Seascale Primary School

Inspection of Seascale Primary School Crofthead Road, Seascale, Cumbria CA20 1LZ

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Inspection dates: 24 and 25 January 2024

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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 24 and 25 January 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to Seascale Primary School. Everyone feels welcome and included in all aspects of school life. Pupils are polite, kind and considerate of others. Older pupils take good care of younger children and are positive role models. They behave sensibly around school and are courteous to each other and to adults. The strong relationships that pupils have with one another and with staff help them to feel happy. Pupils know that staff will listen to them and help if they have any worries.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ achievement. It ensures that pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), have the support that they need to learn the curriculum well. Pupils try their best in lessons and listen carefully to their teachers. Most pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate many roles of responsibility that they have in school. For example, pupils nominate themselves and others to be members of various school councils, including the eco-council and arts council. They vote for anti-bullying ambassadors and team captains each year. Pupils take great pride in these roles and fulfil their responsibilities with enthusiasm.

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better?

The school has designed a suitably broad and ambitious curriculum. It has thought carefully about the important knowledge that pupils should learn from the early years to the end of Year 6. The additional needs of pupils with SEND are identified early. They get the help that they need to learn the same curriculum as their classmates. Staff are skilled at supporting pupils with SEND and adapt their teaching effectively to meet pupils’ individual needs.

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better?

Teachers regularly check that pupils are learning the intended curriculum. They identify any gaps that pupils may have and adjust the delivery of the curriculum accordingly. However, at times, staff choose learning activities and resources that do not help pupils to learn the essential knowledge and skills that they should. This means that some pupils’ learning in some subjects is not as secure as it should be.

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better?

The school has prioritised reading. Pupils, including children in the early years, benefit from to a wide and diverse range of books and poems. The school has established a successful phonics programme which is taught from the beginning of the Reception Year. Pupils read from books that match the sounds and letters that they already know. They use their phonics knowledge and skills to read new and unfamiliar words with confidence and accuracy. Staff support pupils who fall behind in the phonics programme to learn all that they should.

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better?

Pupils behave well. This begins in the early years where children learn to follow well- established routines. They quickly develop confidence, independence and social skills, such as sharing and taking turns. At times, some pupils become overwhelmed. 24 and 25 January 2024

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On these rare occasions, staff provide effective support to help them to manage their emotions and behaviour. This support means that other pupils continue to learn without interruption.

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Some pupils do not attend school as often as they should. The school understands the causes of low attendance and works with families to secure improved attendance. However, there are groups of pupils who are persistently absent from school. This means that they do not benefit fully from the education and experiences that the school offers.

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The school has developed a strong programme to support pupils’ personal development. There are a wide range of opportunities for pupils to understand the world around them and to take care of the local environment. For example, pupils visit nearby villages and beaches to collect litter and help to reduce plastic waste. Younger pupils share cultural traditions, including gardening and cooking, with children from another country. They have published these shared experiences in a book. The school has also taken part in a long-term project to support pupils’ respect for differences between themselves and others. These rich opportunities help pupils to develop their understanding and curiosity about the wider world.

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Governors understand their roles and responsibilities and carry these out effectively. They provide appropriate support and challenge to the school. However, oversight of attendance and the persistent absence of some pupils is not as robust as it should be. There is not a clear, strategic plan to address the low levels of attendance for some groups of pupils.

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The school has taken effective steps to consider staff’s workload. For example, staff say that they are able to prioritise their teaching and are not burdened by unnecessary tasks.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, staff do not select the most appropriate learning activities and resources that will best support pupils to learn the intended curriculum well. This means that some pupils do not learn some of the essential knowledge and skills as well as they could in these subjects. The school should ensure that activity choices and resources enable pupils to learn all that they should.  Some groups of pupils do not attend school regularly enough. This means that they do not benefit as much as they should from the education and experiences that the school offers. The school should ensure that it has a clear strategy to improve the levels of attendance for these pupils. 24 and 25 January 2024

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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’ 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 so- cial 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, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 24 and 25 January 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10 July 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 A new headteacher has been appointed since the previous inspection. The headteacher took up their post in January 2024.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision for pupils.

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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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education 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.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and other leaders of the school. They also spoke with a range of staff. 24 and 25 January 2024

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 The lead inspector spoke with three governors, including the chair of the governing body. She also spoke with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text comments. They also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and pupils.  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 extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktimes, during lessons and around school. They also spoke with pupils about their experiences at school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and geography. They met with subject leaders and teachers and visited a sample of lessons.

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Inspectors spoke with pupils about their learning in these subjects. They looked at examples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also considered the curriculum in some other subjects.  The lead inspector observed some pupils from Years 1 to 3 read to a familiar adult.

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Inspection team

Sally Timmons, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Cleo Cunningham Ofsted Inspector 24 and 25 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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