Tebay Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Tebay Primary School Tebay, Penrith, Cumbria CA10 3XB

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Outcome

Evidence gathered during this ungraded (section 8) inspection suggests that aspects of the school’s work may not be as strong as at the time of the previous inspection. The school’s next inspection will be a graded inspection.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Helen Wright. This school is part of Cumbria 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), Lorrayne Hughes, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by George Beveridge. There is also an executive headteacher, Cate Floyd, who is responsible for this school and six others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend Tebay, a school that sits at the heart of its rural community. Staff care deeply for pupils and relationships are positive. Despite this, pupils receive a mixed quality of education. There is no doubt that the school has high expectations of pupils’ achievement. By the end of Year 6, most pupils are prepared for the next stage of their education. However, this is not consistent throughout the school. Some pupils do not learn as well as they should.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Typically, pupils are polite and behave well. They are happy and enjoy school. Staff encourage pupils to develop the three values of the school: ‘respect, responsibility and resilience’. This helps pupils to be kind to one another and try their best in class.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides pupils with a range of wider opportunities. Pupils enjoy learning new skills by attending clubs, such as film, cooking and music. In gardening club, pupils grow and sell their own vegetables. Explorer club is especially popular. Pupils relish the opportunity to build dens, make campfires and toast marshmallows at the end of a busy school day. 3 June 2025

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

The school holds high aspirations for its pupils. Since the last inspection, the school has introduced new, more ambitious curriculums in most subjects. In these subjects, the school has identified the key knowledge and vocabulary that pupils need to learn.

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

Staff encourage pupils to revisit prior learning. They regularly check what pupils know. However, in some subjects, the curriculum is not delivered as effectively as the school intends. In mathematics, some pupils have gaps in their prior learning that have not been identified by staff. This makes new learning difficult. Although most pupils reach expected levels in reading and mathematics by the end of Year 6, inconsistencies in the delivery of the curriculum mean that some pupils who find learning more difficult do not build their knowledge securely over time.

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

In the wider curriculum, while staff have secure subject knowledge, their pedagogical knowledge is less well developed. This means that, sometimes, there is inconsistency in how well staff help pupils to connect new ideas to what they already know. Some pupils do not remember what they have learned over time as well as they could.

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

Despite the weaknesses in curriculum delivery across the school, in the early years, children learn well. Children in the Nursery Year learn to count to five, recognise shapes and solve simple problems. In the Reception Year, children begin the school’s phonics programme. They learn the sounds and letters that they need to read.

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

Pupils who struggle with their reading receive additional support, although this is not always successful. In phonics, this is because sometimes staff do not adapt activities well enough for some pupils. This hinders how well these pupils keep up with their peers. Some older pupils lack fluency and literary knowledge.

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

Although the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified and appropriate targets are set, the curriculum is not always adapted well enough for some pupils. This prevents some pupils with SEND from developing a deeper understanding and greater independence across the curriculum.

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

The personal, social and health education programme builds pupils’ understanding of democracy, safety and healthy living, while introducing them to different faiths. Trips, including a water park visit each year, broaden pupils’ horizons and help them to develop fortitude and teamwork skills. Pupils explore the cities of Liverpool and Manchester, comparing them to their village. The school joins trust-wide sports competitions, such as tag rugby, netball and dodgeball. Pupil leaders such as library monitors and school councillors help to make the school a better place for others.

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

In the playground, pupils enjoy playing with children of all ages. Popular activities include football and the climbing frame. Older pupils act as play leaders, and they support younger pupils by playing games with them. The dining hall is calm. Pupils behave maturely as they catch up with their friends over lunch. 3 June 2025

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The school values strong attendance. It has implemented effective strategies that have significantly improved pupils’ attendance over the past year. As a result, attendance rates are now high.

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The local academy board and trust are committed to supporting the school and staff development. For example, they offer training and networking opportunities that enable staff to benefit from the expertise of others. Staff well-being and workload are prioritised in this small school, where many have multiple roles. This helps staff to feel valued and enjoy their work.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The phonics programme is not consistently well matched to the needs of pupils. This is because some staff lack the expertise needed to adapt activities appropriately. As a result, some pupils struggle to become competent readers by the end of Year 2. The school should ensure that staff are equipped to deliver the phonics programme as intended and to promote a love of reading across the school.  The mathematics curriculum is not implemented well enough. This is because some staff have not identified or addressed the gaps in learning that some pupils have. As a result, some pupils do not have a secure foundation on which to learn new mathematical knowledge and skills. The school should ensure that staff are supported to implement the mathematics curriculum effectively so that pupils’ learning is secure.  Sometimes, in the wider curriculum, staff do not ensure that connections are made to concepts that pupils already know. This means that some pupils find it difficult to build

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

new knowledge and remember it over time. The school should ensure that staff are supported to develop their pedagogical knowledge, so that they can better consider how to support pupils’ long-term retention of learning.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded 3 June 2025

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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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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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This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness on 10 and 11 March 2020.

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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 June 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 10 and 11 March 2020, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 A new headteacher has been appointed since the last inspection.  The school offers a breakfast club and after-school provision.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 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 that into account in the evaluation of the school.  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 3 June 2025

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the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  An inspector observed some pupils from Year 1 to Year 3 read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, the senior teacher and other leaders.  An inspector met with the CEO. They also met with a trustee and the chair of the local advisory board.  An inspector met with a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and breaktimes. They also spoke with pupils about their views of school life.  Inspectors considered the views of parents. They reviewed the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.  There were no responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff or pupils.

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Inspection team

Frith Murphy, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Mark Hazzard His Majesty’s Inspector 3 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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