Great Ouseburn Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Great Ouseburn Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school and learning with their friends. They attend very well.

Pupils are friendly, polite and respectful to each other and to adults. Pupils are kind to each other.

Pupils behave very well.

The school is a calm and orderly environment. Pupils are proud of their school. Bullying is extremely rare.

Leaders and pupils say they do not tolerate it. Pupils know that if they are worried staff will help them. Pupils have great trust in staff and there are positive relationships.

Pupils have a strong sense of equality. They... say, 'Everyone should be kind to each other and appreciate each other's differences and views.'

Leaders and teachers have high expectations of all pupils and are ambitious for them.

Teachers plan lessons that encourage all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to contribute well. Pupils say that learning is 'fun'.

The headteacher and staff are exceptionally well respected by parents, carers and pupils.

Parents appreciate the work that the school is doing for their children. They say they are 'grateful to have such a wonderful school in the village.' This is a school at the centre of its local community.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has an exciting, bespoke curriculum. It develops pupils' knowledge and expertise across a broad range of subjects. The curriculum is carefully sequenced from early years to Year 6.

Pupils with SEND follow the same curriculum as others. Parents appreciate the very effective support given to these pupils.

Leaders have identified the important knowledge they want pupils to know and remember over time.

There are clear subject plans, which describe what pupils should know and by when. In most subjects, pupils build up a deep understanding over time. Teachers plan exciting activities that capture pupils' interests.

For example, visits to Eden Camp and Elvington Air Museum are skilfully integrated into the history curriculum. These visits provide memorable experiences for pupils.

Well-trained staff teach phonics very effectively across the school.

Pupils learn new sounds quickly. Books are well matched to the sounds being learned. Those who find phonics, and reading, more difficult get the support they need to catch up.

Pupils are avid readers. They enjoy the wide range of books in their classroom libraries. Parents make a significant contribution to pupils' reading.

They understand how their children learn to read and make sure there is regular reading at home.

Mathematics is taught exceptionally well. Every day starts with pupils using four operations, known as 'UFOs', to practise and develop fluency in number.

The school steadily builds up pupils' proficiency in problem-solving and mathematical reasoning. Teachers check pupils' work regularly in class. Teachers clear up any misconceptions quickly.

Pupils say they 'enjoy maths and like the challenging work.'

Pupils are enthusiastic about subjects in the wider curriculum, such as history. Teachers have strong subject knowledge.

In history, for example, teachers use artefacts and sources of evidence well to bring the subject to life. Pupils learn about diversity in history. For example, pupils learn about civil rights in America, Asian servicemen and the contribution of women in the Second World War.

The school has identified the key knowledge pupils need to achieve a deep understanding of the history being studied. However, pupils do not consistently achieve these ambitious learning goals.

Across the school, pupils cooperate exceptionally well with adults and each other.

The foundations for this start in the early years where children are attentive, cooperative and enjoy working together. There are lots of opportunities for children to develop their knowledge in mathematics and reading. Adults ask questions that develop children's vocabulary and language.

Children listen well when adults are reading to them. The school joins up activities to enrich children's learning. For example, when children are reading 'The Little Turtle at Sea', they visit an aquarium and do an environmental project.

Children in early years are well-prepared for moving into Year 1.

Pupils enjoy a range of sports, social events and clubs. Pupils know the importance of rules and how democracy helps them make decisions as a class.

They learn about different faiths and cultures. Pupils visit a range of places of worship and work on multi-faith projects. They enthuse about the school choir, with almost two thirds of the school being members.

Staff enjoy working in the school. Leaders and governors are considerate of staff's well-being and workload. Governors are ambitious for the school.

They have the expertise to support the school as it continues to grow.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of foundation subjects, the school is not delivering the ambitious goals that are described in the curriculum plans for these subjects.

This means that pupils' understanding is not extended or developed as much as it could be. The school needs to review the support provided to staff for the planning and delivery of these subjects so that pupils are challenged to deepen their understanding equally well in all subjects.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in October 2013.