Morland Area CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

Morland Primary is a good school. It has great strengths in the outstanding care, guidance and support it provides for all pupils. Staff know pupils extremely well and the skills and talents of every individual are highly valued.

Pupils are very proud of their school and their behaviour is excellent. They are polite, kind and friendly to staff, to visitors and to each other. They make an outstanding contribution to their own school community and that of the local area.

All groups of pupils are involved in a multitude of activities ranging from fund-raising for children in need to working with the parish council to restore the local mill race. Governors, leaders and managers know the school we...ll, because self-evaluation is accurate, and they are continually seeking to improve outcomes for pupils. They have identified appropriate areas for improvement, such as attainment in mathematics, tackled this effectively and brought about improvement.

Since the last inspection the tracking of pupils' progress has become much more robust and teaching and learning are monitored rigorously. The school has good capacity to improve further. Children make a satisfactory start to their education in the Reception class where they settle quickly into school routines and make satisfactory progress.

They enjoy learning but in some lessons spend too much time on teacher-led activities and not enough on activities they choose for themselves. Pupils' progress, although satisfactory, is slower in Key Stage 1 but accelerates as they move through the school and is good overall. By the end of Year 6 pupils attain average standards and achieve well.

Pupils respond well to the good teaching they receive. In most lessons teachers use varied resources, explain the topic clearly and lessons move at a brisk pace. In a few lessons, especially in Key Stage 1, progress is slower because pupils spend too long listening to the teacher and do not have enough time to find out things for themselves.

Work is marked regularly but the feedback given to pupils does not always make it absolutely clear how well they are doing and how to improve their work.

Information about the school

This is school is much smaller than is typical of primary schools nationally. The proportion of boys is well above average.

Pupils are taught in three mixed-age classes. Very few pupils are from minority ethnic groups and very few speak English as an additional language. An average proportion of pupils are known to be eligible for free school meals.

The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average. The school has gained Healthy Schools status and has Activemark, Eco-schools and bronze International School awards. A well-above-average number of pupils join and leave the school midway through their education.

An after-school club runs on weekdays during term time. The privately-run provision for childcare, 'Little Treasures Nursery' shares the school's site. It is subject to a separate inspection and will receive its own inspection report which will be published on the Ofsted website.