Asby Endowed School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Asby Endowed School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy coming to this welcoming and inclusive school. Although small in size, the school sits at the heart of its local community. Staff know pupils and their families well.

Warm relationships between staff and pupils ensure that pupils feel safe and well cared for.

Pupils of all ages get on well together. They behave well during lessons and at breaktimes.

They enjoy learning and give their best. Their sensible behaviour ensures that the school is a calm and orderly place in which to learn.

The school has high expectations for pupils' achievement.

...This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils typically achieve well and are well prepared for the next stage in their education.

Pupils benefit from many activities which enhance the curriculum, including a broad range of school trips.

The school makes very good use of its natural surroundings to provide pupils with a wide range of outdoor and adventurous activities. Pupils enjoy taking part in different sporting and cultural clubs and activities.

Pupils appreciate the benefits of being in a small school.

For example, they see no need for a school council because in their school everyone is able to have a say. They have a strong sense of fairness, both in school and when talking about the wider world.

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

The school gives reading a high priority.

Children in the early years and pupils in key stage 1 get off to a good start. The school has put in place an effective and well-ordered phonics programme. Staff teach this with confidence and display strong subject knowledge.

The school checks on pupils' progress through the programme and puts additional help in place to support those who may be struggling with reading. Most pupils become fluent and accurate readers. Older pupils spoke enthusiastically about their favourite books.

They said that sometimes their friends or teachers recommended books that they might enjoy. They had particularly enjoyed a local author's recent visit to school.

The school has developed a broad and ambitious curriculum for all pupils from the early years to Year 6, including those with SEND.

It has identified the essential knowledge that pupils should acquire and the vocabulary that they should learn in each subject area. Staff have undertaken appropriate training to implement the planned curriculum. They adapt learning effectively to cater for the differing needs of pupils in their mixed-age classes.

The school has ensured that children in early years are taught an appropriate curriculum and benefit from well-resourced indoor and outdoor spaces.

Teachers make regular checks to ensure that pupils know and remember more of their learning over time. However, in some subject areas, pupils struggle to build up the intended body of knowledge.

This is because the school has not fully developed teaching strategies that help them to retain and recall key knowledge and vocabulary over longer periods.

Pupils enjoy coming to school. Rates of attendance are good, and it is rare for Asby pupils to regularly miss school.

Pupils' behaviour and attitudes in school are good. These factors help to ensure that learning proceeds purposefully.

Staff quickly identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND.

Effective communication with parents, carers and other professionals ensures that these pupils receive the help that they need to follow the curriculum and to achieve well.

The school provides pupils with a broad range of experiences to enhance their understanding of the world around them. Pupils enjoy learning how to keep their minds and their bodies healthy.

They learn about healthy and unhealthy relationships. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe in different situations. This includes when using the internet and when they are in or near to water.

The school's work to enhance pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is of a high quality. Pupils develop a strong sense of community and enjoy being involved in community events and projects. A well-planned series of trips and visitors in school helps to ensure that pupils develop a good understanding of different cultures and beliefs.

They understand the concept of democracy and spoke enthusiastically about a recent visit to the Houses of Parliament. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

The school considers staff well-being and workload carefully.

Staff told inspectors that they feel well supported in managing the demands of working in such a small school. They are happy working at the school and feel proud to work there.

Governors are actively involved in school life.

They know the school's strengths and priorities for development and are ambitious to see the school grow and thrive.

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 subjects, pupils struggle to recall some previous learning.

This makes it hard for them to build up the body of knowledge that the school expects. The school should develop further ways to help them to remember and develop their learning over time.

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 September 2014.