Hugh Joicey Church of England First School, Ford Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment further by:
  • providing opportunities to challenge and extend the learning of lower-attaining pupils consistently, particularly in writing
  • refining the systems to assess pupils’ skills and evaluate their progress in the foundation subjects to ensure that there is strong and sustained progress in all subjects.
• Further strengthen leadership and management by:
  • developing the role of middle leaders so they extend their skills in monitoring and are able to make even greater impact on whole-school improvements
  • refining the whole-school and subject-specific improvement plans so that timelines, actions and success criteria are clear and focused on pupils’ outcomes.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher conveys a clear vision for the school and has a strong moral purpose. The staff and governing body share her commitment, dedication and passion. The school has greatly strengthened since the previous inspection.
• Governors have created a stable school through the permanent appointment of the headteacher. The headteacher has worked successfully with the governing body to create a highly skilled staff team. Clarity of roles and responsibilities has resulted in greater consistency across the school.
• All staff are involved in improving standards at the school. The headteacher is skilled in monitoring the quality of teaching and, as a result, has created an effective and highly motivated team of staff.
• The headteacher is determined that disadvantaged pupils make the same strong progress as their peers. She is passionate in her commitment to ensure that the situations children face do not disadvantage them. The school works relentlessly to remove as many barriers to learning and pupils’ well-being as possible. Leaders provide social and emotional support through the lead practitioner to ensure these pupils are successful. Consequently, these pupils make good progress from their various starting points.
• The leadership of special educational needs provision is good. The leader is determined to ensure the school meets these pupils’ needs. Her knowledgeable and enhanced skills have ensured identification of pupils is accurate and additional targeted support is effectively used. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make strong progress and many are beginning to catch up with their peers.
• The sports leader is passionate in her work and is clearly proud of the various developments made to improve pupils’ health and fitness. Pupils spoke positively about the many clubs and sporting competitions in which they are involved. The sports leader has a clear vision of future improvements for her subject. However, the written action plan is not refined or detailed enough to ensure these improvements occur in a timely manner.
• Staff are determined to provide pupils with memorable and rich learning experiences. Visits and visitors to school help to enhance the curriculum. Year 4 pupils, for example, visited a peace garden as an act of remembrance. As a teacher stated, this helps to ‘bring the curriculum alive for our pupils’. Staff provide pupils with first-hand experiences which make meaningful links to the skills and knowledge they are teaching.
• Leaders carefully plan and monitor the school’s curriculum to ensure that all subjects are covered. The curriculum is broad and balanced and provides pupils with opportunities to explore key skills and concepts. All teachers use opportunities within the curriculum to embed the basic skills of English and mathematics. An important focus within the curriculum design is around building pupils’ aspirations and developing independent learners ready to move on to the next stage of their education.
• Staff plan a highly engaging curriculum, filled with lots of memorable experiences. However, occasionally because assessments are insufficiently refined, activities in subjects like history and geography do not build progressively on pupils’ prior knowledge. This results in a lack of challenge for some pupils.
• All leaders, including governors, see developing and promoting British values as an important part of the school’s work. Throughout the curriculum, teachers plan opportunities for pupils to explore the importance of tolerance and respect, liberty, the rule of law and democracy. For example, pupils are involved in exploring different civilisations and countries to examine their legal systems. In addition, through debates and elections for school council, pupils have the opportunity to make decisions about how they would like to see their school environment develop.
• Middle leaders are keen to support school improvements. They are ambitious and their skills in monitoring standards of work are successfully developing. Middle leaders are continuously seeking improvement. However, their action plans to drive improvements do not contain clear timelines, actions and criteria on which to measure their impact.
• The vast majority of parents and carers are extremely positive about the work that the school does for their children. One parent’s words capture the views of many, stating, ‘Pupils are cherished, cared for and valued.’
• The school has received effective support from the local authority, the diocese and a school partnership. This support has secured improvements particularly in early years, special educational needs provision and in improving teaching through developing teachers’ and teaching assistants’ questioning skills.

Governance of the school

• Governors have played an important role in securing the improvements in the school. They take their role seriously and invest considerable time to ensure that they lead a school that enables all pupils to succeed. They are passionate about the school and determined to maintain the strong pace of improvement.
• The review of governors helped to clarify roles and focus their wide range of skills and expertise on precise roles within school. Governors successfully use their experience and skills to strengthen leadership.
• Governors know the school well. They have a clear awareness of school priorities. Governors measure the impact of leaders’ actions carefully through regular visits and challenging the information they receive. This has resulted in strong improvements across the school, particularly in mathematics and reading.
• Governors ensure that additional funding for physical education (PE) and disadvantaged pupils is effectively spent. They carefully evaluate spending of the funding and the effect it is having on the progress of pupils.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders have created a culture of safety and care. Staff show a good understanding of safeguarding. The importance of all aspects of safeguarding is also emphasised through all of the school’s work both in and out of the classroom and during lessons.
• The site is secure and there is plenty of adult supervision at all times. Pupils say that they feel safe and that there is always an adult on hand, if they need advice or help.
• Very effective checking of the identities of all adults who work with, or have access to, pupils is firmly embedded into the school’s procedures for recruitment of staff and the checking of visitors at reception. Records relating to all employees, governors and volunteers are well maintained and meet all requirements.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching and learning has improved since the last inspection. School leaders have created a positive learning culture and have supported staff development well. As a result, teaching is now good across the school.
• Strong teamwork provides effective support to both existing teachers and teachers new to the school. This is helping to further strengthen teaching and develop greater consistency and expertise across the school.
• Teachers have high expectations of their pupils and display a strong commitment to their classes. Their subject knowledge is good. Teachers plan learning thoroughly and consistently employ a range of strategies to organise and structure lessons. Resources are used effectively to support the learning.
• Pupil progress meetings are used to great effect to ensure that class teachers are held accountable for the progress of their pupils and are challenged if pupils are not on track. When pupils appear to be making less progress than the school expects, effective support programmes are put in place to support the pupils to catch up quickly.
• Pupils are encouraged to develop their independence and resilience as learners by all adults. Pupils are motivated to learn, they enjoy a challenge and are proud of their achievements.
• Lessons outdoors in a woodland environment make a significant contribution to pupils’ learning and well-being. Pupils are confident and keen to discuss their experiences. The leader for this provision has clear routines to ensure that lessons are managed smoothly and good health and safety procedures are followed. Children in Reception set about making porridge for Goldilocks while searching for the bears. Good teamwork, communication and mathematical skills were evident.
• Teaching assistants and teachers work as an effective team to make sure that pupils receive the extra guidance and support required as quickly as possible. Both teaching assistants and teachers have a very good knowledge of their pupils and this enables them to plan interesting and challenging learning opportunities that ensure that pupils make good progress.
• The teaching of phonics is strong. Teachers and teaching assistants have excellent subject knowledge in this area. Children in early years get off to a confident start in blending and segmenting sounds. Pupils develop a love of reading and confidently attempt new words using their phonics skills.
• Reading is a strength of the school and pupils are able to read from a wide range of materials. The inspector listened to a range of pupils read and was impressed by the accuracy of their reading and their understanding. Pupils were keen to share their enthusiasm for reading.
• The teaching of mathematics has greatly strengthened as teachers have received effective training and guidance. Important mathematical skills, such as reasoning and problem solving, are used daily within mathematics lessons. As a result, pupils confidently tackle challenging problems. They are now making good progress in mathematics across the school.
• Overall, the quality of pupils’ writing is now good for most groups of pupils. Teachers plan many interesting and creative opportunities that encourage pupils to write. For example, the recent astronaut visit inspired the Year 1 and 2 pupils to write space stories. Pupils’ work shows they become increasingly accurate in their use of spelling, punctuation and grammar over time. Almost all pupils take pride in their handwriting and the presentation of their work.
• For the most part, teachers use assessments well to adapt teaching and reshape questions to ensure that all groups of pupils make good progress. However, occasionally, teachers do not use assessment quickly enough. At these times, the pace of learning can slow. Consequently, pupils, particularly those of lower ability, sometimes receive insufficient challenge, particularly in their writing.
• Teachers carefully plan the knowledge and skills they intend pupils to learn across the wider curriculum. However, evidence from talking with pupils and looking at pupils’ topic books shows that, occasionally, subject-specific knowledge and skills are not built effectively over time. Assessments do not always capture pupils’ progress in some foundation subjects like history and geography.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils thrive in this inclusive and welcoming school, which is at the heart of the local community.
• The headteacher’s knowledge and understanding of the pastoral needs of her pupils and their families is good. As a result, she is able to provide timely support when needed.
• Staff provide high-quality pastoral care. They instil strong values in pupils. Respect, tolerance and the importance of caring about each other and being a team player are at the heart of the school’s vision. All staff members place a great deal of thought and effort in ensuring that all pupils are safe and feel safe.
• Pupils treat each other, staff and visitors with respect and care. They are taught how to respect the views, opinions and differences of others. Pupils explained that ‘Everyone can be themselves and make their own choices, and they would be respected for that.’ They talked warmly about the importance of family and the importance of love within families.
• Pupils are proud of their school and their own personal achievements. They support each other well in their learning and in their play. They willingly take on areas of responsibility, such as Young Leaders, Collective Worship Crew and Protector Pals.
• Pupils feel safe in school and are extremely well looked after by all adults. Pupils demonstrate a good understanding of bullying and its forms. They are very clear on what bullying is and are confident that a trusted adult would sort out any issues they may have. Pupils talk confidently about the Thrive Program and how this helps them to understand and consider other people’s feelings.
• Pupils know how to stay safe in a variety of different situations, including when around water, when online and when learning outdoors.
• The school actively promotes a healthy lifestyle. Meal choices are healthy, as is the free snack at breaktimes. Pupils enjoy talking about their work, their achievements and the additional opportunities that school offers them. Film club, golf, mile-a-day and football, for example, are all playing a part in developing pupils’ confidence, health and well-being.
• Leaders develop strong links with the community and with charities close to their hearts. They share many events with local residents including coffee mornings, May Day celebrations and sports day. This embeds a strong sense of belonging to pupils and reflects the inclusive nature of the school.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils clearly enjoy school because teachers plan lessons that are fun, relevant and engaging. They arrive on time and attend school regularly. Their attendance is above the national average over time.
• Pupils are delightful. They are welcoming to visitors, are polite and have wonderful manners. All pupils wear school uniform and show pride in their school.
• Playtimes are joyful occasions where pupils play happily together on well-resourced and extensive grounds. Pupils are fully involved in a range of games and activities. Leaders ensure that pupils’ play is well supervised and structured to ensure that they are safe and happy.
• Leaders have highly effective procedures to promote positive behaviour. The behaviour policy is detailed and provides clear guidance on how the reward and sanction systems work. A behaviour log is maintained. There have been no exclusions or reportable incidents of inappropriate behaviours; this reflects the good behaviour seen across the inspection.
• The good relationships that are developed ensure that pupils, overall, conduct themselves well in lessons.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• This is a small school. Numbers of pupils in each year group can fluctuate from year to year and, sometimes, are very small. Because of this, it is difficult to identify trends in pupils’ outcomes. However, a detailed scrutiny of current pupils’ work across a range of subjects shows that, in all key stages, most pupils now make good progress from their starting points. This is because the quality of teaching has been strengthened and is good. By the end of Year 4, pupils are well prepared for middle school.
• Children’s learning gets off to a good start in the early years. The proportion of children achieving a good level of development at the end of Reception is, typically, just above average. Inspection evidence and the school’s own records show that current children are making good progress from their individual starting points.
• Provisional information for 2018 shows that all pupils achieved the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check. Phonics is taught consistently well. Pupils make good progress in understanding and applying their phonics skills in reading and writing.
• Provisional information for 2018 indicates that the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standards at the end of Year 2 was lower than in 2017, and, while it was average in reading, it was below average in writing and mathematics. In this year group, there was a higher than average proportion of pupils with SEND. Some pupils also recently joined the school. This impacted on pupils’ outcomes. However, inspection evidence, including a review of work in pupils’ books, shows that from their starting points, pupils’ progress was good. Pupils currently in Years 1 and 2 are also making good progress.
• As a result of good teaching, pupils in Years 3 and 4 are making good progress. In mathematics, changes to the curriculum, along with effective teaching and support, are now helping lower-attaining pupils to start to catch up. However, sometimes, lower-attaining pupils do not make good progress. This is particularly the case in writing. This is because the work they are given lacks the challenge needed to extend their learning effectively.
• Across the school, the most able pupils are achieving well. The proportion of pupils reaching the higher standards at the end of Year 2 is usually above, and sometimes well above, average.
• Disadvantaged pupils, including the most able disadvantaged, make at least as much progress as other pupils and sometimes more.
• Pupils with SEND make good progress. Skilled teaching supports and challenges these pupils and staff adapt work effectively to meet their individual needs.
• In subjects beyond English and mathematics, pupils’ skills do not effectively build on what pupils already know and can do. Some pupils are not challenged in their learning. Arrangements to assess pupils’ skills and knowledge in other subjects are not yet well developed.

Early years provision Good

• Leadership and management of the early years are good. The early years leader is highly motivated and has a clear vision for improving the provision further. She has a very good awareness of strengths and has plans in place to address areas for further development, to make sure the children receive the best education possible.
• Teaching and learning are good. Staff use assessments effectively to plan children’s next steps in development. As a result, children are highly motivated and well challenged because daily activities and continuous provision closely match their needs and interests.
• Leaders accurately measure what children know and can do. Learning journals, both written and online, provide a wide range of evidence to support judgements on the progress children are making. The teacher regularly takes part in opportunities to check the accuracy of children’s progress with colleagues in school and within the local area. In addition, the local authority regularly confirms the accuracy of the school’s assessments. Children make strong progress across the year and the large majority usually leave the Reception class with skills and understanding typical for their age. As a result, children are well prepared for the demands of Year 1.
• The curriculum is broad and varied. Regular opportunities to learn outdoors, such as in woodland, successfully support children’s social, emotional and physical development. Children demonstrate high levels of curiosity and they are keen to solve problems.
• Staff spend a great amount of time organising the learning environment, both inside and outside. They use every opportunity to develop children’s skills, particularly in reading, writing and number.
• The teacher plans an effective balance of adult-led activities and activities that the children choose for themselves. Staff are skilful in engaging children in conversations to increase their vocabulary as they play. Staff effectively promote independence. They are sensitive to children’s needs and demonstrate a good understanding of how young children learn. As a result, children are happy, confident learners who are interested and engaged.
• Children behave well and are respectful of each other and their classroom. This is because adults consistently model the behaviour they want to see and are highly skilled in managing those children who are at an earlier stage of personal and social development.
• Staff form good relationships with parents. This starts with the strong transitional arrangements built with pre-school. Parents are complimentary about the early years. One parent stated, ‘My son is always happy to go to school and is smiling at the end of each day; he has developed really lovely friendships with peers and staff.’
• Safeguarding procedures are effective and welfare requirements are fully met, so children are safe and well cared for.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority 122291 Northumberland Inspection number 10059051 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school First School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Maintained 5 to 9 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 68 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Carol Douglas Jacqueline Dalrymple Telephone number 01890 820217 Website Email address www.ford.northumberland.sch.uk/ admin@ford.northumberland.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 1–2 November 2016

Information about this school

• The school is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, those eligible for support through pupil premium funding, is below average.
• The overwhelming majority of pupils are of White British heritage.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND receiving support is well above the national average. The proportion of pupils with SEND who have an education, health and care plan is below average.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector visited four part-lessons, all of which were observed jointly with the headteacher.
• Together, two senior leaders and the inspector conducted a book scrutiny of pupils’ work from all classes. Additionally, the inspector examined pupils’ work displayed throughout the school and evaluated information displayed to support learning.
• The inspector looked at pupils’ work in their books, listened to pupils read and talked to them about their learning and their experiences at school.
• Meetings were held with the coordinator for the provision for pupils with SEND, the early years leader, the sports leader and the leaders for mathematics and English. The inspector also met with several members of the governing body and the local authority school improvement partner. Telephone interviews were held with two members of the governing body and a representative from the diocese.
• The views expressed by nine staff members via Ofsted’s online questionnaire were considered.
• The views expressed in the 18 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire were taken into account together with a survey of parental views provided by the school.
• The inspector examined a range of documents, including the school’s own records relating to the monitoring of teaching and learning, the school improvement plan and action plans, headteacher’s reports to governors and minutes of meetings, training records for staff, safeguarding records and evaluations of attendance and behaviour.

Inspection team

Alison Stephenson, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector