Flockton CofE (C) First School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Flockton Church of England Voluntary Controlled First School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Flockton C of E VC First school say: 'We are all part of the same community. We're one body and full of compassion.' Pupils learn in a very nurturing environment.

Their happiness and welfare are always at the top of the school's agenda. Pupils appreciate the high level of care that their teachers have for them. Teachers want pupils to succeed and do well.

Pupils feel safe because they trust the adults in the school. They say that all pupils are welcome and treated fairly. One pupil said, 'We make sure people are treated the same as we...'re all God's creation.'



Teachers plan interesting ways to help pupils to learn about the world. Teachers have high expectations. Pupils work hard and get the help they need from staff.

This ensures that pupils achieve well.

Pupils feel a strong sense of community and talk about how they live in a mining village that has close links to the church. They behave well because they know that it is the right thing to do and that this helps their learning.

Pupils say that they have been taught the skills to make friends, if they have a fall-out. They say that if there is bullying, they do not worry, as the school deals with it quickly. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online.

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

The curriculum is designed to meet the needs and interests of the pupils. Leaders have continued to develop and refine how subjects are taught. This is so that pupils can develop their knowledge and skills in a logical order.

Leaders have ensured that teachers meet the needs of disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The school is well led and managed. Leaders and governors know the strengths and areas that need improving in the school.

They tackle any weaknesses well and make sure that they improve quickly. Governors hold leaders to account to make sure that all pupils achieve to the best of their abilities. Staff are proud to be part of the school and feel well supported.

Leaders have placed a high priority on the teaching of reading. They have thought carefully about ways to engage children in reading, for example 'free reading Friday', where children can sit where they would like and enjoy reading. Pupils enjoy reading and listening to stories.

Teachers read to pupils each day. This is helping them to build a broad vocabulary. Pupils talk with enthusiasm about books they have read and who their favourite authors are.

Children in the Reception class learn their phonics from the start. Staff are generally well trained to use the phonics programme to achieve this. Teachers keep regular checks on children's progress.

Teachers choose books well. Books are well matched to the sounds pupils are learning. However, occasionally, children who are at the earliest stages of learning to read sometimes receive work that is too hard.

Leaders have planned a mathematics curriculum that is coherently sequenced and structured. Learning is broken down into small steps. Teachers benefit from high-quality training to ensure that they have good mathematical subject knowledge.

They identify misconceptions accurately prior to and during lessons. Sometimes there are missed opportunities for pupils to move onto reasoning problems more quickly.

Well-planned sequences of lessons support science learning well.

Leaders review the sequence of learning to ensure that it helps pupils remember their learning. Pupils develop detailed scientific knowledge and are ready for the next stage of education.

There are high expectations of behaviour across the school.

Pupils are proud of their school. The themes of compassion, friendship, endurance, forgiveness, Christian fellowship and thankfulness are explored and celebrated throughout the school. The pupils live and breathe these values in and out of class.

Children in the early years are confident and settle into school well. Children are made to feel very welcome and so they quickly adapt to the new routines. They behave well and are kind to one another.

The indoor learning environment is well planned to support pupils' learning in reading, writing and mathematics. However, this is not the case in the outdoor learning environment.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and governors place a high priority on keeping pupils safe. They have thorough procedures in place for staff to follow and deal quickly with concerns. All adults, including governors, are well trained.

Staff know what to do should a concern arise.

Leaders support families well and make timely referrals to outside agencies. This ensures that families get the help they need for their children to do well at school.

Leaders help pupils understand the risks that they are likely to meet in their everyday lives. Teachers make sure that pupils know how to keep themselves safe. This includes using the internet safely.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Children at the earliest stages of learning to read sometimes receive work that is too challenging. On occasions, the phonics programme needs to be adapted to take smaller steps to ensure that children know the sounds securely before reading more difficult words. Leaders need to ensure that all staff are well trained in phonics so that they can adapt learning to meet the needs of all children.

. The early years outdoor area has been developed to support learning in different ways. However, there are not enough opportunities for pupils to develop the skills of reading, writing and mathematics.

Leaders need to ensure that there is a precise plan put in place to ensure that the outdoor area supports high-quality learning. . The mathematics curriculum has been developed so that there is a clear progression to learning.

However, some pupils are spending too long practising basic skills without being moved on to applying them in more complex problems. Teachers need to use assessment effectively to ensure that pupils are moved on in their learning more quickly.

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 a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged Flockton Church of England Voluntary Controlled First School to be good on 3 February 2016.

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