Orston Primary School

122668 Unique Reference Number NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Local Authority 292472 Inspection number 14 February 2007 Inspection date Robert Drew 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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Church Street School address Primary Type of school Orston Community School category Nottinghamshire NG13 9NS 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01949 850618 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01949 850618 Fax number 121 Number on roll (school) Mr John Rea Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Sarah Moore Headteacher 18 September 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 292472 14 February 2007 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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Orston Primary School is a smaller than average village school, serving a wide rural area east of the city of Nottingham. Pupils mostly come from relatively advantaged backgrounds, with less than 3% entitled to free school meals. Virtually all are White British and none are learning English as an additional language. The proportion with learning difficulties or disabilities is broadly average. Attainment on entry is a little above average. A new headteacher was appointed September 2006.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Orston Primary School, 14 February 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school with the necessary commitment and skill to improve further. It has well established strengths, including the positive attitudes and good behaviour of pupils, effective teaching and very strong support from parents. A long phase of above average attainment and good progress suffered a significant interruption in 2006, but the work of current pupils shows that standards have returned to impressive levels. The headteacher, in post for less than a year, has helped colleagues start a phase of rapid improvement in an already successful school. Standards are above average and achievement good. On entry, standards in Reception are a little above average, but good progress means pupils begin Key Stage 1 with standards clearly higher than national levels. Pupils achieve well, reaching standards in the current Year 2 in English, mathematics and science which are well above average. Current Year 6 standards are also well above average and much higher than those of

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Grade: 2

last year. They show that pupils are firmly on track to meet the very challenging targets for tests in summer 2007. The broadly average results at both key stages in 2006 were partly due to a few individual performances in a school with a very small entry. However, the headteacher has rightly focused on raising the attainment of the most able pupils and of boys, as both these groups tended to under-perform. Already, both groups are doing better than in previous years. Teaching and learning are good overall and sometimes outstanding. Relationships are positive, teachers are confident and very clear, and they listen to pupils well. In the best lessons, pace is strong throughout and work to challenge the most able pupils is always on hand. In other lessons, these features are less consistent. Teachers show a good awareness of strategies to encourage good learning by boys. Support staff work well with class teachers to help those with learning difficulties or disabilities make

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Grade: 2

good progress. Staff work well as a team to ensure that pupils' personal development is good. Behaviour is good and in many instances excellent. Mature attitudes and helpfulness prevail, despite the challenging behaviour of a few pupils. Attendance is above average and there are no exclusions. Pupils know how to be safe and healthy and how they can contribute to school and community life. Their enjoyment of school is excellent. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good, reflecting good care, guidance and support, including the new and very effective arrangements for tracking academic progress. Additionally, the formal curriculum and a wide programme of extra-curricular activities give good opportunities for learning and personal development. However, provision for information and communication technology (ICT) is underdeveloped because the school lacks facilities and the staff have not been trained sufficiently.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good and lead to good progress and personal development by pupils. Numerous beneficial changes show that the school has a very good capacity for further improvement and that procedures for checking the quality of the school's work and supporting staff are effective. Self-evaluation is very accurate. The headteacher provides real vision and a strong sense of direction. She is well 2 Inspection Report: Orston Primary School, 14 February 2007 supported by effective subject leaders and a very capable deputy. Staff work well as a team and are ambitious for the school. Governance is good. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Expand the programme of activities for the most able pupils and ensure that work to challenge them becomes a consistent part of all lessons. • Improve ICT facilities significantly and provide the training staff require to use them well. • Spread best practice in teaching so that the proportion of exceptional quality increases.

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Grade: 2

Pupils achieve well, which leads to standards that are usually well above average. Pupils enter school with slightly higher standards than is the case nationally, but effective teaching and the strong ethos encourage positive attitudes to learning so that good progress is made in each key stage. Standards in Years 2 and 6 are currently well above average in English, mathematics and science, matching the results seen in nearly all previous years. Accurate school records show that it is on course to meet its ambitious targets for 2007. The 2006 results showed only average standards and less progress than expected, but these relative weaknesses have been corrected. In particular, new strategies are helping higher attaining pupils and boys to make better progress. Arrangements for tracking and reviewing progress have been greatly improved. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities achieve well, but the school is aware that its

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Grade: 2

most able pupils are capable of even higher attainment. Standards and progress in the Foundation Stage are good.

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Grade: 2

This is good with some excellent features. Behaviour, attitudes and attendance are all good. Many pupils are extremely mature, caring and confident. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good with pupils showing a particularly good awareness of cultures other than their own. There is a good commitment to supporting others, though some of the vehicles for doing this, such as the school council, are very new. Pupils know how to stay safe, lead healthy lives and contribute to the community. A very small number report that bullying takes place, but find that in all cases it is dealt with effectively. Their enjoyment of school is excellent. 3 Inspection Report: Orston Primary School, 14 February 2007

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. Relationships between staff and pupils are consistently positive and levels of enjoyment by pupils are unusually high. The clarity of teachers' explanations is a strength. Constructive, mature responses from pupils are the norm and they are active participants in many lessons. They work well with each other. There are outstanding lessons, where pace is particularly strong and pupils are consistently engaged in their learning. Here, learning is lively because teachers plan for frequent changes of activity, place high expectations on pupils from the outset and show great versatility in questioning and guiding them. Where teaching is less effective, pace and provision for all abilities is inconsistent. Good strategies to engage boys are used in most lessons and there is very effective liaison between teaching assistants and class teachers to help pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities progress well.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum provides good opportunities for pupils to learn effectively and enjoy school. Pupils report that many parts of each day can be fun, from literacy and numeracy to sport, music and French. All statutory requirements are met and there are good features, such as very effective provision for those with learning difficulties and disabilities. Educational visits and a very strong extra-curricular programme enhance the curriculum further. There is some specific provision outside lessons for gifted and talented pupils, but the school acknowledges that this is limited. ICT provision is also limited, essentially by lack of resources, but this issue is being addressed.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. Pupils rightly feel secure and know they can expect the right blend of support, direction and challenge from their teachers. The school meets all requirements regarding safeguarding pupils. Staff know their pupils very well and liaise closely with parents. The school has well established success in helping pupils develop into mature and helpful young people because it sets clear guidelines about acceptable behaviour and takes every opportunity to promote cooperation and mutual support between pupils. Staff offer good role models of team work and commitment. Accurate monitoring of academic progress is a more recent feature but already gives teachers, pupils and parents a good picture of what targets should be aimed for and how they might be reached. 4 Inspection Report: Orston Primary School, 14 February 2007

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Grade: 2

The school's work is well led and managed. The headteacher has had a very good impact on raising expectations and improving the ethos. She has ensured that the work of the school is frequently and reliably reviewed in detail, leading to beneficial changes, including the introduction of a very rigorous system for tracking pupils' progress. Staff gauge pupils' needs and set targets with confidence. There is improved clarity in the role and effectiveness of the deputy headteacher and subject leaders. Improvement planning is highly focused. Crucially, the steps needed to ensure improved standards and achievement have been taken and measures such as creating a school council and an eco-council are improving pupils' personal development still further. The governing body is well informed, strongly supportive and acts effectively as a 'critical friend' to the headteacher. Coordinators' roles are effective: they have recently

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Grade: 2

become fully involved in evaluating and directing work in their subject areas and have taken on full accountability for standards. A very good capacity to improve has been demonstrated. 5 Inspection Report: Orston Primary School, 14 February 2007 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Orston Primary School, 14 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 2 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

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 2 The behaviour of learners 2 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. 7 Inspection Report: Orston Primary School, 14 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: Orston Primary School, 14 February 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

19 February 2007 Dear Pupils Orston Primary School, Church Street, Orston, Nottinghamshire, NG13 9NS Thank you for making me feel very welcome when I visited your school last week. Some of you were also kind enough to give up part of lunch time to come and talk to me. You are in a good school where many things are working well. • Teaching and learning are good with some being outstanding. • The headteacher leads the school very well. • Your behaviour and attitudes are good and many of you are very mature and helpful. • The standard of your work is higher than average and shows you are making good progress. • Your enjoyment of school is excellent. For your school to be even better it needs to: • help more of you reach the very highest levels in your subjects • give you better opportunities to use ICT regularly • make even more of the lessons as good as those with outstanding teaching. I hope you enjoy the rest of your time at this school,

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Yours sincerely Robert Drew Lead Inspector 9 Inspection Report: Orston Primary School, 14 February 2007

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