Wold Newton Foundation School

Wold Newton Foundation School Inspection report

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118120 Unique Reference Number East Riding of Yorkshire Local Authority 291031 Inspection number 20 °21 March 2007 Inspection dates Honoree Gordon HMI 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 Foundation School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 142 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Charles Burdass Chair Mrs Jane Bellamy Headteacher 1 December 2005 Date of previous school inspection Wold Newton School address Driffield East Yorkshire YO25 3YJ

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01262 470633 Telephone number 01262 470761 Fax number

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3 °11 Age group 20 °21 March 2007 Inspection dates 291031 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 one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Wold Newton is a smaller than average sized rural infant and primary school with 142 pupils on roll. Pupils come mainly from the surrounding villages and farms as well as the village of Wold Newton itself. Most pupils join the school at Nursery age and the intake ability level is average to above average. However, the school is remote and the background of some pupils can, therefore, be rather isolated. The school has been awarded the Healthy School standard.

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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: Wold Newton Foundation School, 20 °21 March 2007

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Grade: 2

Wold Newton is a good school. Pupils make good progress and usually reach above average standards. The school has come a long way in recent years and has improved significantly since the last inspection. It gives good value for money. In 2006 it featured in the best 100 schools nationally for the value it adds in how quickly pupils make progress. It is now a place where pupils thrive. This is due to the outstanding leadership of the headteacher, supported by a keen team of middle managers and a dedicated and enthusiastic staff. The curriculum is interesting and relevant to the pupils’ needs and the teaching is good. Systems for assessment are particularly strong. Pupils are well cared for and their personal development is good. They have a growing voice in how decisions are made which affect them, but could contribute still further. Pupils’ behaviour is excellent. Despite a period of discontinuity of staffing, the

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Grade: 2

Foundation Stage is satisfactory. However, the planning and the systems for tracking pupils’ progress at this stage are not as effective as elsewhere in the school. As a result, in these mixed-age classes there is insufficient challenge for some of the older pupils and so progress is not as secure as in the other key stages. The school is situated in an attractive village setting, with good play areas, but some parts of the accommodation, such as the roof, are not in good repair or are cramped.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve the planning and monitoring in the Foundation Stage so that greater challenge is offered to pupils, enabling them to make faster progress. • Listen further to pupils’ views on how to improve the school.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good. Standards at the end of Year 6 fluctuate widely because the number of pupils is small and the proportion with learning difficulties and/or disabilities varies. These factors can have a significant effect from one year to another on overall performance data. However, pupils make good progress, and by Year 6 both boys and girls reach similar standards. Children join the Foundation Stage with attainment that is usually above what is typically found. They make satisfactory progress. Nearly all of them reach the goals set for their learning and a number exceed them. In the national tests in 2006, Year 2 pupils did not reach the national average because of the high proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities in this group. However, pupils in the current Year 2 are making good progress towards their targets. School data and inspection evidence indicate that they are on course to reach the

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Grade: 2

national average in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of the year. Results in the 2006 national tests in Year 6 were well above average in English, mathematics and science. The school exceeded its challenging targets, because so many pupils reached the higher level in the tests and had made exceptionally good progress from Year 2. Pupils in the current Year 6, which has a high number of pupils with learning difficulties, are not all expected to achieve or exceed the expected level in this year’s national tests. Nevertheless, given their starting points, these pupils are achieving well. Progress from their test results in Year 2 has been good, and particularly so in mathematics. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress because their needs are identified early and they are well supported to reach their targets. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Wold Newton Foundation School, 20 °21 March 2007

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. Pupils love learning and are excited by new challenges, so that time in lessons is always used well. They relish the opportunities provided to make a contribution to helping the school run smoothly. Older pupils act as excellent role models for younger pupils, who are delighted to have them as play leaders, ‘because they make up lovely games’. Behaviour is excellent; the calm, purposeful atmosphere around the school comes from pupils’ consideration for each other and their respect for everyone’s right to learn. Pupils feel safe and secure and so are able to learn well in a happy, relaxed environment. Attendance is satisfactory; it has improved, so that the attendance of the vast majority reflects how much they enjoy school. Pupils are adopting healthy lifestyles and are keen to eat sensibly and take plenty of exercise,

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Grade: 2

as the uptake of after-school clubs and a successful sporting record shows. The school council has taken a lead in raising funds to provide games and toys for playtimes and these are much appreciated by pupils of all ages. Pupils are pleased to have a say in how their school might be improved and are learning to be responsible citizens through their increasing involvement in decision-making, but they still have a number of aspects of school life on which they want to air their views. Pupils develop a good range of personal and academic skills which they are able to apply to new learning situations. This prepares them well for the future.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. Lessons are carefully planned so that they meet the needs of the different groups of pupils and of individuals in each class, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, who receive extra support from assistants. Tasks are usually varied to suit the different groups. Lessons move on at a good pace and teachers are highly skilled at keeping the pupils motivated and interested. As a result, learning is good. Teachers use information and communications technology (ICT) very effectively to make their teaching points clear, as for example, in a design technology lesson where very young pupils could see how a 3-dimensional model of their shape was being built up on the screen. Similarly, in an investigative science lesson for older pupils, where they could suggest what was happening and why as the temperature graph moved before their eyes. What is most striking about the

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Grade: 2

lessons is how pupils are being encouraged to be independent learners, to think for themselves and to take responsibility. This fosters positive attitudes to learning and excellent behaviour. Lessons give plenty of opportunity for the development of social skills, such as working together cooperatively, and for pupils to express opinion. Pupils receive regular feedback on progress towards their targets and are always very clear about what they are learning and why.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is broad and balanced and it meets pupils’ needs well. Provision for extra-curricular sport is a strength, and the arts provision is growing fast. Opportunities for indoor physical education are restricted by the low ceiling height in the hall area. Increasingly, links are being developed across subjects so that learning has real meaning. There is a good 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Wold Newton Foundation School, 20 °21 March 2007 emphasis on the structured development of literacy and numeracy skills. The provision for ICT is good and has improved considerably, with other subjects contributing to how skills are being developed. The curriculum is enhanced well by visits out of school and a residential opportunity, and by visitors, including talks about aspects of keeping healthy and safe. Many activities are planned with the aim of introducing pupils to the world beyond their immediate environment,

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Grade: 2

a key priority for the school in helping to prepare pupils for the next stage in their lives. Specific provision, such as online tuition, is made for gifted and talented pupils and small group support helps pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities to access the full curriculum.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. Parents say that their children are very well cared for and inspectors agree. Teachers know their pupils very well and are alert to any changes that may need extra support or encouragement. Safeguarding, child protection and health and safety procedures are in place, understood and followed by staff. Pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities are well cared for. Teachers quickly spot any weaknesses in learning and provide intervention and support to help overcome these. Careful planning and attention to detail in tracking the progress of these and other vulnerable pupils enables them to enjoy the same level of success in their learning as their peers. Because of this, they develop the same good levels of confidence and self-esteem as other pupils. The school’s determination to remove barriers to learning is evident in the swift response to needs.

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Grade: 2

Links with external specialist agencies are very good. Support is arranged quickly so that pupils’ learning does not falter. The school’s systems for assessing, recording and tracking pupils’ learning are excellent. Parents recognise the impact that this is having on their children’s learning. One spoke for many when she said, ‘My children are supported, encouraged and nurtured in an exemplary fashion’. However, the data on pupils’ learning in the Foundation Stage is not used effectively enough to inform lesson planning and to determine priorities for future learning. Elsewhere in the school, the systems are straightforward, comprehensive and involve teachers, teaching assistants, pupils and their parents in knowing, understanding and working towards individual targets. Teachers make very good use of the feedback that pupils give them about their learning. They alter planning so that pupils are always appropriately supported or challenged and know what

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Grade: 2

they need to do to improve to reach the next target. Rising standards and improved progress are the result of teachers’ better understanding of the learning needs of their pupils.

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Grade: 1

The leadership and management of the school are outstanding. The school is highly self-evaluative; it knows where it is doing well and where it could do better. For example, it has accurately identified that it is time to review the work of the Foundation Stage. Lessons are closely monitored and there is a rolling programme which evaluates areas of work or the impact of new initiatives. This informs the school’s priorities and the planning for how subjects will be delivered. It is from this process that the outstanding assessment system has grown. The headteacher’s quiet but determined leadership is highly effective: she has fostered a model of ‘distributed leadership’ whereby middle managers have successfully taken on responsibility 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Wold Newton Foundation School, 20 °21 March 2007 for aspects of the school’s work, such as the management of subjects across the school. Considerable time and effort have gone into improving the quality of teaching, but also to

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Grade: 1

strengthening the governance of the school. The result is a cohesive team and an enthusiastic school. This has led to a rapid improvement in pupils’ achievement. Pupils enjoy school. They comment on how their lessons are fun now and their parents are full of praise for the school’s work. The school has high capacity to improve further. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Wold Newton Foundation School, 20 °21 March 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: Wold Newton Foundation School, 20 °21 March 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? 3 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

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 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 1 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 1 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Wold Newton Foundation School, 20 °21 March 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: Wold Newton Foundation School, 20 °21 March 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Wold Newton Driffield East Yorkshire YO25 3YJ 22 March 2007 Dear Children I am writing to thank you for all your help when we came to inspect your school recently and to tell you what we think about your school. • You are making good progress and you mostly reach the standards we expect by the time you leave the school. Some of you get really good results! • You try hard in class and your behaviour is excellent. • You told us your lessons are good and often fun. We agree with you. • All the people who work in the school take good care of you. • There are lots of interesting things for you to do, especially all the different sports, which you told us you liked. • Your system of task cards and targets is great; you know how you are doing and how to get better. • Your headteacher is super and she has a lot of very good staff to help her. She has made a big difference to your school. We think your school has really improved. This is because all your teachers have worked so hard

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

to make the lessons really interesting for you and have managed to get you all involved in thinking for yourself about how much you are learning. We have given some ideas to Mrs Bellamy for what she could look at next to make the school even better: • concentrate on the very little ones to check how they are doing • keep talking and listening to you, because I know you have lots of things you want to say about your school. You have all worked really hard. Your parents are right when they say that your school is so much better than it used to be! Well done to you all! Remember to keep trying your best. Yours sincerely H Gordon Her Majesty’s Inspector of schools 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Wold Newton Foundation School, 20 °21 March 2007

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