Seamer and Irton Community Primary SchoolOfsted inspection, 21 May 2008

Seamer and Irton Community Primary School Inspection report

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121357 Unique Reference Number North Yorkshire Local Authority 313961 Inspection number 20 °21 May 2008 Inspection dates Rosemary Rodger 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 Community School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 331 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Helen Mallory Chair Mr J Wanless Headteacher 8 March 2004 Date of previous school inspection Denison Avenue School address Seamer Scarborough North Yorkshire YO12 4QX 01723 863489 Telephone number 01723 864568 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 20 °21 May 2008 Inspection dates 313961 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

This inspection was carried out by three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Seamer and Irton is an above average sized school serving a village on the outskirts of Scarborough. The area is generally mixed although it has a lower than average level of deprivation. A below average proportion of pupils is eligible for free school meals. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average and the proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational need is also below average. A small number of pupils are beginning to learn English as an additional language. The school has attained Healthy Schools accreditation, a Basic Skills Quality Mark, Activemark and Investors in People status. The headteacher has been in post for two terms.

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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: Seamer and Irton Community Primary School, 20 °21 May 2008

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Grade: 3

Seamer and Irton is a satisfactory and improving school. It has strengths in pupils' personal development and well-being because of the good quality of care, guidance and support provided for pupils. Procedures for ensuring the safety and welfare of pupils are secure and parents overwhelmingly value, 'This community school with its dedicated staff' - this is a typical comment. The headteacher and two recently appointed assistant headteachers have made a good start in tackling underachievement in Key Stage 2. Some actions are beginning to make an impact on improving pupils' progress. For example, diligent marking of pupils' work and a newly introduced assessment scheme provide a good basis for continued improvement. They are helpful in identifying pupils in need of additional support and informing what pupils need to do in lessons. Children get off to a good start in the Foundation Stage. Pupils continue to make good progress

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Grade: 3

in Years 1 and 2 as demonstrated by above average standards in reading and writing and mathematics in 2007. By contrast, results at the end of Year 6 in 2007 were broadly average overall with some underachievement in mathematics. Standards were previously higher than they were in 2007. They are now improving, but they could be higher still. As a result, achievement by the end of Year 6 is satisfactory. Literacy and numeracy skills are improving as a result of booster classes and support for pupils making less than expected progress. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make satisfactory progress. Teaching assistants are not used as effectively as they could be, especially in the level of support provided to pupils in whole-class discussions. This means that some pupils do not make the progress they could. Pupils learning English as an additional language make good progress because of the good

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Grade: 3

relationships and care provided. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall. Improvements in resources, especially whiteboard technology, are making a clear difference to pupils' enjoyment in learning. Relationships between pupils and staff are good and behaviour is good in classes and around school. Pupils generally enjoy learning when there is a brisk pace and they are fully involved. Assessment information provides detailed information to show how well pupils are progressing. This information helps to match pupils' work to their abilities. After-school clubs, visits and visitors provide effective enrichment for the good curriculum. Pupils enjoy the range of sporting activities and some of the topics they study. For example, the Ancient Greeks was a favourite at the time of the inspection. Pupils' care, guidance and support are a high priority and are good. Safeguarding arrangements meet requirements.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher provides good leadership in setting an agenda for future improvements to the school. For example, rigorous monitoring of teaching has usefully identified how it needs to improve. Teamwork is strong. Governors are keen to be involved and work in partnership with the headteacher to secure improvements. Based on the actions taken so far to raise standards and improve teaching, the school has a good capacity to improve. Improvement since the last inspection is satisfactory and the school gives satisfactory value for money. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Seamer and Irton Community Primary School, 20 °21 May 2008

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Grade: 2

Provision is well led and managed. When children join the school their skills are slightly above nationally expected levels. They make good progress and reach above nationally expected levels by the end of Reception. Provision for personal, social and emotional development is particularly effective. Children are sensible. They enjoy playing games and take turns as a matter of course. They play outside and there are planned activities that promote good learning, for example to investigate the sounds made by water collected in bottles. The balance between adult-directed activities and those that the children initiate themselves is good. There is a good priority given to promoting basic skills. Topics of interest to the children, such as water, provide opportunities to write independently. Links with nearby nursery schools help to smooth the transition to school. Parents are appreciative of this smooth transition and the ease with which their children

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise achievement in English and mathematics in Key Stage 2 so that by the end of Year 6 standards reach or exceed previous above average levels. ■ Improve the role of teaching assistants to ensure that they support pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities effectively. A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged to be satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

Standards at the end of Year 6 have been slightly above average in recent years until last year when they were average because of a fall in mathematics and English standards. Current standards are improving because of the impact of actions to improve assessment and identify those pupils in need of additional support. Achievement is satisfactory. Children start school with slightly above average levels of attainment and make good progress until the end of Key Stage 1. By the end of Key Stage 2 achievement is satisfactory. Some pupils are making good progress because of improvements to teaching. This is not yet fully the case in all classes. The small number of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make satisfactory progress overall. Pupils who are learning English as an additional language make good progress in learning to speak and write English.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep safe and have an excellent grasp of how to lead healthy lifestyles through a wealth of sports activities both in and out of school. Pupil sports leaders are proud of encouraging younger pupils to take exercise and each class is given regular opportunities to design healthy lunches with the school cook on 'favourite Fridays'. Pupils spoke excitedly about their 'sports relief' dinner with 'running runner beans' and 'boomerang bananas' and older pupils were proud of setting a good example. They said, 'Being healthy gives you confidence and builds your self-esteem. If you look after yourself, then others will too.' Pupils clearly enjoy school, reflected 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Seamer and Irton Community Primary School, 20 °21 May 2008 by their above average attendance. The provision for pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural

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Grade: 2

development is good. School councillors talk enthusiastically about their 'surgery', helping others to solve their problems and are proud of their school where 'everyone's friendly'. They appreciate and value this inclusive community school and say they feel 'like a massive family'. Assemblies offer time for reflection and pupils clearly understand the difference between right and wrong. One comment was. 'One thing about Seamer is that everything's fair.' Pupils develop satisfactory basic skills, which support their future education and later lives.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Staff know pupils well and relationships are good. Pupils are respectful and behave well in lessons. They mostly enjoy learning when encouraged to recall previous learning and when they receive praise and encouragement. Good questioning clarifies and extends pupils' thinking. Pupils make good progress in some lessons where the pace is brisk and expectations are clear to the pupils. Boys are notably motivated in lessons where whiteboard technology enriches learning. Younger pupils are well taught and showed their Barnaby bear maps proudly and with good levels of confidence. Teaching assistants, however, do not always provide enough support to pupils in whole-class sessions, particularly those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities in Key Stage 2. Target setting is generally satisfactory, but not given a high enough priority by teachers until very recently. Targets set

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Grade: 3

to improve pupils' performance by teachers are beginning to be based on a more thorough analysis of progress. This is because there are rigorous assessment and tracking systems in place which identify where improvement in pupils' progress is needed.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good curriculum that is broad, balanced and meets statutory requirements. A strong commitment to visits and visitors and a good range of after- school clubs and activities enriches the curriculum well. For example, music, drama and sports activities are notable features of the school. A production of 'Joseph and his Technicolour Dream Coat' is the latest school production. Additionally, residential visits in Key Stage 2 and other regularly organised trips to theatres, museums and places of interest further extend pupils' learning and encourage pupils' personal development, independence and confidence. For example, trips are taken to develop outdoor and adventure activity learning and annual trips to Bradford widen pupils' experience of cultural diversity. Pupils are keen to talk about the benefits they gain from these experiences and say, 'They give you confidence and build your self-esteem.' Initiatives such as

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Grade: 2

the Business Club give Year 5 pupils the opportunity to run the school's stationery shop. The knowledge and skills gained contribute well to pupils' later lives.

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Grade: 2

The care, guidance and support provided for pupils are good. A breakfast club provides a positive start to the day for a number of pupils and both pupils and parents talk of belonging to 'one big extended family.' Parents appreciate the range of after-school clubs and lunchtime activities. Most pupils feel safe at school and say there is always someone to turn to if there is 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Seamer and Irton Community Primary School, 20 °21 May 2008 a problem. Child protection requirements and health and safety procedures are in place. There are good links with outside agencies to provide support for some pupils. Pupils appreciate marking, which celebrates their achievements and also shows how they can improve their work. New tracking and individual target-setting systems are improving across the school. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are sometimes not well supported in lessons.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher has made a good start in providing good leadership that places raising achievement at the heart of school improvement. Members of the senior leadership team are working hard to achieve a consistency in practices that will ensure that all pupils achieve well. The school's self-evaluation is accurate. It has helped senior and subject leaders to create useful plans designed to help raise standards. The impact of actions planned to raise standards still has some way to go before there is consistently good teaching and learning throughout school. Incisive monitoring of teaching and learning by the headteacher states clearly the improvements needed. This is not yet fully evident in raising the quality of teaching in some classes in Key Stage 2 to the levels required to sustain the good progress made by pupils earlier on in the school. Governors provide the school with

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Grade: 3

good support, but are less effective in challenging recent underperformance. The school has accurately identified key weaknesses in standards, particularly in writing and mathematics. The interventions to raise standards are beginning to show improvement. On this basis, the capacity to improve is good. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Seamer and Irton Community Primary School, 20 °21 May 2008 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Seamer and Irton Community Primary School, 20 °21 May 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

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 1 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: Seamer and Irton Community Primary School, 20 °21 May 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 3 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: Seamer and Irton Community Primary School, 20 °21 May 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you all for making our visit to your school so enjoyable. You were all very friendly and polite and helped us to find our way round school. We enjoyed talking to you and finding out about all the work you do in school. Please thank your parents for their comments. Your school is satisfactory with several good features. Your teachers work hard and provide you with an exciting curriculum and lots of visits and visitors. This means that you keep fit and healthy and enjoy learning. You all behave well and listen to your teachers in lessons. You really enjoy the interactive whiteboards, especially when you can watch images and listen to calming music to help write your poems. Your new headteacher works very hard to make your school a good place to be. We have asked your school to continue to make the improvements that are new, such as sharing targets with you and making sure your teaching is all good so that you achieve even better in

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

English and mathematics in the juniors. Sometimes it would be helpful if you were encouraged to contribute more in whole-class introductory sessions. Teaching assistants have been asked to encourage and help you a little more. This will help you learn more and know what to do in lessons. Enjoy your concert; I hope all the dance routines work out well for you all. 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Seamer and Irton Community Primary School, 20 °21 May 2008

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