Padfield Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Padfield Community Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 18 September 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 January 2015.

This school continues to be good. The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Your vision of 'learning, discovering and having fun' is clear to see in the school.

Pupils enjoy coming to school and are proud to be part of it. They learn well because teachers make sure that lessons are fun, energetic and ...engaging. Along with your senior teacher and governors, you know the strengths and areas for improvement in the school.

Your evaluation of the school's performance is accurate and you focus on the correct things to improve. Pupils are highly positive about the school; they know how to stay safe in school, online and know who to go to if they have a problem or concern. They say that behaviour is good and bullying is exceptionally rare.

This matches what was seen during the inspection. Pupils work hard, cooperate and enjoy spending time together at playtimes. They value the work of the school's playground buddies and ambassadors and know that they can make suggestions about how to improve the school further.

Parents are positive about the school. One parent summarised the comments of many when she told me 'I love it. School staff are great and get to know the children really well.'

Parents that I spoke to were also complimentary about the school's induction procedure for new starters. They also value the regular information that the school provides about school news and events. Pupils' attendance rates have been higher than those found nationally for the last four years.

There was a large number of exclusions in 2016, but the steps taken to prevent these from reoccurring have been effective. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. These pupils receive bespoke provision, resulting in them making good progress and being fully included in classroom activities.

Staff know these pupils well. Staff are proud to work at the school and have confidence in your leadership. They are unanimous in the view that behaviour is well managed, teaching is well led and that pupils are kept safe.

Most teachers and teaching assistants use questioning and assessment skilfully. This means that pupils are challenged and that their learning quickly progresses. However, some pupils, including the most able, have to complete work that is too easy for them before moving on to more challenging tasks.

The governing body has a secure understanding of what is working well and what needs to improve in the school. They work closely with leaders to ensure that actions for improvement are having a positive impact. The local authority provides a good level of support and challenge, supporting the school in securing improvements.

Safeguarding is effective. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Records are detailed and of high quality.

Staff share concerns quickly when they arise and leaders are quick to take action to keep pupils safe. The school works effectively with other agencies to support pupils and their families. The governing body has a good understanding of its safeguarding duties.

The link governor for safeguarding regularly visits the school to check on its work and make sure that policies and procedures are being followed correctly. Pupils told me that they feel safe in school. They told me about the risks of online activity and what they do to stay safe.

Pupils also spoke highly about the work of playground buddies who help pupils if they feel unhappy or upset. Inspection findings ? You have increased the proportion of Year 1 pupils who reach the standard expected of them in the phonics screening check. Pupils are engaged and make good progress when learning about letters and the sounds that they make.

This is because adults make sure that teaching is well structured and energetic. Leaders have put in place a programme of learning that closely matches the needs of the pupils in the school. The proportion of Year 1 pupils who met the standards expected of them in the phonics screening check has risen significantly.

In 2017, a smaller proportion of pupils than that found nationally achieved the standard. In 2018, all Year 1 pupils reached the standard. ? Pupils enjoy learning mathematics and work in a determined manner.

However, in some cases they are given work that is too easy for them which they have to complete before moving onto more challenging work. This is especially the case for the most able pupils. In 2018, the proportion of key stage 2 pupils who reached the standards expected of them in mathematics fell.

Your analysis showed that there was a small number of pupils who narrowly missed out. Your analysis also showed that there were weaknesses in pupils' knowledge and understanding of ratio, proportion, algebra and measurement. These now form part of the school's plans for improvement.

• You have made sure that teaching in key stage 1 is of a consistently high standard. As a result of staff training and increased use of assessment, the proportion of pupils who met the standards expected of them in reading and mathematics in key stage 1 has risen. In 2016 and 2017, the school was in the lowest 20% of all schools nationally.

In 2018, a larger proportion of pupils attained the expected standard and the higher standard than found nationally. ? The school's plans for improvement are detailed and are linked to your vision of 'learning, discovering and having fun'. Governors work alongside leaders to check on how plans are progressing and how successful they are.

The plan that shows how the money given to the school for disadvantaged pupils is being used is highly detailed. It shows how the money is being spent on each disadvantaged pupil and how successful it has been. As a result, disadvantaged pupils in the school make good progress.

Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? more pupils reach the standards expected of them in mathematics by the end of key stage 2 by improving pupils' knowledge and understanding of ratio, proportion, algebra and measurement ? ensure that teachers consistently set pupils work that matches their ability and that they don't have to do work that is too easy for them before moving on. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Derbyshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

Yours sincerely Vic Wilkinson Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I met with you and we shared the school's self-evaluation and my key lines of enquiry. We also met to talk about safeguarding and early reading. I had discussions with pupils and with parents at the start of the school day.

I listened to pupils reading. I spent time outside with pupils at playtime. I considered the 32 responses of parents made to Parent View, Ofsted's online survey, and the views of staff and pupils.

Together, we visited all classes present in the school twice, spending a short time in each. We looked at a sample of pupils' work together. I viewed a range of documents, including the school's plans for improvement, the record of checks made on staff and absence and exclusion information.