Barrow Island Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Barrow Island Community Primary School Trinity Street, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria LA14 2SJ

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Outcome

Barrow Island Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Barrow Island Primary School is a happy and inclusive school where everyone is made to feel welcome. The school prides itself on its strong community ethos. Pupils told inspectors that they enjoy coming to school. They value the warm and caring relationships that they have with staff. Pupils know that staff will help them if they have any concerns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils work hard and behave well during lessons. They play well together at breaktimes and lunchtimes. They show care and thought for their classmates. The school provides a calm and purposeful learning environment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s vision is for pupils ‘to be the best that they can be’. The school helps pupils to overcome many barriers to learning in trying to achieve this. It is ambitious for pupils’ learning, including for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils typically achieve well across the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils access a range of opportunities to broaden their learning, both within and beyond the curriculum. A well-designed programme of trips ensure that good use is made of opportunities that are on offer in the local area. Pupils spoke with enthusiasm about how these experiences add to their learning. They also enjoy taking part in different events, such as singing in a recent choir festival. Pupils proudly explained to inspectors the ways in which they had raised money for good causes.

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

Reading is given a high priority from children’s first day in school. Children in the early years join in enthusiastically with rhymes and songs. The school’s newly adopted phonics programme is implemented well. Staff show strong subject knowledge because they have received effective training and support. As pupils move through key stage 1, they develop a secure knowledge of phonics. Pupils who struggle with early reading are given additional help to build their confidence and fluency. However, sometimes, the books that 18 April 2024

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pupils are given are not well matched to the sounds that they already know. Where this is the case, these pupils’ reading fluency does not develop as quickly as it could.

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As they move through the school, pupils are encouraged to develop a love of reading. Older pupils become keen and capable readers. They talked knowledgeably and enthusiastically with inspectors about their favourite books and authors.

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The school has developed a broad and ambitious curriculum. Teachers are clear about the knowledge and vocabulary that pupils should learn. They understand how the curriculum has been ordered to allow pupils to build on their prior learning. Pupils happily talked to inspectors about their learning in different subjects. Teachers make regular checks on what pupils have learned. They use this knowledge to address any gaps in pupils’ learning. The school has made recent changes to the order and teaching of the curriculum to match the revised class structure in key stage 2. However, these changes are still quite new, and more work is needed to fully embed these improvements.

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Staff know pupils well. They quickly identify where pupils may have additional needs. The school makes sure that appropriate support is in place to help pupils with SEND to access the full curriculum. Pupils with SEND typically achieve well.

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Pupils behave sensibly during lessons. They listen well to adults and to their classmates. Pupils work well together and have positive attitudes to their learning. Staff support pupils who find it difficult to manage their own feelings and emotions.

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The school has worked closely with families to improve pupils’ levels of attendance. This work is having a positive impact. Many pupils with previously low attendance now attend school more regularly.

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The school supports pupils’ wider development well. Pupils learn about cultures and traditions that are different to their own. They benefit from a wide range of extra- curricular activities. Pupils spoke with enthusiasm about their residential trips. They enjoy learning how to keep their minds and their bodies healthy. Pupils also know how to keep themselves safe at different times, such as when using the internet.

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Governors know the school well and fulfil their statutory duties effectively. They provide an effective balance of support and challenge and know what an important role the school plays in the community. Staff are overwhelmingly positive about working at the school. They appreciate how the school considers their well-being and workload when making decisions, such as when considering changes in teaching mixed-age groups. Parents and carers are positive about the school. Many commented on the school’s ‘family feel’ and the support that it provides for pupils and their families.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 18 April 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some pupils have reading books that are not well matched to their current phonics knowledge. This means that these pupils do not learn to read with fluency and confidence as quickly as they could. The school should ensure that pupils read from books that allow them to practise the sounds that they already know.  Recent changes to the curriculum in key stage 2 are not embedded fully. Consequently, their impact on pupils’ learning has not been measured. The school should continue with these curriculum developments so that they become fully established and pupils know more and remember more over time.

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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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2014.

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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 18 April 2024

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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). 18 April 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Carly Buckingham

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School details

Date of previous inspection 17 July 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school operates a breakfast club and an after-school club.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision for pupils.  The number of pupils in the school has increased this academic year. As a result, the school added a fourth class in key stage 2 during February.  The school runs its own pre-school for children aged between two and four years old.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time inspection 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. The 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, the SEND coordinator and some subject leaders.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and music. For each deep dive, the inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of 18 April 2024

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lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects and looked at samples of pupils’ work in those subjects.  An inspector observed some pupils from Years 1 to 3 read to a familiar adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single central record and took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils. They considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The lead inspector held a meeting with a group of governors, including the chair of governors. He also spoke with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. There were no responses from staff and pupils to Ofsted’s online surveys.

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 Inspectors spoke with pupils about their experiences at school and their views on behaviour and bullying. They observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and at breaktimes and lunchtimes.  Inspectors spoke with staff about their workload and well-being.

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Inspection team

Neil Dixon, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Paul Edmondson Ofsted Inspector 18 April 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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