Lockington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Lockington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Inspection report

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118001 Unique Reference Number East Riding of Yorkshire Local Authority 312776 Inspection number 30 °31 January 2008 Inspection dates Andrew Bennett 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 Voluntary controlled School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 53 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Helen Hartley Chair Mrs Susan Coyle Headteacher 1 September 2004 Date of previous school inspection Front Street School address Lockington Driffield YO25 9SH 01430 810240 Telephone number 01430 810007 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 30 °31 January 2008 Inspection dates 312776 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. 30 °31 January 2008

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This is a very small school which draws its pupils from a wide, essentially rural area. There is no nursery provision. The roll has fallen from 72 two years ago, with wide variation in the numbers of pupils in each year group and more girls than boys in the school. No pupils are known to be eligible for free school meals and the majority come from homes that are relatively advantaged, socially and economically. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is broadly average but no pupil has a statement of special educational need. Very few pupils belong to minority ethnic groups and all have English as their first language. The school has achieved Health Promoting Schools status and the Sport England Activemark.

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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: Lockington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 30 °31 January 2008

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Grade: 2

This is a good school, where pupils thrive on the opportunities offered and achieve well. The purposeful sensitivity shown by adults and children alike fosters a caring, learning community. As a result, parents have confidence in the school; the many questionnaires returned were almost unanimous in their praise, including comments such as, ‘… an exceptional asset to the community. The energy and effort made by all the staff provide an excellent foundation for our children as they begin their academic careers.’ Standards in all subjects at the end of Year 2 are above average. They are generally above average at the end of Year 6. All pupils now make good progress although those who left last summer made less progress during their early schooling; in the national tests in 2007, standards were above average in English but only average overall. Because there are so few pupils in each year group, comparisons with national averages do not tell the whole story; work completed

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Grade: 2

throughout the year, and the teachers’ careful records of what the pupils have achieved and what is expected of them, confirm that achievement is now generally good and that standards are above average. Achievement in mathematics is satisfactory, but not as good as in English, and the pupils have better skills in reading than in writing. Pupils with learning difficulties make at least as good progress as others; considerable effort is made to provide work that meets their needs and to review its impact. Challenging targets are set for all pupils. The quality of teaching is consistently good and the well planned curriculum interests pupils, making effective links between different areas of study. Visitors, educational trips and a variety of after school activities enhance the pupils’ learning and prepare them well for secondary education. The pupils are well cared for; their attitudes to learning are good and their behaviour

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Grade: 2

is mature and sensible. They feel safe and secure, and talk confidently about their achievements and aspirations. They enjoy school, and attendance is above the national average. Settled, experienced staffing underpins good leadership and management. The headteacher and two class teachers, together with well trained and skilful teaching assistants, form an effective team that recognises the needs of all pupils. They understand the school’s strengths; development plans take a clear and realistic view of what might be changed or improved. An increasingly confident and involved governing body enhances the potential to be positively self-critical. The school provides good value for money and has good capacity to improve.

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Grade: 2

The Foundation Stage provides a good start for children. Most have benefited from nursery education and arrive with a range of abilities and skills that, overall, are broadly in line with those expected for their age. Children make good progress across all areas of learning and, by the end of the Reception year, reach standards above those expected. Teaching is good; it is well supported by an experienced teaching assistant who liaises and plans conscientiously with the class teacher. Caring relationships help the children develop good personal and social skills; they benefit from opportunities to work with older pupils as appropriate. Secure outside areas are well equipped for imaginative play and physical activities and, within the limits of the cramped classroom shared with pupils in Years 1 and 2, displays are used effectively to provide a friendly, welcoming environment. Good use is made of other areas such as the library for

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Grade: 2

quiet work and the hall for role play and learning activities, to ensure children experience a 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Lockington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 30 °31 January 2008 range of activities including opportunities for reflection, creativity and teamwork. Induction arrangements and assessment procedures are thorough; parents are well informed about their children’s progress and how to support them.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Increase opportunities to develop writing across the curriculum.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good and standards are above average. Children joining the school in Reception have abilities and skills that, overall, are broadly in line with those expected for their age. In 2007, standards reached by pupils in Year 2 were above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. The results for pupils in Year 6 dipped in comparison with previous years; although results in English were above the national average, scores in mathematics and science were just below. However, numbers in both year groups were very small and, in the case of Year 6, specific circumstances explain apparently disappointing results. Evidence from pupils’ work and records of their individual progress show that standards are generally higher than might be expected, especially in English, and that most pupils, including those with learning difficulties, achieve well as a result of good teaching and effective guidance and support.

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Grade: 2

Reading is a little better than writing, and there is some scope for further development in mathematics. Skills in information and communication technology (ICT) are good throughout the school, following recent investment in equipment and its increasingly confident use by pupils of all ages.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development is good. Above average attendance and excellent punctuality show that they enjoy school, as do high levels of cooperation with adults and among themselves. Behaviour is very good in classrooms and around the school; pupils display mature, sensible attitudes to work and play. There have been no exclusions in recent years; rare instances of challenging behaviour are handled well. Pupils feel safe; they are confident that adults would help them if necessary and are proud of how they support each other. Pupils have a good understanding of healthy lifestyles and enjoy physical activities. High levels of social and moral understanding sustain the very good relationships evident throughout the school. Spiritual development is good; assemblies, curriculum topics and even the design of the garden area exemplify the opportunities for reflection that underpin the school’s ethos. Themed weeks

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Grade: 2

introduce the pupils to different cultures and religions, successfully broadening their everyday experience. The school council is an effective and confident body; its members listen seriously to other pupils’ comments and have made successful funding bids, for example to develop outside facilities. Good achievement in English and ICT, sound levels of numeracy, and a high degree of cooperation, prepare pupils well for the future. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Lockington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 30 °31 January 2008

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are consistently good. Lessons are well planned and learning objectives are explained clearly to pupils. Teachers use a good range of resources, including electronic whiteboards and other ICT when appropriate. Wherever possible, they encourage practical tasks and group work which sustain the pupils’ interest and develop the skills involved in working together. Probing questions check pupils’ understanding and encourage them to develop ideas confidently in speech. Classroom assistants offer good support in lessons and lead groups effectively. Work is pitched at the correct level for pupils and good use is made of opportunities to support and to challenge their learning in mixed-age groups. Pupils are committed learners; they are attentive, hard working and capable of organising themselves. The small size of the school means that common routines are well understood; pupils are never in doubt about what

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Grade: 2

is expected of them, and cooperate sensibly.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. There is a clear focus on basic skills, but there is not enough scope to develop writing through different subjects. The school is adopting the new national framework for mathematics to strengthen its provision further. The curriculum meets all statutory requirements and is enhanced by visits and visitors, including staff from a nearby secondary school who provide specialist teaching in the performing arts. There is generous provision for physical activities, including a ten-minute warm-up session at the start of each day that sets everyone off in a positive frame of mind, ready for work. Older pupils enjoy learning French. High quality displays, including presentations using ICT, show how the pupils enjoy and benefit from enrichment activities. There is a range of popular and well attended after school clubs and activities. The curriculum contributes successfully to the pupils’ personal development,

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Grade: 2

notably through supporting their social and emotional learning.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. Child protection and safeguarding procedures meet current guidelines. The school celebrates thoughtful behaviour and good work. Contacts with external agencies are professional and helpful; the school funds generous provision for supporting pupils with learning difficulties. Links with secondary schools are effective; as one pupil commented, ‘This school couldn’t be better and I don’t really want to leave but I’m not worried about going to a big secondary school, because it’s all been explained to me and I feel confident.’ Although explicit targets are not generally shared with pupils, they nonetheless know what is expected of them and are helped to improve their work through teachers’ marking and spoken comments. Detailed records of each pupil’s progress ensure that teachers are alert to any potential underperformance and can offer appropriate academic and personal support.

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Grade: 2

6 of 11 Inspection Report: Lockington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 30 °31 January 2008

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. In practice, the senior team comprises all three teachers who, as a group, have a clear grasp of what the school does well and where practice could be strengthened. The current development plan is brief and cogent, arising naturally from the accurate and well documented self-evaluation. Within so small a school, much monitoring of its work is understandably informal, but this is verified by appropriate recorded systems. The chair of governors has set a demanding agenda for change that devolves responsibility to individual governors for visiting the school and logging what they find. As a result, governance is good: questions are asked and explanations are sought within a framework of testing support that underlines the school’s capacity to continue improving. The role of governors, together with improving pupils’ skills in ICT, and developing their understanding of a modern multicultural

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Grade: 2

society, were issues from the previous inspection that have been successfully tackled. The school appreciates the local authority’s help in setting and working towards challenging targets. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of how the school is led and managed. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Lockington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 30 °31 January 2008 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Lockington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 30 °31 January 2008

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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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 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: Lockington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 30 °31 January 2008

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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 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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: Lockington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 30 °31 January 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

31 January 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Lockington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, East Riding of Yorkshire, YO25 9SH Thank you very much for being so friendly and helpful when I visited your school recently. I really enjoyed the two days, finding out about all the things you like. Talking to you and seeing you at work made me realise how lucky you are to be at such a good school. I am glad you appreciate it too, especially the efforts made by all the adults to make your learning enjoyable and to take good care of you. I agree with you that lessons are fun. Your teachers and their assistants are very good at catching your interest so that you concentrate hard and improve your work. I particularly enjoyed seeing how sensibly you work together. Your results are good in most subjects, and you deserve them. You seem to like being together around the school, for example in the lovely air, earth, water

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

and fire area outside. I can understand why Year 6 pupils will be sorry to leave in the summer, but was glad to hear they feel confident about going to a new school. I think politeness, confidence and enthusiasm are three of the most important qualities the school helps you with ° they will be valuable to you throughout your lives. Although your school is well run and provides a good education, I have asked the staff and governors to think about making two improvements:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Help you to develop your writing skills, so that they are as good as your reading and speaking

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Introduce new approaches to mathematics so that your results are as good as in English.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I am sure you will play your part by doing your best when teachers try new ideas. Once again, thank you for making me feel so welcome in your school. I wish you every success and happiness in the future. Yours sincerely Andrew Bennett Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Lockington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 30 °31 January 2008

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