Kirkbride Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 7 March 2023

Pupils enjoy attending this school. Their behaviour is exemplary. Leaders have high expectations for how pupils treat each other. Pupils are kind and caring. They are respectful and polite to each other and to staff. Leaders manage the rare incidents of bullying well. Pupils have confidence that they will be listened to by adults. This helps them to feel happy and safe. Pupils understand the six school values of trust, friendship, honesty, ambition, respect and kindness. They value the opportunities to demonstrate how they fulfil each value in their everyday lives and through the school celebration assemblies. Staff have high expectations of pupils' achievement. Recent improvements to the curriculum show that pupils are learning more than they did in the past. They know and remember more of what they have been taught. Pupils thoroughly enjoy the wide range of trips and visits that they experience. These have been carefully organised by leaders to ensure that pupils find out about the world beyond their small rural village. This includes residential trips to London, taking part in a singing event in Manchester and visits to a range of religious buildings. Pupils appreciate the variety of clubs that are on offer. This includes a range of sports clubs, a cookery club and a singing group.

What the school should improve

• The implementation of the curriculum is further ahead in some subjects than in others. This mean that pupils' progress through the curriculum is not as secure in a few areas. Leaders have not checked how well the curriculum is delivered in these areas to make sure that teachers receive the support that they may need with the new approaches. Leaders should ensure that they gain a stronger oversight of how the curriculum is being delivered so that they can be assured that pupils know and remember more across different subjects.
• Early years staff have not provided a full breadth of activities in the outdoor area. These opportunities do not link to the curriculum as well as the indoor provision. This means that children are not able to deepen their learning when accessing this provision. Leaders should ensure that developments are made in the outdoor area for the early years curriculum so that children can consolidate their learning.
• Governors are in the early stages of building their expertise and knowledge. This means that they are not fully equipped to hold leaders to account. Governors should ensure that they develop the skills that they need to gain a greater insight into the quality of education that pupils receive.

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