Patterdale CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Patterdale CofE Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very happy to attend school and keen to learn. Pupils are safe in school.

They know that staff listen to them and look after them well. Parents and carers typically comment that the school is like a family and that staff are exceptionally caring. Pupils often learn outdoors and this makes their learning more memorable.

Pupils enjoy playing with their friends. Older pupils take responsibility for looking after younger ones. For example, they help them to brush their teeth after lunch.

Pupils care about the environment. They recently planted trees as part ...of a local flood defence project.

Leaders and teachers always expect pupils to do their best, including those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils meet these high expectations and take great pride in their work. They achieve well.

Teachers and pupils write classroom rules together so that pupils understand and know how to respond to leaders' high expectations of behaviour.

Pupils are polite, courteous and respectful. They know that bullying is not acceptable. Pupils are confident that adults would deal with any incidents effectively.

Pupils take part in a range of activities after school, including cricket and gardening. Pupils also participate in interesting trips and visits, including adventurous activities such as canoeing and climbing.

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

Leaders and teachers have designed an ambitious curriculum.

Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders have ensured that the curriculum has been delivered well. Teachers know what they expect pupils to learn in each subject. They carefully check that pupils are learning and remembering the curriculum in the right order.

As a result, pupils achieve well across a range of subjects. That said, leaders do not check on pupils' learning across the range of subjects. This means they are not able to support teachers to improve their delivery of the curriculum further.

Leaders and teachers ensure pupils quickly learn to read. Children learn phonics from their earliest days in the school. Adults in the early years and key stage 1 skilfully build pupils' phonics skills.

They make sure that pupils read books that are at the right stage for their phonics knowledge. Adults are quick to spot any pupils who may be falling behind and help them to catch up quickly. By the time pupils begin key stage 2, most are fluent and confident readers.

Teachers read to children and pupils frequently. They have fostered a love of reading so that pupils read for pleasure both in school and at home. Pupils' secure reading skills mean that they do well in other subjects too.

Children joining the early years quickly and happily settle into school life. Leaders ensure that they have ample opportunities for playing and exploring outdoors. This helps them to develop confidence and independence.

Older pupils build on this strong start, learning about local geographical features as well as how to be safe when participating in more adventurous outdoor activities.

Pupils behave well. They are polite, courteous and show respect for one another and adults in the school.

Pupils rarely disturb learning. They learn about their rights and responsibilities, both as pupils in school and as future citizens. Visitors to the school share traditions from different countries.

Pupils take part in trips to places of worship and cultural centres in urban areas of Britain. All of these opportunities support pupils' understanding of cultural and religious differences. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and the wider world.

Pupils with SEND achieve well. They are very much part of the school family. Leaders ensure that these pupils have the right support to take part in all aspects of school life, including trips and visits.

Teachers accurately identify pupils with SEND at the earliest possible stage. This leads to effective provision for these pupils' needs as they move through the school.

Governors are fully involved in the school and the local community.

They regularly volunteer to support a range of activities, including hearing pupils read and helping out at lunchtimes. Governors and leaders take staff's workload, well-being and work-life balance into consideration when making decisions about the school. Staff feel respected and valued.

They are keen to participate in opportunities for professional development, for example in developing subject leadership roles.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and governors ensure that all staff understand that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.

Staff have regular and up-to-date training. They know precisely what to do and whom to contact if they suspect that a pupil may be at risk of harm. Leaders provide pupils with the help that they need promptly.

Pupils learn how to be safe, including when online. Importantly, given the school's location in a busy tourist area of the Lake District, pupils also learn about road safety, water safety and the dangers of talking to strangers.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders do not check that teaching is helping pupils to know and remember more of the curriculum across the full range of subjects.

This reduces leaders' ability to support teachers to improve their subject and pedagogical knowledge. Leaders should ensure that there are effective arrangements to check on the delivery of the curriculum and the impact that it has on pupils' achievement.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 a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in April 2012.