Kirkby Malzeard Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Kirkby Malzeard Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to school.

Pupils are happy and safe in this nurturing environment. The school's values of kindness, patience, love and peace thread through every aspect of school life. Excellent relationships develop between staff, pupils and families.

Many pupils move into the area from other schools. They settle in well and make new friends quickly. Staff listen well to pupils and value their ideas.

They encourage pupils to be resourceful and community-minded. This is shown in gardening club where pupils grow produce and gift it to local res...idents.

Pupils live up to the high expectations of behaviour set by staff.

Through the buddy system, older pupils mentor younger pupils in a caring way. Pupils get to know each other really well. They treat one another with high levels of respect.

The school is calm and the classes have a working 'hum' as pupils focus on their learning. Bullying is rare. Staff deal with any incidents of bullying quickly and fairly.

Pupils trust adults to resolve any concerns that they may have.

Staff encourage pupils to be physically active. The school skipping sessions are helping pupils to become fitter.

Through the cycling programme, pupils develop great awareness of road safety.

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

The school's curriculum is well designed and ambitious from early years onwards. The curriculum deepens pupils' thinking about culture and life beyond Kirkby Malzeard.

For example, pupils learn about the reasons why people migrate. They study the Industrial Revolution and the Windrush generation. Pupils describe the push-pull factors of migration and relate these to both historical and modern-day events competently.

The topics chosen help pupils connect their learning from different subject areas. This makes pupils' learning more memorable. Teachers know exactly what subject knowledge should be taught and when.

Leaders support staff in considering the best approach to teaching subject matter. As a result, there is consistency in the delivery of the curriculum. Pupils have excellent recall of their learning in some subjects.

They are well prepared for their next phase of learning.

Pupils are hugely enthusiastic about reading. Leaders ensure that there is a structured approach to teaching pupils to read.

This starts in Reception class, where staff model the joy of reading. Pupils learn phonics quickly. In key stage 1, there is a particular emphasis on developing fluency and expression.

The school is trialling two approaches to teaching reading in key stage 2. The aim is to further develop pupils' comprehension skills. A few pupils are less engaged in these lessons.

In the library, pupils have a wide variety of high-quality texts to choose from. These include many books that they have won by entering reading competitions. Pupils look forward to their reading buddy time.

They share their 'recommended reads' and do book swaps.

Some teachers do not consistently check pupils' understanding of new learning in lessons. Some do not provide feedback quickly enough.

Opportunities to discuss misconceptions or extend learning there and then are sometimes missed.

Leaders work with local childcare providers to support children transferring into Reception class. The school identifies pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) quickly.

Pupils with SEND have personalised learning plans. These contain clear targets and guidance for staff. The number of pupils with more complex needs has risen significantly in recent years.

Leaders make sure that pupils and parents contribute to the personalised learning plans. This means that parents know how to support their child's learning at home as well as at school.

Subject leaders have time allocated to check what happens in lessons and to look at pupils' work.

As a result, improvements have been made to the way the curriculum is delivered. This includes the introduction of 'sheep tracking', a time for pupils to recap on prior learning. The recap helps pupils to know more and remember more.

Leaders promote positive mental health. Pupils appreciate the work of the pastoral support assistant, particularly the walk-and-talk sessions. Pupils have an excellent understanding of the protected characteristics, such as disability and age.

Leaders signpost after-school sports clubs so that pupils have opportunities to develop their unique talents. Pupils are active citizens in the wider community and help with the local lunch club. The school choir has performed at the Royal Hall in Harrogate.

Pupils grow in confidence in their various leadership roles.

Members of the governing body support and challenge senior leaders well. They receive updates from the headteacher and act on them assertively.

For example, they wrote to parents to promote regular attendance when this dipped due to holidays taken in term time. Governors review the standard of education and the difference that the curriculum is making. The governing body understands the pressures of working in a small school and tries to reduce staff workload.

Governors set the example that safeguarding is everyone's business.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There is a lack of consistency in the way in which members of staff check pupils' knowledge systematically, identify misconceptions and provide direct feedback.

This means that some pupils are not given a direct steer to make their learning better. The school should ensure that all staff are trained to assess pupils' knowledge and give them timely feedback.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

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 would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which 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 in December 2013.

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