St Bega's CofE Primary School

Inspection of St Bega’s CofE Primary School Longrigg Lane, Eskdale Green, Holmrook, Cumbria CA19 1TW

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 24 and 25 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a calm and happy place. Staff, parents and carers, and pupils alike describe the school as ‘a family’. Pupils behave well. There is an inclusive, supportive atmosphere at the school where pupils relish the opportunity to help each other. Pupils value the positive relationships they have with staff. They appreciate having many opportunities to talk about how they are feeling. Pupils have every confidence that staff will resolve any worries they may have.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has made recent, substantial changes to strengthen the design of its curriculum. The curriculum is broad and ambitious. It reflects the school’s high expectations. However, the curriculum across most subjects is new and is not embedded. The school’s vision for pupils’ achievement, including in the early years, is not currently realised.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils develop their interests and talents through attending clubs, including gardening, art and computing. They learn to play musical instruments and are proud to have performed at music festivals. Pupils are supported well to become active members of the community. For example, they maintain the school’s fruit and vegetable patch. Pupils also plant trees in the local area and raise money for charities. This helps pupils to understand the positive difference that their actions can have. Pupils develop their leadership skills as they contribute to the organisation of the school’s annual art event, which showcases pupils’ and local artists’ work.

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

The school has experienced multiple changes in its leadership and staffing in recent years. Throughout this period, with the support of the local authority and diocese, the school has maintained its focus on improving its provision. This includes the introduction of a new curriculum that identifies clearly what pupils should learn and in what order.

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

The school supports staff by providing training to develop their expertise. Staff typically demonstrate secure subject knowledge. However, there is variability in the delivery of the curriculum. The work given to pupils is not consistently focused on the intended learning for that lesson. Furthermore, at times, activities are not well matched to pupils’ next steps. This hinders how well pupils learn.

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

The school has recently changed its phonics programme. It has provided staff with guidance to help them to deliver this consistently well. Pupils read books that match their phonics knowledge. This helps them to develop confidence in reading. However, some pupils struggle to keep up with the pace of the phonics programme. While the school provides support for these pupils in lessons, there is not enough focus on ensuring that gaps in pupils’ phonics knowledge are closed rapidly. Consequently, some pupils do not become fluent readers as quickly as they should.

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

The school accurately identifies the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). It provides personalised support to meet their learning and emotional 24 and 25 June 2025

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needs. The school regularly reviews its provision for pupils with SEND to ensure that their needs are successfully met.

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The school regularly checks pupils’ understanding. However, these processes often focus on recent curriculum content. They do not consistently identify whether pupils can remember knowledge in the longer term. Furthermore, these checks are not used as effectively as they could be to inform subsequent teaching. This means that some pupils have significant gaps in their learning.

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The early years curriculum and its delivery are still being refined. The school has developed an inviting early years environment where children enjoy accessing a range of activities. However, the school does not ensure that children consistently deepen their knowledge and skills when engaging in adult-led activities or through independent play. There is some variability in the delivery of the early years curriculum, and in the effectiveness of this when children spend time in different mixed-age classes. Some children are not as well prepared for Year 1 as they could be.

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The school has embedded routines and expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Staff model these consistently. Pupils show high levels of respect for staff and for each other. They work hard in lessons and are proud of their achievements. The school provides support to families to successfully overcome any barriers to pupils’ attendance and punctuality.

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The school’s personal, social and health education curriculum is broad. It is informed by the local context. Pupils expand their experiences through trips to castles, beaches, cities and more. Pupils heighten their understanding of the wider world through meeting religious leaders and accessing virtual tours of different places of worship. Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of fundamental British values. They are clear that everyone is equal and is welcome at their school. Pupils are well prepared for life beyond school.

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Governors have taken effective action, including accessing training, to improve their oversight of the school. The school has considered staff’s workload and well-being when making changes to its curriculum.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There is variability in how effectively the curriculum is delivered, including in the early years. The activities that pupils complete are not consistently well matched to pupils’ next steps in learning. They do not focus sharply enough on the knowledge that the school intends pupils to learn. This hinders pupils from building on what they already know to develop a secure understanding. The school should support staff with 24 and 25 June 2025

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curriculum implementation to ensure that learning is well matched to the curriculum intention and supports pupils to build their learning consistently and securely.  The school does not address gaps in pupils’ phonics knowledge with enough rigour. This hinders pupils from catching up when they fall behind and delays them in developing their reading fluency. The school should ensure that pupils who struggle with early reading receive swift, targeted support that enables them to quickly become confident readers.  Assessment is not used effectively to check how well pupils have remembered knowledge in the longer term and to inform the delivery of the curriculum. This makes it difficult for staff to identify and address gaps in pupils’ knowledge. The school should ensure that assessment is used effectively to check that pupils have remembered earlier curriculum content and to inform subsequent planning so that pupils learn

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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). 24 and 25 June 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3 March 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 At the time of the inspection, a temporary executive headteacher was leading the school. She was appointed in April 2025 and was the third new headteacher since the last inspection. A permanent headteacher has been appointed for September 2025.  The school is a voluntary-aided Church of England primary school and is part of the Diocese of Carlisle. Its last inspection under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 was in September 2024. The school’s next section 48 inspection will take place before September 2029.  The school has a governor-run school-based nursery for children aged two and three years.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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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 24 and 25 June 2025

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provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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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 that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, other leaders, governors and staff at the school. The lead inspector spoke with representatives from the local authority and the diocese.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. 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. The lead inspector also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central

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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 lead inspector listened to some pupils read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors observed pupils at breaktime, lunchtime and when moving around the school.  Inspectors spoke to parents and considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. Inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff. Inspectors spoke to pupils and to staff to gather their views.  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

Craig Dewar-Willox Ofsted Inspector 24 and 25 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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