East Wold Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of East Wold Church of England Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 22 May 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 October 2013. This school continues to be good.

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. In 2015, the school became part of a federation with a neighbouring primary school. The governing body and the executive headteacher have responsibility for both schools.

This arrangement has brought benefits of shared staf...f training, expertise and shared leadership goals. Since your appointment as executive headteacher, in September 2017, you have carried out a thorough review of teaching, learning and assessment. As a result of your effective actions, the quality of education at the school has rapidly improved and pupils across the school are currently making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

The school's current assessment information shows that an increased proportion of pupils in Year 6 are on track to achieve at least age-related expectations in all three subjects by the end of the academic year. With the full support of the governing body, you quickly identified that standards at the school had begun to lapse since the last inspection. This was because, previously, leaders did not respond quickly enough to the introduction of the new national curriculum in 2014.

Standards of attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stages 1 and 2 were typically below the national average. You carry out regular checks on the quality of teaching and learning, making sure that these checks include regular assessments of the impact of teaching on pupils' learning and progress. Members of the governing body frequently join leaders in their monitoring activities.

This ensures that governors are well informed about the school's performance. You have provided a thorough programme of additional training for staff, including teaching assistants, to ensure that teaching is effective. Your decisive actions have strengthened teaching and enable you to provide accurate reports to governors.

The positive impact of teaching on pupils' learning and progress is clear to see in their workbooks. In particular, the quality of pupils' written work, inspired by their topic work, is good. For example, a pupil in Year 4 described a skyscraper as 'elegantly reaching for the stars above.

Thirty-two floors of fiery red concrete' in a poem inspired by the 'Urban Pioneers' topic. Similarly, a pupil in Year 3 used ideas from the 'Egyptians' topic to describe her own desert setting, writing, 'you can taste the sandy, hot air'. The quality of handwriting and the presentation of the work in pupils' English books are good.

The same does not apply in their mathematics books, however, where pupils take less care in the way that they set out their work, especially in key stage 1. You have introduced a range of effective measures to enhance the work of the school. For example, you have reorganised the school timetable in order to ensure that lessons get off to a brisk start in the morning and that time in lessons is used productively.

Governors say that they feel there is a 'renewed pace of learning' across the school. You have reorganised and improved provision in the early years, including a major revitalisation of the outdoor learning area. As a result, children in the early years are very well supported in their learning and development.

The school is attractive and inviting, both inside and in its outdoor spaces. Pupils with whom I spoke said how much they appreciate the space they have to run and play outside, at playtimes and lunchtimes. They enjoy being active on the 'adventure trail' and they equally value sitting in the 'willow arch' area if they prefer to sit quietly and chat.

Parents are very supportive of the school and value the benefits of a small village school which is at the heart of the community. For example, parents who responded to the online survey made comments such as, 'The school has always had a friendly feel', describing it as 'a lovely, well supported, small school that strives to provide its pupils with the very best education'. Parents are largely supportive of the changes which have been introduced this year.

However, a number expressed the view that they would like to receive more frequent updates about the scale and progress of the changes, in order to feel reassured that there is no negative impact on their children's learning and well-being. Governors confirm that they do not have a formal system for gathering and responding to the views of parents. Safeguarding is effective.

Your recruitment checks on staff and volunteers meet statutory requirements. You have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and well documented. The school has a strong culture of care for pupils' welfare.

The member of staff responsible for safeguarding keeps careful records. She makes sure that, on the rare occasions where concerns have been raised, appropriate and swift actions are taken. Pupils, staff and parents agree that the school is safe.

In particular, they say they appreciate the recent improvements to the arrangements for site security. Pupils receive effective teaching about bullying. They were able to explain, confidently, the difference between bullying and friendship issues.

Pupils with whom I spoke were clear about what they would do if they had any problems or concerns. Inspection findings ? During the inspection, we considered together the impact of the recent improvements to the teaching of phonics in key stage 1. You have rightly identified this as a priority, in view of the sharp drop in the number of pupils who met the expected standard in phonics, in 2017.

Evidence from our observations of learning and from my meeting with the new leader for phonics show that actions have been effective. As a result of rapidly improved teaching and assessment, a much greater number of pupils are on track to pass the phonics screening check this year. ? The quality of teaching, learning and assessment in key stage 1 has improved.

This is because teachers have responded successfully to the training they have received in reading, writing and mathematics. Your latest assessments show that more pupils in Year 2 are currently on track to attain the expected standard in writing and mathematics than in 2017. The pace of pupils' progress in Year 2 has been limited by significant staff turnover in the spring term.

The staffing situation is now resolved and a permanent teacher was appointed in April. ? The leadership and management of the school, including governance, is securely good. Governors are knowledgeable about the school and possess an appropriate range of skills to enable them to fulfil their role effectively.

In their meetings, governors ask challenging questions and hold leaders to account for the school's performance. ? Leaders and governors have produced a set of well-thought-out plans for improvement. These plans contain measurable actions with regular review 'milestones', which have resulted in a clear improvement in the quality of education the school provides.

Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? they secure sustained improvement in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and high expectations of pupils' presentation in mathematics, in key stage 1 ? they improve home-school communications, so that parents feel well informed about the work of the school and their children's progress. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Lincoln, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Lincolnshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

Yours sincerely Christine Watkins Her Majesty's Inspector Information about the inspection During this inspection, I held a series of meetings with you. I met with the designated senior leader for safeguarding, the phonics leader and the coordinator for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. I met with the chair of the governing body and a small group of governors.

I met with a representative from the local authority. I visited all four classes with you to look at pupils' learning and I spoke with a range of teaching and support staff. I spoke with pupils during a group discussion and informally during lessons.

I examined pupils' work in their books. I spoke with parents informally at the beginning of the day and considered 29 responses to Ofsted's online survey, Parent View. I examined a wide range of documents, including those relating to safeguarding, the school's analysis of pupils' current and past achievement, leaders' monitoring records, external reports about the school, minutes of meetings of the governing body, the school's self-evaluation summary and its plans for improvement.