Gillamoor Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. Pupils make good progress and achieve well throughout the school from their different starting points. Effective provision in the early years ensures that children get a good start to their learning.

They are well prepared to enter Key Stage 1. Teaching is good in both classes. Staff set work that engages pupils effectively in their learning and enables them to make good progress.

Pupils are very well known as individuals. They receive good quality help and support. This enables all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged or vulnerable, to make good progress and achieve well.

There is a very positive climate for learning. ...Pupils enjoy coming to school, behave well and are keen to learn. They get on very well with one another.

They say that they feel very safe and well cared for in school. School leaders, including governors, have a clear view of how well the school is performing and where it can do better. They have worked well together to improve the quality of teaching and raise pupils' achievement since the previous inspection.

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strongly promoted. Parents are extremely supportive and appreciative of the school. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Expectations of what pupils can achieve are not always high enough.

Pupils, including the most able, are not always given work that is hard enough to enable them to make the best possible progress and reach the highest standards. Pupils are not always given clear enough guidance about what they need to do to improve their work. Staff do not always check that pupils respond to this advice when it is given.

Pupils have too few opportunities to use and apply their mathematical skills and knowledge to solve practical problems. In the early years, the outdoor learning environment is not used as effectively as the indoor area.

Information about this school

The school is much smaller than the average-sized primary school, with 36 pupils coming from 26 families.

Pupils are taught in two classes, one comprising Reception and Key Stage 1 pupils, and the other Key Stage 2 pupils. Children attend full time in the Reception Year. The proportion of girls in the school is well above average.

There are currently no boys in Years 4, 5 and 6. Almost all pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average.

These are pupils supported by the pupil premium, which is funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority. There are too few pupils known to be eligible for this funding to compare their achievement and progress with other pupils in the school and those nationally. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below the national average.

Both teachers are new to the school this year. One joined in September 2014 and one in April 2015. The government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6, do not apply in this school.