West Heslerton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and learning by ensuring that:
  • the organisation of phonics sessions includes sufficient opportunities for pupils to improve their reading fluency
  • there is greater consistency in the opportunities provided for pupils to edit and redraft their writing.
• Improve leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • curriculum implementation is realised to enable pupils’ outcomes to continue to improve.
• Ensure that adults’ interventions in children’s free-choice play in the early years are timely and extend children’s thinking and learning accordingly.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Since the last inspection, pupil numbers have increased, and a third class has been created. While this has reduced both the age ranges taught and class sizes, the headteacher has only very recently secured stable and settled staffing. She has managed this period sensitively and stoically but is realistic about the impact the past turbulence had on pupils’ historical outcomes.
• The headteacher offers honest leadership. She is very clear about the school strengths and where further improvements need to be made. Her quality assurance procedures are regular and focused, which enables her to hold staff to account and to have accurate self-evaluation.
• School improvement planning is detailed and focuses upon the correct priorities. It is monitored regularly by the headteacher and governors and is a useful tool to inform future planning.
• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is highly skilled and knowledgeable. She ensures that pupils are exceptionally well supported, and that their targets are appropriately set to meet their needs. A range of professionals is used effectively for advice and support to supplement provision. As a result, pupils with SEND make excellent progress from their starting points.
• Leaders use additional physical education (PE) and sports funding to ensure that all pupils have an opportunity to experience a range of sports and to represent their school in competitions. All pupils are successful in achieving their 25 metres swimming award.
• Pupil premium funding is targeted to ensure that disadvantaged pupils make good progress and attain as well as their peers. Disadvantaged pupils’ assessment information about pupils’ learning is checked carefully to ensure that any lull in progress is spotted swiftly, and additional support and intervention implemented.
• In this small school, subject leadership responsibility is shared collaboratively between staff. They access a range of high-quality training opportunities from both the local authority and local teaching alliances to improve practice. More recent training has contributed effectively to the gains in pupils’ attainment and progress noted in the school’s most recent end of key stage 1 and 2 assessment information.
• Parents are wholly supportive of the leaders. They say that their children are happy and that they feel safe.
• The curriculum is full of engaging and interesting experiences for pupils. Subjects are linked through topics, providing a meaningful context in which pupils learn. However, in the past, pupils did not study subjects in sufficient depth, which affected pupils’ outcomes at the end of key stage 2 in 2016. Leaders acted immediately to tackle the shortcomings in the curriculum and placed a greater emphasis upon developing pupils’ basic skills in English and mathematics. Although this has led to subsequent year-on-year improvement to pupils’ outcomes, leaders are redesigning their curriculum further to accommodate whole-school topics. While these plans are exciting, leaders are still in the process of developing cohesive subject progression documents that are not yet implemented.

Governance of the school

• Governors are highly skilled professionals. They undertake a regular ‘skills-audit’ to help them identify their training needs accurately and to ensure that they use such skills effectively to support leaders.
• A review of governors’ work indicates the high level of challenge afforded to leaders. Governors review all pupils’ outcomes regularly and ask searching questions of leaders to ensure that a return to the dip in outcomes seen in 2016 is avoided at all costs.
• Governors’ role in monitoring the work of the school ensures that they have a very good understanding of where the school excels and where further improvement is needed.
• Governors are in the process of upgrading their website. All statutory documents, including policies and reviews of the impact of additional funding, were viewed during the inspection. It is intended that this information will migrate to the new website soon.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Extensive employment checks are completed on all staff working with pupils to ensure that they are fit to do so. Leaders use the local authority’s recording system to manage this information.
• Leaders complete an annual safeguarding audit to check that their procedures remain up to date and compliant. The outcomes of this audit are shared with governors and any weaknesses are dealt with swiftly.
• All staff and governors access regular safeguarding training and updates. This ensures that staff remain fully aware of the important role that they play in keeping pupils safe. Staff and governors who spoke to the inspector knew the process to follow should they have any concerns.
• A review of safeguarding records shows that such concerns are reported in a timely manner to the designated safeguarding officer and, in turn, to other agencies. Records are detailed and maintained in chronological order. Leaders use a paper-based system to record any concerns. They ensure that all contemporaneous evidence is held alongside initial referrals.
• A raft of additional agencies and professionals are secured to support leaders in their work to keep pupils safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Following the disappointing key stage 2 results of 2016, leaders introduced a new, and more sophisticated, points-based system to assess pupils’ attainment and progress throughout the year. Individual pupils’ and groups of pupils’ assessment information is reviewed regularly by leaders and teachers. Any gaps in pupils’ knowledge are quickly pinpointed and adjustments to teaching are made accordingly. As a result, pupils’ attainment and progress across the school are improving.
• Teachers use questions effectively to unpick pupils’ misconceptions and to probe their understanding. Teachers are skilled at giving pupils sufficient time to think and to ponder. ‘Challenge time’ each week poses questions for pupils to consider and to study.
• Classrooms are brightly displayed and inviting. All classrooms are exceptionally well resourced, which supports pupils in their learning effectively. Pupils are confident to use a range of resources independently.
• The teaching of mathematics is highly effective and ensures that pupils are making good progress in acquiring secure mathematical fluency, reasoning and problem-solving skills. Teachers plan activities that are well matched to pupils’ abilities. They ensure that a range of resources is freely available to enable pupils to visualise the processes they are completing. For example, pupils in Year 1 use models to help them understand the value of numbers.
• Pupils are taught to write in a range of styles effectively. Wider topic studies provide pupils with a purpose for writing. Teachers provide pupils with detailed feedback to improve their writing, which is in keeping with the school’s policy. Teachers focus upon improving pupils’ vocabulary choices and in developing pupils’ descriptive techniques. This is contributing to pupils’ improving outcomes in writing. However, there is less consistency in the opportunities pupils receive to improve their work further by using editing and redrafting techniques.
• Leaders have introduced a new handwriting style across the school. This is enabling pupils to join their letters successfully and is improving the presentation of pupils’ work. It is particularly helpful in enabling the younger pupils to improve the size of their letters.
• The teaching of reading is effective. By the time pupils leave the school, they are confident readers who can express their opinions and preferences skilfully. Older pupils read a range of contemporary and traditional authors. This broadens pupils’ exposure to a wide vocabulary base. Older pupils enjoy their role as junior librarians and are keen to share their love of reading with others.
• Although pupils receive a daily phonics lesson, the organisation of such sessions provides pupils with insufficient time to practise their speaking and listening skills. This is affecting the speed with which pupils, particularly the lower-ability pupils, improve their reading fluency, and the confidence with which they can blend sounds successfully. As a result, pupils’ outcomes in the Year 1 national phonics screening check vary, as pupils are taking longer to acquire these skills.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is highly effective. It is supported by the strong Christian ethos that permeates all aspects of school life. Pupils are very appreciative of the experiences they receive and love their learning. One of the parents who spoke to the inspector said, ‘Teachers make learning such fun.’
• Pupils are self-assured learners who enjoy talking about their learning and finding new and interesting knowledge and developing their skills. Pupils have a strong sense of belonging and of self-worth. As a result, pupils are confident to express their opinions and to reason and debate.
• Pupils say that they feel very safe and this view is wholly endorsed by parents. Pupils have an excellent understanding of bullying and all its forms. They are confident that should they have any concerns they will be dealt with swiftly. There are no reported incidents of bullying at the school.
• Pupils are aware of how to keep themselves safe when using the internet. They can explain the dangers attached to the use of social media and gaming and the actions that they can take to minimise the chances of any incidents occurring.
• There is a well-coordinated approach to keeping pupils mentally and physically fit and healthy. Pupils access a raft of after-school clubs, including outdoor learning, and all pupils receive opportunities to represent their school in sporting competition.
• Pupils share a strong sense of community. They are environmentally and socially aware. They use this knowledge and compassion to instigate fundraising events for a range of national and local charities. ‘Generation tea parties’ are a regular feature for the pupils, where the oldest children entertain the older members of the local community. Letters received by the school from the elderly are heart-warming and truly reflect the central role the school plays at the heart of village life.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils in all year groups behave exceptionally well. All staff share high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. Pupils respond positively by demonstrating excellent manners, and thoughtfulness to others.
• Classrooms are calm and industrious with pupils showing high levels of respect to their peers and to adults. Pupils are generous in the support they offer each other, and work well together. Pupils are proud members of the school.
• Playtimes are lively and full of fun and there is much to do. Younger pupils are very well supported by older pupils who are positive role models.
• Pupils’ attendance is in line with national averages. Leaders use all available resources to promote excellent attitudes to attendance and punctuality. In the last school year, the proportion of pupils regularly absent from school was slightly higher than the national average for girls. However, this is due to specific individual circumstances and holidays taken out of term time.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• In 2016, there was a significant dip in pupils’ attainment at the end of key stage 2, which was well below the national average. Leaders acted to remedy this, and pupils’ outcomes at the end of key stage 2 have improved year-on-year. In 2018, pupils’ combined outcomes improved well and are now above the national average.
• Varying class sizes and high proportions of pupils who start and leave school at times other than those expected, make comparisons between year groups difficult. However, in all classes, current pupils are making good progress from their starting points in reading, writing and mathematics, and pupils’ attainment is rising.
• Pupils with SEND make excellent progress from their starting point at the school. This is because of the thoughtful and detailed support package pupils receive and the expert skills of staff. Throughout the inspection, there were several heartening case studies of pupils with SEND transferring from other settings and now excelling in their learning, having previously been ‘failed by the system’.
• In each year group, the proportion of disadvantaged pupils varies considerably. Leaders monitor individual disadvantaged pupils’ progress carefully and ensure that support is available when needed. Leaders also ‘average’ all disadvantaged pupils’ progress to get a better strategic understanding of the impact of additional spending on pupils’ learning and progress. As a result, disadvantaged pupils are making good progress, in line with their peers.
• By the time pupils leave key stage 1, all pupils are successful in achieving the Year 1 phonics screening standard. However, pupils’ outcomes at the end of Year 1 for the same check are more variable.

Early years provision Good

• The early years leader knows the children well. She has secured accurate assessment of children’s learning and ensures that any child in need of additional support receives it so that they can catch up quickly. She ensures that all welfare arrangements are securely in place.
• The classroom, both indoors and outdoors, is well resourced and brightly displayed. Children access these resources confidently and are respectful of them. There are lots of opportunities within the classroom for children to consolidate their early literacy and numeracy skills, which children access freely and independently.
• High expectations are set for children to be kind and respectful of their peers and children learn quickly how to share and to turn take. As a result, children’s attitudes to each other are exemplary.
• Children’s outcomes are improving. Historically, the proportion of children reaching a good level of development at the end of Reception has fluctuated. In 2018, this improved markedly, and current children are making equally strong progress from their starting points.
• Children use their early phonic skills to write simple words and build simple sentences successfully. However, although children receive a daily phonics session, the organisation of them is such that there is insufficient time spent on improving children’s fluency.
• Adults ask effective questions that probe children’s thinking and iron out misconceptions during formally taught sessions. However, when children are accessing free-choice activities, adults’ interventions are not always timely enough to ensure that children’s thinking is extended, particularly when children are accessing outdoor learning.

School details

Unique reference number 121541 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 10057870 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 4 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 71 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Heather Clemence Headteacher Rachel Wells Telephone number 01944 728 286 Website www.heslerton.n-yorks.sch.uk/ Email address headteacher@heslerton.n-yorks.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 21–22 October 2014

Information about this school

• Since the last inspection, the school has grown and now comprises three classes, which include: Reception and Year 1, Year 2 to Year 4 , and Year 5 and Year 6. However, it remains much smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• Most pupils are of White British heritage.
• More pupils that is the case nationally arrive or leave the school at times other than those expected.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is above the national average. The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan is increasing.
• The school offers a wide range of after-school clubs.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector visited learning across a range of subjects from Reception to Year 6. All visits were conducted together with the headteacher.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, governors including the chair of the governing body, and a local authority representative. The inspector looked at work in pupils’ books and spoke to them formally and informally about their learning and behaviour. A group of pupils were heard to read.
• The inspector looked at a range of documents provided by the school, including assessment information about pupils’ progress and leaders’ self-evaluation report. The school’s records relating to safeguarding were also checked.
• There were 41 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, and free-text responses. The inspector took account of these. She also spoke to several parents at the start of the school day, and to staff members to gather their views.

Inspection team

Diane Buckle, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector