Cowling Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Cowling Community Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love all aspects of Cowling Community Primary School. They are happy and proud to attend here.

Pupils feel safe in this friendly, welcoming school. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and caring. Staff know the pupils well and take good care of them.

The school helps and encourages all pupils to shine.

The curriculum is varied and ambitious. Teachers make lessons interesting and fun.

As a result, pupils love learning.

Pupils behave well. They follow the school '4Rs':... ready, responsible, respectful and resilient.

Pupils strive to do well and are proud of their achievements. They work together cooperatively and play happily at breaktimes. Older pupils help the younger ones at lunchtimes.

Bullying is extremely rare. Pupils are confident that staff will help them to sort out any friendship issues.

The school provides many experiences to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.

Pupils help to take care of the local environment. For example, they litter pick and help with the development of the local park. Pupils are proud of their leadership roles.

They have the chance to be play leaders or reading ambassadors. The well-being ambassadors are trained to help other pupils. Pupils are looking forward to Voting Day, when they will choose new school councillors.

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

Pupils benefit from a curriculum which is thoughtfully designed and sequenced. It is designed in a way which allows pupils to make meaningful connections between topics and subjects. For example, in geography, pupils learn about rivers and this aligns well to their learning about the water cycle in science.

Connections to past learning are also carefully planned. Teachers are skilled in making learning come alive. Pupils are fascinated to learn about a modern artist whose work is on a subway poster.

They rub their hands together with glee to explore the effects of friction. Pupils speak with enthusiasm and excitement about what they know and remember.

The curriculum for early years provides strong foundations for future learning.

For example, children learn single-digit numbers inside out. They practise what they learn in formal sessions through exploration and play.

The school has put in place effective approaches to check pupils' learning in English and mathematics.

Teachers use their checks on pupils' learning to identify any gaps in pupils' knowledge. However, in the wider curriculum, the school is still working out the best ways to check what pupils know and remember. In these subjects, sometimes, teaching is not adjusted well enough to help pupils achieve as well as they might.

The school has identified this as a priority for development.Reading is a high priority. The school encourages pupils to be avid readers.

Pupils enjoy hearing their class book at the end of every day. Staff teach the phonics programme expertly. Children in Reception learn to read at great pace.

They use the sounds they have learned to read short phrases. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 read and spell with increasing confidence. Teachers check pupils' learning throughout lessons.

Pupils who have fallen behind get the help they need to catch up.The school ensures that pupils' needs are identified effectively. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefit from well-considered support that helps them to achieve well.

The school's inclusive ethos helps everyone to feel welcome. Staff are determined for all pupils to enjoy everything the school has to offer.The school has high expectations of pupils' behaviour and conduct.

Pupils understand the importance of attending school every day. Pupils are polite and respectful. The school promotes pupils' pride in their school and local community.

Pupils help to improve the local area. They learn about world issues, such as child labour and fairtrade. This helps to strengthen their understanding of diversity and human rights.

Pupils have opportunities to take part in a range of sports. School clubs, such as chess and cooking, are rotated to give pupils a chance to try different things.

The school makes considered decisions in the best interests of pupils.

Staff appreciate the training they receive and leaders' consideration of their well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some of the foundation subjects, the school is still working out how to check what pupils know and remember.

Where this is the case, it is difficult for teachers to know how well pupils are achieving. Sometimes, this affects how well teaching is adjusted to help pupils learn the intended curriculum. The school should refine further the assessment approaches in these subjects, so that teachers have the information they need about pupils' learning and achievement to ensure that pupils achieve highly across the curriculum.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

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

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in February 2015.