Kirkby Stephen Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 13 July 2022

Pupils, and children in the early years, enjoy attending this school. They describe the school community as being like a family that is welcoming and friendly. Pupils feel safe and are confident that they have an adult to talk to about any worries. Older pupils often take opportunities to play with children in the early years at lunch and break times. They enjoy the responsibilities teachers give them to organise parts of school life. Pupils understand leaders' high expectations of them. Pupils said that teachers' expectations of their behaviour increase as they get older. This helps pupils become more accountable and independent. Pupils and children behave well in lessons and around school. They are kind to each other and work together well on shared activities. Pupils said that bullying is rare, but if it does happen, teachers sort it out quickly. Pupils and children understand the school routines and follow them well. Pupils enjoy the 'nine standards challenge' that increases in difficulty as they move through the year groups. The challenges help pupils to master a range of wider life skills. This helps them to prepare for the next step in their learning and development.

What the school should improve

• Some pupils who find reading more difficult in key stage 2 do not always read books that match the sounds they are learning. This means that some pupils struggle to decode words and to read fluently. Leaders should ensure that struggling readers in key stage 2 read books which are closely matched to the sounds that they know.
• In a small minority of subjects, assessment strategies are not used effectively. This means that, occasionally, there are gaps in pupils' learning which are not identified by teachers. Leaders must ensure that there are effective assessment strategies in place across the curriculum, so that pupils' learning builds on what they already know.

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