Crosby Ravensworth CofE School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Crosby Ravensworth CofE School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

The pupils that inspectors spoke with told us that they enjoy school so much. Pupils said that they get on well together.

They make sure that everyone can join in with games at playtimes. New pupils find it easy to make friends.

Pupils behave well and they feel safe.

They listen carefully to their teachers and to each other. Pupils work hard and they do not distract each other from learning. They are adamant that bullying is rare.

Any occasional fall-outs are sorted quickly.

The school is a hive of activity. Pupils benefit from external visitors s...uch as the local vicar and a range of authors.

Pupils experience a wide range of interesting and varied extra-curricular activities. For example, pupils learn circus skills, go horse riding and learn how to play different musical instruments. This includes the ukulele.

Older pupils learn important life skills as part of their residential trips.

Pupils enjoy their learning. Teachers help pupils when they struggle so that everyone, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), can be successful.

Pupils really like finding out about history, geography and science through local visits, such as trips to Hadrian's Wall.

Pupils achieve well across the school and teachers are ambitious for pupils. Older pupils are well prepared for high school.

However, some of the early years indoor and outdoor areas are not used as effectively as they could be.

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

Most pupils achieve well in each key stage. This includes children in the early years.

Pupils and children are well prepared for the next steps in their education. Leaders keep a close eye on pupils' performance. They make sure that they understand the reasons for any dips in standards.

For example, leaders have recently revised the key stage 1 mathematics curriculum to give pupils more opportunities to reason and to problem solve.Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum for children and pupils right across the school. The curriculum covers the requirements of the national curriculum.

Leaders have thought carefully about what pupils need to learn and when they need to learn it. Leaders organise the topics and concepts in each subject effectively. Pupils are able to use what they already know to help them make sense of new topics.

Teachers encourage pupils to make connections between the different topics that they learn. They make sure that all pupils, including those with SEND, are able to learn effectively. Teachers make good use of the local area to bring learning to life for their pupils.

Teachers assess pupils' learning effectively at the end of each topic to ensure that pupils know and remember key information. They also check on what pupils remember from previous topics to help them make sense of new learning.

Teaching staff take good care of children in the early years.

They get to know these children well. Teachers build good relationships with children and their parents and carers. Despite the curriculum being well planned and well taught in the early years, some of the indoor and outdoor areas are not sufficiently well developed.

These areas do not capture children's imaginations as well as they should.

Pupils achieve well in reading across the school. Teaching staff share their passion for reading with pupils.

Everyone, including children in the early years, looks forward to choosing new books from the local library van. Older pupils talk to each other about the books that they are reading and make recommendations to each other. Teachers read stories to pupils during the school day.

The school has adopted a programme to help teachers teach phonics and early reading. However, some teaching staff do not follow this programme systematically, right from the start. Teachers give pupils books and reading activities which do not always match the sounds that pupils know.

That said, teachers make sure that there is extra help for those pupils who need to catch up. All teaching staff have attended phonics training. Teachers have delivered sessions for parents so that they know how to support their children with reading.

Teachers set clear and consistent expectations for pupils' behaviour. Older pupils are excellent role models to the younger pupils, including children in the Nursery class. Pupils respect and trust the adults who work with them.

Any rare bullying incidents are sorted out by teachers. Pupils are proud of how well they get on together and look after each other.

Teaching staff give pupils a wide range of opportunities.

For example, everyone, from the youngest to the oldest pupil, attends swimming lessons. Pupils experience different outdoor activities, including sailing and ghyll scrambling. Pupils know the risks posed by the cold water in local lakes and how to manage risks.

There has been turbulence in the governing body since the previous inspection. New governors are quickly getting to grips with their roles and responsibilities. They are getting to know the school well.

Governors and leaders understand the challenges of working in a small school and support the staff well.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders carry out the required checks to ensure that staff, governors and volunteers are suitable to work with pupils.

Staff are up to date with their training. Leaders make sure that any concerns are followed up meticulously. Pupils know about the different risks that they may face both online and in the community.

Pupils are confident to share any worries with an adult in school. Pupils, staff and parents agree that pupils are well cared for and safe.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Some teaching staff do not systematically follow the school's agreed phonics programme.

Consequently, some of the books that pupils read do not match the sounds that they know. This means that some pupils' phonic knowledge is not sufficiently secure. Leaders should ensure that teaching staff follow the school's agreed programme and that pupils are given books and reading activities that match the sounds that they know.

. Although the curriculum is well planned in the early years, teachers do not use the indoor and outdoor areas effectively enough. Teachers do not use these areas to promote children's learning and development sufficiently well.

Leaders should ensure that these areas ignite children's interests and enthusiasm for learning. This is to support children's learning across the curriculum, including in literacy and mathematics.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 18–19 January 2011.