Barrow URC Primary School

School report Barrow Primary School Old Row, Barrow, Clitheroe, Lancashire, BB7 9AZ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.  The school inspires pupils to thrive in all aspects of their academic achievement and personal development.  Pupils of all ages are highly motivated and high levels of attainment are embedded.  Pupils achieve well. The proportions of pupils making the expected and better than expected rates of progress are higher than those found nationally.  Teaching is outstanding. Teachers and teaching assistants work extremely well together in ensuring that lessons are exceptionally well planned to meet the needs of every pupil. The pace of learning in lessons is rapid and there is a wide range of activities to capture the imaginations of pupils. Adults regularly check on pupils’ understanding of how well they are progressing and what they need to do to improve their work further.  Pupils clearly enjoy reading and find topic work inspiring. Occasionally within topics, pupils do not have enough choice about

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

areas that they would like to explore or time to find out things for themselves.  There is a wide range of visitors to the school. Together with trips and visits, these enhance pupils’ personal development.  From an early age, children enjoy school and are keen to learn. Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school is often exemplary. They show a great deal of respect towards each other and to the adults around them.  Pupils willingly contribute to the school community, as seen by the work of the school council. They are keen to help those less fortunate than themselves by organising fund- raising activities.  Throughout the school there is a supportive and caring ethos. All staff, visitors and volunteers are dedicated to creating an exemplary environment. This contributes to pupils being extremely well prepared for the next stage in their education.  Leadership and management are of the highest quality. There are robust systems for checking

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

how well pupils are progressing. These are closely linked to ensuring that teaching is exceptionally strong. Staff are held to account for the progress of individual pupils. Appropriate opportunities are provided for staff to develop their skills further.  The senior leaders and governing body work closely together to measure the impact of new initiatives. Governors provide an excellent balance of support and challenge for the school.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed five teachers and visited eight lessons, one of which was a joint observation with the headteacher. In addition, the inspector made a number of short visits to lessons and listened to pupils read.  Discussions were held with school staff, groups of pupils, senior staff and subject leaders, parents, a member of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at a wide range of documentation including safeguarding documents, the school’s procedures for gaining an accurate view of its performance, its development plans, records of pupils’ attainment and progress, documents relating to attendance and behaviour, and pupils’ work.  The inspector took account of the 36 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View).

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Inspection team

Naomi Taylor, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  Pupils are taught in four classes: Class 1 comprises Reception and some Year 1; Class 2 comprises some Year 1 with Year 2; Class 3 comprises Years 3 and 4; Class 4 comprises Years 5 and 6. Some pupils are taught in small groups or individually for part of the week, depending on their particular needs.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is well below average. (The pupil premium is additional funding provided for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, children from services families and those children that are looked after.) Too few pupils in the school are known to be eligible for the pupil premium for it to be possible to make a statement about their overall levels of attainment.  The majority of pupils are from a White British heritage and all pupils speak English as their first language.

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Information about this school

 The proportion of pupils supported through school action is well below average as is the proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs.  The school has Healthy School Status, Sport England Award, Investors in People Award and is a Development School for the National College of School Leadership.  Since the previous inspection there have been new staff appointed.  Due to the increasing popularity of the school, an additional classroom is being built.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expected for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase further the amount of choice within topic-work to enable pupils to explore areas that interest them, allowing them more time to show they can work on their own.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Most children join the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills that are typically in line with those expected for their age but not as strong in literacy skills. They are taught alongside Year 1 pupils and they make good progress because of the clear focus on developing their communication, language and calculation skills. The Reception-aged children benefit from the wide range of activities that they can use both in the classroom and outdoors. Activities which children can choose for themselves have a clear purpose in extending their learning.  Younger children learn very effectively how to link letters and the sounds that they make (phonics). Phonics is extremely well taught in small groups based on pupils’ abilities. Almost all pupils reach the expected level in reading and significantly more than the national average reach the higher levels at the end of both key stages.  Numeracy is taught systematically across the school and, together with reading and writing,

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

pupils are encouraged to develop these skills across other subjects and in topic work.  By the time pupils leave at the end of Year 6, they consistently reach standards in reading, writing and mathematics which are well above the national average. Together with their development as responsible young people, this gives them an excellent preparation with which to start secondary school.  Throughout their time at school, pupils make outstanding progress. The proportion of pupils making expected progress in English and mathematics from their individual starting point is higher than national figures. In 2012, the proportion making more than expected progress uncharacteristically dipped but the proportion currently making better than expected progress is now significantly higher than the national average across all year groups in Key Stage 2.  Most pupils, including those who are known to be eligible for pupil premium funding, disabled

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

pupils and those who have special educational needs, make the same progress as other pupils in school. This is as a result of timely and sharply focused help from teachers and teaching assistants. This demonstrates the school’s commitment to equality of opportunity for all pupils.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The comprehensive progress-tracking system continues to be extremely well used by teachers to very effectively plan lessons and interventions. Teachers and teaching assistants are also highly skilled in questioning pupils to assess their understanding.  When teaching and learning are exceptional this is due to very well-planned lessons, with rapid pace and use of a variety of activities which fully engage and enthuse pupils. An example of this was seen in a Key Stage 2 mathematics lesson where pupils were making exceptional progress while they had lots of fun investigating and problem solving using fractions, percentages and decimal numbers. The lesson included the whole class singing a mathematics rap and a triangular dominoes game which pupils clearly enjoyed. They enthusiastically demonstrated their ability to share their ideas and work independently while the teacher and teaching assistant provided support through highly skilled questioning techniques which accelerated their progress.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 In an English lesson in Key Stage 1, where outstanding teaching was seen, pupils were preparing to write their own funny animal poems. The teacher captured their imaginations by reading a funny poem to the class and together they then analysed the structure of the poem and the range of verbs, adjective and nouns used. Moving into smaller groups, the pupils excitedly extended their vocabulary by finding a raft of words with similar meanings. They demonstrated their ability to use a thesaurus effectively, to help them with their work. Pupils worked hard and, using their phonics skills, helped each other to spell unfamiliar words. Progress was rapid as they built an excellent foundation of words and phrases on which to develop their individual poems.  Occasionally, the amount of choice for pupils to explore their particular interests within topics is limited and there is not always enough time for pupils to work on their own and explore ideas

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

for themselves. This restricts somewhat their ability to make the optimum progress.  Teachers and teaching assistants who support disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and pupils known to be eligible for pupil premium funding are well trained to provide for the individual learning needs of each pupil.  Regular and high quality marking helps pupils to understand how to improve their work. Pupils are given many opportunities to learn from their own and each other’s work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 From an early age, young children learn to value each other and their school community. There is an exceptional atmosphere of mutual respect throughout the school. This is reflected in all of the responses to the staff questionnaire, all parents who met the inspector, the schools’ surveys exploring the views of parents and the majority of the views expressed on Parent View.  A number of parents told the inspector that their children ‘are very, very happy at school’ and this is reflected in above-average attendance.  Pupils learn how to stay safe in and beyond school and their experiences are broadened through an impressive range of trips. Older pupils talked enthusiastically about their visits to cities, museums and the opportunities for overnight stays at outdoor centres which have clearly had a very positive impact on developing their confidence and maturity. This helps them to prepare very well for the next stage in their education.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils behave exceptionally well both in lessons and around the school and this leads to extremely good attitudes to learning and sensitive care for each other. This was reflected in conversations with current pupils and their families.  Older pupils take pride in wearing their chef’s uniform at lunchtimes when they take on the role of helping the younger pupils with their meals. They are extremely caring and supportive, and act as excellent role models. The buddy system is particularly effective in helping younger and new pupils settle into school.  Pupils are adamant that bullying is not an issue at Barrow, although they do learn about different forms of bullying. They develop a strong understanding of the dangers of making friends through social networks and the potential impact of cyber-bullying, and of how to protect themselves from these.  Staff provide opportunities for families to attend sessions to find out how and what their children

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

are being taught. The weekly ‘Family Assembly’ encourages parents to share in celebrating how well their children are achieving in all aspects of school life.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher, senior leadership team and the governing body are relentless in their drive to continually improve the school. There are very effective checks on the quality of teaching. Staff are not content with teaching which is less than good. This is a key factor in why the quality of teaching remains outstanding overall.  Using information from lesson observations along with information about how quickly pupils are learning, the headteacher ensures appropriate staff training is in place. Staff who are new to the school, including newly qualified teachers, settle very quickly and are extremely well supported through training opportunities both within the school and beyond. Staff are set challenging targets which are checked and linked directly to pay awards.  The local authority effectively provides guidance for the school with light-touch support.  The curriculum provides a wide range of learning activities and the pupils particularly enjoy their

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The leadership and management are outstanding

topic work, music, sport and opportunities to learn a foreign language.  The promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is exceptional and supports pupils to make an excellent contribution to the positive atmosphere in school. Pupils are aware of different religions and cultures and there are increasing opportunities to visit a range of places of worship.  The governance of the school:  Governors have a very accurate understanding of the quality of teaching and the strengths and priorities of the school. This is because they are kept extremely well informed by the headteacher, they are regular visitors and volunteers at the school and they canvass the views of parents. Governors regularly attend training to develop their expertise which ensures that they have a very thorough understanding of school performance data, so that they can continue to challenge and support the school exceptionally well. The governing body makes

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The leadership and management are outstanding

sure that those pupils known to be eligible for pupil premium funding continue to be very effectively supported. Statutory duties, including financial and safeguarding requirements, are fulfilled. Governors understand the link between the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress and make sure that teachers’ progression through the pay scale is linked to how effective they are.

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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 119397 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 413244

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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 Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 127 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Strong Headteacher Christine Marchi Date of previous school inspection 22 March 2010 Telephone number 01254 822338 Fax number 01254 822408 Email address head@barrow.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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