Osbournby Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Make further improvements to the quality of teaching and learning in Years 3 to 6 by:
  • placing greater emphasis in the mathematics curriculum on using and developing pupils’ number and calculation skills in other subjects
  • ensuring that teaching in whole-class sessions enables the needs of those pupils who struggle with their learning in mathematics to be met
  • ensuring that pupils develop and apply the skills they are learning in writing lessons in other subjects.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Because teaching and learning are well led and managed, the quality of teaching has improved considerably since the previous inspection and pupils are now making better progress. All leaders, including governors, have been successful in ensuring that all who work at the school are fully committed to providing the best for pupils and helping each pupil do his or her best.
• Leaders have welcomed the effective contribution of the local authority which, through regular visits and reports, has reviewed, challenged and supported the school to improve. Partnerships with other schools have helped improve particular aspects, such as the quality of subject leadership and the accuracy of assessments, by enabling staff to learn one from another.
• The headteacher provides good-quality guidance to staff, especially those newly appointed to the school, to ensure that the quality of teaching and learning and the use of assessment are consistently good throughout the school. Weaker teaching has been effectively dealt with. Leaders’ checks and staff training to ensure that all staff assess pupils’ work accurately are effective. The quality of assessment is now good.
• The progress of each pupil in reading, writing and mathematics is regularly reviewed by the headteacher, working closely with subject leaders. Any pupil who may not be doing his or her best is identified and plans are made to speed up his or her progress.
• Good work has been undertaken to ensure that staff place greater emphasis on accelerating the progress of the most able and these pupils are making better progress than previously.
• Monitoring and evaluation by subject leaders has improved since the previous inspection. However, although the quality of provision is thoroughly checked in all subjects, the monitoring of outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils is not fully effective in subjects other than English and mathematics.
• The school’s improvement plan provides a good steer for its improvement work and the school is presently well placed to continue to improve in the future. The clear and appropriately demanding targets for the attainment and progress of pupils enable leaders and governors to measure the impact of the improvement plan. However, although targets focus effectively on the proportion of pupils in each year group who should meet the standards expected for their ages, the plan lacks targets for the proportion of pupils who will exceed standards for their ages.
• The school works effectively to provide equal opportunities for all pupils to succeed and equal opportunities are at the heart of the school’s work. Much has been done recently to ensure that the most able pupils are fully challenged and more pupils are on track to exceed standards expected for their ages.
• The curriculum is mostly modified well to meet the needs of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged pupils and those who find learning difficult. There are daily good-quality additional support programmes provided for pupils who do not quite ‘get it’, provided by both teachers and teaching assistants. However, on a few occasions in mathematics lessons, the curriculum and the level of additional support for those who are struggling are insufficiently modified to enable lower-attaining pupils to do their very best.
• Pupils enjoy their regular French lessons taught by a French teacher. This is just one aspect of pupils’ good-quality preparation for the next stage of their education.
• The school’s curriculum places emphasis on providing pupils with a good range of first-hand experiences through visits, special theme weeks and visitors to school, such as the weekly visit by a qualified sports coach and the environmental education visitor. These enrichment activities are often used effectively to stimulate and enhance pupils’ learning, including learning in basic skills such as writing.
• A good range of out-of-school clubs are provided, in which pupils enthusiastically participate.
• Leaders ensure that pupil premium funding is used well to ensure that the small number of disadvantaged pupils do well at school from their varied starting points. This includes those who find learning difficult and the most able pupils who are eligible for support through this funding.
• The primary physical education and sports premium funding is used equally well. Pupils are very enthusiastic about the regular teaching provided by external sports coaches and the wider range of sporting opportunities now available to them. Staff say that working alongside external coaches has improved the quality of their teaching of sports and physical education.
• The school’s additional funds to support pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are spent wisely, mainly on teaching-assistant support and additional support programmes, and these pupils make good progress as they move through the school.
• The school’s values and its curriculum support pupils’ personal development and welfare well. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are effectively promoted in assemblies and lessons. British values are promoted well through special themes such as ‘democracy’ and ‘mutual respect’. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

Governance of the school

• Governance is now effective and the governing body has made a good contribution to helping the school improve since the previous inspection. The governing body is well led and organised. It meets frequently and checks that the actions in the school improvement plan are carried out.
• Governors regularly audit and plan all aspects of their role. They arrange for their own training and bring about any improvements in governance that are necessary.
• Governors have a detailed knowledge of the school. They receive comprehensive reports from the headteacher and check these out for themselves. Governors provide effective support and challenge to the headteacher and other leaders.
• The governing body comprises a wide range of skills and these are effectively used in school. For example, the safeguarding lead governor brings great expertise to this role and has ensured that procedures for child protection and safeguarding fully meet requirements and that safety is given a high priority.
• Governors are clear about the quality of teaching throughout the school and check that only effective teaching is rewarded and that weak teaching has been eradicated.
• Governors manage the school finances effectively. Additional funds are also managed well. This includes the pupil premium, primary physical education and sports funding and money for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Safeguarding is a high priority among governors and all staff. Governors’ monitoring of safeguarding, led by the specialist governor, is excellent and the culture of the school is caring, supportive and safe. Pupils, in a recent survey, reported that they feel safe and happy at school.
• Parents are unanimous that their children are kept safe at school. Parents appreciate that the school engages closely with them on issues of child care and safety.
• Checks on staff and other adults working in school are rigorous. All staff are provided with regular training about how to safeguard and protect pupils. Staff are confident in identifying risks and reporting any concerns that may arise.
• Internet safety is given a high priority in the school’s curriculum and pupils are able to explain clearly how to keep themselves safe online.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching and the use of assessment are much improved since the previous inspection and are now consistently good throughout the school. Consequently, standards are rising.
• Pupils behave well in lessons and are quickly corrected if they are not concentrating fully on their work. They are taught to take pride in their work and respond well to these high expectations.
• Relationships between staff and pupils are consistently good. Pupils work hard in lessons and enjoy their learning. They often find lessons interesting and fun.
• Teachers use their good subject knowledge to clarify to pupils exactly where they should focus their efforts in lessons. Pupils are often given clear criteria to help them assess their own work and see how to improve it. In all classes, pupils are given sufficient time to correct and improve their work and this helps them to make good progress in their learning.
• Reading is well taught throughout the school and many pupils enjoy reading. Older pupils, especially the most able, read fluently and with confidence and some read for pleasure at home. Right from the early years, pupils are taught to use their knowledge of phonics to support their reading of new words and phonics skills are above the standards expected for their ages up to the end of Year 2. Regular guided reading lessons and the hearing of individual readers in school help pupils make good progress in their reading. A well-organised home reading programme, which starts in the early years, enables many parents to contribute to the good progress their children make in reading.
• The most able pupils are usually well provided for and more pupils are on track to exceed the standards expected for their ages in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Although writing and mathematics are well taught in English and mathematics lessons, pupils do not consistently develop and apply their writing and mathematical skills in other subjects.
• Disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are given frequent additional support in the class or in additional sessions outside the classroom in reading, writing and mathematics. In whole-class lessons on a few occasions in mathematics in key stage 2, those who find learning more difficult are not given enough support to maximise their progress.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school's work to promote pupils' personal development and welfare is good.

• Pupils say they feel safe in school. They show a good understanding of the different forms that bullying can take and they say that there is no bullying in their school. Pupils trust the staff and believe that they will deal with any incidents that occur. Pupils show a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe on the internet.
• Pupils are taught to understand, tolerate and respect other lifestyles in assemblies and in classes.
• Older pupils enjoy taking responsibility. They respond well to their roles as buddies for children in the early years. Lunchtime behaviour and manners are supported well in the dining room, where older pupils take responsibility for helping younger pupils with their lunches.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils understand the school’s expectations of behaviour and value the rewards they are given for good behaviour and hard work. Pupils and staff all say that the good behaviour in class and around school seen during the inspection is typical for their school.
• Pupils’ manners are very good. They relate politely one to another and to staff and are able to hold mature and sensible conversations with visitors.
• Pupils’ good behaviour and positive attitudes to school and learning are a key reason why pupils make good progress.
• Rates of attendance were above national averages in the last school year and the running total for attendance this school year is equally good. This reflects not only the school’s strong procedures for rewarding and assuring regular attendance but also pupils’ enjoyment of school.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Throughout the school, pupils are now making good progress from their various starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils’ work and the school’s accurate records show that standards are rising.
• The school’s records and pupils’ work show progress is similarly good in other subjects, such as science, physical education, French and the arts.
• Children make good progress in all areas of learning in the early years and, by the end of Reception, more children attain a good level of development than is typical nationally.
• In Year 1, pupils continue to make good progress overall. When Year 1 pupils work independently or alongside other Year 1 pupils, they make good progress in their learning. When taking part in whole-class lessons with Reception-age children, the progress of the most able Year 1 pupils occasionally slows when they do work that is too easy for them. Year 1 pupils attained above-average results in their national phonics screening check, reflecting the effective teaching of phonics in the school.
• In last year’s national assessments for Year 2 pupils, pupils made the expected progress and attained in line with average standards. In Year 2 this year, all pupils, including the most able, are making excellent progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Compared with last year’s national assessment results, considerably more Year 2 pupils are working beyond the expected standards and are on track to achieve greater depth in their learning by the end of the year, due to excellent and demanding teaching.
• Last year’s national assessment results showed that Year 6 pupils made too little progress since they were in Year 2 and not enough pupils attained or exceeded the standards expected by the end of Year 6. This was due, in part, to historic issues concerning the quality of teaching which have now been effectively addressed by the headteacher. Also, the school was slow to respond to the new assessment arrangements that were introduced last year. The school recognised this and has effectively addressed this issue. This year, because pupils are being consistently well taught throughout the school, pupils’ work shows that a higher proportion of pupils are on track to meet and exceed standards expected for their ages by the end of Year 6.
• Over the last year, expectations have risen of what pupils can achieve, especially the most able. The most able pupils, except occasionally in whole-class lessons in Reception and Year 1, are now extended. The school is continuing to focus on the progress of these pupils and they are making accelerated progress as a consequence.
• Good use of pupil premium funding, especially the effectively deployed teaching-assistant support, helps the small number of disadvantaged pupils, including the most able of these pupils, make good progress.
• Those pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities progress well. Their needs and any problems in their personal development or learning are quickly identified and supported by teachers and teaching assistants.
• In mathematics, pupils’ number and calculation skills are a little better developed than their problem-solving and investigative work. The school is aware that, in Years 3 to 6, pupils’ knowledge of number facts varies considerably. Some pupils have instant recall of key facts such as multiplication tables, whereas others do not know them as well as they might. Some useful work is underway to make these consistently more secure.

Early years provision Good

• Leadership and management of the early years are good because leaders have a clear view of what works well. Provision has steadily improved since the previous inspection.
• The indoor classroom is well organised and special areas are provided for each area of learning. Good-quality and interesting resources are used to help children make good progress and enjoy their learning. Children are well prepared for the next stage of their education.
• Children’s personal development and welfare are well provided for. Children are expected to behave well. They are taught to sit still, to listen carefully and to put their hands up before answering questions. They are treated with kindness and sensitivity and are very well cared for. The early years classroom has a very positive and happy atmosphere where children are valued and often encouraged to do their best.
• Children are well looked after and kept safe and happy at school. Children say that they like having an older pupil as a buddy.
• The writing and number work in children’s books and learning journals shows the good progress they are making in their learning. They make good progress in reading and benefit from good-quality daily phonics lessons when they learn letters and sounds and use these to help them read and spell new words.
• The early years indoor and outdoor classrooms help children progress in all areas of their learning, especially in their language development, and also help them with their personal development.
• Teaching and learning are good and assessment is used effectively to guide the way that adults work with children. Although the provision meets all children’s needs much of the time, enabling them to make good progress, there are occasions in whole-class sessions when the most able children could undertake more demanding tasks.
• Any child who finds learning difficult, including disadvantaged children and children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, makes particularly good progress because of the sensitive individual care they receive.
• Parents regard the early years highly and many parents are helped to be thoroughly involved in helping their children learn. Links with parents are good.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 120386 Lincolnshire 10019551 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 92 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Tim Bright Bridgette Burn 01529455375 www.osbournby.lincs.sch.uk/ enquiries@osbournby.lincs.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 5–6 November 2014

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

• The school is much smaller than most primary schools. Few pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds. Very few pupils are from families whose first language is not believed to be English.
• A lower-than-average proportion of pupils are supported by the pupil premium.
• A well-above-average proportion of pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities or an education, health and care plan.
• In 2015, the school met the government’s floor standards. These floor standards are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• In key stage 2, all teaching staff are new to the school since the previous inspection. Most of the teachers joined the school after January 2016 and two teachers only joined at the start of this academic year.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed teaching and learning in all classes, including an observation carried out jointly with the headteacher. In addition, a number of shorter visits were made to see particular aspects of the school’s work, such as the teaching of reading. A range of other school activities, including playtimes, lunchtimes and an assembly, were observed.
• Past and current work of pupils of different abilities in all year groups was scrutinised and the inspector heard some pupils reading.
• The inspector met two governors, including the chair of the governing body. He analysed documents, including plans for school improvement and reports showing the school’s view of its own performance, safeguarding documents, as well as policies and records relating to personal development, behaviour, welfare, safety and attendance. The inspector analysed information on the performance of the school in comparison with other schools nationally and the school’s records of pupils’ progress. The school’s website was analysed.
• Short discussions were held with 29 parents of 44 children at the beginning of the second day of the inspection. The views of the 63 parents (parents of around 70% of pupils) who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, were considered.
• The inspector received the views of staff through discussions. He also received the views of pupils through both informal and pre-arranged discussions.
• The inspector held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.

Inspection team

Roger Sadler, lead inspector

Ofsted Inspector