Warton Archbishop Hutton's VC Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Warton Archbishop Hutton’s VC Primary School Back Lane, Warton, Nr Carnforth, Lancashire LA5 9QU

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Outcome

Warton Archbishop Hutton’s VC Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend this school. They appreciate how well staff know them and their families. This helps pupils to feel happy in school. Staff foster a strong sense of community. For instance, older pupils in Years 5 and 6 act as positive role models to younger pupils, which helps to support their journey through the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand the high expectations that the school has for their success. They are focused and keen to do well in lessons. Pupils enthusiastically describe what they have learned at this school. For example, they have a secure understanding of why it is important to respect the differences between people. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ conduct embodies the school’s values of respectful behaviour, responsibility and forgiveness. The wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer support pupils to develop resilience and independence. Year 6 pupils relish taking on responsibilities in roles such as play leaders and team captains, and all pupils play an active role on the school council.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils make a valuable contribution to their local community, for example through fundraising projects, litter picking and designing their local play area.

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

The school has designed a creative and ambitious curriculum which focuses on ensuring that pupils can build and connect knowledge across a broad range of subjects. To enable this to happen, the school has thought carefully about the most appropriate order in which pupils should learn important knowledge. Pupils achieve well. 16 July 2024

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The school has helpful systems in place to assess pupils’ progress and to identify any gaps in their knowledge. Teachers use this information well to secure pupils’ understanding across most subjects. However, occasionally, staff do not identify the additional needs of a few pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) as quickly as they should. This hampers the quality and timeliness of support for these pupils, which impedes how well they access some parts of the curriculum.

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The school has prioritised the teaching of reading. This starts at the beginning of the Reception Year where pupils connect their reading with foundational skills in writing. However, some aspects of the phonics programme are not delivered consistently well. This means that some pupils do not become confident and fluent readers as quickly as they should. Nevertheless, by the end of key stage 1, most pupils read well.

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The school has built a love of reading into its curriculum for pupils of all ages. In the Reception Year, pupils enjoy learning about a range of topics, based around high-quality texts. As they move through the school, teachers encourage pupils to read a broad range of fiction and non-fiction books. Older pupils spoke confidently about how experiencing a wide variety of authors and different types of books has encouraged them to build their vocabulary.

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Pupils at this school are confident and articulate. They behave well and treat each other with respect. The school has high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and ensures that those who meet them are rewarded for their efforts. Pupils attend school regularly.

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The programme of personal development that has been developed is a strength of this school. For example, the school has committed to a charter of experiences for each pupil. This ensures that pupils benefit from a breadth of encounters that enhance their understanding of citizenship and the natural world. These experiences include exploring outdoors, being a scientist, being active and being creative.

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The school provides regular opportunities for pupils of all ages to engage in rich discussions and to develop their communication skills. For example, during the inspection, pupils were involved in a diversity morning where teams, made up of pupils from the Reception Year through to Year 6, worked on a range of challenges to develop their understanding of diversity. The school ensures that pupils have a secure understanding of what it means to live in modern Britain.

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The school has developed effective subject leadership. This ensures that pupils receive high-quality and ambitious teaching and that staff are supported to balance their workload and well-being. Staff said that they are part of a strong team. They enjoy working together to support each other within their community.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 16 July 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 On occasion, the school does not identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND quickly enough. This delays staff from providing effective support and slows these pupils’ progress through the curriculum. The school should ensure that staff are fully equipped to identify pupils’ additional needs in a timely manner.  The school does not deliver some aspects of the phonics programme effectively. At times, this hinders a small number of pupils’ progress in becoming fluent and confident readers. The school should ensure that staff are supported to deliver the phonics programme consistently well.

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in June 2019.

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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). 16 July 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.archbishophuttons.lancs.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 18 and 19 June 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of alternative provision.  The last section 48 inspection took place in November 2022. The school is awaiting confirmation from the diocese about its next section 48 inspection.  The school works with the Diocese of Blackburn.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s educations 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.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, other senior leaders and staff. They met with representatives of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  The lead inspector spoke with a representative of the local authority and of the Diocese of Blackburn. 16 July 2024

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, history and mathematics. For each deep dive, the inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector listened to pupils read to a familiar adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the 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 inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including attendance and behaviour records, minutes of governing body meetings and the school’s self-evaluation and development documents.  Inspectors met with some parents and carers at the start of the school day. They also

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considered the views of parents through Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text responses.  Inspectors spoke to staff to discuss the school’s support for their well-being and workload. They also considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  Inspectors spoke to pupils about behaviour, bullying and personal development. They also considered the responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Elaine Mawson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Lindy Griffiths Ofsted Inspector 16 July 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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