Moor Row Community Primary School

Inspection of Moor Row Community Primary School School Street, Moor Row, Cumbria CA24 3JW

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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 4 and 5 June 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy to attend this warm and welcoming school. Staff provide effective support for pupils’ mental health and well-being. Older pupils enjoy the strong sense of community at the school. They are proud to contribute to the school’s work through their roles as school councillors, reading partners or play leaders for younger pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a consistent, nurturing approach to help pupils to manage their own behaviour. Pupils know the school’s rules. They are respectful and sensitive to each other’s needs. They behave well in class and around the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ academic success. It fosters pupils’ curiosity and concentration from the very start of the early years. As a result, pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), generally achieve well in most subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate, and respect, the many differences that exist between people in society. Pupils benefit from a wide variety of clubs and trips, which broaden their experiences, such as visits to local cities and places of worship.

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better?

The school has designed an ambitious, high-quality curriculum, which is enhanced through a range of rich experiences. These opportunities ignite pupils’ interests and broaden their horizons.

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better?

In most subjects, the curriculum builds pupils’ knowledge successfully from the start of the Nursery Year through to Year 6. Pupils, including those with SEND, achieve well in these subjects. However, in a small number of subjects, the knowledge that pupils should know and remember is not identified clearly enough. This means that, in some curriculums, teachers are unsure about what the most important knowledge that pupils should learn is. This hinders how well some pupils achieve in these subjects.

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better?

The school identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND quickly and accurately. Staff are well trained to meet the needs of these pupils so that they can access the curriculum. These pupils build positive relationships with others and achieve well.

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better?

The school has prioritised the teaching of reading. Staff benefit from regular, specific training to support children’s ability to recognise and read sounds in the early years. In the Nursery class, children encounter a rich variety of stories, songs and poems that help them to learn familiar words and sounds. Children in the Reception Year and pupils in key stage 1 build on this strong start and progress well through the phonics programme. As a result, by the end of key stage 1, most pupils, including those with SEND, are fluent readers. 4 and 5 June 2024

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Pupils demonstrate a love of reading. They enjoy using the well-resourced school library and listening to their teacher read to them.

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Pupils behave well and stay focused on their learning. Outside of lessons, pupils demonstrate good manners and show respect towards staff and each other.

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The school has high expectations of pupils’ attendance and punctuality. It works closely with parents and carers to overcome any barriers that may prevent pupils from attending school as often as they should. As a result, pupils are rarely absent.

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The school ensures that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils understand very clearly that all people are equal. They know about democracy including the purpose of elections. They understand about the different faiths in the world. Pupils access a range of opportunities to see the wider world through trips to different areas of the country and residential visits. This helps pupils to learn more about the diverse world in which they live. Parents and carers value the many extra- curricular opportunities that the school provides.

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Governors fulfil their statutory duties well. However, until recently, the governing body has experienced a lot of change. This has hampered their ability to monitor the well-being of staff as effectively as it should. Some staff reported that they have felt overwhelmed by the impact of recent changes to the curriculum.

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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, it is not clear what knowledge pupils should learn. This means that, from time to time, staff do not know what should be taught and how this links to pupils’ earlier learning. As a result, there are gaps in some pupils’ knowledge. The school should ensure that teachers have the guidance that they need to design learning that enables pupils to build on what they know and can do.  Some staff have felt overwhelmed by the impact of change. Their well-being and workload have not had sufficient consideration during this period. Sometimes, this has made it difficult for them to make sure that they are delivering the curriculum as well as possible. The school, including governors, should further improve lines of communication with staff so that they are engaged fully with future school improvement. 4 and 5 June 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). 4 and 5 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website http://www.moor-row.cumbria.sch.uk/

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 31 October and 1 November 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There has been a change of headteacher since the previous inspection.  There have been two changes of chairs of governors within this academic year.  The school does not use any alternative provision for pupils.

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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.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record, took account of the views of leaders, staff, and pupils; and 4 and 5 June 2024

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considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The lead inspector spoke with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. He also spoke with a representative of the local authority.  The lead inspector observed pupils read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, and music. They met with subject leaders and with teachers. Inspectors visited lessons, looked at examples of pupils’ work and talked with groups of pupils about their learning.  Inspectors also considered other subjects in the curriculum through discussion with staff and reviewing samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors met with leaders who are responsible for attendance, behaviour and pupils’ personal development.  Inspectors looked at a range of policies and documentation. They observed

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pupils’ behaviour during lessons and around school.  Inspectors met with parents at the start of the school day. They took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.  Inspectors spoke with staff about their workload and well-being. They also took account of the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.  Inspectors spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school. There were no responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Keith Wright, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Cleo Cunningham Ofsted Inspector 4 and 5 June 2024

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