Carnforth Community Primary School

Inspection of Carnforth Community Primary School North Road, Carnforth, Lancashire LA5 9LQ

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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 6 and 7 February 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

This school provides a nurturing environment where pupils and their families are respected and supported. Pupils are happy. They feel valued and accepted.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s values, such as kindness and friendship, underpin the pleasant relationships between everyone in the school. Pupils are considerate and care for one another.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school motto, ‘believe and achieve,’ is brought to life daily. The school is ambitious for all pupils to achieve well. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Most pupils enjoy learning and try their best. They typically achieve well. Pupils in Year 6 are well prepared for their secondary education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils behave well in lessons and at playtimes. They enjoy the praise and rewards that they receive for behaving well and upholding the school values. Pupils develop leadership skills by taking on responsibilities such as sport leaders, lunchtime ‘salad-bar’ monitors and by ringing the bell to signal the end of playtime.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a wide range of trips and activities beyond the academic curriculum. For example, pupils spoke excitedly about canoeing, building campfires and caving, as well as residential trips and theatre visits. These experiences enable pupils to develop exciting new interests and find undiscovered talents.

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better?

The school has developed an ambitious and well-thought-out curriculum in most subjects from the early years to the end of key stage 2. Staff are provided with helpful guidance, so that they know what pupils need to learn and when this should happen. Staff have benefited from curriculum training in recent times. In the main, they choose appropriate resources, activities and questions to help pupils to learn. Typically, staff explain new concepts with clarity, and use a range of strategies to check on pupils’ understanding.

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better?

The school has established systems for checking and evaluating the delivery of the curriculum. However, in a small number of subjects, the school does not use these systems as effectively as it could. Consequently, the school sometimes does not identify, or address, the most important issues with how some curriculum content is delivered. On occasions, the curriculum is not delivered as intended and pupils’ learning is hindered.

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better?

There are effective systems in place to identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND. These pupils benefit from the support that they receive. Staff are well informed about the best ways to help pupils with SEND to thrive in all aspects of their development. 6 and 7 February 2024

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Reading is promoted across the school. Pupils gain from reading a wide range of interesting books. They enjoy listening to adults reading carefully chosen books to them at story times. Most staff deliver the new early reading curriculum effectively. Typically, pupils who do not keep up with the phonics programme are supported to catch up effectively. This helps these pupils to become successful readers.

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Most pupils behave sensibly in and around school. They are supported to play cooperatively and to make new friends. In the main, staff respond quickly when pupils forget to be kind or need guidance, so that unwanted behaviour is addressed effectively. Nevertheless, some staff are not confident in supporting pupils who need help to follow classroom rules and routines. This means that, on occasions, particularly in the early years, low-level disruption is not addressed consistently well. Learning is interrupted at times. This prevents some children and pupils from learning all that they should.

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The school has thought carefully about pupils’ personal development. Pupils take full advantage of the array of high-quality enrichment activities that the school offers. For example, pupils are keen to attend clubs such as judo and cooking. Children in the early years, and pupils across the rest of the school, benefit from outdoor learning in the school’s woodland area, for example building dens, bird watching and planting bulbs. This helps pupils to learn more about the natural world and to develop resilience. Pupils learn about road safety and the differences between people, such as different families. They gain the age-appropriate knowledge that they need to stay healthy, safe and prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Governors have an accurate oversight of the school. They are committed to the success of every pupil and diligently check on the school’s work to achieve this ambition. The school considers the workload and well-being of staff in the decisions that it makes about school. For example, leaders carefully consider the impact of implementing new initiatives to ensure that they do not cause undue workload for staff. As a result, staff feel well supported to hone and develop their expertise.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, the school is not effective at evaluating the delivery and impact of the curriculum. This means that some weaknesses are not identified and acted on in a timely manner. In turn, this hinders pupils’ achievement in these subjects. The school should ensure that it gathers and evaluates monitoring information effectively so that it can quickly address any shortcomings in subject curriculums. 6 and 7 February 2024

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 A small number of pupils struggle to regulate their behaviour in class. On occasions, they disrupt the learning of others. The school should ensure that staff are well equipped to support these pupils so that they, and other pupils, can learn all that they should.

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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 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, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 6 and 7 February 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.carnforthprimary.lancs.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12 April 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of any alternative provision.  The school operates a breakfast club and an after-school club.  A new headteacher has been appointed since the previous inspection.

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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. The lead inspector also spoke with a representative of the local authority. 6 and 7 February 2024

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 The lead inspector met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English including early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also observed some pupils read to a familiar adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the 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 spoke with pupils in meetings and around the school at lunchtimes and breaktimes.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at breaktimes.

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 Inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including leaders’ evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement and documents relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text responses. Inspectors also spoke with some parents during the inspection.  Inspectors reviewed the online surveys for staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Victoria Burnside, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Rachael Alarcon Ofsted Inspector 6 and 7 February 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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