Kirkbymoorside Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations for pupils' behaviour. They expect pupils to 'be ready, be respectful, be safe'.

These consistent practices, coupled with supportive relationships, result in calm and orderly classrooms. Pupils embody the school's values by showing curiosity and pride when learning. They treat one another with kindness.

The school responds to the needs of its changing cohort. The curriculum supports disadvantaged pupils, including with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. Pupils learn about the local environment and expand their horizons by learning about the wider world.

For example, pupils learn about the history of farming... in their locality in the context of changes to global farming.The school ensures that pupils have a thorough understanding of online and offline risks. Before each school holiday, there is an increased focus on internet safety to keep pupils safe when they access their devices at home.

Many pupils attend the extensive range of extra-curricular activities the school offers. For example, they enjoy chess, football and computer coding clubs.Staff develop a love of music in pupils.

They encourage pupils to sing to support their performance skills and their mental health. Every pupil has an opportunity to learn to play an instrument. For example, the school offers cornet lessons to support the continuation of the local brass band.

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

Following a review of the curriculum and disappointing end-of-key-stage outcomes, the school took decisive action to prioritise the development of the reading, writing and mathematics curriculums. It invested in training for all staff to significantly develop the quality of teaching. It has ensured that these new curriculums are coherent and logically sequenced.

As a result, pupils are learning more securely than before.

The school promotes a love of reading through its phonics and early reading programme. Adults read to pupils every day.

Children in the Nursery focus on speech and language activities, such as stories, rhymes and songs prior to starting phonics lessons. Staff consistently use the correct terminology associated with phonics. This supports pupils to read unfamiliar words by blending sounds.

The books that pupils read match the sounds that they know. The school provides additional sessions for pupils who need extra support. The impact of the phonics scheme is evident in the resilience and success pupils show in reading and writing tasks.

The school has modified the mathematics curriculum with the support from the local mathematics hub. This curriculum is in the initial stages of development. The school acknowledges further refinement is necessary.

On occasions, aspects of the subject are not taught as incisively as they could be. This means that some pupils do not know and remember as much as they should.

The school supports pupils, including those with SEND, well in mathematics.

For example, the school uses pre-teaching or personalised activities to enable these pupils to access the same curriculum as their peers. The school encourages pupils to use sentence stems, such as 'I disagree because…', to structure their mathematical responses. This enables pupils with SEND to explain their mathematical thinking with clarity.

The school has focused on developing the core knowledge that pupils need to learn in each aspect of the wider curriculum. For example, in music, pupils speak enthusiastically, using the correct technical vocabulary about the subject.

The recent improvements to the curriculum have impacted positively on the knowledge and skills that pupils acquire in the curriculum.

However, this learning was not reflected in pupils' outcomes at the end of key stages 1 and 2 in 2023. Pupils did not benefit from the significant improvements that have been made to the curriculum.

The school has well-developed systems to check pupils' progression through the curriculum in reading, writing and mathematics.

Leaders use these systems to refine teaching and provide pupils with additional support. These processes are less developed in the wider curriculum. In foundation subjects, the school has a less secure picture of how well pupils are learning the intended knowledge.

The school has made significant changes to the early years provision. This includes, recruiting new practitioners and introducing new elements to the curriculum. Adults know how the purposeful activities link to the curriculum structure.

Relationships between adults and children are caring and nurturing. Children explore and actively learn in an environment that promotes their independence.

The school prioritises pupils' attendance.

The school tracks pupils at risk of persistent absence. It endeavours to remove any barriers to regular attendance. However, pupils' attendance remains stubbornly below the national average.

The school provides pupils with leadership opportunities, such as friendship buddies and sports ambassadors. Pupils build resilience and self-confidence through their residential visits to outdoor adventure centres. Most pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of fundamental British values and the protected characteristics.

One pupil summed it up saying, 'Difference is a treat.'

The school is mindful of the workload and well-being of staff. For example, teachers plan units of work together in key stages to reduce their workload.

The primary cluster committee recognises that the school is building for sustained success. Committee members check on the progress of specific issues during their visits to school. This enables the committee and trust to have a clear understanding of the school's strengths and aspects that need continued development.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There were some minor improvements the school needed to make during the inspection to implement systems to check medication and healthcare plans. Some safeguarding records do not consistently reflect the actions taken to keep pupils safe.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, such as mathematics, the knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn are not taught incisively. When this happens, pupils do not learn the intended curriculum as well as they could. The school should ensure that its curriculums are taught with the clarity and expertise necessary to prepare pupils for the next stage in learning.

• The system for checking pupils' progress and understanding across the wider curriculum is not well developed. This means there is not a clear understanding of how well pupils are learning the intended curriculum. The school should develop more effective ways to check pupils' understanding in the wider curriculum.

• Some safeguarding records do not clearly reflect the actions taken to safeguard pupils. This means it is not clear what actions have been taken and by who. The school should ensure that safeguarding records accurately capture the outcomes of actions taken to keep pupils safe.

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