Kettlewell Primary School

Kettlewell Primary School Inspection report

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121406 Unique Reference Number North Yorkshire Local Authority 327479 Inspection number 8 October 2008 Inspection date Ann Sharpe Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Primary Type of school Community School category 4–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 29 School (total) 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Richard Humpidge Chair Mrs Lesley Taylor Headteacher 16 November 2005 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Kettlewell School address Skipton North Yorkshire BD23 5HX 01756 760280 Telephone number 01756 760280 Fax number

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4–11 Age group 8 October 2008 Inspection date 327479 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. 2 of 9 Inspection Report: Kettlewell Primary School, 8 October 2008

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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: the quality of care, guidance and support for pupils; the leadership and management of the school; and the school's capacity to improve further. Evidence was gathered from the school's self-evaluation, plans for further improvement, nationally published assessment data and the school's records of pupils' progress. Observations of pupils in lessons and around the school were undertaken. Discussions were held with staff, pupils and a governor. Questionnaires returned by parents were considered. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in as much detail, but the inspector found that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were sometimes modest.

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Description of the school

All of the pupils attending this small school are of White British heritage. Some pupils live in Kettlewell, although almost half travel to school by bus from surrounding villages in the North Yorkshire Dales National Park. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is below the national average, as is the proportion with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Pupils are all taught in mixed-age classes. The school makes provision for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), and the Reception age children learn alongside pupils in Years 1 and 2. The school has received a variety of national and local awards, including the Inclusion Quality Mark, Investor in People and the Healthy Schools 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: Kettlewell Primary School, 8 October 2008

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Grade: 1

Kettlewell Primary is an outstanding school. It is happy, welcoming and purposeful and has gone from strength to strength since its previous inspection. Improvements to the premises, for example, which have been thoughtfully and carefully undertaken, have enabled staff to make fuller use of the very limited space available. As a result pupils benefit from an outstanding quality of education that enables them to reach exceptionally high standards by the time they leave the school at the end of Year 6. Parents think very highly of the school and pupils thoroughly enjoy coming. Staff and governors work very hard to ensure that the school and its pupils do not become isolated because of its small size and the rural setting. To this end, they strive continually to extend partnerships with others, particularly other local schools and the National Trust. These excellent partnerships raise standards in many subjects and contribute

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Grade: 1

significantly to community cohesion. When children start in the EYFS, their skills are typical for their age. Pupils of all ages, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, make outstanding progress because of consistently high quality teaching and learning. National assessment and test data are not a reliable indicator of pupils' achievement and standards because year groups can be extremely small. The school sets very challenging individual learning targets for all pupils. Outstanding care, guidance and support ensure that their progress towards targets is tracked meticulously, with extra support available whenever it is needed. Consequently, pupils meet, and often exceed, their targets. When they transfer to secondary schools, their skills are much more advanced than expected for their age. The flexible approach of teachers and caring support staff means that pupils always have the

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Grade: 1

opportunities they need in order to achieve as well as they can. Procedures for protecting and safeguarding them are in place. Staff have very high expectations of pupils, as seen in the advanced grammatical knowledge, poetry writing and information and communication technology skills of the older pupils. It is also seen in the confident way that even younger pupils use computerised teaching and learning boards as part of their everyday work. Pupils' basic literacy and numeracy skills are extremely well developed and they do very well in other subjects, too. The papier mache shoes designed and made by younger pupils are of a high standard for their ages, as is the art work throughout the school completed as part of a study of the work of a famous artist. Pupils' outstanding personal development and well-being are the result of the school's determination to ensure that academic and social skills go hand in hand, evident in their excellent

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Grade: 1

spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The curriculum is outstanding because it provides all the opportunities that pupils need if they are to become responsible citizens in the future. Pupils become increasingly sensible, caring and mature. Attendance has improved and is now above average, and pupils' attitudes to learning and their behaviour are excellent. They take responsibilities willingly, get along well together and share tasks, such as clearing away after lunch. They love taking part in activities beyond the school, for example, an archaeological dig, exhibitions, music and drama performances and the recent River Life Project. Pupils' understanding of staying safe and healthy is excellent. There is 100% take up of the healthy school meals and pupils are well aware of safety issues, such as electrical and Internet safety. Pupils are closely involved in planning the future of their school, for example, forthcoming

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Grade: 1

alterations to the premises were first proposed by the pupils themselves. 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Kettlewell Primary School, 8 October 2008 Leadership and management, including governance, are outstanding. The excellent leadership of the headteacher, who also has responsibility for teaching a class for much of the time, is the key to the school's success. This is a school that does not rest on its laurels and is very forward looking. Leaders and managers have been modest in some self-evaluations because of a firm belief that there is always something else that can be done to improve. They have very high expectations of themselves and of the pupils and this is why standards are so high. The school's track record of high standards and continual improvement demonstrate its outstanding capacity to continue to improve in the future.

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Grade: 1

Children in the EYFS make outstanding progress because of outstanding teaching, learning, the curriculum and because of the dedication of staff to their care. Leadership and management are extremely effective because staff are very knowledgeable about how to help young children to learn. They are skilled at catering for the learning needs of Reception age children working alongside pupils in Years 1 and 2. Consequently, when children become Year 1 pupils, they achieve or exceed all the national goals for their learning. The relaxed and happy 'family' atmosphere helps children to settle easily into school life and they quickly learn to follow school routines. Children's outstanding personal, social and emotional development gets them off to a wonderful start with more formal learning. They work and play alongside older pupils and are confident to try things for the first time. Children enjoy choosing their own activities when

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Grade: 1

staff ask them to do so and they readily join the class when it is time to learn together. Children's communication, language and literacy skills, and their problem solving, reasoning and numeracy skills improve rapidly. This is because staff provide a host of exciting activities, indoors and outdoors, that encourage children to want to learn more. The recent addition of an 'all weather' outdoor area reflects the school's total commitment to children's welfare and learning needs.

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What the school should do to improve further

The school has no major areas for improvement. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Kettlewell Primary School, 8 October 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: Kettlewell Primary School, 8 October 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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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? 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

1 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 1 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 1 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 1 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 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: Kettlewell Primary School, 8 October 2008

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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 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 2 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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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 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 1 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? 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: Kettlewell Primary School, 8 October 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for making me feel so welcome when I visited your school and for answering all my questions so politely and thoughtfully. I thoroughly enjoyed my day with you and really enjoyed finding out about all the exciting things you do at school. Your behaviour was excellent and I was impressed with how you all look after one another and share jobs without any fuss. It was good to see you enjoying playing outdoors in the sunshine. I thought how very lucky you are to have a school in such beautiful surroundings. I was very pleased, however, to see that your school helps you to find out about people and areas beyond Kettlewell and the North Yorkshire Dales and I hope that you enjoy your visit to Liverpool. Your school is outstanding. It is little wonder that your parents are so pleased that you can attend. You learn very fast because your headteacher, teachers and other staff care about you a great deal and want you to do the very best you can. This is why they give you so many

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

chances to do interesting things and expect you to try your hardest. You do very well indeed in English and mathematics and you are also good at other subjects, such as science, information and communication technology and art and design. You know such a lot about staying safe and healthy and I was pleased to see so many of you eating fruit and drinking water. Congratulations on receiving all your awards and improving your attendance. Your school is one that wants to keep on getting better and better and it works hard and successfully to make sure that it does. I was pleased to see how much you help it to do this. I did not find anything major that your school could do better. This is why I am asking you to continue making good suggestions and helping in any way that you can. 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Kettlewell Primary School, 8 October 2008

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