Braithwaite CofE Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress by:
  • refining planning and adapting teaching to more closely meet pupils’ needs, including the most able
  • developing pupils’ ability to apply their writing skills across the curriculum.
• Ensure that the curriculum for all year groups includes sufficient emphasis on history and geography.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Leaders and members of the local governing body, supported by the trust, have worked determinedly and effectively to bring about improvements since the inspection of the predecessor school. The quality of teaching, pupils’ progress and their attitudes to learning, and early years provision have all improved. Leaders are well placed to continue this trend of improvement.
• Leaders have developed their skills in monitoring and evaluating provision. As a result, they have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and areas for development. The trust has supported leaders in developing action planning. Plans clearly identify objectives for development and leaders effectively monitor progress towards improvements.
• The headteacher closely monitors the quality of teaching. Staff training in the teaching of mathematics and writing has led to improvements in pupils’ progress and attainment in these subjects.
• Leaders of English and mathematics have a good knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of provision. They monitor pupils’ progress closely and help to bring about improvement in their subjects.
• The curriculum is broad and varied. It is enhanced well with a broad range of clubs, visitors to school and residential visits. For example, older pupils visit Liverpool. Pupils have taken part in choir concerts with other local schools. They attend clubs which include craft, computing, animation, yoga and nature study. Pupils also benefit from a music workshop and time with a visiting artist.
• Leaders ensure that the curriculum provides a range of activities which promote pupils’ physical development and enjoyment of exercise and outdoor activities. Regular walks in the countryside, including climbing nearby summits, enhance this learning.
• Although the curriculum ensures that all national curriculum subjects are studied, there is less emphasis on history and geography. This means that pupils’ progress in these subjects is not as strong as in other subject areas. Pupils sometimes have limited chances to apply their writing skills in other subjects.
• The wider curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Pupils learn about other faiths and the importance of respect for others. The school’s focus on Christian values, such as friendship, trust and compassion, helps to promote their spiritual and moral development.
• Leaders ensure that the sport premium funding is well spent. The use of a sports coach, purchase of extra equipment, the provision of after-school clubs and increased participation in inter-school competitions help to improve pupils’ physical skills and enjoyment of exercise. Pupils also benefit from regular swimming lessons.
• Leaders ensure that funding for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities and the small number of disadvantaged pupils is spent well to provide additional teaching support and resources. This contributes to the good progress made by these pupils.
• Parents and carers speak positively about the school. Many of those who spoke to the inspector or commented via Ofsted’s free-text service commented on the improvements that they had seen, since the previous inspection of the predecessor school, in communication with parents, the quality of pupils’ presentation and homework and the quality of information about their children’s progress.

Governance of the school

• The local governing body is ambitious for the school. Its members are focused on continually improving the quality of education provided. They have an accurate knowledge of the quality of provision and support and challenge the headteacher effectively.
• Local governing body members make good use of their skills and expertise to monitor and evaluate the school’s provision. They are quick to challenge where pupils’ progress may be slowing or where improvements may be needed. They are regular visitors to the school to monitor the progress of the school action plan and further improve their knowledge of the school’s provision.
• Local governing body members are accountable to the trustees. The trust has provided effective support to the school in monitoring the quality of provision and improvements and ensuring that the school benefits from links with other local schools.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders have created a positive culture and ethos, where safeguarding is part of everyday life.
• All staff have received relevant training in safeguarding. Training is regularly updated and staff are confident in identifying and acting on any concerns about pupils’ welfare. Leaders take prompt action to liaise with other services to ensure that pupils are safe.
• Positive relationships between pupils and staff create a culture where pupils feel safe, valued and listened to. Pupils who spoke to the inspector and those who responded to the pupils’ survey all said that they felt safe in school.
• Leaders ensure that pupils develop a good awareness of how to keep themselves safe online and in their local community.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching is characterised by positive relationships and clear expectations and explanations. Teaching mostly builds well on what pupils know and can do. As a result, teaching over time is effective. Pupils engage well in their learning and make good progress.
• Teachers provide interesting activities that maintain pupils’ interest and enthusiasm for learning. For example, upper key stage 2 pupils were enthusiastically engaged in a problem-solving activity. Using a recipe, they worked out the different quantities of ingredients that they would need to make sufficient portions for different numbers of people. This was followed by pupils taking part in a baking activity using the recipe. Pupils enjoyed applying their number skills to find the answers to the problems.
• Teachers are skilled in encouraging pupils to explain their reasoning and so develop their understanding. For example, pupils in lower key stage 2 were encouraged to explain clearly their strategies for translating shapes from one position to another on a grid.
• Reading is well taught. Pupils show a genuine interest in books and stories. Older pupils read widely and can confidently discuss their favourite authors. Younger pupils say that they enjoy reading, and they recount stories with enthusiasm. Phonics is well taught and most pupils show growing confidence in using their knowledge of letter sounds to read unfamiliar words.
• Teachers ensure that pupils develop writing skills well, including punctuation, grammar and spelling. Pupils learn to write for a broad range of purposes. They have less opportunity to develop and apply these skills to writing in other subjects.
• On occasion, teaching is not tailored carefully enough to cater for the range of pupils’ abilities. This means that, at times, teachers do not challenge the most able pupils sufficiently or give some pupils enough support in their learning.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are proud of their school. They say that they enjoy their learning and regular trips out. They relish their responsibilities as, for example, school councillors or playground leaders.
• Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. They engage well in the activities provided. They take care with their work and this is reflected in the good standard of presentation in their books.
• Pupils cooperate well, sharing ideas in lessons, and they show respect for the opinions of others. This understanding of difference is developed further through, for example, visits to schools with more diverse ethnic backgrounds, or in communities different from their own.
• Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe. They know about online safety. They have a good awareness of safety in relation to their immediate area. For example, they assess the dangers of walks that they go on, and they develop an understanding of mountain safety before their walks up local summits.
• Pupils understand the different types of bullying, but they report that bullying is rare in the school. They are confident that staff would address any issues that arose.
• Pupils have a very good understanding of the importance of exercise in being healthy. They enjoy the range of outdoor experiences provided by the school. Their understanding of emotional well-being is also being developed well, for example through ‘well-being week’ when they engage in activities to learn about healthy minds and bodies.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils’ conduct in lessons and around school is good. They respond well to staff’s expectations of good behaviour. They are polite and welcoming to visitors.
• Pupils also behave well at breaktimes. They play enthusiastically with the range of sports equipment provided and they cooperate well in games.
• Pupils’ attendance is at least in line with national averages and few pupils are persistently absent from school.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Published data for the end-of-key-stage tests should be treated with caution. One pupil represents a bigger percentage of the whole year group than would be the case in a larger school. Published data for 2016 and 2017 indicates that pupils’ progress is in line with national averages and improving in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Observations of learning, scrutiny of the school’s own information and work in pupils’ books show that current pupils are making good progress across a range of subjects.
• Attainment shows some variation from year to year. Published data for 2017 showed that an above national average percentage of pupils attained the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1 and key stage 2. Current pupils’ attainment is mainly at the expected standard.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points in line with their peers. There are too few disadvantaged pupils in the school to make meaningful comparisons with other pupils nationally.
• The most able pupils generally make good progress. Published data shows variation in the proportion of pupils attaining the higher standards at the end of key stage 1 and key stage 2. This is partly due to the different abilities of pupils within small year groups. However, some most-able pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable. Leaders have identified that more could be done to ensure that more pupils attain the higher standards.
• Pupils make good progress in physical education due to effective teaching and the broad range of opportunities for them to develop their physical skills, for example in walking, swimming and ball sports.
• Progress in history and geography is not as strong as in other subjects due to less emphasis on these subjects in the curriculum.
• Pupils’ progress overall and their good progress in personal development mean that they are well prepared for the transfer to secondary school.

Early years provision Good

• Children join Nursery and Reception classes with skill levels that are broadly typical for their age. They make good progress and most attain a good level of development by the end of Reception Year. This means that they are well prepared for the transfer to Year 1.
• Children show great interest and engagement in their learning. They look excitedly for ‘minibeasts’ in the outdoor area and write a list of those that they discover. Children show a good understanding of the letter sounds needed to spell the names of the ‘minibeasts’ that they have found.
• Staff have a good knowledge of children’s capabilities and interests. They use this knowledge well to provide a range of activities that promote their learning.
• Leaders have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of provision. Their improvements to the indoor and outdoor learning areas have had a positive impact on children’s interest in learning and progress. Children happily explore the outdoor area, making use of the broad range of equipment and ‘mud kitchen’ to develop their learning.
• Staff generally question children well to improve their vocabulary and stimulate their thinking. For example, in one lesson they were encouraged to describe the fish that they had made for a fishing game. However, at times staff do not make the most of chances to question children to extend their learning.
• Children behave well and show a good awareness of the routines of the early years. They show a strong sense of security in the school and learn how to use equipment safely.
• Parents praise the good level of communication with staff. They are well informed about their children’s progress and contribute their own observations of their children’s learning via the online assessment system. This positive partnership contributes to their children’s good progress.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 142106 Cumbria 10046636 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy converter 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 58 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Colin Ashurst Jo Laker 01768 778 356 www.braithwaite.cumbria.sch.uk admin@braithwaite.cumbria.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• This is a much smaller-than-average primary school.
• In September 2015, the school joined The Good Shepherd Multi-Academy Trust.
• Governance is through the local governing body, which is accountable to the trust board.
• The large majority of pupils are of White British heritage.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils eligible for the pupil premium funding is well below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above average. The proportion of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is above the national average.
• Due to the small cohort size, the school’s published results have not been compared to the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 6.
• The school has received support from a local school, brokered by the trust. The school has also received support from other local schools within the multi-academy trust.
• The school provides a breakfast and after-school club for pupils.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed learning throughout the school. One observation was carried out jointly with the headteacher. In addition, the inspector scrutinised pupils’ workbooks and listened to pupils read.
• Meetings were held with pupils, the chair of the local governing body and four other members, the headteacher and middle leaders. The inspector also held telephone meetings with two representatives of the trust.
• The inspector looked at a range of information produced by the school, including information on pupils’ progress, attainment, behaviour and attendance, procedures for safeguarding, and the school’s own evaluation of its work. She considered reports to the local governing body, minutes of their meetings and the school’s plans for further improvement.
• The inspector considered the 27 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and the views of 22 parents, who expressed them via text message to Ofsted.
• The inspector also took account of the eight responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire and the four responses to the online pupils’ questionnaire.

Inspection team

Elaine White, lead inspector

Ofsted Inspector