Crosby Ravensworth CofE School

Inspection of Crosby Ravensworth CofE School Crosby Ravensworth, Penrith, Cumbria CA10 3JJ

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 3 and 4 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy to be part of this warm and caring school. They feel welcome as soon as they join. Pupils value the close bonds that they form with their classmates and with staff in the school’s small community. Staff nurture pupils’ well-being and sense of belonging.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ achievement. Pupils achieve well across a range of subjects. Children in the early years enjoy completing weekly learning challenges.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They are polite and respectful. For instance, pupils told inspectors that it is important to ‘treat others how you want to be treated’. They have a strong appreciation of the school’s values of ‘community, courage and compassion’. Pupils understand why these ideals are important to follow in school and beyond.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school affords pupils with exciting experiences which enrich their social development and their learning of the curriculum. Visitors to the school, such as police officers and rap artists, broaden pupils’ horizons. Pupils enjoy plentiful opportunities with peers from other schools, including rock climbing, swimming, skating and ghyll scrambling. They visit cities and places of interest, for example the nearby church and quarry.

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

The school has adopted a broad and balanced curriculum. It has made sure that specific knowledge is well ordered towards ambitious end goals. Careful thought has gone into ensuring that the curriculum meets the learning needs of pupils in small, mixed-age classes. Children in the early years make a positive start to their education.

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

Staff have secure subject knowledge and typically implement the curriculum well. They explain learning clearly and provide pupils with suitable learning activities. Staff check that pupils learn the intended curriculum, although some of the strategies that they use are not fully embedded. This means that some pupils have misunderstandings and some gaps in knowledge that have gone unchecked.

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

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well. They are well supported to learn alongside their peers. Staff identify pupils’ additional needs quickly and work well with parents, carers and external professionals. They ensure that pupils with SEND are fully included in everything that the school offers.

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

A love of reading is fostered. This begins at the start of the early years, where children enjoy a variety of well-chosen texts. Pupils read often, including to younger classmates in their roles as ‘buddies’. They visited a local library and spoke fondly of a library bus that visits the school. A ‘reading tombola’ encourages pupils to read at home with their parents.

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

In the early years, staff support children’s communication and language skills successfully. Children learn phonics as soon as they start in the Reception Year. Older pupils practise 3 and 4 June 2025

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their reading using books that are matched to their current phonics knowledge. Staff provide targeted support for pupils who need it. Most staff have accessed training to deliver the phonics programme well. However, the school has not focused as sharply as it could on developing staff’s knowledge in supporting pupils’ accuracy in their reading and writing. As a result, some of the mistakes that pupils make in their reading and in their written work are sometimes overlooked.

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The school has a calm and orderly learning environment. This helps pupils to engage well with their learning during lessons. At social times, pupils chat happily and play together. They learn well-established routines and understand staff’s expectations of them. The school has been highly successful in its approach to secure pupils’ consistent levels of attendance. Pupils know the importance of attending school regularly. They develop aspirations for their future careers, for example in biology, medicine and mechanics.

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The school provides well for pupils’ personal development. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including when near water and while using the internet. They develop their talents and interests through a range of sports and music activities. Pupils learn that they can contribute positively to the wider community. For example, they have planted trees, attended community lunches and sung carols at local events. Pupils’ artwork is celebrated and appraised through regular showcases at the village hall.

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The governing body supports and challenges the school effectively, with a focus on continual improvement. Staff are well supported and looked after. They are consulted before any proposed changes, and they know that their well-being is a priority.

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Governors, staff and parents alike share in the school’s vision to provide pupils with a high-quality and well-rounded education. They are proud to be part of the school, which they described as ‘like a family’. Parents were effusive in their praise for staff.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school is refining some of the ways that it checks pupils’ learning. As a result, some pupils’ gaps and misconceptions in subject-specific knowledge have not been identified. The school should build on its strategies to help pupils to know and remember more.  The school’s approach to supporting pupils’ accuracy and fluency in their reading and writing is not as focused as it could be. Over time, this means that pupils make some errors in their reading and in their written communication that are not consistently picked up or remedied. The school should ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to better support pupils in their reading and writing development. 3 and 4 June 2025

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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). 3 and 4 June 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.crosbyravensworth.cumbria.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 26 February 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, a significant number of new governors have been appointed, including the chair of governors.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.  The school provides a before- and after-school club for pupils.  This Church of England school is in the Diocese of Carlisle. The school’s last section 48 inspection, for schools of a religious character, was in May 2024. The next section 48 inspection is due to take place by May 2029.

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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). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 3 and 4 June 2025

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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 this into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and art and design. In each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders and visited a sample of lessons. They spoke with teachers and with some pupils about their learning. Inspectors looked at samples of pupils’ work. They also considered the curriculum in some other subjects.  The lead inspector observed some pupils from Years 1 to 3 read to a familiar adult. He discussed reading with a group of older pupils.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and other school leaders. The lead inspector met

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with representatives of the governing body, including the chair of governors. He also spoke with representatives of the local authority and of the diocese.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and around school, including at playtime, at breakfast club and during lunchtime. They spoke with several groups of pupils about their experiences at school.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation documents, improvement plans, minutes of governing body meetings and documents pertaining to pupils’ behaviour and levels of attendance.  Inspectors spoke with staff about their workload and their well-being. They also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.  Inspectors took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single

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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.

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Inspection team

David Lobodzinski, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Keith Wright Ofsted Inspector 3 and 4 June 2025

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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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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