Eyam CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Eyam CofE Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 14 February 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 February 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 have a thorough understanding of your school's strengths and those aspects of the school's provision that can improve further. You undertake regular checks on the quality of teaching and on pupils' progress and personal development.... Because of these checks, you know your pupils and your school well.

You are quick to take action when you identify any aspects of the school's provision that does not meet your high expectations. You are determined that pupils' experiences at your school should prepare them well for the next stage of their education and for life in modern Britain. Through your regular discussions with your teachers, you are quick to identify when pupils are not making good progress.

When this is the case, you ensure that pupils receive appropriate support. As a result, pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics. In 2017, the proportion of Year 6 pupils who attained the expected standard for their age in all three subjects was above the national average.

You are not complacent in this, however. You have rightly set as the school's key priority for improvement that more pupils, particularly those of average ability and the most able, should attain the higher standard in reading, writing and mathematics. At the last inspection, inspectors recommended that leaders should ensure that teachers check more regularly on pupils' understanding to make sure that they are secure in their learning.

They also recommended that leaders provide teachers with greater opportunities to learn from the practice of professionals from other schools. In the time that you have been headteacher, you have ensured that your teachers have regular contact with professionals from a wide range of local schools. This has allowed your staff to learn from the practice of others.

It has also ensured that your teachers are accurate in their assessment of pupils' learning. As a result, your teachers can now assess pupils' understanding well and provide appropriate support. They ensure that the activities that they set are at the right level to allow pupils to become secure in their knowledge, skills and understanding and make good progress.

Because your teachers plan their lessons carefully, pupils engage well with their learning and have very positive attitudes to their work. In the lessons that I visited, I saw pupils working enthusiastically on the tasks that their teachers had set them. All adults in the room regularly checked pupils' understanding.

They provided further support where it was necessary, and moved the pupils who were secure in their learning on to more challenging activities. Pupils responded well to the challenge that the adults provided them and made good gains in their learning as a result. Pupils understand the need to treat each other with kindness.

They show great care towards each other, across the different year groups. This is because of the many opportunities that the pupils from the different year groups have to work with and support each other, particularly at playtime. I saw much of this while I was at your school.

I saw older pupils support younger pupils by organising games at lunchtime. I also saw older pupils providing support to younger pupils who were less confident, including on the playground. Pupils were clear that the close relationships that older and younger pupils have with each other ensure that pupils behave well, and that incidents of unkind behaviour and bullying are very rare.

The school's records confirm that this is the case. Governors have a comprehensive understanding of the quality of the school's provision. They gain this through the detailed information with which you provide them, and the many checks that they undertake for themselves.

Governors use this knowledge well to provide you with rigorous levels of challenge. They also ensure that they provide you with effective support. The governors share you and your staff's commitment that all pupils should leave the school prepared well for the next stage of their education and for life in modern Britain.

Safeguarding is effective. As the safeguarding leader, you take the welfare of your pupils very seriously. When you have a safeguarding concern about your pupils, you are quick to work with parents and carers and, where appropriate, with external agencies to ensure that pupils receive the support that they need.

You regularly attend briefings that the local authority runs to learn about any local safeguarding concerns. This ensures that you are able to provide appropriate support when any such concerns affect your pupils. You have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that your safeguarding records are detailed.

Your staff fully understand their safeguarding responsibilities. They have received thorough training in this and are highly vigilant about the pupils' well-being. They know the many signs to look for when checking on their pupils' welfare, including noting any patterns of absence or changes in behaviour.

Staff know that they must immediately raise with you any safeguarding concern that they may have about any of the pupils. They know that you will take these concerns seriously. All of the pupils that I met, and all of those who responded to the online pupil survey, said that they have an adult in the school that they can speak to if they are upset.

They are confident that the adult will take effective action to support them. Pupils told me that they feel safe at the school, and that they learn to be safe in a range of circumstances, including when online, when out in the local community and when crossing the road. All of the parents who expressed an opinion, either through the online survey or to me in person, said that their child feels safe and is happy at the school.

All parents said that staff at the school care for their child well. Inspection findings ? You were quick to assess why pupils who left Year 6 in 2016 attained below the national averages in reading and writing. The prompt action that you took in response to this saw a significant improvement in pupils' attainment in these subjects in 2017.

Year 6 pupils' attainment of the expected standard in reading and writing in 2017 was at least in line with the national averages. ? High proportions of current pupils are on track to attain the level expected of them for their age in reading and writing. This is because of your continued strong focus on maintaining high-quality teaching and accurate teachers' assessment of pupils' learning in these two subjects.

You have rightly identified that a key priority for your school is to ensure that greater numbers of pupils now attain the higher standard in these two subjects. ? No pupils attained the higher standard in mathematics in 2017. You were quick to look at the reasons why this was the case, despite the fact that this was the first year that this had occurred.

You rightly identified that pupils were not fully secure in their use of the different mathematical functions when responding to problem-solving questions. ? The swift action that you and your mathematics leaders have taken in responding to your findings has ensured that more pupils are now secure in using their mathematical skills. You recognise, however, that there is still work to do to make sure that greater numbers of pupils attain the higher standard in this subject.

• Pupils who completed their key stage 1 studies in 2016 underachieved in writing. The majority of these pupils, currently in Year 4, have now caught up in their writing skills because of the well-targeted support that they have received. The majority of these pupils are now on track to attain at least the level expected of them for their age.

• Pupils receive wide-ranging opportunities to learn about different religions and cultures. Pupils visit different places of religious worship and, through their links with a school in Burkina Faso, consider the plight of children who are less fortunate than they are. Pupils respond well to these opportunities, and are fully aware that people have different opinions and beliefs and live different lives to them.

In learning about these differences, your pupils understand the need to respect all people. As one pupil said to me, 'We welcome everyone, equally.' These opportunities to learn about people's differences ensure that your pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? they further develop the quality of teaching so that greater proportions of pupils across all year groups, particularly pupils of average ability and the most able, attain the higher standard in reading, writing and mathematics. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Derby, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Derbyshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

Yours sincerely Simon Hollingsworth Her Majesty's Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I met with you, all members of the governing body, most of the staff and your mathematics leaders. I visited learning in all classes with you, in your role as headteacher. During this time, I spoke with pupils and looked at their books.

I also spoke with pupils when I observed their behaviour at breaktime and lunchtime, and when I met formally with a group of pupils from Years 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. I met with parents at the beginning of the school day, and I spoke with the school's improvement partner by telephone. I listened to three pupils read.

I examined a range of documents, including those relating to safeguarding, pupils' attainment and progress, and the school's use of the pupil premium funding. I also took into account the school's self-evaluation and its improvement plan. I scrutinised the school's recruitment procedures and records of the checks made on new staff and volunteers.

I took into account the 47 responses to Ofsted's online survey for parents, Parent View, including the 15 responses to the free-text service. I considered the 14 responses to Ofsted's staff survey and the 31 responses to the online survey for pupils. At the end of the day, I gave feedback to you, other senior leaders and members of the governing body.