Great Corby School and Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Great Corby Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 18 September 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. You and your leadership team are uncompromising and determined in your aim to ensure the best possible outcomes for pupils.

As a result, both pupils and staff follow your example and aspire 'to be the best we can'. Pupils are proud of ...their school. They welcome the opportunity to perform at musical events and represent their school in sports competitions.

They are supportive of each other. They value the benefits that a close-knit school community offers. Pupils also appreciate the leadership opportunities on offer.

For instance, they welcome the chance to be a member of the school council. The school council plays an active role. Consequently, pupils feel that they have a voice.

They are confident that staff will listen to them and take seriously their suggestions to make the school better. You and your leadership team have fostered strong links in the local community to further broaden pupils' experiences. This means that pupils benefit from a variety of sporting activities as part of the physical education curriculum.

For example, they value highly the opportunity to learn trampolining and rock climbing. Parents and carers are equally positive. They too feel that staff listen to them.

One parent described the school as 'friendly and inclusive', while another praised the work of 'friendly and approachable staff'. These comments typify parents' responses. All the parents who responded to Ofsted's online survey, Parent View, would recommend the school to another parent.

They are confident that their children make good progress and that pupils are well cared for by staff. Staff are passionate and highly motivated. During the inspection, they explained to me how well you support them.

You ensure that they can develop professionally. They benefit from appropriate training and they are keen to refine their practice. Since the last inspection, you have introduced effective systems to check on the quality of teaching.

You ensure that teachers check on pupils' learning as a matter of routine. This allows pupils to move on in their learning when they are ready. As a result, over time, pupils make good progress.

This is particularly the case in English and mathematics. For example, provisional key stage 2 results and work in current pupils' books show that pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics across the school. Governors have an accurate and comprehensive view of the school.

They ask pertinent questions of you and your leaders to ensure that you make improvements. For example, they are aware that leaders' actions have secured considerable improvements in pupils' writing. Improvements in the teaching of writing ensure that pupils make consistently good progress across the school.

Similarly, governors are aware that there is more to do across the wider curriculum to ensure that teachers challenge the most able pupils quickly enough. Since your appointment, you have been open and honest about correctly identifying which aspects of the school need further development. You have set about these improvements with high levels of energy and positivity.

For example, following the last inspection, you took effective steps to ensure that teachers have high expectations of pupils. Consequently, pupils take pride in their work and check their own work for errors in their spelling and punctuation. Pupils understand what is expected from them because their teachers make this very clear.

You have also taken effective action to improve pupils' fluency in their handwriting. This was particularly evident in current pupils' work in Year 2. Safeguarding is effective.

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. There are systems in place to check that adults at the school are safe to work with children. Staff receive appropriate safeguarding training.

They understand the procedures they must follow if they have concerns about a pupil. Leaders work effectively with other agencies to ensure that pupils and their families receive appropriate support. They ensure that clear and robust systems are effective in ensuring that pupils are safe if they are absent from school.

Pupils feel happy and safe in the school. They are confident that there is an adult in the school that they can speak with if they have any worries. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe through the curriculum.

For example, children in Reception and pupils in Year 1 learn how to stay safe on the roads. Pupils across the school show a strong understanding of staying safe on the internet. For instance, they know not to share personal information online.

They learn about British values. For example, they know it is wrong to discriminate against those who have different religious beliefs or those who are in same-sex relationships. Inspection findings ? Firstly, I wanted to know more about how leaders use additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities.

Leaders have effective systems in place to ensure that all teachers check on the progress of all pupils. This includes disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. As a result, irrespective of their starting points, pupils who fall behind in their learning receive additional support from staff.

Leaders are highly effective in ensuring that extra help allows pupils to catch up with their peers. As a result, disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress in their reading, writing and mathematics. ? I also wanted to check on the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.

Leaders monitor carefully pupils' rates of attendance. This includes the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Staff quickly identify pupils who are often absent.

Should any pupil's attendance become a concern, leaders take swift and effective action. This ensures that all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, receive appropriate support. As a result, their attendance is improving.

• I was also interested to know whether pupils benefit from a broad and balanced curriculum. Since the previous inspection, you have ensured that teachers benefit from a wealth of training opportunities in this area. This is reaping rewards.

For example, it has been particularly effective in improving the quality of teaching of science across the school. ? Subject leaders work together effectively to provide pupils with a rich curriculum. Staff have ample opportunity to share good practice in this area with teachers at other local schools.

Improvements in the quality of teaching across the wider curriculum are allowing pupils to apply and develop their skills across a variety of subjects. For example, in history, work in pupils' books shows that Year 6 pupils successfully evaluate the reliability of different sources of information. ? Although pupils develop their skills successfully across a multitude of subjects, there are occasions when teachers do not use their knowledge of pupils' prior learning to plan activities that challenge them soon enough.

This is particularly the case for the most able pupils. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? teachers use their knowledge of pupils' prior learning across the wider curriculum to plan activities that challenge them sooner, particularly the most able. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Cumbria.

This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Emma Gregory Her Majesty's Inspector Information about the inspection During this inspection, I met with you, other senior leaders and a group of subject leaders. I spoke formally with a group of pupils and informally with pupils at social times.

Leaders accompanied me on visits to classes, where I observed learning across the school. I looked at work produced by pupils in writing at key stage 1. I also looked at pupils' work in mathematics and the wider curriculum at key stage 2.

I spoke with an independent school improvement partner and three members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. I examined a range of documentation, including that relating to safeguarding and leaders' attendance information. I considered the school improvement plan and leaders' self-evaluation.

I also checked on the contents of the school's website. I considered 28 responses to Ofsted's online questionnaire, Parent View, and 15 responses to Ofsted's staff survey. I also considered 44 responses to Ofsted's pupils' survey and 26 written responses from parents to Ofsted's free-text facility.