Langwathby CofE Primary School

Langwathby CofE Primary School Salkeld Road, Langwathby, Penrith, Cumbria, CA10 1ND

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher and other leaders continually and successfully strive for ways to improve teaching and pupils’ achievement.  Governors know the school well and support and challenge leaders and managers effectively to bring about improvements. They work closely with the headteacher to ensure there are effective improvements in teaching and learning.  The curriculum is enriched by a wide range of events and activities so that pupils are interested in and enjoy their learning. Links with schools in Britain and other countries help deepen pupils’ understanding of other people and cultures.  Pupils behave well in the class and around school. They are friendly, considerate and polite to adults as well as each other. Their high attendance rate reflects their love of school.  Pupils say they feel safe in school and understand how to keep themselves safe in different situations. They know that staff will take care of

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

them.  Teaching is good. Lessons are lively and interesting as a result, pupils are fully engaged and motivated.  Teachers provide pupils with good feedback on how well they are doing and give clear guidelines on how to improve their work.  Teachers and teaching assistants are enthusiastic and enjoy strong relationships with pupils who respond by working hard.  Pupils throughout the school, including children in the early years, achieve well. All groups of pupils, including those who have special education needs, make good progress.  The early years provides a rich learning environment for children and prepares them well for their continued learning in school. They are keen to learn and happily enjoy everything that is provided for them both in the classroom and outdoors.

p.1

It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils, especially the most able, are not challenged enough in their mathematics work.  Opportunities for teachers to benefit from seeing examples of outstanding teaching are few.  Children in the early years do not get enough opportunities to practise their reading and mathematical skills outdoors.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed seven teachers and visited 13 lessons, one of which was a joint observation with the headteacher.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, staff, pupils, parents, governors and a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors observed break time and talked regularly with pupils as they moved around school.  The inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work and listened to pupils read.  A wide range of the school’s documentation was observed including systems for tracking pupils’ progress, safeguarding arrangements, the school development plan and pupils’ work in their books.  The inspectors took account of 21 responses from the on-line questionnaire (Parent View).  Inspectors analysed nine questionnaires completed by staff.

p.2

Inspection team

Sue Sharkey, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 Langwathby Church of England Primary School is smaller than the average sized primary school.  Almost all pupils are of White British heritage. Very few pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below to the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is below the national average. The pupil premium is additional government funding to support those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those children that are looked after by the local authority.  The school has an above average proportion of pupils who enter the school part way through their primary education.  Pupils are taught in six classes: Nursery; Reception; Year 1 with some Year 2; some Year 2 with Year 3; Year 4 with some Year 5; some Year 5 with Year 6.  The school offers a daily Nursery class each morning with full-time education provided from Reception

p.3

Information about this school

onwards.  The school has achieved the International School and Leading Aspect awards and the Inclusion Charter Mark.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching from good to outstanding overall to further improve pupils’ achievement by:  always providing sufficient challenge for pupils in mathematics, in order to ensure that standards are as high as they are in English, especially for the most able pupils  seeking opportunities for teachers to regularly see outstanding teaching in practice.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop the early years outdoor area further to ensure that children have a wider range of opportunities to improve their reading and mathematical skills.

p.3

The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher is very well supported by the deputy headteacher and together they are committed to supporting every child so that they achieve well. Monitoring of teaching and rigorous systems for checking pupils’ progress ensures that teaching continues to improve. Teachers have many strengths which are evident during lessons. However opportunities for teachers to improve their own practice by, for example seeing outstanding teaching by others, are few.  Subject leaders play a key and active role in evaluating the school and checking the quality of teaching and learning, as well as identifying what needs to be done to improve the school further.  The success of the school’s commitment to equality of opportunity is evident through the good progress made by different groups of pupils. This is because the school identifies each pupil’s particular needs quickly and provides support in small groups or individually.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 The school’s system for managing the performance of teachers is thorough and is linked closely to teachers’ pay. Objectives to improve teachers’ performance are closely linked to pupils’ performance.  Staff who responded to the staff questionnaire agree that the school is well led and managed.  The local authority has a good relationship with this school, knows its many strengths and provides a ‘light touch’ support.  The school prides itself on providing pupils with a wealth of opportunities in order to experience and have- a-go at many different arts, music and sporting activities. The rich and innovative curriculum provides a wide range of interesting activities and experiences. Pupils can enjoy working with local artists and theatre groups, as a well as taking part in residential visits, local trips and those further afield, for example, to York.  The school has strong links with the community and pupils take part in local activities. Recently, pupils

p.4

The leadership and management are good

have taken part in singing and performing in a village festival. Links with schools in England, as well as other countries, help raise pupils’ awareness of other people and other cultures. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength, seen clearly in the very positive relationships in the school.  The school has made effective use of its primary sports funding to develop the expertise of staff as well as pupils through the employment of a specialist physical education coaches. There is a range of clubs in which pupils can now participate. For example, pupils can learn lacrosse or take part in the weekly running and football clubs. Pupils also have opportunities to enjoy taking part in team games not only within the school but also with other local schools.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is providing very good support and challenge for leaders and the school. It

p.4

The leadership and management are good

contributes to the school’s self-evaluation and oversees arrangements for the management of staff performance. Governors have an accurate understanding of the quality of teaching, the role of performance management and how pay is linked to performance. They have systems in place to monitor the performance of the headteacher. Through a range of groups, governors focus sharply on key areas of the school’s work, for example, pupils’ progress. Information about how pupils are doing is understood. Governors ensure that financial resources are managed effectively. They know how extra funding, such as the primary sports funding is spent and the difference this makes to pupils’ health and well-being. These actions reflect governors’ strong commitment to the success of the school. Governors ensure that all requirements for safeguarding are met.

p.4

Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are polite, courteous and behave well in lessons, during playtimes and when moving around school. All parents who responded to Parent View say their children are happy in school.  In lessons pupils concentrate well. They work hard and collaborate well with each other when they are discussing ideas or taking part in different activities. They show they enjoy learning by their good attitude to their work and this contributes to their good achievement. Work in pupils’ books and on displays shows that they are proud of their work which is neat and well presented.  Pupils enjoy taking on responsibilities, for example, as school councillors. This group of pupils is very active in raising funds to help improve the school, for example the library, and help to organise events to raise funds for international, national and local charities.

p.4

Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Positive relationships help pupils to feels safe. Pupils say that adults are always watching and doors are kept locked.  Pupils say that bullying is rare but they are confident that any adult in school will respond promptly to any concern they might raise. They are fully aware of how to stay safe saying they are well informed, for example, about using technology safely.  Pupils enjoy attending school, which contributes well to their above average attendance.

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers ask pupils questions regularly to check their understanding and help move them on in their learning. The questions also help to deepen pupils’ knowledge and extend their language skills as teachers encourage full explanations and justifications for their answers. Relationships teachers and teaching assistants have with pupils are very positive. As a result behaviour is well managed, classes run smoothly, no time is wasted in lessons and an atmosphere of mutual respect permeates learning in all classes.  Stimulating activities capture and hold pupils’ interest well. For example during the inspection, Years 4 and 5 pupils were working in pairs to record information they had gathered following a science experiment to check the friction of different footwear. They talked confidently about friction and what their graphs were showing.  Reading and writing are developed successfully across different subjects. The skills learnt in mathematics

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

are also used in other subjects but, across the school, pupils have few opportunities to develop their skills through real-life problem solving activities.  Pupils are prompt to lessons and settle quickly. They say they enjoy mathematics and English as well as other subjects and take a pride in their work. These positive attitudes contribute greatly to their good progress.  Lessons have a very clear focus on what pupils are going to learn and pupils know whether they have been successful. As a result they know what skills they are developing. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 enjoyed working in groups as they moved around and counted each other in their small groups to ensure that the whole group added up to eight. Pupils understood what the total number of pupils had to add up to. As the class sat together after this activity, the teacher checked pupils’ understanding and the skills they had used.  Teachers plan a wide range of activities. Pupils, however, are not challenged consistently enough during

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

lessons to ensure they reach the higher levels in mathematics in Key Stages 1 and 2.

p.5

The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils across Key Stages 1 and 2 make good progress from their starting points As a result, standards at the end of Year 6 were above average in reading and writing and average in mathematics in the unvalidated 2014 national tests. Writing has been significantly above average in both 2013 and 2014.  Pupils’ good progress is evident in their books, when listening to pupils answering questions in lessons, as well as from the results of the school’s regular assessments. Pupils are enthusiastic learners and are keen to work hard. For example, almost all Year 6 pupils made the progress expected of them and achieved the national average Level 4 in reading, writing and mathematics in the 2014 unvalidated national tests.  The most able pupils make good progress. They make very good use of their skills especially in reading and writing and reached well above average standards in the 2014 unvalidated national tests. In these

p.5

The achievement of pupils is good

same tests, an average proportion of pupils achieved the higher Level 5 in mathematics. The proportion of pupils who achieved the higher levels in reading was well above average and significantly above average in writing.  Pupils who are disabled or who have special educational needs make good progress due to good quality targeted support. They acquire effective reading, writing and mathematical skills which enable them to tackle all subjects of the curriculum. Teaching assistants often work with individual pupils or with small groups enabling them to take an increasing responsibility for their own work.  The school uses the pupil premium funding effectively to support disadvantaged pupils ensuring they make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. For example, in the 2014 unvalidated national tests for Year 6, 100% of these pupils made the progress expected of them from their starting points in

p.5

The achievement of pupils is good

reading, writing and mathematics. However, there are too few pupils in the school to comment on the attainment of disadvantaged pupils compared to other pupils in the school and nationally.  The proportion of pupils who enter and leave the school other than at the normal times has been above average but is now decreasing. Mostly this has been pupils entering in Year 4 from a nearby first school. These pupils as other groups in the school make good progress.  Throughout the school, pupils enjoy reading which is given a high priority. Pupils in Key Stage 1 tackle new and unfamiliar words confidently because they have a good understanding of letters and the sounds they make (phonics). The school’s focus on the teaching of phonics is helping to improve pupils’ reading and writing and as a result, an average proportion of pupils met the expected standards in the 2014 phonics screening check successfully.

p.5

The achievement of pupils is good

 The school has a strong culture of enjoyment of books. Pupils develop a love of different authors and talk confidently about the useful information on the cover of the book. In the Reception class, children know that the name on the front cover is the author whilst Year 6 pupils say they read the back cover before they choose the book to find out what the story is about. Pupils enjoy reading at home as well as at school. Pupils can choose readily from the wide and varied selection of well-displayed and attractive books available in classrooms.

p.6

The early years provision is good

 Children settle quickly in the early years and make good progress because they are curious to learn from the rich variety of interesting activities provided. They show positive attitudes to their work, work well with each other and talk easily to adults.  There is a very effective balance between adult-led activities and those chosen by children. Children have many opportunities to explore, be imaginative and learn on their own. Adults check carefully how well children are progressing providing questions and useful guidance to move their learning on.  Children start in the Nursery class with a wide range of skills but overall their reading, writing, number as well as speaking and listening skills are weak. Adults take every opportunity to talk with children encouraging them to answer their questions or take part in singing activities. For example, while learning the sound of the letter ‘m’ the teacher uses the word ‘manners’ and children thoroughly enjoy singing a

p.6

The early years provision is good

song about saying ‘thank you’.  The early years is well led by a team who work closely together, as well as having very positive links with parents. Leaders and staff work hard in providing a stimulating, lively environment which promotes good learning for all children. As a result, children not only learn to read and write but they also learn to take turns and to share. Robust systems are in place for tracking children’s progress and checking that all groups of pupils make progress that is typical for their age.  Children quickly learn good habits. They are polite and courteous and are enthusiastic about friendships, enjoying working and playing with other children. During the inspection, children cooperated well with each other outside as they raked the autumn leaves carefully out of the shelter onto the grass. Meanwhile, other children were happily chatting to each other as they used spoons to stir their found autumn

p.6

The early years provision is good

‘ingredients’ in a pan.  Teachers and teaching assistants are very well organised with a wide range of activities for children to experience both in the classroom and outdoors. However, resources for children to practise their early reading and mathematical skills regularly are not readily available in the outdoor area.

p.6

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 failing

p.7

Grade Judgement Description

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.

p.7

School details

Unique reference number 112255 Local authority Cumbria Inspection number 448439

p.8

School details

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

p.8

School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 152 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Timothy Holliday Headteacher Lesley Birtwell Date of previous school inspection 9 February 2010 Telephone number 01768 881295 Email address office@langwathby.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 .

p.8

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.

p.9

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

p.9

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 and 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

p.9

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’.

p.9

School details

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

p.9