Howick Church Endowed Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. Children get a good start to their school careers in the Reception class and this good progress continues throughout the rest of the school. Pupils' achievement has improved significantly over the past two years and is now good.

Standards in English and mathematics are above average and pupils particularly enjoy reading. The quality of teaching is good. Teachers' knowledge of how well their pupils are doing is accurate.

Teachers provide them with detailed advice on how pupils can improve their work. Teaching assistants give impressive support to pupils who sometimes find the work difficult. Pupils' behaviour in lessons and during breaks ...and lunchtimes is outstanding.

They show immense pride in their school and say, 'We are one big happy family here!' They feel safe because of the support they receive from their classmates and from older pupils. In their view, there is no bullying in school and all the pupils get on very well with each other. The talented and committed headteacher shares a clear understanding with managers and governors of how well the school is improving teaching and pupils' achievement.

Teaching and support staff comment, 'High expectations of pupils and adults mean that our school is improving and that it is going from strength to strength.' It is not yet an outstanding school because : The challenge provided for more-able pupils is inconsistent across the school. It does not always enable these pupils to reach the higher National Curriculum levels, particularly in relation to boys' writing in Key Stage 1.

Although pupils enjoy the creative curriculum, they say that there are not enough trips, educational visits and after-school clubs. The sharing of examples of good and outstanding teaching is not fully developed across the school. There is sometimes too much teacher-direction in the classroom and this does not allow pupils to take even more responsibility for finding things out for themselves.

Information about this school

This is a much smaller-than-average primary school. There is a Reception class and three other mixed-age classes. The Howick Kids Club, which shares the school site, was taken over by the governing body 12 months ago.

It is an after-school club, which is led by a higher-level teaching assistant. It operates during term time. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for pupils in local authority care, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and pupils whose parents are serving in the armed forces, is below average but varies across years.

The percentage of pupils supported through school action is below average. The percentage supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is just below that usually seen. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic heritages is low and there are few pupils at an early stage of learning English.

The school meets the current government floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress. Howick Church Endowed Primary School holds the Activemark for its work in sport and games and is a nationally accredited Healthy School. It also has a local Learning Excellence Award for pupils' creative work in relation to the study of Preston docks.