Cumwhinton School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Cumwhinton Primary School is a friendly and happy place to learn.

The school is ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils achieve well, particularly in the early years. They are prepared well for the next phase of their education.

The school's motto, 'Inspired by Cumbria, ready for the world', threads through all aspects of school life. Pupils benefit from a wide range of opportunities, including residential visits, clubs and trips to places of interest. They particularly enjoy taking part in challenges such as climbing Blencathra in the Lake District or camping under the stars in the school field.
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These help to build character as well as being great fun. Parents typically comment that staff are 'polite, approachable and friendly' and form good relationships with them and their children.

Pupils behave very well.

They know that the simple rules are there to make sure everyone can learn and be safe in school. Pupils show great respect for everyone in the school community. They actively help other people, for example, through raising funds for a cancer charity and entertaining residents in a local care home.

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

The curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND. The school has recently revised the curriculum to ensure that pupils gain the knowledge and skills they need in each subject. Teachers know exactly what pupils need to learn and in what order.

The curriculum builds from the early years. Here, children's learning and play is exceptionally well-structured to provide them with a flying start to begin the key stage 1 curriculum. Pupils with SEND are identified at an early stage.

They receive good support to learn the same curriculum as other pupils and join in with all the activities in school.

Lesson activities are mostly well thought out, and teachers have secure knowledge of the subjects that they teach. They make sure that pupils learn the knowledge and vocabulary they need to learn more in the future.

Teachers use information from assessments to check how well pupils are learning. In mathematics and English, assessments are accurate and help teachers to know precisely what help pupils may need. This process is not as effective in some of the foundation subjects.

While learning is assessed in these subjects, assessment is sometimes not precise enough to help teachers to know what gaps in knowledge pupils may have. This means that future lessons in these subjects may not be as effective as they could be in helping pupils to build secure knowledge over time.

Reading has a high priority in the curriculum.

Most pupils learn to read fluently at the earliest possible stage. Highly skilled staff teach phonics from children's first days in the Reception class. They carefully check pupils' learning to make sure no one can slip behind unnoticed.

Pupils who find reading difficult receive the right support to master phonics and begin to develop fluency. The early reading books that teachers choose for pupils are well matched to the sounds that pupils know.

Pupils enjoy reading for their own pleasure as well as when teachers read to them in class.

A group of older pupils talked about how teachers will often finish story time on a 'cliffhanger' and how much they look forward to the next day's chapter.Pupils learn to be competent mathematicians. Skilled teaching means that they develop fluency with numbers and can confidently approach increasingly complex problems as they move through the school.

Children really thrive in the early years. They listen attentively, follow teachers' instructions and swiftly become confident and independent learners. Tidy-up routines work like clockwork, including washing up the dishes after snack time.

Older pupils build on this. They are curious about the world and keen to learn. Visits to places of worship, including a Hindu temple and the local church, help pupils learn about religious diversity.

During the inspection, pupils in Years 5 and 6 worked with members of the Anne Frank Trust to become ambassadors against racism for the local community. These opportunities give pupils the chance to become informed and active citizens.

Pupils enjoy using the Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) area at breaks and lunchtimes.

Here, they learn to take risks safely through trying out challenging activities such as balancing and climbing. Some older pupils have had training as OPAL leaders. They take their responsibilities for checking that stations are safe, and supporting other pupils in using them, very seriously.

The school provides a range of training opportunities for staff. This is having a positive impact on developing leadership and improving teaching. Governors check that leaders' actions to improve the school are having a positive impact on the quality of pupils' education.

Staff feel valued and proud to be part of the team at Cumwhinton School. The school is considerate of their well-being and workload, for example, through providing subject leaders with time to carry out their roles.

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 foundation subjects, assessment is not precise enough to help teachers to identify any gaps in knowledge that pupils might have. This means that some pupils are not progressing as well as they could in these subjects. The school should ensure that teachers know how to accurately identify any gaps in pupils' knowledge in these subjects so they can then address them.