Sherburn Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Sherburn Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Inspection report

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121539 Unique Reference Number North Yorkshire Local Authority 314029 Inspection number 30 April 2008 Inspection date Robert Robinson 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 48 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Catherine Wilson Chair Mrs Carol Barnes Headteacher 23 February 2004 Date of previous school inspection St Hilda's Street School address Sherburn Malton North Yorkshire YO17 8PG 01944 710282 Telephone number 01944 710282 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 30 April 2008 Inspection date 314029 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 one Additional Inspector. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: achievement and standards, pupils' personal development, teaching and learning, the Foundation Stage (Reception), and leadership and management. The inspector gathered evidence from lesson observations, examination of pupils' work, assessment data, interviews and documents. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This is a very small primary school in which pupils are taught in two classes. All pupils are White British. The socio-economic circumstances of the local area are below average. Eligibility for free school meals is above average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is about average. Children enter the school with a very wide range of skills. Owing to the very small numbers of children entering the school, attainment on entry varies significantly from year to year ranging from below to broadly at expected level. The school is an Investor in People and has gained the Activemark and Healthy School Award.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Sherburn Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 30 April 2008

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Grade: 2

Sherburn Church of England Primary provides a good education for its pupils. Pupils' personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is outstanding. Parents and pupils are proud of the school. Parental comments praise all aspects of the school's work. A typical parental comment was, 'The children are nurtured both educationally and pastorally.' The school is the hub of the community and held in high regard locally. It works with other local schools effectively to provide additional opportunities for pupils and training for staff and governors. Good leadership and management, and teaching, result in pupils achieving well and reaching significantly above average standards by the end of Year 6. Over the last three years, standards in mathematics and science have been particularly high and higher than those in English. This is because pupils could have done better in writing. A concerted effort by the leadership and

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Grade: 2

all staff to raise standards in writing to match those in reading has been highly successful. Initiatives put in place have resulted in standards in writing now closely matching those in reading. Pupils express great delight in their achievements in writing. Pupils are extremely well prepared for their future learning. This is because of their good grasp of basic skills, admirable personal development, enjoyment of learning and keenness to do well. Superb behaviour and relationships between pupils and between pupils and staff result in a hard working and harmonious community. No time is lost in lessons dealing with misbehaviour. Pupils are confident to approach staff if they have any difficulties or worries. Attendance rates are about average. Pupils enjoy school tremendously and the school is vigorous in its efforts to ensure good attendance. Consequently, there are no unauthorised absences but in such

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Grade: 2

small year groups the absence of a few pupils has a disproportionate effect on figures overall. Pupils are very aware of how to lead healthy lifestyles and keep safe. They revel in physical activities during lessons, playtimes, in after-school clubs and in sporting events with other local schools. They appreciate the healthy foods available at lunchtimes and are proud if they win an award for having brought a healthy snack in their lunch box. Pupils are very mindful of others at the school. Older pupils take on responsibilities for looking after younger ones. Increasingly, pupils are assessing their own work before it is marked by the teacher. For example, in writing pupils routinely note the positive features of their work as well as stating what could be improved. The reasons why pupils do so well at the school can be attributed mainly to the good quality of leadership as well as the effective teaching, particularly in Years 3 to 6. The headteacher

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Grade: 2

leads through example by teaching each morning in Years 3 and 4. This enables older pupils to be taught in smaller groups for literacy and numeracy. Teaching is particularly effective in Years 3 to 6 enabling pupils at all levels of attainment to make fast progress. The teaching captures pupils' interest and the pace of learning is brisk. The quality of older pupils' presentation of work is exemplary. High quality artwork abounds around the school and is linked to themes such as 'The Egyptians'. Skills in writing are practised extremely well in other subjects and information and communication technology is used most effectively to enhance the presentation of pupils' studies. The rich curriculum develops pupils' knowledge and understanding well. The care, guidance and support of pupils are good. Government safeguarding requirements are met and child protection procedures are in place. There is a strong commitment by the leadership

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Grade: 2

in respect of health and safety and risk assessment arrangements in order to promote a safe environment. Pupils' work is assessed well and the marking of pupils' work is very constructive. 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Sherburn Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 30 April 2008 The systems for tracking pupils' progress and setting targets for improvement are detailed and used productively in Years 3 to 6 to raise standards. However, similar systems are not in place in Years 1 and 2 making it more difficult to gauge the progress of younger pupils and to ensure that targets set are demanding enough. The headteacher, subject leaders and governors work well together and have a clear view of the school's strengths and areas for development. They act in the best interests of pupils and are ever seeking to improve provision. The strengths in leadership at all levels and the good standard of education provided for pupils provide the school with good capacity to continue

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Grade: 3

Provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory, as is its leadership. Children's progress from their starting points is sound. Attainment is generally broadly as expected by the end of Reception. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Teachers and their assistants provide valuable support for the children when working indoors or outdoors in small groups. This assists children's personal, social and emotional development as well as progress in other areas of learning. However, the organisation of teaching does not enable children to make better than satisfactory progress. At times, when Reception children are taught alongside Year 1 and Year 2 pupils as a class group, insufficient help is provided to meet their individual needs to help them learn effectively. Too much emphasis is placed on linking the learning with that of Year 1 and Year 2 pupils. For example, at the start of a lesson the teacher's questioning was

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Grade: 3

not matched to individuals' level of attainment to enable the youngest children to contribute. Children's progress is checked accurately though the information is not recorded in a form that enables the leadership to check easily the progress children are making during their time in Reception. The information is also not used well enough to plan future learning. Initiatives to involve parents in their children's learning prior to and at the start of the Foundation Stage are appreciated and help children to settle quickly into school life.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Develop a system to track pupils' progress from Reception to the end of Year 2 and to ensure that targets set are sufficiently demanding. ■ Improve the teaching and learning of Reception children when taught alongside Year 1 and Year 2 pupils. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Sherburn Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 30 April 2008 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Sherburn Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 30 April 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? 3 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 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 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?

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 of 9 Inspection Report: Sherburn Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 30 April 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? 8 of 9 Inspection Report: Sherburn Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 30 April 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Inspection of Sherburn Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Malton, YO17 8PG Thank you for welcoming me to your school and being so polite and friendly. I enjoyed my inspection and I want to share with you what I thought. Your school provides you with a good education. Standards by the end of Year 6 are significantly above average. You make good progress in your learning because you are taught well. Your personal development is outstanding. The headteacher knows how to improve your school and she is ably helped by other staff and governors. To help you make even better progress in the Reception and Years 1 and 2 and reach higher standards, the school wants to quicken the pace of learning from Reception to Year 2. So I have asked your headteacher and governors to extend the use of the good system of tracking progress in learning that is used in Years 3 to 6. In addition, I have asked the school

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

to plan more carefully the work for Reception children when they are taught alongside Year 1 and Year 2 pupils. I know that you enjoy being at school and all get on extremely well together. I was impressed by your excellent behaviour and care and concern for one another. I thought that the way you commented on what was good about your writing and what could be improved was great. I also thought the presentation of your work and art was superb. I appreciated talking to you about your work and watching you learn. I wish you well for the future and trust that you will continue to work with the staff to make your school even better. 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Sherburn Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 30 April 2008

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