Scarborough, Overdale Community Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Continue to improve teaching and learning by:
  • further developing staff expertise in the teaching of phonics to ensure that there is a more consistent approach across the school
  • making sure that books are well matched to pupils’ phonics knowledge in the early stages of learning to read
  • developing the English curriculum to ensure that carefully crafted sequences of work successfully secure pupils’ knowledge and skills
  • providing more explicit opportunities for children to practise newly acquired skills independently in the early years.
• Continue to improve outcomes at the end of key stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics for all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, so that attainment is at least in line with the national average
• Ensure that leaders develop more precise records to track the training of staff in safeguarding.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The co-headteachers know their school well. They are determined to provide their pupils with what they need to succeed in all aspects of learning.
• The quality of teaching is regularly checked through the observation of teaching and the scrutiny of pupils’ work. Strengths and areas for development are identified and targets are set for individual teachers. These targets are revisited and carefully monitored, resulting in continuous improvement in the quality of teaching.
• Teachers feel well supported by leaders. They have lots of opportunities for professional development, which gives them the expertise to work on whole-school priorities and to pursue wider professional ambition.
• A whole-school focus on language development, with reading at the heart of the curriculum, is clear to see. Specialist screening takes place for all pupils in speech and language, which leads to intervention, which is precisely matched to areas of difficulty. High-quality, challenging texts are central to English units of work. These engage pupils and are often linked to their learning in other subjects across the curriculum.
• Subject leaders have a sound knowledge of the requirements of the national curriculum for their subjects. They regularly refer to teachers’ planning and records to check for curriculum coverage. They use action plans to support them to champion their subjects and provide support and training for other staff.
• Pupil premium funding is currently used to provide additional classroom support and intervention for pupils’ language development. Although this strategy has been successful to an extent, attainment for disadvantaged pupils is not strong enough at the end of key stage 2.
• The special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) coordinator has a detailed overview of the provision in place for the pupils on the SEND register. Their progress is carefully tracked, and difficulties are identified. Funding is used effectively to provide bespoke support from staff in school and from outside agencies.
• A dedicated speech and language therapist is employed to work at the school each week. This means that appointments are rarely missed, and pupils receive the support they need in a timely fashion.
• The primary school physical education and sport funding is spent wisely. Pupils have opportunities to take part in a range of sporting activities, both in school and in competitions with other schools. The health and well-being leader carefully tracks participation and constantly seeks new ways to engage pupils.

Governance of the school

• Governors know the school well. They gain knowledge about strengths and weaknesses from published data, reports from school leaders and from visits to school. They use this knowledge to provide effective support and challenge. They have supported leaders to make difficult management decisions and have offered practical support in school. They have challenged leaders to make sure that additional funding has the maximum impact on the pupils that it is designed to support. One governor pointed out that such challenge is supportive as it supports leaders’ thinking.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders have created a culture where staff are confident to report any causes for concern to the designated safeguarding lead. Therefore, they successfully intervene at the earliest opportunity and provide appropriate support for vulnerable pupils.
• The local ‘Prevent’ duty service is used well to access specialist support for some pupils and their families.
• The school’s record of training for staff in safeguarding does not make it clear when training needs to be repeated. This means that some refresher training is not completed on time, for example, governor training in safer recruitment.
• Pupils say that they feel safe in school and are confident that adults will support them if they need help.
• Parents and carers say that they know their children are safe and well cared for in school. Several state that their children, ‘love going to school each morning’.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment, over time, has improved. Pupils are given interesting, challenging tasks, which keep them interested and engaged. This has resulted in better outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics, especially at the end of Year 6.
• Phonics is taught daily to pupils in the early stage of reading development. Additional activities are provided to help pupils remember what they are learning and to practise their knowledge and skills in different contexts.
• Leaders assess pupils’ learning in phonics well. Groupings are adjusted regularly to make sure that teaching is appropriately matched to pupils’ needs and to identify where additional support may be needed. For example, ‘Reading Squad’ is used to provide intense support to some pupils. This helps them to develop reading fluency at the start of Year 2. Despite improvements in the teaching of phonics, not all staff have the confidence and expertise to deliver phonics teaching as effectively as they could. For example, some adults miss opportunities to demonstrate and check accurate letter formation.
• Pupils enjoy reading and read the books they have been given or have chosen with understanding. When they come across unfamiliar words, they use their skills in phonics to decode them. However, in the earliest stages of learning to read, books are not well matched to pupils’ phonics knowledge. This prevents them from reading with accuracy. It also means that some pupils do not develop confidence and fluency as quickly as they should.
• Pupils are taught to understand and enjoy their reading through a consistent, whole-school approach. This is displayed in classrooms and is evident in staff’s questioning. Adults encourage pupils to ask questions, visualise and make predictions. Pupils can then discuss their thinking and justify their answers, by referring to the text they are reading. This is particularly evident in the ‘Reading Gladiators Group’ in Year 6.
• A whole-school screening programme is used to identify speech and language needs. These needs are then met through bespoke, small-group teaching and individual therapy if required.
• Assessment in lessons is used to ensure that work is pitched at the right level to provide pupils with appropriate challenge. For example, pupils are given a task at the beginning of each mathematics lesson, which is used to determine the starting point for the work they complete. Support staff are well deployed to prevent individuals and groups from falling behind their peers.
• The school has a themed approach to learning, which is enhanced by quality texts. For example, Year 5 pupils used ‘War Horse’ to lead their study of the First World War. This approach helped to keep pupils interested and engaged. It also enabled teachers to make links between subjects and set learning in contexts, which are meaningful to pupils. However, some units of work in English are not as effective at building pupils’ knowledge through carefully sequenced learning.
• Staff are aware of the targets that have been set for individuals with SEND and the strategies they need to use to support pupils’ learning. Appropriate resources, such as visual timetables, are used effectively.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. School leaders and staff know pupils and their families well and are quick to identify vulnerable pupils who may need additional guidance and support.
• The curriculum is enhanced with a range of first-hand experiences provided through visits, visitors and clubs. These experiences contribute to pupils’ fascination for the world. Pupils speak with enthusiasm about sporting and musical opportunities. They have a wealth of opportunities to practise social skills in a range of different contexts, such as visiting a local residential care home. Pupils have knowledge of a wide range of different faiths, which supports them to reflect on their own beliefs.
• Pupils are very proud of their school. When asked during the inspection, pupils struggled to think of ways to improve their school. A small group suggested that it would be better if they had a swimming pool.
• Pupils’ knowledge of how to keep themselves safe is extensive. They can talk confidently about how to cross the road and are aware of the potential dangers of fire and water. Online safety is promoted well, with consistent messages that are displayed around school. Older pupils could talk about the dangers of alcohol and drugs misuse.
• Pupils say that there is very little bullying in school. Leaders’ records show that there are very few incidents, all of which are recorded and dealt with swiftly.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are confident, independent and have self-discipline. They move around the school sensibly and are polite and well-mannered. They hold doors open for others and say, ‘good morning.’
• Pupils are well supervised at breaktimes and have a range of equipment to play with. This not only keeps them occupied, but also supports their physical development.
• In lessons, most pupils have positive attitudes to learning and remain on task for sustained periods of time. Adults deal with low-level disruption in calm ways, which don’t distract other pupils from their learning.
• Attendance, overall, has been consistently above the national average for the last three years. However, the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent remains above the national average for pupils with SEND. Leaders are addressing this by working closely with families, issuing fines for holidays taken during term time and making referrals to the ‘Prevent’ duty team. These strategies have resulted in dramatically improved attendance for some pupils.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• As a result of the school’s caring ethos and the good teaching that they receive, pupils make good progress from generally low starting points. The proportion of pupils achieving the expected level in reading, writing and mathematics, by the end of Year 6, has almost doubled since 2016. Progress across key stage 2 increased to at least average in 2017 and 2018. However, by the end of Year 6, pupils’ attainment is below average in reading and mathematics and, therefore, pupils are not as well prepared for the next stage of their education as they could be.
• The whole-school ‘Language Links’ intervention is effective in developing pupils’ understanding of language. The proportion of pupils needing this intervention reduces considerably over time. Pupils say, ‘It gives us better understanding of words and makes us more confident when reading out loud.’
• Senior leaders hold regular pupil-progress meetings with teachers to check on the progress that pupils are making in reading, writing and mathematics. Where progress is less than good, strategies are discussed and put in place to support pupils to raise their attainment.
• Pupils are encouraged to read widely and often. They enjoy reading and talk about the authors they like and the books that teachers have read to them.
• The proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check improved rapidly following the last inspection. It is now more consistently close to the national average.
• At key stage 1, the proportion of pupils in Year 2 reaching the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics has been above the national averages for two years. In writing and mathematics, the proportion of these pupils reaching the greater-depth standards has been above the national average and has increased in reading. The attainment of disadvantaged pupils at key stages 1 and 2 is below that of others nationally in reading, writing and mathematics.

Early years provision Good

• Children make strong progress from low starting points. The vast majority enter the school well below the expected stage of development for their age. The proportion of children achieving a good level of development by the end of Reception has seen an improving trend over time and is now, consistently, similar to the national average.
• Regular class reading of books supports children’s language development and encourages a love of reading. Children are expected to make choices and justify them. For example, children were asked to move around the room to reflect on the characters’ feelings before offering their thoughts. This helps them to understand the story and develops their language.
• Adults interact well with children in the Nursery. They use these interactions to support children’s personal and social development as well as introducing them to new vocabulary. Songs and rhymes support children in hearing sounds in preparation for their readiness for the more formal teaching of phonics.
• The teaching of phonics has improved, but is not always as consistent or effective as it could be. Not all teaching areas have the appropriate equipment needed to support teacher modelling. For example, whiteboards are too small for children to see clearly.
• Parents say that staff are approachable. They also add that transition arrangements helped their children to settle well and supported them to know the expectations of starting school. Parents are welcomed into school each day and, through events, they are helped with how to support their child at home. Parents who attended the Christmas Mathematics Day explained how they value these opportunities.
• Children make a purposeful start to school each morning. They independently access a range of tasks to support their learning. For example, one child was naming shapes and the others in the group had to find a carpet tile of the same shape and stand on it. However, these structured opportunities for children to independently practise skills they are learning are not always capitalised on throughout the school day.
• Children are keen and enthusiastic. They behave well and cooperate well as they carry out their work and play. Adult interaction encourages children to persevere when they find things difficult.
• All statutory welfare requirements are met. Staff are clear about procedures and are confident to report any concerns they may have. Staff share safety reminders with children and through their questioning, help them to be aware of risks and take action to manage them.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 121336 North Yorkshire 10042222 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 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 204 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Pete Bowdidge Harling Co-headteachers Vicki Logan and Carrie Stabler Telephone number 01723 582360 Website Email address http://overdale.n-yorks.sch.uk/ admin@overdale.n-yorks.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 25–26 February 2014

Information about this school

• Scarborough Overdale Community Primary School is a smaller than average primary school. Most pupils are of White British heritage.
• From September 2018, the headteacher and deputy headteacher began working as co-headteachers. This enabled the headteacher to take on the role of executive headteacher at another local primary school.
• The assistant headteacher was new to post in September 2018.
• The school acts as the lead school for an early intervention for speech and language therapy programme. They support 22 additional partner schools to accelerate and improve learning outcomes through early intervention strategies for speech, language and communication.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND is higher than the national average.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all year groups and in a range of subjects. Some of the observations and some of the scrutiny of work in pupils’ books were undertaken jointly with leaders.
• Inspectors held meetings with members of the governing body, including the chair and vice-chair. They also met with leaders of learning, pupils and a representative of the local authority.
• An inspector listened to pupils read.
• Pupils’ behaviour was observed at different times of the school day and inspectors spoke to pupils and parents about behaviour in school.
• Documents were scrutinised, including those relating to safeguarding, pupils’ progress, attendance and evaluations of teaching and learning.
• Inspectors considered the views of parents through responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire Parent View, including the parent free-text facility.

Inspection team

Chris Cook, lead inspector Kirsty Godfrey

Her Majesty’s Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector