Clitheroe Pendle Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy to attend Clitheroe Pendle Primary School. They enjoy playing with their friends at playtimes.

They trust adults to keep them safe and to listen to any worries that they may have.

The school is ambitious for pupils to achieve well. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Typically, pupils respond positively to the work that teachers prepare for them. In the main, they achieve well.

Most pupils behave well in lessons and at playtimes.

They are considerate and care for one another. They delight in the array of rewards that they receive for behaving well and working hard.

Pupils ...enjoy a wide range of opportunities and experiences that enrich the curriculum.

This includes donating food to the local food bank and raising funds for charities. Pupils also benefit from educational trips and visits, such as visits to castles, places of worship and a local quarry. These experiences contribute strongly to their broader development.

Pupils excel in their various roles and responsibilities. These include acting as school councillors and digital leaders. Pupils spoke excitedly about showcasing their acting talents during recent summer performances.

Through these activities, they build their confidence and independence.

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

The school has designed a well-organised curriculum that enables children in the early years and pupils in key stages 1 and 2 to build up their knowledge logically and securely in most subjects. However, in a small number of subjects and areas of learning in the early years, the school has not made clear exactly what pupils need to know.

This means that sometimes teachers find it difficult to design learning that helps pupils to learn and remember more. On occasion, this leads to gaps in pupils' learning that stop them from building on what they know.

The school fosters a love of reading.

It invests in high-quality and engaging books that pupils love to read. Pupils enjoy choosing books from the well-stocked library and class reading areas. Children in the early years look forward to the special time each day when adults read to them.

Pupils learn phonics as soon as they start in the Reception classes. Most staff have received training so that they implement the early reading programme effectively. Most pupils read from books that match their current phonics knowledge.

This helps them to develop into confident readers. However, on occasion, a small number of staff do not implement the phonics programme consistently well. As a result, some pupils who find reading difficult do not learn to read with fluency and accuracy as quickly as they should.

Staff help children in the early years to learn the school's rules and routines. This enables them to learn and play cooperatively alongside each other. Pupils across the school build on this positive start.

They treat each other with respect and kindness in the playground. This helps the school to be a harmonious place to play and learn.

The school has effective and supportive systems in place to make sure that pupils attend school regularly and on time.

It works well with parents, carers and local agencies to reduce levels of absence.

Typically, the school accurately identifies pupils with SEND. However, for a small number of pupils with SEND, it does not adapt the curriculum consistently well.

This means, on occasion, these pupils do not learn as well as they should.

The programme to support pupils' wider development is well considered. Pupils take part in a range of experiences beyond the academic curriculum, including sports clubs and archery.

Staff teach pupils about healthy relationships and how to keep safe. They learn about other faiths and cultures. They understand the importance of treating everyone fairly and with respect.

They are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

Governors know the school well. They work closely with the staff to support and challenge their work effectively.

The school ensures that it is considerate of staff's workload when introducing new initiatives or changes to the curriculum. Staff appreciate the school's support for their well-being and the opportunities to develop their subject-specific expertise further.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, including in the early years, the school has not given sufficient thought to the essential knowledge that pupils must acquire and when they should learn it. Consequently, some pupils do not achieve as well as they could in these subjects. The school should refine its curriculum thinking in these subjects so that teachers know exactly what to teach and in which order.

• At times, a small number of staff do not implement the phonics programme as well as they should. This hinders a small number of pupils who struggle with reading from becoming fluent and accurate readers as quickly as they could. The school should support staff in implementing effective early reading strategies consistently well.

• For a small number of pupils with SEND, teachers do not adapt the curriculum consistently well. This means that these pupils sometimes struggle to learn as well as they should. The school should ensure that staff have the expertise to make suitable adaptations to the curriculum so that pupils with SEND learn successfully.