Selby, Longman's Hill Community Primary SchoolOfsted inspection, 7 Dec 2006

Inspection Report Selby, Longman's Hill Community Primary School

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121460 Unique Reference Number North Yorkshire Local Authority 292123 Inspection number 6 °7 December 2006 Inspection dates Lesley Clark 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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Myrtle Avenue School address Primary Type of school Brayton, Selby Community School category North Yorkshire YO8 9BG 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01757 706841 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0 Fax number 187 Number on roll (school) Greg Dowdy Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Jane Guy Headteacher 2 July 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 292123 6 °7 December 2006 4°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.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school serves a socially mixed housing estate in Brayton. Nearly half the pupils travel from elsewhere in Selby to attend this school because of its good reputation. This means that the school serves a very wide area, largely socio-economically disadvantaged. Numbers are increasing with the school's growing popularity. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is broadly average as is the number with statements of special educational need. A third of pupils are identified as vulnerable, which is far higher than usual. Two-thirds of the school's population are boys.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Selby, Longman's Hill Community Primary School, 6 °7 December 2006

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school where pupils agree that 'teachers are better than fantastic!' The school is too modest in its assessment of how good it is, illustrating its desire to be better still. While acknowledging that care, support and guidance are outstanding, it believes that everything else is either good or satisfactory because, 'there is always more to do'. The school has made outstanding progress since the last inspection and parents and staff say it has 'improved dramatically in the last three years'. Standards are high, especially in mathematics and science where three-quarters of pupils achieved the higher Level 5 in the most recent national tests and two-thirds are targeted to do so next year in English too. This is because of outstanding teaching. Parents say that, 'the staff must put in over 100% to achieve all they do with the children' and this is certainly true. Lessons are so interesting that older pupils are

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Grade: 1

reluctant to go out at break times because they want to finish what they are doing. Pupils learn exceptionally well because they concentrate, listen attentively and try hard to please their teachers. They know exactly what they have to do to improve their work and they are not frightened of failure because they understand that things can always be put right. Reading skills are comfortably above average but those in writing are closer to average. This is because children start learning to write too formally too soon and so by Year 2 some pupils are turned off writing and it takes outstanding teaching to switch them back on again and start developing their written vocabulary. Foundation Stage provision is good and, from a below average starting point, children do well in the Reception and pre-Reception class, gaining the skills to help them turn into purposeful learners with enquiring minds, so evident by the time they reach Years

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Grade: 1

5 and 6. Achievement overall, therefore, is outstanding. Pupils' personal development is outstanding and ensures their academic success as they are equipped to help themselves to improve. Behaviour is exemplary and attendance above average, a reflection of how much pupils enjoy school and all it has to offer. Every child is known and pupils are well aware they matter. They have a say in what goes on at school and adults listen to them and take action. Outstanding care, support and guidance ensure extremely good progress for all, including those who are vulnerable or those who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Pupils particularly value the fact that the school celebrates their achievements both in and outside school and this clearly raises their self-esteem and sense of personal responsibility. The school is led, managed and governed outstandingly well. The school's success derives from accurate assessment of what needs doing, followed by immediate and

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Grade: 1

effective action with everyone playing their part to get high standards and to provide top quality teaching. It has a flexible approach which means that it can address new demands and changes to ensure continuing improvement. Only the best will do in the school's drive to help pupils 'to discover and recognise their own strengths and limitations and set their goals accordingly'. The senior leaders are currently focusing attention on the curriculum which is good with outstanding provision for information 2 Inspection Report: Selby, Longman's Hill Community Primary School, 6 °7 December 2006 and communication technology (ICT) because they want it to be even better. The school gives excellent value for money and has outstanding capacity to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Adopt less formal approaches to writing in the Early Years so that children become confident, independent writers by the end of Year 1.

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Grade: 1

Achievement is outstanding and boys and girls do equally well. From a below average starting point, with particular weaknesses in communication, language and literacy, children achieve well in the Reception class and outstandingly well by the end of Year 2 when standards are close to average. By the end of Year 6 standards are high in mathematics and science and usually above average in English, with reading generally stronger than writing. Results over the past three years show an upward trend, markedly so in the higher levels in mathematics and science. The school sets challenging targets which it met in English in 2006 and comfortably exceeded in mathematics and science. Targets for 2007 are ambitious and reflect the school's growing confidence in ensuring well over half its pupils exceed nationally expected levels.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding. They thoroughly enjoy their learning and this is reflected in their above average attendance. One pupil commented, 'Learning is fun here!' Behaviour is excellent as is pupils' cooperation with teachers and with one another. They feel safe and secure at school and trust adults to care for them and guide them. They also feel trusted themselves and are keen to take on responsibilities. One pupil summed up the feelings of many: 'We feel proper proud, because they trust us.' Pupils' influence in how their school is run is impressive and they talk excitedly about designing the school's website themselves and choosing rules for playtime. Pupils acquire high quality literacy, numeracy and ICT skills that will equip them well for later life and learning. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding and pupils are well aware of how

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Grade: 1

important it is to help others both in school and the wider community. They spoke enthusiastically about raising money for school equipment following the tsunami and were proud of 'running around the field' to get a new ambulance for a hospital in Tanzania. They understand the importance of staying fit and healthy and enjoy taking part in the many after school clubs. As they say to visitors, 'If you're not healthy, you won't be able to learn properly.' 3 Inspection Report: Selby, Longman's Hill Community Primary School, 6 °7 December 2006

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Grade: 1

Outstanding teaching ensures that pupils learn to the best of their ability. In the Reception class, children are prompted to learn through a mixture of taught and self-chosen activities. In all classes, teaching assistants are used extremely well to support the learning of those who have difficulties and also to help slower learners to catch up if there is an area they find hard to understand. Lessons are well paced, active and fun and so pupils are alert and responsive. Teachers understand how to motivate learning. In Year 6, for example, the teacher announced, 'We're building interesting words this morning, team' and as pupils grappled with prefixes such as 'graphic' they commented, 'Um, a little bit too interesting!' Lively pupils joked in return that the word 'imperfect' could be turned into 'I'm perfect!' Teachers have excellent subject knowledge and high aspirations for each pupil and so the more able are challenged

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Grade: 1

exceptionally well. Younger pupils are given an excellent grounding as they are taught to see patterns in numbers and so they have no inhibitions where large numbers are concerned. Learning is highly effective because pupils understand how to improve their work and they are not afraid to say when they find something hard to understand.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a broad, balanced and lively curriculum, well matched to pupils' different needs and capabilities. The Foundation Stage curriculum gives children good opportunities to learn through discovery and investigation both indoors and outdoors, but activities to foster early writing skills need further development. A good range of educational visits successfully enriches the curriculum. Pupils spoke enthusiastically about how they learnt 'to trust each other' and 'work as a team' on a recent residential visit. These opportunities bring their learning alive and develop their personal skills. The school provides a wide range of clubs, which are very popular with pupils of all ages and contribute well to their excellent personal development and positive attitudes. The French Club, for example, proudly performed their musical nativity play in French and pupils talk excitedly about coming into school early to update the school's website.

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Grade: 2

Such experiences, together with learning in personal, social and health education and the emphasis on staying safe and healthy, teach skills that contribute to their future economic well-being. Provision for ICT is outstanding and pupils develop high quality skills. The school is currently exploring creative links between subjects to further extend what it offers.

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Grade: 1

The school provides an outstanding level of care, guidance and support for its pupils. This is firmly reflected in its positive, caring ethos and pupils' excellent attitudes and 4 Inspection Report: Selby, Longman's Hill Community Primary School, 6 °7 December 2006 behaviour. Teachers know their pupils' needs very well and their progress is carefully monitored and tracked to ensure successful steps in their learning. Concerns about vulnerable pupils are followed up rapidly, with very effective liaison with external agencies when necessary. Child protection procedures and health and safety arrangements are fully in place to ensure all pupils' safety while in school. The school has worked hard to involve parents and carers, who overwhelmingly agree that pupils are well cared for and safe. Parents are proud of the school. Pupils say that they can talk to trusted adults if there is a problem and Year 6 playground leaders explained,

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Grade: 1

'We look after the younger ones'. The very high standard of care is a significant factor in pupils' enjoyment of school, their sense of well-being and the outstanding progress they make.

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Grade: 1

The school's evaluation of its performance is a reflection of its high aspirations. A highly collaborative approach enhances leadership and management skills in senior staff with the result that standards have soared. Using assessment as the main tool, the headteacher inspires others to tackle issues creatively and constructively. Unafraid to take difficult decisions, effective measures have ensured that only the best teaching quality is good enough. The staff team, in which teaching assistants are fully included, work and plan together in the most supportive way so learning is fresh and teaching inspired. The school improvement plan is concise and accurate and gives excellent guidance for improvement. The results are seen in the improving standards in writing. New resources have lifted learning in the Foundation Stage and plans to adapt the curriculum are the right ones for the school. Financial management is excellent. Simple

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Grade: 1

systems ensure that administration assistants have time to deal with parents and visitors without interfering with office work. Similarly, the arrangements for staff time to prepare, plan and assess mean that pupils gain hugely from expert musical tuition which incidentally supports their learning in mathematics. Governance is outstanding and an integral part of the highly effective way in which the school is run. 5 Inspection Report: Selby, Longman's Hill Community Primary School, 6 °7 December 2006 .

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Grade: 1

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Selby, Longman's Hill Community Primary School, 6 °7 December 2006

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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 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? 2 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. 7 Inspection Report: Selby, Longman's Hill Community Primary School, 6 °7 December 2006

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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: Selby, Longman's Hill Community Primary School, 6 °7 December 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for making us so welcome in your school. We thoroughly enjoyed talking to so many of you and seeing some of your Christmas plays, including the French club's sung nativity, as well as your lively lessons. We were impressed that pupils in Year 6 knew the Greek origins of several English prefixes. All these things contribute to our judgement that your school gives you an outstanding education. We agree with you that your teachers are 'better than fantastic'. You achieve high standards in your work, particularly in mathematics and science. Your ICT skills are extremely good and all in all, your school prepares you exceptionally well for your future lives. You show a great deal of respect and understanding for each other and look after each other well. This helps to make your school such a happy, friendly place. Perhaps the most important thing you learn is that it is all right to say you do not understand something because

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

then you learn how to improve your work. It is part of our job to point out what your school should do to be even better. We have suggested one thing that will help. We saw that younger pupils seem to find writing quite hard yet they start trying to write almost as soon as they come into school. So we think that your teachers should help them to start writing through play so that when they are ready to learn letters and words they won't feel it is such an effort. This might help you as you grow older too. We hope this will make writing more fun, like mathematics, science, ICT and music! 9 Inspection Report: Selby, Longman's Hill Community Primary School, 6 °7 December 2006

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