Holy Island Church of England Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 21 November 2023

Both Lowick and Holy Island first schools live out their vision of 'journeying together'. Both schools work together to provide pupils with the education and experiences that they need to be successful. Journeying together also means that all members of the community are accepted and celebrated. There are no limits to what pupils can achieve in their personal development. The schools use their relationship with each other and the local area incredibly well. There is a remarkable sense of care and community throughout both schools. Pupils are polite and kind to each other. Older pupils sit with younger ones at snack time and talk to them to develop their vocabulary. Pupils respect each other and welcome new starters with warmth and understanding. Parents and carers know how well their pupils thrive in the family atmosphere that the schools have created. Pupils benefit from the schools' rich curriculum. All staff are ambitious for what pupils can do. Pupils have detailed knowledge across a range of subjects and can talk about what they know. This is helped by the highly intelligent and detailed wider offer in the schools. Visitors and trips enhance what pupils know by providing them with examples and real-life experiences of what they have learned about.

What the school should improve

• Some of the resources in the early years environment are not as precisely matched to the curriculum as they need to be. Some younger children are not as purposeful in their independent learning as they need to be. The school should ensure that resources in the early years are matched clearly to learning intentions and that children use them meaningfully to practise important skills.
• Very occasionally, staff do not use clear methods to show pupils how to do tasks in English or mathematics. Some pupils are not building up automaticity in some tasks, such as blending words in phonics or calculating in mathematics. The schools should ensure that staff consistently use appropriate and high-quality pedagogical techniques relevant to each subject.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)