Bolton by Bowland Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy being a member of this village school. They said that the school's small size helps them to form strong bonds with other pupils of all ages.

Pupils' positive relationships are clear to see. For example, older pupils provide caring support to the younger ones at lunchtime. They gladly pour drinks out for them or help to cut up their food if they are struggling.

The school is a warm and caring place to be.

Pupils develop a strong sense of responsibility at the school. They take on different leadership roles around the school, such as playleaders, librarians and well-being warriors.

They carry out these responsibilities with pride.

...>Pupils have a positive attitude to their learning. Leaders have high expectations for what pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) should learn in subjects such as reading and mathematics.

However, leaders are still in the process of creating a well-designed curriculum in other subjects. This includes the curriculum in the early years. This limits how well pupils achieve.

Pupils told inspectors that they particularly enjoy attending an annual agricultural show towards the end of each school year. They were also keen to share about their participation in recent sporting and mathematics competitions.

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

Since the last inspection, the school has experienced instability in leadership.

This has hampered some of the school's work to address the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. As a result, the school is still developing its curriculum thinking in a number of subjects beyond reading and mathematics. This is also the case in parts of the early years curriculum.

In a few of these areas, the school is still developing the further curriculum expertise that it needs to lead this work effectively.

The school has outlined a broad curriculum. It has specified the themes that pupils will learn each term.

In several subjects, the school has identified the small steps of knowledge that pupils should learn. However, in other subjects, the school has not sufficiently broken down curriculum content into a logical order so that pupils can build their knowledge securely over time. In addition, the school has not considered how to then adapt the delivery of this content to meet pupils' different needs.

This leads to pupils, including those in the early years, learning through activities that are not tailored to their different ages and stage of development. As a result, pupils do not achieve as well as they could.

In some subjects, the school carries out effective checks to identify how well pupils are doing in their learning.

However, because the school is still finalising what pupils should learn in other subjects, the school is unable to carry out these checks with the same precision to know what pupils have learned. This limits the school's ability to support pupils with their knowledge gaps and misconceptions.Pupils enjoy reading.

Many read often. The school places a high priority on the importance of learning to read. It makes sure that children begin learning phonics as soon as they start in the Reception Year.

Children read books that are well suited to their current knowledge of sounds. The school has catch-up support in place for when pupils need it. However, pupils typically keep up with the phonics curriculum.

Therefore, they quickly learn to read with confidence, fluency and expression. This includes pupils with SEND.

The school has appropriate systems in place to identify pupils who may have SEND early.

It enlists external agencies where necessary to secure specialist support for these pupils.

The school caters for pupils' personal development. Pupils develop a secure knowledge of physical health and how this benefits their mental well-being.

They learn about some of the ways in which people are different from each other. Pupils are taught how to maintain healthy relationships. They know how to stay safe online.

Pupils regularly engage in community events linked to the local church.

Pupils value their education. They are eager to contribute during lessons.

They are attentive and focus well when working independently. Pupils get along harmoniously during social times and breaktimes. They rarely experience any fallings out.

Governors understand their duties and carry them out effectively. They have a fair understanding of what the school needs to do to improve. They seek external support where it is needed to help them in their role.

The school takes practical steps to help staff to manage their workload. For example, staff spoke positively about the changes made to the school marking policy.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school is still working to clarify what pupils, including children in the early years, should learn in some subjects. They are also considering how the curriculum content should be taught to pupils of different ages and stages of development. This sometimes means that pupils do not build their knowledge in a coherent way.

The school should finalise its curriculum thinking and provide staff with clear guidance on how to deliver new learning effectively. ? In some subjects, the school does not gather assessment information effectively to establish what pupils know. This is because the school has not identified the specific knowledge that pupils need to learn in these subjects.

The school is therefore not clear on the gaps or misconceptions that pupils might have. The school should ensure that effective assessment practices are in place in all subjects. ? The school has not ensured that some subjects are designed and overseen with the necessary levels of knowledge and expertise.

As a result, some subjects are not currently being developed well enough. In turn, it is not clear to staff what knowledge they should teach nor how best to teach it. The school should make sure that those with responsibility for curriculum design are equipped to do this work well.