Carter’s Charity Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Preesall

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like being at this school.

They enjoy putting on their wellies and heading to the beach at the end of their school field. Pupils take responsibility for helping to keep this coastline clean through activities such as litter picking. They also regularly access this area as part of their curriculum lessons.

Pupils take part in a range of extra-curricular sporting clubs, which they value. They look forward to the residential visits that leaders organise for them.

In some subjects, leaders' expectations of what pupils can achieve in their learning are not fully realised.

Leaders are still only partway through developing or introducing many subject... curriculums so that pupils can build their knowledge in a logical manner. This sometimes leads to teachers delivering subject content in a way that does not help pupils to acquire new knowledge securely over time. As a result, pupils' knowledge, and achievement, across the curriculum is uneven.

Pupils speak highly of the friendships that they form with their classmates. They get along well with each other. Fall-outs are rare.

Leaders and staff deal with any bullying concerns effectively when they arise. Leaders keep pupils safe. Pupils are confident of this, which contributes to their overall feeling of happiness.

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

Since the previous inspection, leaders have begun to completely overhaul the school curriculum. They have designed a new broad curriculum from the early years to Year 6. They have also started to identify the specific knowledge that pupils should learn.

However, this work is at varying stages in different subjects. This means that, in a number of subjects, teachers remain unclear about what they should teach and how to best to deliver it. Consequently, pupils do not build a secure body of knowledge over time across the curriculum.

Teachers do carry out checks on pupils' learning. However, in the absence of clear guidance on what pupils should learn and when, teachers' assessments of pupils' learning do not identify pupils' knowledge gaps and misconceptions well enough. In turn, some of the gaps that pupils have go unaddressed.

Leaders have begun to monitor and evaluate the impact of the new subject curriculums on pupils' learning. Some leaders are beginning to use their monitoring information to help teachers improve their delivery of the new subject content. However, other leaders are still developing these skills.

As a result, leaders and governors are not alert to, nor addressing, some of the weaknesses in the design and delivery of their curriculums.

Leaders and teachers promote a love of reading through initiatives such as daily story time and events, including World Book Day. They have introduced a new phonics programme this year.

They have made sure that teachers have the expertise that they need to deliver this programme consistently well. Pupils begin learning to read through this new programme soon after they join in the Reception Year. Leaders organise additional support for pupils who find learning to read difficult.

Much of this support is effective at helping pupils to close the gaps in their knowledge of sounds. However, some pupils do not read books that are well suited to their reading ability. This means that these pupils struggle more than they should when practising their reading skills.

Leaders ensure that staff are well trained to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) quickly. Leaders ensure that these pupils receive the support that they need. However, given the shortcomings in some subject curriculums, the overall achievement of pupils with SEND mirrors that of their classmates.

Children in the early years get off to a positive start. They quickly develop warm relationships with their teachers and other children. Staff model communication and language well.

Teachers overcome the shortcomings in the school curriculum to provide children with learning activities that help them to build the secure foundations of knowledge that they need for key stage 1.

Leaders have high expectations for pupils' behaviour. Pupils rise to these expectations.

They behave well in lessons and have positive attitudes to their learning. Low-level disruptions are rare. Pupils are sensible and courteous when they move around the school.

Leaders cater well for pupils' personal development. Pupils have opportunities to undertake responsibilities around the school. For example, some pupils become eco-warriors and ambassadors of the school's values.

Some pupils learn to play musical instruments, while others participate in football and netball competitions. They develop a secure understanding of democracy. They show respect and tolerance for the differences of others.

Pupils develop a secure understanding of physical health and how to maintain positive relationships. They are prepared well for life in modern Britain.

Staff recognise the efforts of leaders to help them manage their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that staff are well-trained to identify the signs that pupils might be at risk of potential harm. Staff understand the school systems and use them well to record any concerns that they might have about pupils' welfare.

Leaders are responsive to issues and secure appropriate levels of support for pupils and their families when necessary. Governors have appropriate levels of oversight of safeguarding matters at the school.

Pupils learn about how to keep themselves safe.

This includes when they are online, using the internet.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, leaders are still identifying the specific knowledge that pupils need to learn. This means that teachers remain unclear of exactly what they should teach and how they should teach it.

In turn, pupils do not build their knowledge securely over time. Leaders should provide sufficient curriculum guidance so that teachers deliver curriculum content well, helping pupils to know and remember more over time. ? Leaders have not fully developed assessment systems that allow teachers to identify what pupils know and remember.

In turn, teachers are not well equipped to identify, and help close, the gaps that pupils have in their knowledge. Leaders must implement assessment systems that help teachers to identify what pupils know so that teachers can address the knowledge gaps that pupils have. ? Sometimes, teachers do not provide pupils with books that reflect the sounds that pupils know.

This means that some pupils unduly struggle when at the early stages of learning to read. Leaders must ensure that the books pupils read are well suited to their current reading skills so that they can become fluent readers as quickly as they should. ? Some leaders do not have a secure oversight of how well teachers are delivering new subject curriculums.

This means that these leaders are not alert to some of the weaknesses in curriculum design and teachers' delivery of subject content. In turn, teachers sometimes do not teach important information in a way that helps pupils to build their knowledge securely over time. Leaders must review the approaches that they take to ensuring that subject curriculums are designed and delivered well.