Lowther Endowed School

Inspection of a good school: Lowther Endowed School Hackthorpe, Penrith, Cumbria CA10 2HT

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Outcome

Lowther Endowed School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to Lowther Endowed School. They are happy in school and value being part of the team. Pupils enjoy the vibrant and exciting school environment. Staff know pupils and their families very well. They ensure that pupils feel supported and are safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations about what pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), will learn. Pupils’ excellent behaviour ensures that they can learn in a safe and undisrupted environment. They generally achieve well across a range of subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a wide curriculum offer. Day and residential trips to cities such as Manchester and Edinburgh ensure that pupils learn about the diverse world in which they live. Older pupils enjoy supporting younger pupils in school with their learning and broader development. Pupils take part in a wide range of clubs such as sports, dancing and first aid. In this way, pupils develop and nurture their talents and interests.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy strong links with elderly members of the community, including a twice-weekly wave to them as they pass the school on the community bus. Pupils appreciate the benefits of being in a small school but feel well prepared to ‘spread their wings and fly’ when they leave for secondary school.

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

Reading is a strength of the school. The school has established a successful and effective phonics programme. Staff deliver this programme with consistency and strong subject knowledge. The school carefully checks pupils’ progress through the phonics programme. It puts extra support in place when necessary to support pupils who struggle with reading. This allows most pupils, including those with SEND, to become fluent and accurate readers by the time that they leave key stage 1. 23 April 2024

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The school has designed an ambitious and broad curriculum from the early years to Year 6. It has identified the key vocabulary that pupils should know to gain knowledge across subjects. In most subjects, careful thought has been given to ensure that the curriculum is tailored to the needs of the pupils. Teachers are well trained. They deliver learning in a well-ordered manner and, in most subjects, check carefully to ensure that pupils know more and remember more over time.

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In a small number of subjects, teachers do not support pupils to build on what they already know sufficiently well. This is because the school has not identified the essential knowledge that pupils need to learn over time. This limits the depth of knowledge that pupils acquire in these subjects.

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The school quickly identifies pupils with SEND. Teachers know how to adapt the delivery of the curriculum so that these pupils access all subjects. Where necessary, the school works with external agencies to ensure that pupils with SEND have the support that they need to achieve well.

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The curriculum in the early years is effective and supports children’s development well. Adults interact with children and extend their learning through skilful questioning. The small cohorts of children allow teachers to identify with precision what children need to be ready for Year 1.

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The school has thought carefully about pupils’ wider development. Pupils learn about healthy and unhealthy relationships. They know how to keep themselves safe both off and online. Pupils understand the risks that they may take and how to protect themselves from harm. Pupils have a strong awareness of respecting individual choice. They learn about different religions and faiths. Pupils understand the diversity that exists in different families to their own. They show great respect to each other and to those within and beyond the school community. Pupils are well prepared to grow up in modern Britain.

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The school considers staff well-being and workload carefully. Staff acknowledged that they feel well supported with the demands of working in a small school. They feel proud to work at Lowther Endowed.

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Governors are actively involved in the school. They have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas that require further development. Leaders at all levels identify where the curriculum is effective and where they can make changes to improve pupils’ learning.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 23 April 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, the essential learning is not as explicitly defined as in other subjects. This limits how well pupils deepen their learning in these subjects. The school should ensure that the essential learning is as well defined in these subjects as in others, so that pupils know and remember more.

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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 November 2013.

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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 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). 23 April 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9 October 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Lowther Endowed School is a non-faith voluntary aided primary school.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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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 that 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.  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 during lessons, as they moved around the school, in the dinner hall, on the playground and in the outdoor play area. 23 April 2024

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, SEND coordinator, subject leaders and the early years leader for the school. Inspectors also met with a range of other staff.  The lead inspector met with representatives of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  The lead inspector met with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors heard pupils read to a trusted adult.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, they discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons and spoke with teachers and with some pupils about their learning. They looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also considered the curriculum in a number of other subjects, through discussion with staff and reviewing samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors looked at the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text

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responses.  Inspectors also considered the responses to the staff survey.  There were no responses to the pupil survey, but inspectors met with a wide range of pupils during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Keith Wright, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Paul Edmondson Ofsted Inspector 23 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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