Ingleton Primary School

Ingleton Primary School Inspection report

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121445 Unique Reference Number North Yorkshire Local Authority 313992 Inspection number 19 °20 May 2008 Inspection dates Colin Smith 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 3 °10 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 157 School The governing body Appropriate authority Rev Charles Ellis Chair Mrs D Barry Headteacher 8 November 2004 Date of previous school inspection Low Demesne School address Ingleton Carnforth Lancashire LA6 3DY 01524 241592 Telephone number 01524 241592 Fax number

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3-10 Age group 19 °20 May 2008 Inspection dates 313992 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school is smaller than average in size. Although the proportions of pupils entitled to free school meals and with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are below average, the school serves a mixed community. The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage. A very small number are of Irish, Filipino or mixed backgrounds. A very small number of these pupils are at an early stage of learning English. Pupils leave the school at the end of Year 5 to move to middle school. The school is led and managed by two headteachers who are jointly and equally responsible for the school. The school has been beset by staff absences over the previous two years.

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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: Ingleton Primary School, 19 °20 May 2008

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Grade: 2

Ingleton Primary is a successful school. The quality of education and value for money provided are good. The school has recovered well from a dip in standards caused by staff absences. At the heart of the school's work are the exceptionally good levels of care and support provided for all pupils, particularly the most vulnerable ones. The school maintains excellent links with parents and outside agencies to ensure that pupils are safeguarded and given every opportunity to succeed. The school's vibrant atmosphere in which pupils are highly valued is the bedrock of their outstanding personal development. Pupils' behaviour, attendance, cultural awareness and appreciation of healthy lifestyles are all excellent. Almost all parents are highly appreciative of what the school provides and comments such as, 'The school is like a big happy family with lots of interesting things to do,' typify parents' views.

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Grade: 2

Most children join the Nursery with the skills expected for their age. Pupils achieve well from the beginning to the end of their time in school. They achieve well in English and science and in many other subjects such as history and geography. This is because of the good curriculum and rich, stimulating education provided. Achievement in mathematics is good in Years 1 and 2 but only satisfactory from Years 3 to 5. Pupils acquire good calculation skills but lessons do not always challenge them sufficiently to use their skills to solve mathematical problems and this is where their achievement is weaker. By the time pupils leave the school at the end of Year 5, they reach standards that are above the levels expected for their age, particularly in English. Teaching and learning are mainly good. Teachers use imaginative methods, including practical experiences, which help pupils to understand and make learning enjoyable. Good levels of adult

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Grade: 2

support ensure that pupils learn successfully in lessons. However, the marking of their work does not always inform them of what they need to do to improve, and setting individual targets is in its infancy. This means that pupils are not as skilled in evaluating and improving their own learning as they could be. The quality of leadership and management is good. Checking most aspects of the work of the school is done rigorously and reveals where the school and pupils are doing well and where more attention is needed. Consequently, senior staff are well aware of the school's many strengths and the few areas for improvement. School self-evaluation is cautious but accurate. Inspection findings endorse the school's judgements in every area and point to even better outcomes in pupils' personal development and achievement than the school had initially considered. This is because staffing is now settled and standards have risen to the good levels

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Grade: 2

reported at the time of the previous inspection. This shows the school is effective in overcoming difficulties and has a good capacity for improvement.

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Grade: 2

Children enter Nursery with attainment typical for their age. They achieve well in the Nursery and Reception class. By the end of the Foundation Stage their attainment is above that expected for their age in almost all areas of learning. Children's spoken language develops particularly well but their reading and writing skills are slower to progress because the school has yet to introduce the daily session of learning to blend letter sounds. However, pupils' reading and writing develops rapidly in later years. Leadership and management of the Foundation Stage 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Ingleton Primary School, 19 °20 May 2008 are good. Very effective teamwork ensures that children learn in a safe and highly stimulating environment. The quality of learning through play is particularly good. An ever-changing selection of intriguing and well structured activities is prepared each day, which sparks children's

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Grade: 2

curiosity and creativity. Children's enjoyment of learning is written on their eager faces, for example, as they rescue farm animals from a pretend fire. Teaching and learning are good. Planning is thorough and ensures that children's different learning needs are catered for well. Careful observations and records are made of their progress to enable teachers to plan the next step.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the problem-solving skills of pupils in Years 3 to 5 to raise achievement in mathematics. ■ Ensure pupils' individual targets and the advice they receive from the marking of their work shows them exactly what they need to do to improve.

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Grade: 2

Following the good start in the Foundation Stage, pupils achieve well in all subjects in Years 1 and 2. By the end of Year 2, standards are well above average in reading and mathematics, above average in writing and are higher than in recent years. Given their starting points, pupils achieve well overall from Year 3 onwards, especially in Years 4 and 5. More able pupils and those who require learning or language support achieve equally well throughout the school. From Years 3 to 5, achievement in reading and writing is good. Pupils' good achievement in science springs from their well-developed skills of investigation and standards are higher than expected across the school. Although achievement in mathematics is improving, it is not as good as in other subjects in Key Stage 2 because the level of challenge is not always high enough in the important aspect of problem solving.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is exceptionally good. They develop a love of music and a sense of wonder in art and science. Pupils acquire an acute understanding of global issues and other cultures. This inspires them to respect and value others and develop social responsibility towards their schoolmates and the wider community. Relationships in school are first class and pupils regard any form of bullying or racism as unacceptable. Behaviour is exemplary and attendance well above average, reflecting pupils' good enjoyment of school. The school's highly successful health education programme ensures that pupils gain a good grasp of keeping safe from dangers such as smoking, alcohol and drugs and an excellent understanding of the importance of good diet and exercise. Pupils are equipped with secure literacy, numeracy, and information and communication technology skills (ICT), which contribute

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Grade: 1

towards their good preparation for the future. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Ingleton Primary School, 19 °20 May 2008

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Grade: 2

Lessons are lively and interesting, involving practical activities, which pupils say, 'makes learning fun'. Most lessons are very well managed and move along briskly. This helps pupils to concentrate and give of their best. Just occasionally, when pupils are not fully engaged when the lesson begins, their learning suffers. Good teaching of English, involving pupils in sharing their ideas, is influential in their imaginative and fluent story writing. Good teamwork between teachers and classroom assistants ensures that activities are well organised. More able pupils are often encouraged to work independently on computers and pupils who require additional help are always well supported. These factors underpin successful learning and good achievement. Teachers are strongly encouraged to use assessment to provide work at just the right level to match pupils' different learning needs. Work in pupils' books shows improvement in this area.

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Grade: 2

However, there are still occasions in mathematics when all pupils are asked to do the same work before the more able ones can move on to more advanced tasks. Learning is best in the lessons where pupils are given challenging tasks from the outset.

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Grade: 2

Outstanding elements of the curriculum are the highly stimulating themes, involving visits and rich opportunities for pupils to learn for themselves. These fuel their enthusiasm, nurture their talents, ignite their creativity and underpin their highly- developed investigation and enquiry skills. As a result, the school is full of colourful displays of eye-catching paintings, carefully crafted models and lucidly written accounts. It is, therefore, surprising to find that there are insufficient opportunities for problem-solving in mathematics, which is clearly holding pupils' achievement back. The curriculum is sensitively adapted to enable pupils with learning difficulties to reach their goals and the school is rightly turning its attention to the needs of the gifted pupils. A strong thread of personal, social and health education ensures that pupils fully understand the importance of safe and healthy lifestyles.

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Grade: 2

Pupils are extremely well cared for and supported. Measures to keep them safe are firmly in place. Efforts to remove any learning or emotional barriers to progress, particularly with regard to the most vulnerable pupils, are largely successful. Pastoral support for pupils is of the highest calibre, paving the way towards their outstanding personal development. However, academic guidance, in the form of marking their written work and setting targets for improvement, is inconsistent across the school. Consequently, pupils are not sure about what they need to do to improve.

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Grade: 2

The two headteachers have formed a strong and effective partnership, raising aspirations and uniting staff in moving the school forward. Much rigour is injected into observing lessons to 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Ingleton Primary School, 19 °20 May 2008 improve teaching, checking pupils' progress to make sure they are on track and analysing assessments to pinpoint pupils' difficulties. This has led to more consistent teaching and better achievement, for example, in mathematics because calculation skills are now taught consistently across the school. The school has identified all of the right priorities in the improvement plan. This provides governors with a clear insight into what the school is trying to achieve, enabling them to offer good support. Subject leaders are gradually taking more responsibility for checking the work of the school under the watchful eye of the two headteachers. As yet, pupils' written

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Grade: 2

work is still not checked sufficiently. This is why there are inconsistencies in marking pupils' work and setting targets for improvement. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Ingleton Primary School, 19 °20 May 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: Ingleton Primary School, 19 °20 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

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?

1 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 1 The attendance of learners 1 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: Ingleton Primary School, 19 °20 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 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: Ingleton Primary School, 19 °20 May 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Inspection of Ingleton Primary School, Carnforth, LA6 3DY Thank you for welcoming the inspectors to your school and answering our questions so helpfully. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and would like to explain our findings. You are right to believe that Ingleton Primary is a good school. You make good progress in many subjects, particularly in English and science. This is why standards in your school are higher than usual in science and mathematics and much higher in English. Your good achievement is largely due to good teaching and interesting lessons. You told us that teachers set work at just the right level for you. We agree that this is usually the case, though not always in mathematics. When we arrived at your school we were impressed by the calm atmosphere and fascinating displays of work you had done. Many of you explained that your favourite experiences came from visits, concerts and out-of-school activities. We can see

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

just how much you benefit from a good and rich curriculum. We were highly impressed by the excellent care and support you receive. We believe that this is why your personal development is excellent, particularly your behaviour, attendance and social skills. We can see how this helps you to achieve well. It is unusual to have two headteachers but in your school's case, two heads are definitely better than one! Your school is well run and your headteachers and senior staff are ever watchful to ensure that your progress and education continue to be good. We have two recommendations to help your school to be even better.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ We have asked teachers from Years 3 to 5 to improve your problem-solving skills in mathematics. You can help by checking your work carefully. ■ We have also asked your teachers to set targets and show you what you need to do to improve when marking your work. You can help by trying hard to reach those targets. 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Ingleton Primary School, 19 °20 May 2008

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