Kirkbymoorside Community Primary School

Inspection of Kirkbymoorside Community Primary School Westfields, Kirkbymoorside, York, North Yorkshire YO62 6AG

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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 Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The head of this school is Fiona Thompson. This school is part of Ryedale Learning Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Mark McCandless, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by David Dangerfield. There is also an executive headteacher, Claire Lamb, who is responsible for this school and two others. 19 and 20 March 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. They expect pupils to ‘be ready, be respectful, be safe’. These consistent practices, coupled with supportive relationships, result in calm and orderly classrooms. Pupils embody the school’s values by showing curiosity and pride when learning. They treat one another with kindness.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school responds to the needs of its changing cohort. The curriculum supports disadvantaged pupils, including with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. Pupils learn about the local environment and expand their horizons by learning about the wider world. For example, pupils learn about the history of farming in their locality in the context of changes to global farming.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school ensures that pupils have a thorough understanding of online and offline risks. Before each school holiday, there is an increased focus on internet safety to keep pupils safe when they access their devices at home.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils attend the extensive range of extra-curricular activities the school offers. For example, they enjoy chess, football and computer coding clubs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff develop a love of music in pupils. They encourage pupils to sing to support their performance skills and their mental health. Every pupil has an opportunity to learn to play an instrument. For example, the school offers cornet lessons to support the continuation of the local brass band.

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better?

Following a review of the curriculum and disappointing end-of-key-stage outcomes, the school took decisive action to prioritise the development of the reading, writing and mathematics curriculums. It invested in training for all staff to significantly develop the quality of teaching. It has ensured that these new curriculums are coherent and logically sequenced. As a result, pupils are learning more securely than before.

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better?

The school promotes a love of reading through its phonics and early reading programme. Adults read to pupils every day. Children in the Nursery focus on speech and language activities, such as stories, rhymes and songs prior to starting phonics lessons. Staff consistently use the correct terminology associated with phonics. This supports pupils to read unfamiliar words by blending sounds. The books that pupils read match the sounds that they know. The school provides additional sessions for pupils who need extra support. The impact of the phonics scheme is evident in the resilience and success pupils show in reading and writing tasks.

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better?

The school has modified the mathematics curriculum with the support from the local mathematics hub. This curriculum is in the initial stages of development. The school acknowledges further refinement is necessary. On occasions, aspects of the subject 19 and 20 March 2024

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are not taught as incisively as they could be. This means that some pupils do not know and remember as much as they should.

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The school supports pupils, including those with SEND, well in mathematics. For example, the school uses pre-teaching or personalised activities to enable these pupils to access the same curriculum as their peers. The school encourages pupils to use sentence stems, such as ‘I disagree because…’, to structure their mathematical responses. This enables pupils with SEND to explain their mathematical thinking with clarity.

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The school has focused on developing the core knowledge that pupils need to learn in each aspect of the wider curriculum. For example, in music, pupils speak enthusiastically, using the correct technical vocabulary about the subject.

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The recent improvements to the curriculum have impacted positively on the knowledge and skills that pupils acquire in the curriculum. However, this learning was not reflected in pupils’ outcomes at the end of key stages 1 and 2 in 2023. Pupils did not benefit from the significant improvements that have been made to the curriculum.

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The school has well-developed systems to check pupils’ progression through the curriculum in reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders use these systems to refine teaching and provide pupils with additional support. These processes are less developed in the wider curriculum. In foundation subjects, the school has a less secure picture of how well pupils are learning the intended knowledge.

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The school has made significant changes to the early years provision. This includes, recruiting new practitioners and introducing new elements to the curriculum. Adults know how the purposeful activities link to the curriculum structure. Relationships between adults and children are caring and nurturing. Children explore and actively learn in an environment that promotes their independence.

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The school prioritises pupils’ attendance. The school tracks pupils at risk of persistent absence. It endeavours to remove any barriers to regular attendance. However, pupils’ attendance remains stubbornly below the national average.

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The school provides pupils with leadership opportunities, such as friendship buddies and sports ambassadors. Pupils build resilience and self-confidence through their residential visits to outdoor adventure centres. Most pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of fundamental British values and the protected characteristics. One pupil summed it up saying, ‘Difference is a treat.’

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The school is mindful of the workload and well-being of staff. For example, teachers plan units of work together in key stages to reduce their workload. The primary cluster committee recognises that the school is building for sustained success. Committee members check on the progress of specific issues during their visits to school. This enables the committee and trust to have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and aspects that need continued development. 19 and 20 March 2024

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There were some minor improvements the school needed to make during the inspection to implement systems to check medication and healthcare plans. Some safeguarding records do not consistently reflect the actions taken to keep pupils safe.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, such as mathematics, the knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn are not taught incisively. When this happens, pupils do not learn the intended curriculum as well as they could. The school should ensure that its curriculums are taught with the clarity and expertise necessary to prepare pupils for the next stage in learning.  The system for checking pupils’ progress and understanding across the wider curriculum is not well developed. This means there is not a clear understanding of how well pupils are learning the intended curriculum. The school should develop more effective ways to check pupils’ understanding in the wider curriculum.  Some safeguarding records do not clearly reflect the actions taken to safeguard pupils. This means it is not clear what actions have been taken and by who. The school should ensure that safeguarding records accurately capture the outcomes of actions taken to keep pupils safe.

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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 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 19 and 20 March 2024

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children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 19 and 20 March 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is a member of the Ryedale Learning Trust. There is a primary cluster committee, whose members help set the strategic direction of the school.  Kirkbymoorside Community Primary School converted to become an academy in February 2021. When its predecessor school, of the same name, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  The head of school was appointed in September 2022.  The school does not use any alternative providers.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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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 the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 19 and 20 March 2024

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 Inspectors met with the executive headteacher, head of school, curriculum leaders, staff and pupils.  Meetings were also held with a representative of the primary cluster committee, the CEO and the chair of the trust.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and music. 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 looked at the curriculum structure in geography.  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 views of parents, staff and pupils were considered from meeting with them

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and from the responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Alison Stephenson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sarah Chamings Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 March 2024

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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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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