Barton Church of England Primary School
Barton
Richmond
North Yorkshire
DL106LJ

Phone:01325 377246
Headteacher: Mrs Liz Trewhitt
Diocese of Ripon

Visit school website 

46 pupils, Mixed

ofsted.gov.uk

© Crown copyright 2009

Introduction

This inspection was carried out by two additional inspectors. They observed six lessons, three teachers were seen and meetings were held with groups of pupils, governors, and staff. Inspectors looked at samples of pupils' work, the analysis of the tracking of pupils' progress, school policies and procedures, school leaders' monitoring records, school improvement planning, risk assessments and other documentation relating to the safeguarding of pupils. The questionnaires received from pupils, staff and 15 parents and carers were analysed.

The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school's work. It looked in detail at the following:

• whether pupils make at least satisfactory progress in mathematics
• the impact of teaching quality on pupils' progress
• the impact of the use of assessment information in teaching and in the support and guidance provided to pupils
• whether the drive for improvement undertaken by leaders and managers has resulted in consistently good progress by pupils.

Information about the school

The school is much smaller than the average primary school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is broadly average and very few pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average. A larger than normal proportion of pupils leave or join the school other than at the normal times of entry and exit. A new headteacher was appointed to the school in January 2009. The school has a number of awards, including the Healthy Schools and the Activemark awards.

Main findings

Barton is a good school where pupils enjoy their learning and achieve well. There is a strong commitment to continued improvement. The provision of high quality support for pupils and their families, through the development of effective partnerships with other agencies, provides pupils with experiences which the school alone could not provide. As a result every pupil, whatever their ability or background, has an equal opportunity to succeed.

The quality of teaching has improved because of the rigorous monitoring of lessons and the clear points for development which have been acted upon effectively by staff. Planning of lessons takes good account of the assessments made of pupils' prior learning and tasks generally build well on what pupils already know and can do. In the main, questioning is used well to ascertain pupils' understanding and to promote their thinking. Occasionally, during independent tasks, teachers do not use observation or questioning frequently enough to move learning forward or to ensure good progress is maintained by all pupils throughout the lesson.

The curriculum has had a thorough review: it meets pupils' needs well and supports their enjoyment of learning. The introduction of changes to curriculum provision for the teaching of writing, including good opportunities for pupils to apply their writing skills in other subjects, is resulting in pupils' good progress in English. In mathematics, pupils' knowledge builds well as they move through the school. Opportunities for pupils to apply their knowledge to solve problems or to their work in other subjects do not happen frequently enough. Consequently, pupils' progress in mathematics is satisfactory.

Staff have benefited from the headteacher's clear direction and ambition. She has raised expectations and the pace of improvement has been brisk. The school's self-evaluation is accurate and leads to well-considered strategic planning for improvement. The actions taken have brought about good improvement in behaviour, which, for the majority of pupils, is now good. Pupils' progress is carefully tracked and evaluations of each of their needs are made. Where tracking indicates that pupils are experiencing difficulty with their learning, individual programmes of support are implemented. This is a key reason why pupil progress is now good and standards are rising. Taken together, all of the above demonstrates that the school has a good capacity for further improvement.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Raise standards in mathematics by providing pupils with regular opportunities to use their mathematical knowledge to solve problems and practise their skills in other subjects.

• Further improve the impact of assessment on learning by:

• observation and effective questioning of all groups of pupils during independent tasks
• using the information gained to provide additional explanation or further challenge
• consistently providing pupils with good quality guidance in order to improve their work further.

Pupils enjoy their time in school. This is clearly reflected in very good levels of attendance. In lessons, pupils respond eagerly to a good range of relevant and often practical activities. From generally below, but often varying, skills on entry, they respond well to good teaching and make good progress as they move through the school. By the end of Year 6, attainment in English is above average as a result of improved provision. Pupils are provided with regular opportunities to write at length and to act upon good quality guidance for improvement. At present this is less effective in mathematics and attainment is average. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who are more able, receive the additional attention needed to ensure that all pupils, whatever their ability, achieve well.

Pupils generally behave well, feel safe in school and have a good understanding of what constitutes a healthy lifestyle. They place great importance on their health and well-being. They enter enthusiastically into the wide range of sporting opportunities made available through the very good partnership with the school sports coordinator. Pupils are actively involved in the life of the school through their school council, as playground leaders and by older pupils helping younger ones to learn and enjoy reading. They work hard to raise the school's profile in the community, such as taking part in the Easter performance and by raising money for good causes. By the time they leave the school pupils are able to apply their literacy skills in a variety of ways and have the spiritual, moral social and cultural qualities needed for the next stage of education and adult life.

These are the grades for pupils' outcomes

¹ The grades for attainment and attendance are: 1 is high; 2 is above average; 3 is broadly average; and 4 is low

How effective is the provision?

A key feature of the good teaching is the way teachers plan interesting and practical experiences that capture pupils' interests. The wide range of creative approaches to learning, including good use of information and communication technology, adds to pupils' enjoyment of school. Careful planning of pupils' work ensures breadth and consistency in learning from one year to the next and effectively meets the needs of pupils in mixed-age classes. Older and younger pupils have opportunities to work alongside each other and generally develop good independent learning skills. However, older pupils have not always been accustomed to this way of working and, if not closely supervised or sufficiently challenged by their task, progress can slow. There is excellent support for pupils seen to be vulnerable. Close working partnerships with parents and other agencies are developed to meet their specific needs. In some classes marking of pupils' work and verbal feedback are used well to provide pupils with good quality guidance and to set clear targets for further improvement. However, this is not yet consistently effective across the school; consequently, a few pupils are still not clear about what it is they need to do to reach higher standards.

These are the grades for the quality of provision

How effective are leadership and management?

Decision making is based on an effective system of self-evaluation including efficient monitoring of the quality of teaching and of pupils' learning and progress. The use of the information from the tracking of pupils' progress has improved significantly. This is raising standards and reinforces the school's good promotion of equality of opportunity. The headteacher has led many of the formal and informal checks on the school's performance, but has ensured that other staff and governors have had the training needed to be more fully involved in this process. As a result the governing body is now able to play a decisive role in supporting and challenging the school. A strong team spirit has been established with all staff feeling valued and involved.

The school engages well with parents and carers and has developed exceptionally strong partnerships that contribute to the high quality care of pupils. Safeguarding policies and procedures are carried out vigilantly. Careful consideration is given to helping pupils to understand how to take responsibility for keeping themselves and others safe both in school and in their everyday lives. The school has done much to promote community cohesion within the school and the local community. Training for staff and pupils in the use of the behaviour management system of 'Restorative Practice' has had a major impact on pupils' behaviour and harmony within the school. Decisive actions have been taken aimed at raising and improving the school's profile with those that it serves. Links have been established with others from different cultures and backgrounds nationally and internationally although the impact of these is yet to be fully realised.

These are the grades for leadership and management

Early Years Foundation Stage

In response to good teaching and a wide range of stimulating learning experiences, children make good progress in relation to their differing starting points. Extensive opportunities for role play, together with good quality interaction between staff and children, are consistent strengths of provision. Children are encouraged to move freely throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage/Key Stage 1 area and to make their own choices for learning. Structured activities, such as learning letter sounds, enable children to improve early reading and writing skills, although occasionally opportunities are missed to correct slips such as in letter formation. Welfare arrangements are good and the children are secure and well looked after. Leadership and management are good. Information gained from monitoring is used well to adjust provision. Children's progress is carefully monitored and staff have a good understanding of the next steps in learning which each child needs to take in order to make good progress.

These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage

Views of parents and carers

Almost 30% of parents and carers returned the inspection questionnaire. All those responding agreed that teaching in the school is good and that this enables their children to make enough progress. Several parents commented on recent improvements including a significant improvement in the image of the school within the local community. However, a significant minority of parents expressed concern regarding pupils' behaviour. Although inspection evidence indicates that the behaviour of the vast majority of pupils is good, a small number of older pupils do at times find it difficult to manage their behaviour if not closely supervised by adults and this can slow progress.

Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of pupils registered at Barton Church of England Primary School to complete a questionnaire about their views of the school.

In the questionnaire, parents and carers were asked to record how strongly they agreed with 13 statements about the school.

The inspection team received 15 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In total, there are 52 pupils registered at the school.

The table above summarises the responses that parents and carers made to each statement. The percentages indicate the proportion of parents and carers giving that response out of the total number of completed questionnaires. Where one or more parents and carers chose not to answer a particular question, the percentages will not add up to 100%.

Overall effectiveness of schools

1 June 2010

Dear Pupils

Inspection of Barton Church of England Primary School, Richmond, DL10 6LJ

We really enjoyed meeting you and listening to what you had to say about your school. Yours is a good school and this letter is to tell you what we found when we visited. You have a good understanding of how to stay safe and of what you need to do to be healthy. We could clearly see from all of the trophies displayed just how enthusiastic you are to join in the many sporting opportunities.

Your teachers give you a good range of things to learn and do. They make sure that you make good progress in your writing skills by providing you with lots of chances to practise what you have learnt. This is not always the case in mathematics. Therefore, we have asked the school to make sure you make good progress by giving you lots of opportunities to apply your mathematical knowledge to solve problems and when working in other subjects such as science, art and design technology.

Your headteacher is doing a good job and, together with the staff, she keeps a careful check on how well you are all doing in your work. Teachers use this information well to plan what they want you to learn next. Although this generally helps you to make good progress, we have asked the school to check carefully to make sure that this good progress is always maintained when you are working in your groups or on tasks by yourselves.

You can help with this by always behaving well and getting on with your work as well as you can. We hope that you continue to enjoy your education as much as you do now.

Yours sincerely

Linda Buller

Lead inspector