Ashington CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Ashington CofE Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Everyone receives a warm welcome in this caring school. From the wagging tail of Lexi, the school dog, to the smiling faces of the pupils, it is clear that this is a happy school.

Pupils are articulate and polite. They are proud of their school and uphold the school's values of love, trust, forgiveness and hope. Pupils feel safe in this school because the adults take great interest in their well-being.

Leaders and staff have ambition for all pupils and, overall, pupils achieve well. Teachers challenge pupils to think carefully about what they have learned. Pupils delight in ...visiting the forest school and discovering creatures in the depths of the school pond.

They enjoy feeding the lambs in the school's allotment and like spending thoughtful time in the prayer garden.

Pupils behave well, both in lessons and when at play. While some pupils can occasionally become distracted in lessons, this has improved over the past year.

Bullying is rare. When this does happen, staff deal with it very well.

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

Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum that identifies what pupils will learn in a range of subjects.

This builds progressively as pupils move through the school. Leaders have thought about what pupils need to learn and what will interest and inspire them. Teachers appreciate the support and coaching they get from subject leaders to deliver the curriculum.

They value the support they get from leaders to manage their workload so they can do their job well.

However, there are a few inconsistencies in how well the curriculum has been implemented in science and some foundation subjects. Occasionally, lessons and work in pupils' books have not been aligned completely to the school's curriculum.

This means that pupils have not been building their knowledge securely enough in a minority of subjects. Leaders have already recognised this and have begun to address this through staff training and support for subject leaders.

In most subjects, teachers review the important knowledge and skills pupils learn in lessons.

This helps them to plug any gaps in pupils' knowledge. Staff have high ambition for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils. They identify pupils' needs accurately and help them to access learning so that they can benefit from the full curriculum offer.

Staff support pupils with SEND well in lessons. This helps pupils to learn alongside their friends and to achieve well.

Pupils behave well in lessons.

Staff deal well with any occasional off-task behaviour by supporting and encouraging pupils to refocus. In the early years, children experience rich opportunities that help them to learn through play. For example, events such as a 'pirate dress-up day' and 'baking gingerbread men' are woven into the curriculum.

As pupils move through the school, they use what they have learned to build their knowledge and skills across the curriculum.

Reading is a priority at this school. The school's effective approach to early reading means that most children in the early years quickly learn to read.

Teachers choose books that help pupils to recognise and practise new sounds and words. They support pupils who have fallen behind in reading to catch up quickly. As pupils move into key stage 2, they use what they have learned to become fluent readers who love to read.

Pupils develop mathematical skills and use these with confidence. In the early years, children learn to count and order numbers. They explore their mathematical understanding through a rich range of activities.

Older pupils in key stage 2 develop their knowledge well and apply mathematical ideas across a wide range of subjects.

Teachers encourage pupils to think about global issues, such as global warming. They develop pupils' imagination and creativity.

Through the forest school curriculum, pupils learn woodcraft skills and connect learning outdoors with other areas of the curriculum. Pupils attend sporting events with other schools. These trips encourage pupils to build positive relationships and develop self-confidence.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong culture of safeguarding across the school. Leaders accurately and carefully check on the safety of the pupils.

They train staff to ensure that they know what to do if a pupil may be at risk of harm. Staff help pupils to be safe. They teach pupils about the risks of being online.

Pupils are confident that they can speak to a trusted adult if they feel worried or upset. Leaders work closely with outside agencies to ensure that pupils and their families get the support and help that they need.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There are a few inconsistencies in how well the curriculum has been implemented in a minority of subjects.

This means that pupils have not been building their knowledge securely enough in some subjects. Leaders need to ensure that staff are well trained and that subject leaders maintain oversight of how well the curriculum is implemented, to iron out these inconsistencies.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 outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 2011.