Cracoe and Rylstone Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Cracoe and Rylstone Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School Cracoe, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 6LQ

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Outcome

Cracoe and Rylstone Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love attending this school. They are happy and feel safe. Parents and pupils alike appreciate the warm and caring environment that exists in this ‘family-like’ school. Pupils behave well in and around school, showing kindness and respect to one another.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders plan a range of strategies for pupils to report any concerns or worries, such as leaving a note for ‘the worry monster’. However, pupils trust adults and prefer to speak directly with staff. Pupils know that staff will quickly deal with their concerns or offer advice about how they can manage a risky situation in a positive way. This enables pupils to practise the skills that they have learned to manage risk. Pupils appreciate this.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy a range of responsibilities on offer, from ‘bee and stick insect monitors’ to safeguarding auditors. Pupils support leaders to regularly monitor safeguarding arrangements around school, such as checking the premises and visitors’ lanyards. They have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe both on and offline. Pupils take their responsibilities seriously. Pupils develop their entrepreneurial skills through some of these activities, such as selling the honey and candles from beekeeping. Pupils are proud of their achievements.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has high ambitions for all pupils to achieve well, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders continuously develop the curriculum, making use of teachers’ subject expertise across the federation and resources in the community. As such, pupils study a broad and balanced curriculum. For example, pupils regularly benefit from expert teaching in physical education when accessing a wide range of sports facilities at a local secondary school. School 24 January 2024

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The school has carefully considered the important knowledge that it wants pupils to learn from the early years onwards. Leaders ensure that all subject leaders receive early years training that enables them to plan a curriculum that prepares children for Year 1. Children benefit from this well-sequenced curriculum. They absorb themselves in the activities that have been carefully chosen by staff. Staff model high-quality learning in these activities and the vocabulary that they want children to use. Children eagerly detect the ‘villain’ by observing fingerprints left around the classroom through a magnifying glass. They use language such as ‘unique’ and ‘investigate’, with a clear understanding of what this means.

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Pupils with SEND benefit from well-chosen adaptations made to the curriculum which takes into account their individual needs. Leaders work closely with parents and external agencies to plan these adaptations. As a result, pupils with SEND make strong progress from their starting points.

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Leaders promote reading well. Well-trained staff deliver the school's chosen phonics programme with precision and accuracy. Pupils enjoy their lessons which is reflected in their high levels of engagement. Teachers quickly identify pupils who are struggling and ensure that they receive the right support to help them. However, some pupils who are at the early stages of reading do not read with fluency or confidence. They read books that do not match the sounds that they know. This prevents them from progressing as quickly as they could.

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In most curriculum subjects, leaders have developed precise checks on what pupils know and remember. This, along with teacher’s good subject knowledge, allows them to identify gaps in pupil’s understanding and respond accordingly. Pupils can recall with confidence what they learn. They can make direct links with prior learning and can explain how previous knowledge is building up over time. As a result, pupils make good progress. However, in a small number of subjects, such as the personal, social and health education curriculum, checks are not as precise. While pupils learn about a range of topics within this curriculum, some pupils’ understanding of concepts such as fundamental British values is vague. This prevents them from progressing as quickly as they could.

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Staff constantly model their high expectations of how pupils should behave. Pupils are polite and courteous to visitors. They play happily with each other. They move around the school in an orderly manner. In classrooms, pupils focus well and engage positively with their tasks.

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Staff are proud to work at the school. They feel that they can approach leaders if they need anything and are provided with appropriate support to fulfil their roles. Staff feel that leaders are mindful of their workload and their work–life balance. Skilled and experienced governors support and challenge leaders effectively. They know the school well and contribute to its development.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. School 24 January 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 A small number of pupils at an early stage of learning to read are not given books that match their phonics knowledge. This hinders how well some of these pupils develop their reading fluency. The school should ensure that pupils are given books that match their phonics ability so that they can catch up with their peers as quickly as possible.  In a small number of curriculum subjects, teachers do not use their checks on what pupils know and remember well enough to identify gaps in pupils’ learning. As a result, some pupils are unable to recall the knowledge that leaders intend them to learn. The school should make sure that, in all subjects, teachers use assessment information effectively to address gaps in pupils’ knowledge.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2019.

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How can I feed back my views?

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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, School 24 January 2024

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looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). School 24 January 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Anna Vetch (Co-Chair) Kester Horn (Co-Chair) Headteacher Claire Greenwood (Co-executive Headteacher) Chris Parkhouse (Co-executive Headteacher) Website www.cracoeprimaryschool.co.uk/

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9 January 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Upper Wharfedale Primary Federation of which there are three other schools. There are two co-executive headteachers across the federation.  The school has a religious character. It is part of the Diocese of Leeds. The most recent section 48 inspection of the school was in June 2019. The next section 48 inspection is due by June 2024.  Since the last inspection, a co-chair of governors has been appointed.  The federation runs a breakfast club at the school. There is also an after-school club at Grassington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School which some pupils attend.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education School 24 January 2024

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provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector held meetings with members of the governing body. The inspector met with a representative of the local authority who is the external school improvement adviser and a representative from the Diocese of Leeds.  Inspectors conducted deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions with curriculum leaders across the federation, visited samples of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector listened to some pupils read.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the

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extent to which the school has created an open culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors considered the view of parents through the responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey and meeting parents at the end of the school day. The views of staff were considered from meetings held with staff and from the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Jenny Thomas, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Dimitris Spiliotis Ofsted Inspector School 24 January 2024

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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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