Kirkbride Primary School

School report Kirkbride Primary School Kirkbride, Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 5JR

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Although pupils’ progress and attainment in English and mathematics is rapidly improving by the end of Year 6, progress is not yet consistent across other year groups.  Teaching is not consistently good or better across the school and this limits the rate of progress for some pupils.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage do not get enough opportunities to practise developing their speaking and listening skills or to carry out their own activities.  Teachers do not plan well enough for mathematical skills to be practised in a full range of subjects so as to sharpen pupils’ problem solving abilities and speed up their progress in mathematics.

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The school has the following strengths

 This is an improving school. Good leadership and management including governance are strengthened by the headteacher’s determination to raise attainment.  Improvements in teaching have resulted in rapidly improving levels of attainment for pupils at the end of Year 6, including those achieving above average. This can be seen in the results of the 2012 Year 6 tests.  The school has a calm atmosphere and pupils behave well.  Every pupil is equally valued. Pupils are well cared for, they are polite, well mannered to each other and to visitors.  The curriculum has improved since the previous inspection and provides pupils with a well-planned interesting range of topics across different subjects. It meets pupils’ needs well and supports their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively.  Pupils enjoy school and say they feel safe.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed three teachers as well as two teaching assistants and visited seven lessons.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, members of the leadership team, English and mathematics subject leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, pupils, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors observed pupils’ work, listened to pupils read and looked at a wide range of documentation including the school’s self-evaluation, documents relating to monitoring and evaluation, systems for tracking pupils’ progress, documents regarding the safeguarding of pupils and key policies.  Inspectors took account of the responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View).

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Inspection team

Sue Sharkey, Lead inspector Additional Inspector John Elwood Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Kirkbride Primary School is smaller than the average size primary school.  All children are White British.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is above average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below the national average.  A below average proportion of pupils are eligible for pupil premium, which provides funding for children in local authority care and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  Pupils are taught in three mixed age classes; Nursery, Reception, Years 1 and 2 together, Years 3 and 4 together and then Years 5 and 6 together. The number of pupils in each year group can be less than 10.  An Adult Learning Centre on the school site provides a wide range of activities for the community.  The school meets the government floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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Information about this school

 The school holds the Healthy School award.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that more pupils make good progress particularly in mathematics by:  ensuring that all teachers consistently have high expectations of what pupils can achieve  making sure that individual targets for pupils are set more often  ensuring that the skills pupils learn in mathematics are used more often to solve real-life problems in different subjects  ensuring that marking gives consistent advice on what pupils need to learn next to improve their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the rate of progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage by:  ensuring that adults seek every opportunity to question children, to allow them to explain what they have done in their own words and to learn new vocabulary  providing children with more opportunities to explore activities on their own or with their classmates.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children join the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and abilities that are broadly in line with what is expected for their age. Children’s’ social skills develop well as they play and co- operate with each other but they do not get enough opportunities to talk with adults or each other in order to improve their vocabulary and use of language. Their independence and confidence is not developed well enough because activities and tasks do not provide enough encouragement for them to explore on their own, thus slowing their progress.  As pupils move through Key Stages 1 and 2 progress is improving rapidly in response to stronger leadership and better teaching. Most pupils make the progress that is expected of them but not enough are making good progress which is why overall attainment is broadly average and progress requires improvement. The trend is changing and this is evident in the national Year 6

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

tests in 2012. Many more pupils achieved the higher levels in both English and mathematics than in previous years.  Staff are careful to ensure that all pupils can take part in and benefit from the activities planned each day. Pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs and those who are eligible for pupil premium support are quickly identified and supported by teaching assistants. As a result, these pupils do as well as others and make the progress that is expected of them.  Pupils have regular opportunities to read in school. The school supports the teaching of letters and sounds effectively for younger pupils and the grammatical understanding of older pupils through regular timetabled sessions. Skills are reinforced well through teaching assistants leading small-group activities.  From sharing, looking at books and talking about what they see in the pictures, pupils learn to read and enjoy stories. By the time they reach Year 6 pupils talk enthusiastically about their

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

favourite authors and say they enjoy reading at home as well as school. They use punctuation well in the way they say some words and sentences so that it helps to bring the story to life.  Over the last two years the school has had a focus on improving reading and writing. Throughout the school and in pupils’ books there is evidence of writing showing that pupils’ progress in writing for different reasons such as poetry, stories or retelling events is improving.  Pupils’ understanding of the world is developed well. They develop good levels of personal, social, health and economic awareness. They talk confidently about topics and subjects they have studied as part of the recently reviewed curriculum.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching is improving and there are examples of good teaching, but the weaknesses that remain slow progress, especially in mathematics and in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  There are a number of strengths in teaching including the relationships between staff and pupils. As a result pupils remain on task during lessons; they enjoy what they are learning and they behave well.  Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve in English are good but are not consistently good in mathematics. As a result challenge is often too low and pupils repeat basic skills too often rather than use them to solve real-life problems in subjects other than mathematics.  During a Year 5 and 6 lesson pupils were writing a report. The teacher had high expectations and asked good questions to extend pupils’ knowledge as well as check their understanding. Children worked well in pairs when exploring different word endings for descriptive words. The

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

teacher moved the lesson along quickly so that there was a good range of activities and challenges for different pupils.  Teachers set targets for pupils regularly but when these are achieved pupils are not given new targets quickly enough, particularly in mathematics.  Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly in English and mathematics giving good praise and comments about the work they have done, although in mathematics pupils are not given enough advice on what they have to do next in order to improve their work.  Teachers make good use of new technology and other resources to help learning. The information and communication technology (ICT) room is situated so that pupils, particularly Years 5 and 6, can access computers easily when needed so they are able to develop their knowledge and skills in investigation.  Pupils work well together as well as independently. The use of individual white boards helps

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

pupils to share words and sentences well so that they can easily discuss and quickly make adjustments to improve their work.  Teachers support pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. For instance in a Year 3 and 4 English lesson pupils were writing a poem about how the stormy weather of the previous day had affected people and how they might be feeling.  A large majority of parents who made their view known on Parent View are positive about the quality of teaching.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good. They are keen to respond to questions and talk and listen well to partners during lessons.  Behaviour is good whether pupils are in lessons, walking around school or playing in the extensive outdoor areas.  The school has a caring ethos where pupils say that they all help each other. They learn to tolerate differences and clearly enjoy socialising with each other. Pupils say they have a good understanding of bullying for instance, cyber-bullying. They are confident to report incidents to any adults in school as they know they will be listened to and helped.  The school is very welcoming and provides a safe environment for pupils. Attendance is above average. Pupils are keen to come to school to be with their friends and enjoy the wide range of activities the school provides.  The overwhelming majority of parents who responded to the online questionnaire feel that the

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

school is a safe place and their children are happy. Responses to the school’s most recent survey indicate that all parents feel children behave well. Pupils have many opportunities to mix with the community who praise the school for the way staff manage behaviour.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher’s determination to raise attainment has been successful in establishing a staff team equally determined to see improvements. Along with the deputy headteacher and the governing body all have a clear view of how well the school is doing and the effectiveness of recent actions to improve it. As a result the school knows its strength and weaknesses and areas for further development. Staff know the importance of continuing to improve teaching so that pupils’ progress will improve.  Improved use of the information of pupils’ progress and regularly checking has resulted in pupils making faster progress. Teachers are much more aware of the progress pupils in their class are making.  Teaching is better as leaders keep a close eye on the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning through looking at pupils’ work, observations of specific lessons and walks around school to gauge how well pupils are learning in each class. This information is used effectively to plan

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The leadership and management are good

suitable staff training. The local authority has been working closely with the school and this good partnership is helping to make sure that teaching continues to improve.  Teachers’ performance is focused closely on improvements that the school has recognised and well-targeted opportunities for them to develop their skills have ensured that the management of teaching is effective and the proportion of good teaching has increased.  The school’s leaders have shown that they are capable of continuing to make improvements. Issues raised at the previous inspection have been tackled. For example more pupils are beginning to make good progress and there is a greater number of pupils achieving the higher levels in English and mathematics as can be seen in the national tests in 2012.  Through discussions with pupils and parents, leaders have improved the richness of the curriculum. The topics and themes that pupils learn about are enriched by a wide range of

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The leadership and management are good

opportunities to take part in creative activities.  The curriculum is boosted by a wide range of visits and extremely well attended after-school clubs provide further support to pupils’ progress and their development. As a consequence, it provides well for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  The school has a strong link with the local community through activities organised on the school site by various outside agencies and by the pupils taking their activities out to share with members of the village.  The governance of the school:  Members of the governing body are playing an increasingly important role in making sure that the school continues to improve. They look carefully at the information on pupils’ progress and know in detail how pupil premium funds are being spent and the impact of this on pupils’ learning. The governing body has made sure that there are secure arrangements

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The leadership and management are good

in place to ensure the safeguarding of pupils and staff.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 112114 Local authority Cumbria Inspection number 405376

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 66 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Lorraine Blacklock Headteacher Valerie Bairstow Date of previous school inspection 19 October 2010 Telephone number 01697 351483 Fax number 01697 351483 Email address valerie.bairstow@kirkbride.cumbria.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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