Sutton-in-Craven Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Sutton-in-Craven Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They are welcoming, friendly and polite.

Pupils behave well. They have good relationships with their friends and school staff. Pupils are safe and know how to keep themselves safe.

The school has an ambitious curriculum that is supported by additional enrichment opportunities. Pupils meet the high expectations that the school has for them. They are enthusiastic about their learning.

Pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics.

The school ensures that pupils learn how to be physically and mentally health...y. There is a wide range of sporting activities available to pupils.

Along with football and athletics, there is also a fencing club. Pupils are particularly enthusiastic about the regular opportunities to learn outdoors. Pupils in Year 5 are excited about their forthcoming visit to London, especially catching the train.

Pupils appreciate the strong sense of community in the school. This is exemplified by parents, staff and pupils coming together to raise money for charity by running the 'Race for Life' in the local park. They also gather together on Remembrance day at the local war memorial.

Pupils have their own fundraising group that supports various charities. This is one of the many ways that pupils thrive from leadership roles in school.

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

The school has made substantial changes to the curriculum in the past two years.

The curriculum has breadth and ambition. The foundations of this effective curriculum begin in the early years. The early reading programme is a particular strength.

Phonics is taught well. Pupils learn to read with accuracy and fluency. Where pupils struggle with their reading, they receive timely extra support.

This support helps them to overcome problems they may have in decoding words or becoming fluent readers.

The teaching of mathematics is effective. Teachers explain mathematics with clarity.

Pupils have an age-appropriate grasp of mathematical vocabulary, reasoning and problem- solving. Children in Reception are keen to show their understanding of number bonds. In Year 5, pupils show resilience when problem-solving with money calculations.

The school has carefully considered what pupils need to learn in the foundation subjects. However, pupils do not learn this curriculum as effectively as they learn the core subjects. Some of the activities in lessons do not focus carefully enough on the most important vocabulary, knowledge or ideas.

Assessment in the foundation subjects is inconsistent. It does not give teachers precise information about what pupils know and understand. This means that pupils do not routinely retain and recall key information or know how to improve their work.

The school has effective methods to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND learn the same rich and ambitious curriculum, with appropriate adjustments. Staff know and understand the best ways to support pupils with SEND.

The school very carefully monitors the effectiveness of these strategies. Regular reviews and adjustments are made to ensure that pupils with SEND achieve well.

The curriculum for pupils' personal development is a strength of the school.

The school's values are to be 'ready, respectful and safe'. These values are the foundation of the personal development curriculum. Pupils understand them.

They know that they help everyone to enjoy school. Pupils are very well informed about different faiths and beliefs. They discuss with confidence the key features of Christianity, Islam and Humanism.

Pupils learn about relationships and sex education in an age-appropriate way that pupils find clear and helpful.

The school places great emphasis on mental health and well-being. Pupils enjoy and benefit from well-being days.

Some pupils are trained as well-being champions. There are also other leadership roles for pupils. Older pupils enjoy supporting younger friends as playground buddies.

The school council have influenced decisions to improve play equipment.

Staff enjoy working at the school. There is a strong sense of team and mutual support.

Staff know that leaders take meaningful steps to manage their workload and support their well-being. Governors know the community and the school very well. Governors discharge their duties effectively.

They provide supportive professional challenge to the school.

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 foundation subjects, the resources and activity choices do not always support pupils to learn the most important knowledge in the curriculum.

This means that pupils are not remembering the curriculum in the long term. The school should match activity choices and resources more precisely to the required knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn. ? There is an inconsistent approach to assessment in the foundation subjects.

As a result, pupils do not routinely receive feedback that will help them to improve. The school should implement a consistent assessment strategy in the foundation subjects to provide pupils with relevant and timely feedback.

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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2019.