Nun Monkton Primary Foundation School

Nun Monkton Primary Foundation School Inspection report

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121721 Unique Reference Number North Yorkshire Local Authority 327559 Inspection number 14 November 2008 Inspection date Amraz Ali HMI 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 Foundation School category 4–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 36 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 G Armitage Chair Mr S Biddlestone Headteacher 17 October 2005 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection The Green School address Nun Monkton York North Yorkshire YO26 8ER

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4–11 Age group 14 November 2008 Inspection date 327559 Inspection number 01423 330313 Telephone number 01423 330313 Fax number

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4–11 Age group 14 November 2008 Inspection date 327559 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. 3 of 12 Inspection Report: Nun Monkton Primary Foundation School, 14 November 2008

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty's Inspectors and an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This is a very small primary school. It serves the village of Nun Monkton, between York and Harrogate, an area that is generally advantaged socio-economically. Pupils come from the village and the surrounding area and almost all are of White British heritage. No pupils are eligible for free school meals and the proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average. At the time of the inspection there were significantly more boys than girls on roll. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provision is for children in the Reception year. They usually start at the school in the term in which they become five. They are taught in the infant class alongside Year 1 and Year 2 pupils. The school has been awarded the Activemark for its work in sport.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 4 of 12 Inspection Report: Nun Monkton Primary Foundation School, 14 November 2008

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Grade: 2

Nun Monkton Foundation Primary school provides a good quality of education and good value for money. A key success of the school is the caring and welcoming ethos and the good personal development and well-being of pupils. The school is held in high esteem by parents and the local community and this has helped to create a very cohesive school community. Pupils enter the school with skills and knowledge that are broadly typical for their age, although this varies year-on-year. By the time they leave Year 6, they typically reach above average standards. This represents good achievement overall. They make good progress in the EYFS and good progress throughout Key Stage 1. Particular strengths in the literacy teaching and the time devoted to work on letters and sounds are reflected in the well above average standards in reading by the end of Year 2. In Key Stage 2, progress continues to be good and standards

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Grade: 2

have consistently been above average. However, across the school progress in mathematics is not as strong as in English and standards are closer to average because few of the more able pupils reach the higher levels. The quality of teaching and learning is good. Good relationships between staff and pupils along with pupils' very good attitudes enhance learning and the progress made. Work is mostly well planned to meet the full range of pupils' ages and abilities. Pupils enjoy learning and are proud of their work and their achievements. Strong teamwork and good care, guidance and support help pupils to achieve personal success and develop into confident, well motivated and caring individuals. The satisfactory curriculum has an appropriate focus on the basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics. Provision for pupils' personal development and well-being is very effective. Pupils learn how to live healthy lives and they know how to keep safe. The curriculum is effectively

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Grade: 2

enhanced and enriched by a range of visits, music, sports and after school activities. Pupils talked with enthusiasm about visits to London and a Roman Fort. Both of these were effective in bringing real meaning to their classroom work. Interactive whiteboards are used to make learning interesting and new laptop computers are beginning to be used to enhance the pupils' learning across the curriculum. Whilst the planning of individual lessons is generally effective in meeting the needs of all pupils in mixed age classes, the plans to deliver all subjects during a pupil's time in the school are underdeveloped. The way this is planned and organised makes it hard for teachers to be sure that all pupils build on their previous learning and make good progress across the full range of subjects. Leadership and management are good. The governors and the headteacher have a mainly accurate understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development. Plans for

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Grade: 2

improvement are clear and grounded in effective analysis of the pupils' test results. However, arrangements for regularly checking the day-to-day work of the school have not been robust enough to ensure that all policies and practices are being implemented uniformly across the school. As a consequence, for example, the presentation of pupils' work in their exercise books is too variable and some is poor. Similarly the feedback provided to pupils does not always provide effective ways to improve the work. 5 of 12 Inspection Report: Nun Monkton Primary Foundation School, 14 November 2008

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Grade: 2

Children enter the school with skills and knowledge that are varied but which are broadly typical for their age. Their social and speaking skills are usually strong. The EYFS provision is carefully planned and teaching is appropriately directed to meet individual needs, within this mixed age group. This ensures that by the end of the Reception year attainment is generally above typical expectations and children have made particularly good progress in reading because of a strong emphasis on the teaching of letters and their sounds. Structured role-play, such as having a picnic and exploring aspects of home life, provide opportunities for children to work cooperatively. The mixed age grouping helps children to develop their social and academic skills by working and playing alongside slightly older pupils. Children are able to choose their activities to follow on from those directed by the team of adults. The provision ensures that

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Grade: 2

there are activities to engage everyone and children particularly enjoy using the outdoor area, where they are supported to access challenging physical activity whatever the weather. The outdoor provision is small but well resourced and is used well to extend aspects of classroom learning. Pupils particularly enjoyed constructing a small drainage system to safely conduct water following on from teacher directed work on 'The Willow Pattern' story. The leadership and management of the EYFS are good, ensuring that all members of the small team are aware of their roles and responsibilities. The progress each child makes is now monitored accurately and provides a good basis for further learning.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise standards and achievement in mathematics across the school, particularly for the more able pupils. ■ Improve the planning and organisation of work in the curriculum, ensuring that, in all subjects, pupils build on their previous learning. ■ Ensure that leaders are more effective in monitoring and evaluating practice to further raise standards across the school.

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Grade: 2

This is a very small school and the numbers in each cohort are very small. An analysis of data about individuals' standards and progress over the last three years shows that standards are above average and achievement is good. In Key Stage 1 pupils make good progress and by the end of Year 2 standards are typically above average. Good progress in reading means that standards are well above average with an above average number reaching the higher Level 3. Standards in writing and mathematics are not quite as strong as in reading because the proportion of pupils reaching the higher Level 3 is closer to average, particularly in mathematics. In Key Stage 2, standards at the end of Year 6 are typically above average. From pupils' starting points this represents good progress. Standards in reading remain a strength in Key Stage 2 and have consistently been above standards in writing. Recently, the school has worked to

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Grade: 2

improve the standards and progress that pupils make in writing and evidence from pupils' written work indicates that this is having some success. Pupils' standards in mathematics have been consistently below those of English and science, primarily because fewer pupils reach the higher Level 5 in mathematics than in the other subjects. Pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress because those who need help with their work are identified early and effective intervention programmes are put in place. 6 of 12 Inspection Report: Nun Monkton Primary Foundation School, 14 November 2008

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. Their good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through assemblies and a well developed programme of personal, social and health education. Pupils are friendly, polite and behave well. They move around school sensibly and have pride in belonging to the school community. They say they enjoy school and this is shown in their well above average attendance. Pupils work hard to support each other within their 'Family Groups'. They learn that they can resolve many issues themselves without adult assistance. They understand that they need to eat healthily and take regular exercise. They know how to follow safe practices when working on the internet both at school and at home. They are keen to work together to support the school community and take pride in participation in the harvest festival and the village barn dance. The democratically

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Grade: 2

elected school council has taken on the responsibility of raising funds each month to support the education of a boy from Brazil. Pupils' good personal skills along with their good basic skills, particularly in reading, mean that they are well placed to continue their learning into the next stage of their education.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. A strong feature is the good relationships that exist between pupils and teachers. These are enhanced because teachers know the pupils well. Pupils' behaviour is good and they are well motivated ensuring that classrooms are calm and orderly. Classroom management and organisation are good and have been particularly effective at meeting the needs of the youngest EYFS pupils alongside their classmates. In the best lessons, good planning ensures that activities are closely matched to pupils' age and abilities. Pupils are encouraged to work independently and to think for themselves. The pace of learning is brisk. Teachers' good subject knowledge and questioning skills are used well to challenge pupils and develop their thinking. In a Year 5/6 design and technology lesson, for example, pupils were challenged to find ways to improve their models of 'Roman style' catapults. Support assistants are used

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Grade: 2

well and often work with small groups to deliver intervention programmes to those who need them. Whilst all of the lessons that were observed were good, the quality of work in some exercise books varied. Similarly, so did the marking and feedback that was provided to pupils. In the best cases, it was supportive and provided useful areas for improvement, but in other books, particularly in mathematics, this was not the case.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory overall. There is a clear focus on the basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics. Daily lesson planning is generally good and meets the needs of different ages and groups of pupils in mixed age classes, often identifying where individuals need extra help or support. However, the school's plans to cover the full range of National Curriculum subjects are currently underdeveloped and do not provide a framework to support the progression of pupils' learning across all subjects. The school has a declared intention of making better links between subjects but this is at the early stages. While there have been some successes, for example, in using a novel set during World War Two to extend literacy skills and 7 of 12 Inspection Report: Nun Monkton Primary Foundation School, 14 November 2008 historical understanding, the impact has been limited. The teachers' own subject knowledge is

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Grade: 3

used well, for example, one teacher provides the music across the school and another teaches the physical education across the school. A varied programme of visits and visitors to the school is in place to help make learning more meaningful. The extensive and varied range of sporting activities on offer in the curriculum is good and has led to the national award of the Activemark.

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Grade: 2

This is a very caring school, which works effectively with parents and outside agencies to provide good care and support for all pupils. Procedures for child protection and for safeguarding pupils meet statutory requirements. Health and safety procedures, including risk assessments are in place. Staff know pupils well and show them great care. Pupils appreciate that all the adults work hard to support them and they say that they feel safe and well looked after in school. Partnership working is strong. Links between the school and parents are productive, and parents feel well informed about the progress their children are making. When the need arises, effective links with professional and other outside agencies are accessed quickly by the school. The school regularly and accurately measures the progress pupils make, but does not always make the most effective use of this in planning lessons. Pupils are set realistic individual targets for

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Grade: 2

improving their work. Pupils' understanding of their targets and what they need to do to improve their work is developing well in writing, but this is not always the case in mathematics.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good overall. The key success of the leadership has been to ensure that strong teamwork has created a happy, caring and welcoming school community. Parents are extremely supportive of the school and what it does for their children. With so few teachers at the school, some of whom work part-time, each teacher has previously held many areas of responsibility. To make this more manageable the school has recently reorganised subject responsibilities into six broad areas and has developed the work of leaders of these areas. Some of this role is new and has yet to impact fully across the school. Plans for improvement are appropriate and are based on the school's analysis of pupils' assessment and test results, which form a secure basis for improvement. The headteacher, along with governors, has a broadly accurate picture of the school's strengths and areas for improvement. However,

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Grade: 2

some detail of the monitoring of teaching, planning and pupils' work is not sufficiently robust, particularly in subjects other than English, mathematics and science. Improvements since the previous inspection, developments in the EYFS and the increased progress being made in writing all demonstrate the school's good capacity to improve further. Governance is good; governors take their roles and responsibilities seriously and work well to support the school. 8 of 12 Inspection Report: Nun Monkton Primary Foundation School, 14 November 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. 9 of 12 Inspection Report: Nun Monkton Primary Foundation School, 14 November 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? 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

2 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 2 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 2 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 2 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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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/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. 10 of 12 Inspection Report: Nun Monkton Primary Foundation School, 14 November 2008

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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 1 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 1 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 2 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 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 2 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? 11 of 12 Inspection Report: Nun Monkton Primary Foundation School, 14 November 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you all so much for the very warm welcome you gave us when we visited your school recently to check how well you were doing. We very much enjoyed talking to you all. This letter is to tell you about the main things that we found. We agree with you that you go to a good school. The staff at your school provide you with good care and guidance which ensures that you are all safe and happy at all times. You told us that you enjoy coming to school and that was obvious in the happy and friendly atmosphere at Nun Monkton. Your behaviour is good and you all get along well together. We were particularly impressed by the way that older pupils help and support the younger pupils within the family groups. Well done! We have asked the governors, the headteacher and the staff to help you to improve how well you are doing in mathematics so that more of you reach the higher levels. We have also asked that they improve the way that they plan the curriculum so that it is a clear how you will all

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

make progress in all of your subjects. Finally, we have asked them to check more carefully on how well the work they are doing is helping you to make better progress. There are many good things about your school and you, together with your teachers, can make the school even better. Please keep working hard and doing the best that you can. I wish you all the very best in your learning and hope that you continue to enjoy all that the school has to offer you. 12 of 12 Inspection Report: Nun Monkton Primary Foundation School, 14 November 2008

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