Riccall Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Riccall Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have created a welcoming environment. Pupils enjoy their time at school.

The relationships between pupils, their peers and adults are warm and respectful. Pupils, as well as their parents and carers, value the nurturing approach of staff.

In lessons, pupils focus on their learning.

They usually meet leaders' high expectations of pupils' conduct. When pupils do fall below the standard expected, adults skilfully re-engage pupils with their learning. Teachers reward pupils regularly for their efforts and achievements.

Bullying is rare. Pupils unders...tand the importance of being kind to each other. When bullying does happen, pupils have confidence in adults to resolve it effectively.

Leaders provide pupils with opportunities to enrich the academic curriculum. For example, in their outdoor education lessons, pupils have made replicas of tools used by people in Stone Age Britain to reinforce their learning of history. There is a range of clubs and activities in which pupils participate.

Much of the offer takes place at lunchtime to accommodate pupils' commitments outside school. The offer is varied, including activities such as chess, sports, reading, arts and the 'mini-minds' mindfulness club. These provide positive opportunities for pupils to develop their interests.

The majority of pupils have experienced a residential or overnight stay. Leaders use these residential visits as one way of developing pupils' independence.

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

Since the appointment of the new headteacher in September 2022, leaders, with the support of governors, have reviewed the quality of the curriculum.

They have an accurate understanding of its current strengths and areas for development. Leaders have sought to improve the quality of the curriculum in a timely way. They balance these improvements and staff workload well.

These incremental changes are improving the standard of education provided and are benefiting pupils.

Leaders have ensured that the development of language and reading is prioritised across the school. They have trained staff in how to deliver the school's new phonics scheme.

Teachers apply this training to teach phonics lessons using a consistent approach. When pupils encounter unfamiliar words, they use their phonics knowledge to read them. Adults support pupils who need additional help with their reading effectively.

Pupils read daily during 'everyone read in class' sessions. Staff encourage pupils to read widely for pleasure at home. For example, many pupils are working towards completing the '100 books' challenge.

Pupils enjoy the rewards they receive for the amount of additional reading they complete.

Subject leaders have considered what pupils know from the early years when planning what pupils will learn in key stages 1 and 2. In more established subjects, such as mathematics, leaders have identified and broken down the most important knowledge they want pupils to remember.

Teachers explain this clearly and in a logical order. They build on what pupils already know and check on pupils' understanding. As a result, pupils' knowledge of these subjects is secure.

Some subjects, such as history, are at an earlier stage in their design. In these, the most important knowledge is not precisely defined by leaders. Where this is the case, although pupils complete the planned activities, some pupils do not remember the most important knowledge.

Teachers do not check pupils' understanding of this most important knowledge routinely, and some misconceptions go uncorrected. As a result, pupils are not as confident to use this knowledge when they encounter new learning where it may be relevant.

The curriculum that leaders have designed for pupils in the early years is ambitious and well sequenced.

Leaders understand what children need to know, and be able to do, to be well prepared for key stage 1. Adults check that children are securing the intended knowledge and skills effectively. Leaders make sure that all adults working with these children know how planned activities support children's development.

Children are well prepared as they move into Year 1.

Teachers understand the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders use external agencies, such as the local authority's communication and interaction team, well to improve their understanding of how to meet pupils' needs.

Teachers adapt their teaching effectively so that pupils with SEND access lessons successfully.

Pupils revisit important learning, such as how to keep healthy and relationships education, each year. Leaders outline these themes in assembly and then build on the topics in personal, social and health education (PSHE) lessons.

In these lessons, pupils have opportunities to debate and discuss important issues, including race and other beliefs. Some pupils' knowledge of fundamental British values and other faiths or beliefs is not as detailed as leaders intend.

Parents are supportive of the actions which leaders take to improve the school.

They share the ambitious vision of leaders and governors. Governors have an accurate understanding of the strengths of the school, and the priorities to improve it further. They make their own checks to supplement what leaders tell them.

In some aspects of the school's improvement, leaders have not identified the milestones by which they will measure their success. This sometimes limits governors' ability to provide greater support and scrutiny.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Adults understand the importance of their roles to safeguard pupils. They know how to report concerns about a pupil's welfare and do so promptly. Leaders understand the risks to pupils in the community.

They use this knowledge to inform the PSHE curriculum. During these lessons, pupils learn how to keep themselves safe online, as well as how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Leaders provide opportunities for pupils to discuss their worries with a trusted adult.

Pupils make good use of these discussions as one strategy to help them maintain good mental health.

Leaders make appropriate pre-employment checks on adults. They have updated the systems to maintain records of safeguarding concerns.

Leaders have provided staff with training in how to use these systems. Records show that leaders take suitable and prompt actions which support pupils to keep safe.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, particularly foundation subjects such as history, leaders have not broken down the most important knowledge that they want pupils to know into precise small steps.

In these subjects, teachers are not as clear about what pupils are required to remember from a sequence of learning. Leaders should develop their current work on ensuring that the long-term aims of the curriculum are broken down into small steps and that these are commonly understood by teachers. ? In some aspects of their school improvement work, leaders have not identified the short- and long-term success criteria that they will use to measure the impact of their actions.

This limits the ability of leaders, including governors, to hold themselves to account or to identify when a strategy is not being successful. Leaders should ensure that they clearly define how they will check whether a new initiative is having the impact they intend.

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 2012.

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