Kirkbymoorside Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Kirkbymoorside Community 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 November 2014.

This school continues to be good. The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Leaders, including the executive team of the Ryedale Federation and the federation governors, have an accurate view of the effectiveness of the school and, alongside senior leaders, continue to drive improvements which are succe...ssful in improving the progress that pupils make.

The school is characterised by respectful relationships and a commitment to ensuring that all pupils are included, nurtured and cared for. Parents agree. One parent said, 'A consistently high quality of care has been taken over the years our daughter has been at the school.'

Staff are proud to work at the school and children enjoy attending. One pupil said, 'I love this school because there is always someone who can help you.' Pupils have positive attitudes to learning.

In each lesson we visited, they enjoyed their learning and responded well to the support from adults who worked with them. At the previous inspection, you were asked to improve the quality of teaching by using the expertise of teaching and support staff within the school to share good practice. This has become a strength of the school.

You and your leaders work incisively to support all staff and encourage them to support each other. Leaders in the school monitor the quality of teaching regularly and set short-term development points for staff. Teachers regularly observe each other's lessons and discuss how they can each improve the learning of pupils in their classes.

You have been successful in building a strong collaborative culture which is driving improvements in teaching and learning. These improvements are having a positive impact, with rates of progress and attainment accelerating in 2017 and 2018. Since the school joined the Ryedale Federation in 2016, the executive leadership of the federation has provided strong support for middle leaders which has resulted in improvements to teaching and learning.

Federation leaders and the governing body of the federation are ambitious for the pupils in the school. They have worked with you to establish accurate systems to monitor the progress pupils make. As a result, staff are providing better-targeted support which is enabling pupils to accelerate their progress when they fall behind your ambitious targets.

The federation governing body has an accurate understanding of the strengths and areas for development. Their close relationship supports you effectively in driving strategic improvement. Governors visit the school regularly, visiting classes and meeting with leaders to check the work of the school.

You and your leaders are evaluative and undertake thorough research into strategies to improve pupils' progress. Your collaboration with other federation schools and training from federation leaders enhance the professional development of staff at all levels. Leaders trial initiatives in their own classes before training other teachers.

This leads to enhancements in teaching and learning across the school. This has improved the progress pupils make in writing and mathematics in some classes. Staff are outward looking and welcome the opportunity to be involved in work with different schools, the federation and the teaching school alliance.

The school responded well to the areas for improvement at the last inspection. However, initially, leaders were slow to adapt to the increased demands of the new national curriculum. Consequently, fewer pupils than expected are working at greater depth in mathematics in key stage 1 and at higher levels in key stage 2.

This is something you are beginning to change, and pupils are now tackling more challenging tasks. This is resulting in an increase in the proportion of pupils achieving higher standards. Parents' responses to the Ofsted online survey, including their written responses, were positive.

Most said their children enjoy school, are well cared for and make good progress. The majority of parents would recommend the school to other parents. One parent commented 'My child runs into school excited and happy every morning and comes out full of news about the things he has done.

I am extremely happy with his progress.' Safeguarding is effective. You and your leadership team have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose.

Staff receive regular training and understand the actions they need to take to ensure that pupils are safe. Staff work well with external agencies, including the nearby children's centre, and ensure that pupils receive the support they need. School records are thorough and detailed.

You have recently introduced an electronic record-keeping system to improve the way concerns are recorded and shared with key members of staff. Pupils feel safe in the school. Bullying is rare.

Pupils get along well and when occasional fallings-out happen, adults deal with these effectively. The curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to learn how to stay safe. Pupils appreciate lessons and assemblies on e-safety, fire and road safety and bicycle safety.

One pupil spoke very positively about the school's recent 'lockdown' practice and said this made him feel safe. Inspection findings ? I wanted to find out how you are working with teachers to ensure that more pupils are achieving the higher standards in mathematics at the end of key stage 1 and key stage 2. We looked together at the actions you are taking to ensure that pupils are challenged in mathematics and how they are supported to reach the higher standard.

This improvement work is beginning to make a difference and we could see, in some lessons, how pupils are using equipment and drawings to help them understand mathematical concepts. A new mathematics scheme is beginning to help teachers to pitch work at the right level more consistently. Where staff have had training, we saw that pupils were being challenged, and their learning extended.

You have a plan to ensure that all staff receive training so that this approach is rolled out across the school over the course of this academic year. ? In mathematics, pupils are increasingly choosing to challenge themselves. However, in some lessons, pupils would benefit from the teacher encouraging them to complete more challenging work.

On a few occasions, some pupils select work that is too easy for them. ? Provisional national data indicates that the proportion of pupils exceeding the expected standard in writing at the end of key stage 2 increased in 2018. The English leader uses her strong subject knowledge well and regularly coaches staff and demonstrates lessons, which has improved the teaching of writing.

Pupils have started to use an online platform which has increased their engagement with writing and their motivation to edit and improve their own work. In observed English lessons, pupils were engaged and worked collaboratively to talk about their learning. In books, we could see pupils assess their own work against increasingly ambitious success criteria.

Some teachers still require support to help them accurately assess pupils' writing and use this assessment to plan the next steps in pupils' learning. ? Some members of staff have attended training about an approach to teaching writing which, where it has been implemented, has improved the quality of writing. You are planning for all teachers to adopt this new approach over this academic year.

• In 2017, the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check fell below the national average. You identified this as an area to develop and your English leader worked with teachers in Reception and Year 1 to adapt teaching and pupils' independent learning to deepen their understanding of the sounds letters make. Staff also observed teachers in other schools and participated in training to improve their own teaching of phonics.

As a result, the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check was above the provisional national average in 2018. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? teachers consistently challenge pupils to achieve higher standards in mathematics ? teachers use the new approach to the teaching of writing effectively and consistently to improve outcomes for all pupils. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the executive headteacher of the Ryedale Federation, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for North Yorkshire.

This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Timothy Scargill Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I met you and other senior leaders. I met with members of the governing body, subject leaders and key stage leaders.

I considered the responses of 21 parents to the Ofsted's online survey, Parent View, and 10 written comments. I took account of the responses to Ofsted's questionnaire for staff. I visited classes with the head of school in the early years, and in key stages 1 and 2.

I observed pupils' behaviour in lessons, met with a group of them and looked at samples of pupils' work. I viewed a range of documents, including leaders' evaluation of the school and the school improvement plan. I considered a number of policy documents, including for safeguarding.

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