Kirkbampton CofE School

Inspection of Kirkbampton CofE School Kirkbampton, Carlisle, Cumbria CA5 6HX

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Inspection dates: 19 and 20 October 2022

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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 Requires improvement 19 and 20 October 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school. They feel safe and are happy. They are polite, courteous and respectful. They are confident that staff would deal with any cases of bullying effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children in the early years are well prepared for future learning. Skilled staff encourage children to become independent and resilient, especially when exploring outdoors. Adults join in with children’s imaginative play and encourage them to extend the range of words that they know and understand.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy taking part in adventurous and cultural activities in the local community and further afield. They look after one another, and they know that it is important to care for the environment. Pupils are tolerant. They said that it is wrong to judge people on the way they look. Pupils explained that we should always treat others in the same way that we would like to be treated ourselves.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Lessons are rarely disrupted. This is because pupils are keen to learn.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know that teachers always expect them to do their best in class. Leaders make sure that pupils who find learning difficult, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), receive effective support. Most pupils, including children in the early years, achieve well.

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better?

The school has improved considerably since the last inspection. Leaders have redesigned the curriculum, ensuring that it is ambitious for all pupils. Leaders have ordered the curriculum content in a logical way. Teachers know what pupils must learn to achieve well. As a result of a well-designed and delivered curriculum, pupils in key stages 1 and 2 develop a secure body of subject knowledge.

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better?

Children in the early years also have an effective curriculum. It is well delivered. For example, teachers structure activities so that children learn to count and compare numbers well. They are well prepared to move on to learn the mathematics curriculum in key stage 1. They also learn a great deal about the world around them to prepare for key stage 1 science, geography and history.

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better?

Teachers have good subject knowledge. They are also skilled in providing support to meet the needs of all learners, including those with SEND. Teachers are reflective. They make good use of the range of training opportunities available to improve their delivery of the curriculum.

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better?

Despite the strengths in the curriculum, leaders’ systems for checking how well pupils are learning in some subjects are slightly underdeveloped. As a result, in 19 and 20 October 2022

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some subjects other than English, mathematics and science, occasional gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding are not picked up quickly enough. For example, in history, a few older pupils do not know enough about how events in the past still influence us in the present day.

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Children begin learning to read soon after starting at the school. As they move into key stage 1, they build on their phonics knowledge and most become fluent readers. Well-trained staff help pupils to practise their reading frequently from books that are carefully selected to match their phonics knowledge. Pupils who may be falling behind with their reading knowledge receive timely support to catch up. Teachers read to pupils frequently, particularly in the early years. They encourage pupils to enjoy reading for pleasure at home, setting them weekly reading-time challenges. Pupils said that they enjoy reading. Older pupils talked knowledgeably about their favourite authors and books.

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Leaders and teachers identify the needs of pupils with SEND accurately and at the earliest possible stage. They ensure that these pupils have the right support to learn the same curriculum as their peers. This means that pupils, including those with SEND, succeed and most are ready for the next stage in their education.

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Pupils behave well. They rarely disturb the learning of others. They attend school regularly and on time. They know the difference between right and wrong.

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Pupils take part in trips to cultural centres such as museums and places of worship. They participate widely in their local community. For example, they recently invited families and friends to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II with them. They provided food and entertained families with displays of maypole and Morris dancing. These opportunities help pupils to learn about the wider world and prepare them well for their futures in modern British society.

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Leaders make sure that pupils have plenty of opportunities to participate in healthy, physical activity, including rock climbing and cross-country running.

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Governors know the school well and fulfil all their statutory responsibilities. They participate with leaders and staff in strategic planning decisions. Governors and leaders consider staff’s workload and work–life balance when making decisions. Staff feel valued by leaders and governors.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and governors ensure that adults know how to keep pupils safe. Staff have regular and up-to-date training, including in child protection and first aid. This helps them to identify when a pupil may be at risk. Leaders follow up on any concerns diligently and make sure that pupils and families receive effective support. 19 and 20 October 2022

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The curriculum helps pupils learn about how to manage risk. For example, they learn about how to be safe online. Pupils said they know that they are safe because staff are always watching out for them and making sure that all the doors and gates are secure.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not checked how well pupils are learning the curriculum in some of the foundation subjects. As a result, some occasional misconceptions and gaps in pupils’ learning are not picked up quickly enough. Leaders should ensure a consistent approach to checking how well pupils are learning in the foundation subjects.

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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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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. 19 and 20 October 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 27 and 28 November 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is a voluntary-controlled Church of England school. The most recent section 48 inspection took place in March 2018.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken this into account in their evaluation of the school.  During this inspection, the inspectors met with the headteacher, subject leaders and five members of the governing body.  The inspectors held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority. 19 and 20 October 2022

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 The inspectors reviewed a range of safeguarding documentation, including the single central record of checks on staff’s suitability to work with pupils. The inspectors met with the designated safeguarding lead and checked how leaders record and respond to any safeguarding concerns.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art and design and history. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspectors also looked at pupils’ work in some other subjects.  The inspectors observed pupils reading to a familiar adult and spoke to pupils informally at breaktimes.  The inspectors spoke with staff about their workload and well-being.  The inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the

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free-text comments. The inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Jan Corlett, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

David Lobodzinski Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 October 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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