Seascale Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to Seascale Primary School. Everyone feels welcome and included in all aspects of school life. Pupils are polite, kind and considerate of others.

Older pupils take good care of younger children and are positive role models. They behave sensibly around school and are courteous to each other and to adults. The strong relationships that pupils have with one another and with staff help them to feel happy.

Pupils know that staff will listen to them and help if they have any worries.

The school has high expectations for pupils' achievement. It ensures that pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), have th...e support that they need to learn the curriculum well.

Pupils try their best in lessons and listen carefully to their teachers. Most pupils achieve well.

Pupils appreciate many roles of responsibility that they have in school.

For example, pupils nominate themselves and others to be members of various school councils, including the eco-council and arts council. They vote for anti-bullying ambassadors and team captains each year. Pupils take great pride in these roles and fulfil their responsibilities with enthusiasm.

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

The school has designed a suitably broad and ambitious curriculum. It has thought carefully about the important knowledge that pupils should learn from the early years to the end of Year 6. The additional needs of pupils with SEND are identified early.

They get the help that they need to learn the same curriculum as their classmates. Staff are skilled at supporting pupils with SEND and adapt their teaching effectively to meet pupils' individual needs.

Teachers regularly check that pupils are learning the intended curriculum.

They identify any gaps that pupils may have and adjust the delivery of the curriculum accordingly. However, at times, staff choose learning activities and resources that do not help pupils to learn the essential knowledge and skills that they should. This means that some pupils' learning in some subjects is not as secure as it should be.

The school has prioritised reading. Pupils, including children in the early years, benefit from to a wide and diverse range of books and poems. The school has established a successful phonics programme which is taught from the beginning of the Reception Year.

Pupils read from books that match the sounds and letters that they already know. They use their phonics knowledge and skills to read new and unfamiliar words with confidence and accuracy. Staff support pupils who fall behind in the phonics programme to learn all that they should.

Pupils behave well. This begins in the early years where children learn to follow well-established routines. They quickly develop confidence, independence and social skills, such as sharing and taking turns.

At times, some pupils become overwhelmed.On these rare occasions, staff provide effective support to help them to manage their emotions and behaviour. This support means that other pupils continue to learn without interruption.

Some pupils do not attend school as often as they should. The school understands the causes of low attendance and works with families to secure improved attendance. However, there are groups of pupils who are persistently absent from school.

This means that they do not benefit fully from the education and experiences that the school offers.

The school has developed a strong programme to support pupils' personal development. There are a wide range of opportunities for pupils to understand the world around them and to take care of the local environment.

For example, pupils visit nearby villages and beaches to collect litter and help to reduce plastic waste. Younger pupils share cultural traditions, including gardening and cooking, with children from another country. They have published these shared experiences in a book.

The school has also taken part in a long-term project to support pupils' respect for differences between themselves and others. These rich opportunities help pupils to develop their understanding and curiosity about the wider world.

Governors understand their roles and responsibilities and carry these out effectively.

They provide appropriate support and challenge to the school. However, oversight of attendance and the persistent absence of some pupils is not as robust as it should be. There is not a clear, strategic plan to address the low levels of attendance for some groups of pupils.

The school has taken effective steps to consider staff's workload. For example, staff say that they are able to prioritise their teaching and are not burdened by unnecessary tasks.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, staff do not select the most appropriate learning activities and resources that will best support pupils to learn the intended curriculum well. This means that some pupils do not learn some of the essential knowledge and skills as well as they could in these subjects. The school should ensure that activity choices and resources enable pupils to learn all that they should.

• Some groups of pupils do not attend school regularly enough. This means that they do not benefit as much as they should from the education and experiences that the school offers. The school should ensure that it has a clear strategy to improve the levels of attendance for these pupils.