St Cuthbert’s Catholic Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school This school has improved because the headteacher, other school leaders and governors have successfully tackled the school's shortcomings. School leaders have worked closely, with support from the local authority, to develop teachers' skills.

Teaching has improved and is good. Pupils make good progress from their different starting points. Pupils who need extra help make good progress as a result of the targeted support they receive.

Children get off to a good start in the early years. They are well prepared for Year 1 because they make good progress across all areas of development. Pupils feel safe in school.

They behave well and... have positive attitudes to learning. They take pride in their work and their school. The school promotes pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively through the curriculum and through the acts of worship that take place throughout the week.

The school's strong emphasis on literacy and numeracy has helped pupils to progress well. A range of additional activities add to pupils' enjoyment of school. Leaders have grasped what needs to be done.

Teachers make a good contribution to the school's development, including in their improved leadership of subjects. Governors have reviewed their working practice and now provide a good level of challenge to school leaders. The school is continuing to improve.

It is not yet an outstanding school because : Teachers have not yet fully developed activities that help pupils to use their mathematical skills in other subjects and work that deepens the understanding of the most-able pupils. Pupils do not make the most of teachers' feedback; when this happens they continue to repeat earlier mistakes. Leaders do not make sharp enough use of information about how well the school is doing, including pupils' attendance.

This makes it harder to set priorities for improvement.

information about their favourite authors. The reading resources are proving successful in supporting

more reluctant readers.

As a result, pupils' enthusiasm for reading is strong, although some pupils would benefit from reading more frequently out of school. Pupils' learning in subjects such as science, geography and history is good. They cover a good range of topics and write for different purposes.

Pupils' work on half-termly topics, such as 'What is so great about Great Britain?' and 'What goes up?' demonstrates good levels of general knowledge and pupils' understanding of different points of view. Pupils would benefit from being provided with as many opportunities to apply their mathematical knowledge across the curriculum as they are with their writing. Early years provision is good Children are warmly welcomed into a bright and attractive environment in which they feel safe because : they are well cared for.

The classroom is bright and attractive and resourced with toys and equipment that are of good quality and easily accessible. The outdoor area complements the indoor area, with activities planned to develop children's skills across all areas of learning. Children make good progress in the early years from starting points that are often below typical.

The proportion who reach a good level of development is only a little below the national average. This good progress is because staff know children well and they provide activities that build on what children can do. Children make good progress in phonics and this helps them to develop early reading and writing skills.

Consequently, children are very well prepared for Year 1. Teaching is good. The staff use assessment information accurately to plan next steps in learning.

They probe children with focused questions to develop their thinking, although activities to deepen the understanding of the older, most-able children are not as consistently well developed. Children choose some activities for themselves and some are led by adults. Occasionally, some children struggle to maintain concentration on the activities that are provided and need a little more direction from adults.'

Learning journals' are used to good effect to record children's learning and achievements over time. These show that children make good progress in all areas of their development. Parents say they like these books and they reinforce the strong links between home and school.

The outdoor area is used well to help children develop physical skills, as well as literacy, numeracy and other skills across the curriculum. During the inspection, a teaching assistant was developing children's language while they were investigating ways of moving across a bridge made of various pieces of construction equipment. Children were absorbed in this and delighted in successfully completing their journey across the bridge.

Children get on very well together. They have settled very well owing to the high-quality care provided by adults. They work and play well together and show perseverance and resilience in completing their work.

Children are happy and they enjoy school. They behave well when working with adults and when playing independently. The early years leader understands the strengths of provision and where further improvements are needed.

The staff plan together effectively and share ideas. This helps them provide imaginative and exciting learning activities for children. School details Unique reference number 112310 Local authority Cumbria Inspection number 10002262 This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 106 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr Kevin Armstrong Headteacher Miss Paula Holden Telephone number 01697 343119 Website http://www.stcuthbertswigton.co.

uk Email address [email protected].

uk Date of previous inspection 22–23 October 2013