Riccall Community Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 4 May 2023

Leaders have created a welcoming environment. Pupils enjoy their time at school. The relationships between pupils, their peers and adults are warm and respectful. Pupils, as well as their parents and carers, value the nurturing approach of staff. In lessons, pupils focus on their learning. They usually meet leaders' high expectations of pupils' conduct. When pupils do fall below the standard expected, adults skilfully re- engage pupils with their learning. Teachers reward pupils regularly for their efforts and achievements. Bullying is rare. Pupils understand the importance of being kind to each other. When bullying does happen, pupils have confidence in adults to resolve it effectively. Leaders provide pupils with opportunities to enrich the academic curriculum. For example, in their outdoor education lessons, pupils have made replicas of tools used by people in Stone Age Britain to reinforce their learning of history. There is a range of clubs and activities in which pupils participate. Much of the offer takes place at lunchtime to accommodate pupils' commitments outside school. The offer is varied, including activities such as chess, sports, reading, arts and the 'mini-minds' mindfulness club. These provide positive opportunities for pupils to develop their interests. The majority of pupils have experienced a residential or overnight stay. Leaders use these residential visits as one way of developing pupils' independence.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, particularly foundation subjects such as history, leaders have not broken down the most important knowledge that they want pupils to know into precise small steps. In these subjects, teachers are not as clear about what pupils are required to remember from a sequence of learning. Leaders should develop their current work on ensuring that the long-term aims of the curriculum are broken down into small steps and that these are commonly understood by teachers.
• In some aspects of their school improvement work, leaders have not identified the short- and long-term success criteria that they will use to measure the impact of their actions. This limits the ability of leaders, including governors, to hold themselves to account or to identify when a strategy is not being successful. Leaders should ensure that they clearly define how they will check whether a new initiative is having the impact they intend.

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