Lindale CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are cherished at this small and friendly school. The school's motto, 'let your light shine', is brought to life daily.

Pupils are supported to achieve their personal best. Differences between people are valued and nurtured. Pupils are happy.

They are well cared for and feel accepted.

The school has high expectations for pupils' achievement. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils are positive about school and their learning. Typically, they achieve well. Year 6 pupils are well prepared for their secondary education.

Most pupils behave well during lessons and at playtimes. They understand ...school rules and they know that these rules help them to stay safe. Pupils thrive in their various roles and responsibilities.

These include acting as pupil parliament members, library monitors and eco-warriors.

Pupils benefit from a range of enrichment experiences. For example, they discover new interests and talents through clubs, such as ukulele, rugby and judo.

Outdoor areas are thoughtfully designed to offer pupils the chance to sit quietly and read, as well as to explore nature and learn how to take care of the environment.

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

The school fosters a love of reading. Pupils benefit from reading a wide range of interesting books.

A successful programme to teach pupils to read begins in the early years. In the Nursery class, children enjoy joining in with songs and rhymes. This prepares them well for learning phonics as soon as they enter the Reception class.

Staff receive effective training that enables them to deliver the phonics programme well. Pupils who find reading more difficult receive timely support from skilled staff. This helps them to keep up with their peers.

In the main, the school has devised a carefully considered curriculum that identifies how pupils' knowledge should develop over time, from the early years to the end of key stage 2. In most subjects, the curriculum makes clear the prior learning that pupils should have secured, as well as the next steps that pupils are working towards. This helps staff to design coherent learning that builds successfully on what pupils already know.

Most pupils progress well through the curriculum and are ready for the next stage of their education.

In a few subjects, and areas of learning in the early years, the school is still refining the precise knowledge that pupils should learn. This means that on occasions, staff find it difficult to design learning that helps pupils to gain important knowledge.

This leads to some gaps in pupils' learning that stop them from building on what they already know.

Teachers typically use suitable strategies to check how well pupils are learning. However, sometimes, staff do not identify and address some gaps in pupils' knowledge as quickly as they could.

Added to this, in some subjects, the school is in the process of developing its approaches to assessment. This means that teachers do not have all the information that they need to check how well pupils have secured earlier learning. Occasionally, this hinders the learning of some pupils, including those with SEND.

Staff quickly forge warm relationships with children when they join the Nursery and Reception classes. Staff use a range of appropriate checks to establish any barriers to learning that pupils may have. The additional needs of pupils with SEND are accurately identified.

In the main, these pupils benefit from the support that they receive.

Most pupils are respectful to each other and towards staff. They listen attentively during lessons and confidently answer questions.

Younger pupils are supported to learn well-established routines. This helps them to learn and to play cooperatively alongside each other. However, a minority of staff are not confident in supporting pupils who need help to regulate their own behaviour.

This means that on occasion, some pupils' unwanted behaviour disrupts lessons. This prevents some pupils from learning all that they should.

The school supports pupils' personal development well.

It takes every opportunity to ensure that pupils respect diversity. Pupils understand that everyone is different and that there are many different types of families in society. Pupils relish the opportunity to be a 'Very Important Person' for the day, where the school community celebrates what is special and individual about them.

Pupils benefit from taking part in a wide range of educational trips and visits. For example, they spoke excitedly about learning about wildlife in a local woodland area, exploring a castle and visits to the seaside. These opportunities help to deepen pupils' learning and to broaden their experiences.

Governors understand and fulfil their statutory duties well. They provide effective support and challenge to the school with a focus on the quality of education that pupils receive. Staff appreciate the steps that the school takes to support their well-being and workload.

When making decisions, governors are considerate of the impact on staff's workload. Most staff feel valued and supported in 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 a small number of subjects, and areas of learning in the early years, the school has not given sufficient thought to the essential knowledge that pupils should learn and the order that this should be taught. This prevents some pupils from achieving as well as they should in these subjects. The school should refine its curriculum thinking so that staff know exactly what pupils should learn and when this should be taught in these remaining subjects.

• Approaches to assessment are underdeveloped in a few subjects. At times, this hinders how well staff check that pupils have retained earlier learning. The school should determine how best to check that pupils have secure foundations on which to build new learning.

• The school does not ensure that some staff provide effective support for the pupils who struggle to regulate their own behaviour. This means that on occasions, low-level disruption interrupts learning during lessons. The school should ensure that staff support pupils to regulate their own behaviour so that they, and other pupils, can learn all that they should.

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