Appleby Primary School

Inspection of Appleby Primary School Station Road, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria CA16 6TX

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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 26 and 27 March 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud members of this happy and caring school. They enjoy strong relationships with staff and with each other. Pupils value the opportunities that they have to take on positions of responsibility. For example, older pupils take their buddy roles seriously and enjoy helping younger pupils in the Reception class.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Across the school, there are high expectations for pupils’ achievement. The curriculum meets the needs and interests of pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils enjoy their learning and typically achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school enriches the curriculum with a range of trips, clubs and experiences. Pupils enjoy tending to the school’s vegetable patch. They spoke with enthusiasm about singing in the choir, being part of the school’s rock band and attending the photography club. Pupils are given opportunities to develop their talents by taking part in sporting activities and learning to play musical instruments.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils typically live up to the school’s high expectations for their behaviour. They are courteous and considerate towards each other, staff and visitors. They are supported to be resilient when they find things difficult in their learning.

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better?

Pupils, including those who attend the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision), benefit from accessing a broad and ambitious curriculum. The essential knowledge that pupils should learn from the Nursery class to Year 6 is identified clearly.

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better?

The school ensures that, in most subject curriculums, staff have the knowledge, skills and guidance that they need to be able to deliver the curriculum consistently well. New learning is broken down into well-ordered steps and explained clearly to pupils. However, in some subjects, the work that pupils are given does not match well enough with the aims of the curriculum. This means that, at times, the delivery of the curriculum in some subjects does not ensure that pupils learn as well as they should.

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better?

The school checks that pupils know, and remember, key knowledge over time. Typically, staff use assessment information well to shape future learning. Overall, pupils achieve well and are ready for the next stage of their education by the end of Year 6.

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better?

The school has ensured that staff have the knowledge and expertise to accurately identify and meet the additional needs of pupils with SEND. This includes those who attend the specially resourced provision. Staff make effective adaptations to lessons. This helps pupils to learn the same curriculum as their peers. Pupils with SEND achieve well. 26 and 27 March 2024

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Since the last inspection, the school has prioritised the development of the early reading curriculum. Children in the Nursery class enjoy activities that help them to begin to learn about letters and sounds. This prepares them well to learn phonics from the beginning of the Reception class. Staff receive effective training and coaching to enable them to deliver the phonics programme consistently. The school provides effective support to pupils who struggle with reading, to enable them to progress well. This includes pupils who attend the specially resourced provision. In 2023, the published key stage 1 writing outcomes were low. However, this cohort of pupils did not access the school’s revised phonics programme, which is helping current key stage 1 pupils to develop their writing skills well.

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Pupils behave well. They demonstrate positive attitudes to learning and are keen to participate in lessons. Pupils move around the school calmly and are polite to each other. For example, they hold doors open for each other. The school actively promotes the importance of high attendance and being punctual. It provides effective support and challenge to families to bring about improvements to pupils’ attendance when required.

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The school provides a breadth of experiences to support pupils' wider development. Pupils said that they enjoy attending a range of after-school clubs, through which they can develop their skills and interests. They have opportunities to demonstrate their talents by performing in front of the school. The school supports pupils to become positive citizens. For instance, pupils grow their own vegetables and sing at the local care home.

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Governors know the school well. They check the impact of the school’s work against key areas that have been identified for development. Staff value the opportunities that they have to expand their knowledge and expertise. They appreciate the support that the school offers them in relation to their well-being. For example, the school considers the impact on workload when making decisions about policies and procedures.

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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, the school has not ensured that the curriculum is delivered consistently well. As a result, some activity choices do not help pupils to develop and deepen their knowledge and skills over time. The school should ensure that the intended curriculum is implemented consistently, to enable pupils to securely learn the intended curriculum. 26 and 27 March 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 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). 26 and 27 March 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Charlotte Birtles

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School details

Website www.applebyprimary.cumbria.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 2 October 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has a resourced provision and special educational needs unit that currently supports eight pupils in key stage 1 and 2.  The school does not use any alternative providers for pupils.  There is provision for before- and after-school care on site. This provision is not managed by the governing body and receives a separate report which is published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about this inspection

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. 26 and 27 March 2024

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, other leaders, the chair of governors, other governors and a range of staff at the school. The lead inspector also met with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. 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. Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  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.  The lead inspector listened to pupils from Years 1, 2 and 3 read to a known adult.

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 Inspectors observed pupils at breaktime, lunchtime and when moving around the school.  Inspectors spoke to leaders about pupils’ wider personal development.  Inspectors spoke to parents and carers and considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. Inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and for pupils.  Inspectors met with groups of pupils throughout the inspection to gather their views about school life.  The inspectors reviewed a wide range of documents, including those related to the governance of the school.

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Inspection team

Liz Dayton, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Cleo Cunningham Ofsted Inspector 26 and 27 March 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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