Askam Village School

Inspection of Askam Village School Lots Road, Askam-in-Furness, Cumbria LA16 7DA

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 15 and 16 June 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this warm and friendly school. Leaders ensure that all pupils feel welcome. Leaders have high expectations for pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including children in the early years, said that they feel happy and safe. They take great pride in their successes and achievements in and out of school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff ensure that pupils and children are clear about the expectations for their behaviour from when they start in the Nursery class. Pupils are courteous and polite. They understand what bullying is and they know that trusted adults in school will help them if they have any concerns. Pupils told inspectors that when incidents of bullying occur, that these are dealt with straight away.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the wide range of activities on offer and take pride in their sports trophies that they have won for the school. They value other activities, such as art and musical theatre clubs. Parents and carers are positive about the support that staff provide for their children.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand the importance of looking after the environment and the local community. For example, they arrange litter picking to keep the school grounds tidy and they are keen to support events in the wider community following the COVID-19 pandemic.

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better?

Leaders have designed an appropriately ambitious curriculum that is carefully thought out. The curriculum excites pupils. Staff promote an enthusiasm for learning from the minute that children join the school in the Nursery Year.

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better?

Leaders are clear about the knowledge that pupils, including children in the early years, should learn and when this content should be delivered. This helps to ensure that teachers are confident about how to design learning that supports pupils to build securely on what they know already.

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better?

Mostly, teachers use assessment strategies well to check that pupils and children understand and remember new learning. Teachers use the information from these checks effectively to identify knowledge that pupils may have missed or forgotten. However, in some subjects, leaders have not ensured that teachers use assessment information as well as they could to inform future teaching.

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better?

Leaders have successfully prioritised reading across the school. There is a wide range of high-quality books for pupils to read, in classrooms and in the school library. Children and pupils value the joy that reading can bring. 15 and 16 June 2022

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Leaders have introduced a well-ordered phonics curriculum. This ensures that there is a consistent approach to the teaching of early reading. Leaders have invested in new books that closely match the sounds that pupils are learning in class.

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Pupils read often at home and in school. Those pupils who require extra help are supported well by highly skilled staff. Consequently, most pupils learn to read accurately and fluently. Parents and carers value the communication from leaders about how they can best support their children with reading.

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Pupils, including children in the early years, attend school regularly. They behave and conduct themselves well. This begins in the early years where children learn to follow clear routines. Pupils show high levels of respect for each other and staff. Any disruption to pupils’ learning is rare. Pupils are focused and highly motivated to achieve well.

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Pupils contribute fully to the life of the school. They learn how to be responsible and active citizens. For example, the active school council play a key role in ensuring that the voices of their peers are heard. Pupils have a strong understanding of fundamental British values and diversity. They respect other cultures, faiths and beliefs. Pupils are tolerant and value the importance of everyone being treated equally.

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Leaders ensure that pupils are supported well by staff, including those pupils with SEND. They know pupils well and identify pupils’ additional needs in a timely manner. Staff support pupils with SEND effectively from the early years to Year 6 to access the same curriculum as their classmates.

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Leaders and governors have a clear and ambitious vision for the school. They have a detailed understanding of its strengths and areas for further development. Members of the governing body understand their roles and carry them out effectively. Staff feel that they are supported by leaders who prioritise staff’s workload and well- being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have ensured that staff are trained well to identify those pupils who may be at risk of harm. Leaders have implemented clear systems for staff to report any safeguarding concerns.

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Safeguarding

Leaders act in a timely way to follow up any concerns. They secure help for vulnerable pupils and their families. Leaders work effectively with different agencies to ensure that pupils are supported appropriately.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, they know who to go to if they see something that makes them feel uncomfortable online. 15 and 16 June 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, teachers do not use assessment strategies as well they should to check on pupils’ understanding of earlier learning. As a result, from time to time, teachers do not identify pupils’ missing knowledge quickly enough or act swiftly to address these gaps. Leaders should ensure that teachers use assessment strategies well to identify pupils’ missing or forgotten learning and to use this effectively to inform future teaching.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 15 and 16 June 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10226234 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 8 and 9 June 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Leaders do not make use of any alternate provision.  The governing body manages the breakfast club.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection that the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke with the headteacher and other leaders in the school. The lead inspector spoke with the chair of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation relating to safeguarding, including the school’s single central record, staff training records and safeguarding records. 15 and 16 June 2022

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 Inspectors completed deep dives in early reading, mathematics, languages and design and technology. They spoke with subject leaders to discuss curriculums, visited lessons, looked at samples of pupils’ work and spoke with teachers and pupils.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktimes and lunchtimes. They observed pupils’ behaviour as they moved around the school.  Inspectors spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school.  Inspectors spoke with parents as they dropped off their children at the school. They considered the responses to Ofsted’s Parent View. They also considered the free-text responses from parents to find out their views of the school.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupils surveys.  Inspectors visited the school’s breakfast club.

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Inspection team

Keith Wright, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Sally Timmons Her Majesty’s Inspector 15 and 16 June 2022

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regulates and inspects to 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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