Carnforth Community Primary School

Carnforth North Road Primary School North Road, Carnforth, Lancashire, LA5 9LQ

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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 Requires improvement 3

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement.  Pupils’ progress in reading, mathematics and especially in writing is not good enough as it is uneven, with good progress in some classes and not in others.  Pupils do not have enough opportunities to use and develop their writing skills for different purposes in different subjects. The overuse of worksheets hinders the development of pupils’ writing skills.  The quality of teaching is not consistently good in all year groups.  Activities are not always well matched to the different needs of pupils. Sometimes pupils spend too long listening to teachers before starting their work.  Teachers’ marking does not always give pupils clear enough guidance on how to improve their work.  Plans to improve the progress of pupils are not always clear or measurable.  Subject leaders are not sufficiently involved in checking the quality of teaching and learning to improve the progress of pupils.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils’ behaviour is good and sometimes outstanding. Pupils say they feel safe and enjoy school.  The headteacher’s ambitious and purposeful leadership has galvanised staff and governors in improving the quality of teaching and pupil progress. Attainment is rising.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage get off to a good start.  Governors are acting decisively in order to help raise standards.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed 13 lessons or part lessons and observed pupils at playtime and lunchtime.  The inspector talked to pupils in lessons about their work, listened to pupils read and talked to groups of pupils from Key Stages 1 and 2.  Meetings were held with staff, members of the governing body and representatives of the local authority. Inspectors also took account of 15 responses to a staff questionnaire.  The inspector observed the school’s work and scrutinised a wide range of documents including the school’s development plans, data on pupils’ past and current progress, minutes of governing body meetings, information on how well staff are performing and records relating to behaviour, attendance, child protection and safeguarding.  The inspector took account of 24 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) and the results of survey undertaken by the school.

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Inspection team

Chris Maloney, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is smaller than the average sized primary school.  Almost all pupils are from White British backgrounds.  A below average proportion of pupils are eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for looked-after children, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those from service families. In this school there were no looked-after children or children from service families.  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 above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  There has been significant staff absence and several new appointments since the last inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good or better by:  ensuring all teachers plan work that is not too easy or too hard for pupils of different abilities  improving the quality of feedback through marking so that pupils have clear information on how to improve their work and time to respond to the advice given  reduce the amount of time teachers’ spend introducing tasks so that pupils have more time to work independently.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the achievement of pupils and so accelerate progress and raise attainment, especially in writing by:  increasing the proportion of pupils making at least good progress in each year group  providing more opportunities for pupils to practise and develop their writing skills for different purposes in other subjects  reducing the use of worksheets so that pupils have more opportunities to practise their writing skills and think of ways of recording their work for themselves.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management in order to raise achievement by:  ensuring actions planned by school leaders to improve the quality of teaching and the progress of pupils are clear and measurable  providing subject leaders with more opportunities to check on the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress in order to take decisive actions to bring about improvement.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Although attainment is rising, achievement requires improvement because the progress of pupils across the school is too patchy and too much has been left to catch up in Year 5 and especially in Year 6. Not enough pupils are making consistently good progress in reading, mathematics and especially in writing in different classes.  Too few opportunities are provided for pupils to practice and develop their writing skills for different purposes in different subjects. An overuse of worksheets hinders the development of writing skills and reduces the opportunities for pupils to work out for themselves the best way of recording their work.  Children start school with skills and abilities that are generally below but sometimes in line with those typically expected for their age. Children make good and sometimes outstanding progress in all areas, especially in their personal and social development and communication and

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

language. They enter Year 1 with skills and abilities similar to and more recently above those typically found for children of their age.  Although attainment rose in 2012 in Year 2, it was still significantly below the national average overall as it had been in 2011. Whilst attainment rose in reading and especially in mathematics, standards in writing continued to fall following a rise in 2010.  Attainment at the end of Year 6 rose in 2012 to be slightly above average overall, reflecting improvements in reading, writing and especially in mathematics since 2011.  School tracking of pupils’ past progress clearly show that progress has been inconsistent in different classes and speeds up in Years 5 and 6. Pupils’ current work and records of their current progress show that although improving, inconsistencies remain, especially in writing.  Pupils are making better progress in mathematics due to the focus on basic skills and the

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

increasing use of real life problem solving.  The Year 1 check on pupils’ use of phonics showed attainment was below that seen nationally in 2012, so the school has made good improvements to the teaching of reading skills in Key Stage 1 in particular. Pupils enjoy reading and read with increasing fluency and confidence as they move through the school.  The needs of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are identified early and supported well, particularly by skilled support staff. They make similar and often better progress to others in the school.  The progress of pupils eligible for the pupil premium funding is similar to others nationally and closing the gap rapidly on other pupils in school, to be less than a school term behind. This reflects the school’s work in ensuring all pupils have equal opportunities to learn and succeed.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Although teaching is improving it is still judged to require improvement because it not consistently good enough across the school, resulting in pupils not always achieving as well as they should.  In weaker lessons, teachers do not always use what they know about how well pupils are learning to plan activities that suit the different abilities of pupils and this hinders the progress they make. Teachers sometimes spend too long introducing lessons and this slows the pace of learning and restricts the time pupils have to get on with their work independently.  When teachers mark pupils’ work they do not always provide them with enough precise information on how to improve their work or opportunities to act on the advice they give.  Teachers and support staff know their pupils well and build extremely trusting relationships with them.  In the most effective teaching, teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge and incisive use

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

of questioning. Teachers use skilled teaching assistants well to help pupils to learn quickly. They use information they have gathered on how well pupils are progressing to plan work that matches their needs and abilities, especially the more able and this helps them to make good and sometimes better progress. Pupils benefit from and enjoy teachers’ proficient use of equipment such as interactive whiteboards.  These lessons involve interesting and fun activities that help to motivate pupils and give them opportunities to work independently. The teachers ensure pupils clearly understand what they need to do to improve their work. In a better lesson seen, pupils progressed well in their writing because planned activities suited their abilities and skilled questioning stretched their thinking. This helped them produce good quality writing such as, ‘I struggled to my feet, the crowd gasped.’

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Their good and sometimes outstanding behaviour helps pupils to learn well. They are considerate to each other and play happily and safely together. Pupils behave well outside of lessons.  Pupils are polite, respectful and enthusiastic learners. This is reflected in their above average attendance and their eagerness to arrive on time. Pupils take a pride in their school and are highly complimentary about the powerful relationships they have with staff. A typical pupil view is, ‘I really like this school. All the teachers are kind and everyone is welcome.’  Pupils feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe and healthy. Parents who responded to Parent View overwhelmingly support the view that behaviour is good and that their children feel safe.  Pupils have a good understanding of the different types of bullying, such as cyber bullying and bullying as a result of prejudice. They say that bullying does not happen in school but are very

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

confident that staff would deal with it effectively if it did. Teachers and support staff manage behaviour well.  Pupils respect the cultures and backgrounds of others and help any pupils who are new to school to settle quickly and make friends.  Pupils contribute well to the everyday life of the school, especially through the school council. They are very eager to ensure that the school takes its recycling responsibilities seriously. Pupils also enjoy acting as sports leaders.  However, when teaching is not good enough some pupils lose concentration and this slows their learning and hinders the progress they make.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Although some improvements have been made since the last inspection, leadership and management overall is still judged to require improvement because not enough has been done to secure consistently good teaching or ensure all pupils achieve well.  Plans drawn up by school leaders to improve the quality of teaching and the standards pupils reach, particularly in writing, are not sufficiently well focused on the precise way they will impact on pupils’ progress.  Subject leaders, some of whom are relatively new to their responsibilities, are keen and enthusiastic to improve their work. However, they do not have enough opportunities to regularly observe teaching and check on the amount of progress pupils are making. This hinders their ability to contribute to school improvement.  Too much emphasis has been placed on pupils making expected rather than making at least good progress. This has started to be addressed through more rigorous checking on how well

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The leadership and management requires improvement

pupils are learning, including the recent introduction of pupil progress meetings with teachers.  The headteacher, ably assisted by the deputy headteacher, has ensured that staff and governors work well together and share a common vision to improve the school further. Responses to the staff questionnaire show that morale is high.  Successful changes have been made to the quality of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage, especially the outdoor area. As a result children’s progress has improved.  More rigorous checking of teaching and focused staff training has led to improvements in the amount of good or better teaching in school.  The curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well and is enriched with a wide range of interesting topics, clubs, visits, visitors and instrument tuition.  Good quality partnership working, such as with the local grammar school, has helped the

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The leadership and management requires improvement

achievement of able, gifted and talented pupils.  Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school.  The local authority has provided good quality support and guidance since the last inspection.  The governance of the school:  The governing body uses a good balance of support and challenge in holding senior leaders to account and improving the school. They focus well on providing all pupils with equal opportunities to learn. Governors have a firm grasp of the school’s strengths and areas where further improvements are necessary in teaching and pupils’ progress. They make regular visits to school to help them with their decision making. They have recently made good links with subject leaders and cohorts of pupils to help check on progress. Governors have allocated pupil premium funding well and checked that pupils who receive this support are progressing well and closing the gap on those not eligible. They have ensured there is a close link between

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The leadership and management requires improvement

staff performance and salary progression. They have managed finances well and dealt effectively with staff absence and a considerable number of new staff appointments. Governors ensure that safeguarding arrangements meet requirements.

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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 119126 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 405832

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 135 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David McBride Headteacher Adrian Ibison Date of previous school inspection 14 March 2011 Telephone number 01524 732435 Fax number 01524 736542 Email address head@carnforthnorthroad.lancs.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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