rapidly with pupils using laptops effectively in lessons.

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Grade: 2

This is a good feature of the school. The school successfully cares for pupils and supports their personal development and well-being effectively. Relationships within school and with parents are good and the behaviour management programme, based on encouraging good behaviour and attitudes works well. Safeguarding and child protection procedures are securely in place. Academic support has developed rapidly in recent months and the procedures are good for checking how well learn. Teachers are now setting challenging targets for pupils, which are shared and discussed along with ideas on how they might improve. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are identified quickly and set appropriate targets for their improvement.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. In the short time the headteacher has been at the school, there has been rapid improvement with the implementation of clear and systematic initiatives that are beginning to have a positive impact on raising achievement and accelerating pupils’ progress. The school has a good understanding of its strengths and areas for development and has an accurate picture of its overall effectiveness. Staff have risen to the challenges of an improving school. Subject leaders are becoming increasingly effective as they take a more prominent role in checking and improving the school’s performance. However, most of the evaluation of performance data is still done by the headteacher. Some initial improvements are evident but the full impact, in terms of promoting consistently good achievement across all classes, has yet to become embedded in practice. Governance is satisfactory.

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Grade: 3

Governors are aware of their responsibilities; they are supportive and are beginning to play a more informed and challenging role. Overall, there has been satisfactory improvement since the last inspection but the capacity of the new leadership team to take the school forward at a faster pace is good. 5 Inspection Report: Beeford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 1 °2 February 2007 .

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Grade: 3

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Beeford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 1 °2 February 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? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 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

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 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?

2 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. 7 Inspection Report: Beeford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 1 °2 February 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? 8 Inspection Report: Beeford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 1 °2 February 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Beeford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Main Street Beeford Driffield YO25 8AY 1 February 2007 Dear Children Thank you for welcoming me to your school and for showing me your work. You were very polite and friendly. Your school is providing a satisfactory education but it is improving all the time. There are good things in you school but also some things that could be even better. The best things about your school are: • the new Foundation unit has made a big difference and the children here quickly learn new things • you behave well and are keen to take responsibility • teachers make learning fun and provide lots of interesting things for you to do in and out of lessons • all adults in school are very kind and caring and they look after you well • your headteacher has made a good start to improving the school and understands what needs to be done next. So what could be better? • All of you need to do as well as you can.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• The time you spend learning in Years 3 to 6 needs to be longer. • All the new things that are happening in school need time to work so that all of you benefit all of the time. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to you about your work and watching you learn and I wish you all well for the future. I hope you continue to help your teachers by working hard and trying your best. Yours sincerely D Shearsmith (Lead inspector) 9 Inspection Report: Beeford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 1 °2 February 2007

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