Yarlside Academy

Inspection of Yarlside Academy Red Oak Avenue, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria LA13 0LH

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The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding

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Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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The headteacher of this school is Janine Pierce. This school is part of Furness Education 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), Simon Laheney, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Jackie Arnold. The headteacher is also an executive headteacher, who is responsible for this school and one other. 5 and 6 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive at this school. They arrive with beaming smiles and a visible enthusiasm for the day ahead. From the early years to Year 6, pupils are known and understood incredibly well by staff. Staff provide comfort and care, ensuring that the needs of pupils are met. Pupils’ behaviour is impeccable. They are highly respectful of each other and towards staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The trust and the school have a strong shared vision of high-quality education and achievement for all. Pupils at Yarlside live and breathe this aspiration. They progress through subject curriculums exceptionally well. Published results for reading, writing and mathematics are consistently well above the national average.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ learning is enriched by experiences that bring the curriculum to life. Visits by professionals, including authors, artists and engineers, ignite pupils’ curiosity and ambition for the future. Pupils take part in a wide range of trips. From Year 3, they go on annual residential visits, including to London.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school goes above and beyond the expected in ensuring that pupils can develop their interests and talents. Pupils enjoy an impressive range of extra-curricular activities, including science, cooking, choir and sports. The school ensures that all pupils represent the school at events each year.

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

Pupils benefit from a highly aspirational and broad curriculum. The school has meticulously designed its subject curriculums to build on pupils’ knowledge with consistency and precision. Staff make sure that activities are expertly matched to what pupils need to learn next, within and across subjects. Pupils develop a deep body of knowledge and are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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

The school makes careful and purposeful checks on pupils’ learning. This is seamlessly woven into each lesson and over time. Staff are highly skilled at using the information gained from these checks to provide pupils with timely, tailored support within lessons. This helps pupils, and children in the early years, to make rapid gains in their learning and ensures that their knowledge builds securely.

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

Children in the early years listen to a variety of nursery rhymes and stories, which they readily retell with accuracy. Across all classes, the words that pupils should learn each year are clearly identified and introduced expertly by staff. Pupils develop an extensive knowledge of vocabulary and become confident, articulate communicators.

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

The school’s phonics programme is delivered exceptionally well. Staff ensure that pupils across the school read books and extracts from larger texts that are precisely matched to their phonics level. This helps pupils to develop their reading fluency. The school is tenacious in ensuring that pupils who find reading difficult are supported effectively to be 5 and 6 November 2024

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successful. Published outcomes in reading and phonics are significantly above the national average.

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The school accurately identifies the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/ or disabilities (SEND). It works in partnership with parents and carers and external agencies to ensure that these needs are fully understood and met. Pupils with SEND make significant progress in their learning as the curriculum and the resources that support it are tailored to the needs of individuals.

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Pupils in all classes have highly positive attitudes to their learning and take their education seriously. They focus intently, are diligent in completing their work and move around the school sensibly. The school’s high expectations of attendance are clear from the outset. It engages well with families to support them in ensuring that their children’s attendance remains high.

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The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal and character development is exceptional. Pupils have many opportunities to find out about the diverse world around them. They read books that celebrate difference and learn about different faiths through meeting religious leaders. The trust has supported the school to forge links with local businesses to further enrich the curriculum. For example, professionals from local industries lead engineering workshops in school and work with pupils on financial projects. Pupils contribute to the local community in many ways, including through litter picking and charity work. Pupils proudly take on leadership roles that make a positive difference to other pupils and to the life of the school.

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The school, with the support of the trust, has ensured that staff benefit from highly effective professional development. Staff develop their knowledge, expertise and leadership skills through working with other schools in the trust. Their well-being and workload are fully considered by the school. Staff morale is high.

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Trustees and Governors understand their responsibilities, which are clearly defined through the trust’s structures and systems. They carry out a range of activities to assure themselves that the quality of education remains exceptional at the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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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. 5 and 6 November 2024

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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). 5 and 6 November 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Furness Education Trust.  The school do not make use of any alternative provision for pupils.  The school operates clubs before and after school.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 5 and 6 November 2024

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 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 and other leaders within the school. The lead inspector spoke to members of the local governing body, the chair of the trust board and the CEO of the academy trust.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and art and design. 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 discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  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

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extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The lead inspector listened to some pupils read to a known adult.  Inspectors observed pupils at breaktime, lunchtime and when moving around the school.  Inspectors spoke to parents and considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey Parent View, including the free-text comments. Inspectors spoke to pupils and to staff to gather their views. Inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and for pupils.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including those related to the governance of the school.

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Inspection team

Liz Dayton, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Joe Dryland Ofsted Inspector 5 and 6 November 2024

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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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