Clough and Risegate Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Clough and Risegate Community Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 30 January 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in March 2014. This school continues to be good.

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since your appointment in 2016, you have successfully ensured that pupils, staff and parents and carers have operated under the TEAM (together everyone achieves more) mantra. This has led to a safe, harmonious atmosphere where p...upils thrive.

Parents hold overwhelmingly positive views regarding the quality of education you and the staff are providing. One parent told me, 'This school is fantastic. It is warm and welcoming and my child feels so happy and secure here.'

Well-behaved and polite pupils work hard. They are engaged and enthusiastic about learning because teachers plan activities at the correct level of challenge. For example, pupils in the Year 2/3 class were enjoying describing a 'spooky setting' when writing a story.

One pupil wrote that, 'It was darker than midnight.' The class were challenged to improve their writing by using a thesaurus in order to find synonyms for adjectives they had used. Relationships between adults and pupils are positive.

Pupils I spoke with confirmed that they feel safe, pupils' behaviour is good and that any rare incidents of bullying are dealt with swiftly and fairly. Pupils told me they enjoy the wide variety of extra-curricular activities on offer. These include running the daily mile, football, tennis, fencing and drama clubs.

Pupils relish educational visits and the opportunity to take part in an outdoor and adventurous residential when in Years 4, 5 and 6. At the previous inspection, leaders were asked to ensure that the most able pupils were given work that challenged them. Consequently, the most able pupils are now assessed and their progress tracked frequently.

In mathematics, the most able pupils are successfully tested with 'challenge cards' and 'challenge tables'. In the Year 4, 5 and 6 class the most able mathematicians were challenged to convert the perimeters of shapes from feet into centimetres. In reading, you have purchased new books that are banded into bronze, silver and gold levels.

The most able readers are encouraged to choose books at the higher levels. You were asked to ensure that teachers gave pupils clear guidance on how to improve their work. As a result, staff are consistently using the new marking and feedback policy.

Pupils understand this system. They told me that it helps them to understand what they have done well and what they need to do next in order to improve. The inspector also asked that middle leaders develop their skills in analysing pupils' assessment information.

As a result, middle leaders have accurately analysed this information and reported their findings to governors at meetings. You have therefore, successfully addressed the areas for improvement identified in the previous inspection report. You have a comprehensive monitoring timetable that allows leaders and governors to check on, for example, the quality of teaching.

We agreed that these monitoring activities do not always have a clear focus and provide precise enough feedback to improve teachers' practice. Consequently, the next steps for teachers and for school improvement are not as clear as they could be. We also agreed that middle leaders would benefit from training opportunities to further develop levels of expertise in their areas of responsibility.

Safeguarding is effective. Thorough checks are made on adults before they are allowed to work or volunteer at the school. You and the staff are trained well in relation to such areas as child abuse, neglect, domestic violence and child sex exploitation.

Frequent safeguarding updates from the local authority are shared with staff. Staff understand and follow a clear system to report any pupil welfare concerns. Referrals to outside agencies are prompt.

Therefore, pupils and their families receive the help they need quickly. You have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. The latest available information indicates that pupils attend school frequently.

Rates of absence and persistent absence are below national averages. Inspection findings ? Pupils' outcomes by the end of key stages 1 and 2 over recent years have been broadly in line with, and sometimes well above, national averages. However, pupils leaving Year 6 in 2017 attained poorly.

They made much slower progress than other pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. You analysed closely the reasons for this and correctly identified, for example, that pupils had not received enough opportunities to develop problem-solving and reasoning skills. You have now successfully addressed these issues.

Consequently, the vast majority of current pupils are on track to achieve at age-related expectations in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of the academic year. ? You hold termly pupil progress meetings with staff to discuss individual pupils and the progress they are making in reading, writing and mathematics. You identify possible barriers to learning and overcome these by swiftly offering extra help and support.

As a result, any pupil who falls behind catches up quickly. You encourage teachers to moderate pupils' work with other schools to ensure that the assessment judgements are accurate. ? Children in the early years get off to a good start.

One parent told me her child, 'wants to come at the weekend!' In 2015 and 2016, the proportion of pupils who achieved a good level of development was broadly in line with the national average. In 2017, this proportion was above the national average. The majority of children are therefore prepared well for Year 1.

• There are good arrangements in place before children start in the Reception class. The teacher visits children in their nursery setting and meets with parents to share information. There are strong links with outside agencies, for example the speech and language team.

Consequently, staff have a good knowledge of children before they start at the school and any child who requires extra support receives it promptly. ? Relationships between adults and children are positive in the early years. Strong routines and appropriate activities mean that children behave well and are engaged fully.

Children make good progress. There are many opportunities for children to develop their writing, mathematical and creative skills. For example, in the outdoor café children were observed taking orders, writing lists and paying for items using money.

• Evidence seen in pupils' books shows that there is a broad and balanced curriculum. There are opportunities for pupils to deepen their knowledge and understanding in a range of subjects including history, science and religious education. You understand the importance of monitoring the curriculum closely to ensure that all subjects are being taught effectively.

• Teaching assistants are a strength. They ask questions that help to develop pupils' thinking. For example, a group of Year 2 and 3 pupils were effectively learning how to use capital letters and exclamation marks in a variety of contexts.

Teaching assistants understand the importance of developing independence by allowing some activities to be completed solely by the pupil. ? Support from the local authority has been effective. The adviser has helped to verify your judgements on, for example, the quality of teaching and the progress pupils are making in reading, writing and mathematics.

Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? monitoring and evaluation activities have a clear purpose and offer feedback that has precise next steps for improvement ? information from these activities is used to identify and prioritise next steps in school improvement ? middle leaders further develop their expertise in their areas of responsibility. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Lincolnshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

Yours sincerely Peter Stonier Her Majesty's Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I held meetings with you and the senior teacher responsible for the early years and mathematics. I also had a meeting with governors, including the chair of the governing body, and held a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority. I visited all three classrooms with you.

I examined samples of pupils' work with you and talked to pupils about their learning. I spoke with pupils informally during lessons, and formally during an interview. I observed pupils' behaviour around the school, at the start of the school day and during lessons.

I met with parents at the beginning of the school day and I took account of 27 responses to the Ofsted free-text service, 28 responses to Parent View, Ofsted's online survey, and 13 responses to Ofsted's staff survey. There were three responses to the pupil survey. I examined a range of documents, including safeguarding records and policies, the single central record, behaviour policies, the latest achievement information for all pupils, the school's self-evaluation summary and improvement plan, records of meetings of the governing body and information relating to pupils' attendance and behaviour.