Pupils benefit from good teaching in all key stages. You check the quality of teaching and respond to your findings with appropriate support and training. Current pupils make good progress from their starting points and achieve well across a range of subjects. The number of pupils in each year group varies from as many as 11 to as few as five, so published information about pupils’ achievement varies greatly and is not comparable year on year. When inspectors visited the school in 2014, leaders were asked to ensure that activities are challenging enough, particularly for the most able pupils. The work of current pupils shows that teachers set challenging tasks in reading and in mathematics. Teachers check on what pupils know and can do during lessons and adjust their teaching if required. This has been particularly effective in improving mathematics. You have an accurate view of standards in the school, and it is clear that you and the governors have the needs of the pupils at the heart of what you do. Close monitoring of teaching and learning has ensured that weaknesses are being addressed. This is paying dividends in the good progress that current pupils in key stage 2 make in reading. Your English subject leader is now working to ensure that teachers build quickly on pupils’ strong understanding of phonics in key stage 1. This is to help pupils develop a sufficiently good understanding of what they are reading. In key stage 2, leaders have worked successfully to improve pupils’ skills in grammar, punctuation and spelling but currently this is not translated well into pupils’ own writing. The school’s curriculum covers a wide range of subjects and topics and develops pupils’ knowledge and understanding of British values very effectively. Teachers ensure that pupils experience a breadth of experiences that extend their knowledge. Pupils learn about different faiths and wider-world cultures and are prepared well for life in modern Britain. Pupils appreciate the support they get from their teachers. They value the additional opportunities they receive through the wide range of visits and after-school clubs they are offered. They talk enthusiastically about visits to museums and the theatre. This is a caring school where pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is developed well through the school’s faith characteristics. Older pupils look after, encourage and support the younger pupils to settle happily at school. Pupils are very well behaved. They are polite and well mannered at all times, in lessons and around school. Pupils are aspirational for their future lives. They recognise that they have to work hard to achieve what they want. Safeguarding is effective The leadership team has ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. There is a strong safeguarding culture within the school. Governors ensure that all relevant policies and procedures are in place, including statutory checks on teachers and governors. Training for staff is comprehensive and up to date. Staff are aware of the potential risks to pupils within the community and leaders ensure that staff receive ongoing training and advice around these particular risks. Staff report any concerns to leaders in a timely manner and these concerns are assessed and acted upon appropriately. Parents say that their children are happy, safe and cared for. Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe through the well-thought out curriculum and through additional links to local community groups, such as the police and fire service. Pupils struggled to recall any incidents of bullying, including any racist or homophobic name-calling. However, they are sure that incidents would be dealt with quickly by staff. This view was borne out by the inspection findings. Inspection findings At the start of the inspection, we agreed a number of key lines of enquiry. The first looked at how effectively leaders are improving standards in writing at key stage 2. Pupils get off to a good start with writing in Nursery, Reception and Year 1. Pupils have a secure knowledge of phonics and this, coupled with precise teaching leads to good standards of writing at the end of Year 2. The work of current pupils in key stage 1 shows strong progress, particularly for higher- and middle-attaining pupils in writing. The English subject leader is working with teachers to improve progress in writing across key stage 2. The fruits of this work are increasingly evident in the work of current pupils. In key stage 2, pupils are given regular opportunities to write in a variety of ways. Adults have good subject knowledge of grammar, punctuation and spelling and these aspects are taught well. Although pupils’ longer pieces of writing show they are making progress, pupils do not translate the taught elements of grammar, punctuation and spelling into their own writing consistently. You recognise that this hampers progress, particularly towards the higher standards. We also looked at how effectively leaders support the most able pupils to make good progress in mathematics. The new approach to teaching mathematics ensures high expectations. Reasoning and investigation in mathematics are given a high priority. Pupils respond to the greater challenges of this new approach with enthusiasm and enjoyment. As a result, they are developing a deeper understanding of mathematics from the earliest stages. Improvements in mathematics start in the early years. Adults use skilful questioning and support during unstructured activities to develop children’s understanding of number. For example, in one activity children were experimenting with timers, finding out how far they could run before the time ran out. The teacher challenged them to think about the number of jumps they could do in 10 seconds and how they could record this. As a result, the children continued to develop their mathematical understanding after the adult had moved away. The mathematics subject leader has a thorough knowledge of the subject. The leader is sharing her skills and enthusiasm with some staff who are less secure in teaching mathematics. This is improving their practice and, as a result, pupils’ progress is improving. The final line of enquiry looked at how effectively teachers develop reading at key stage 1. Current pupils make good progress in reading across key stage 2. This is as a result of the school’s focus on providing a consistent approach and clear teaching strategies which enable pupils to develop effective reading comprehension skills. Teachers ensure that pupils are taught how to ‘read beyond the text’ in order to make inferences. The most able pupils read fluently and with expression. Lowerability pupils use their knowledge of phonics when needed to help them break down words. Pupils enjoy reading and have a variety of interesting books in school. They enjoy listening to their teacher read to them. In key stage 1, teachers challenge the most able pupils to develop their reading skills and they rise well to this challenge. Consequently, the most able pupils are making strong progress towards reaching the higher standards in reading by the end of Year 2. While progress is good for the most able readers, teachers do not give other pupils in key stage 1 sufficient opportunities to develop their skills of reading for understanding. Teachers do not build quickly enough on pupils’ strong phonics skills and knowledge in order for them to gain a good understanding of what they are reading. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: outcomes in writing continue to improve by ensuring that pupils’ good understanding of grammar, punctuation and spelling is reflected consistently in their writing in key stage 2 all pupils in key stage 1 develop good comprehension skills that build on their strong understanding of phonics. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Carlisle, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Cumbria. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Tanya Hughes Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During this short inspection, I met with you, teachers and governors. I spoke with a representative from the local authority and from the diocese. You and I visited classes to observe learning and looked at work in pupils’ books. I met with pupils throughout the day and spoke with four parents in the playground before school. I considered the 15 responses and the 15 free-text comments made by parents to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View. I also considered the eight responses to the staff questionnaire and the 16 responses to the pupil questionnaire. I heard several pupils read and observed pupils in the playground and in the dining hall. I conducted a detailed review of safeguarding, including checking on the school’s policies, procedures and record-keeping. I talked with you, other staff and governors about how the school ensures that children are kept safe. I also considered a range of other documentation, including school improvement planning and information about pupils’ progress and attainment.