Spittal V.C.P. School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Spittal Voluntary Controlled Primary School is a caring school, which encourages pupils to be happy and enjoy school, whilst learning in a warm and inclusive environment.

Pupils participate enthusiastically in school life and engage willingly in lessons, demonstrating an eagerness to learn and succeed. This is due to the purposeful working relationships that exist with their teachers and other staff. Where learning is particularly successful the teaching is engaging, vibrant, promotes positivity and staff have high expectations of pupils.

However, the quality of teaching is inconsistent, and the impact of assessment practices and the use of numeracy skills varies between classes. Staff provide strong support, care and guid...ance for pupils in all aspects of school life. This encourages pupils to focus well on their individual learning and well-being.

Pupils' behaviour is exemplary. They are motivated to develop a good range of skills and positive attitudes to learning. As a result, they develop purposeful literacy, digital and creative skills, and their Welsh oracy skills are satisfactory.

Staff use areas of the extensive school grounds and their local area effectively to promote a bespoke curriculum purposefully. However, the provision of learning experiences in the outdoors for younger pupils is underdeveloped. The headteacher leads the school with the pupils' care and well-being at the heart of her vision.

The senior teacher, the current staff and the governors share her nurturing philosophy. Leaders evaluate the school's work thoroughly, using well-planned self-evaluation processes, which lead to effective development plans. Arrangements to distribute leadership roles and responsibilities are not as well-structured, which hampers the pace of school improvement.

The school's monitoring practices lead to relevant training opportunities for staff to develop their skills through agreed and purposeful professional learning courses. Recommendations R1 Address the site safety issue, identified at the time of inspection R2 Delegate leadership roles and responsibilities effectively to support the pace of school improvement R3 Ensure that the quality of teaching and assessment practices are effective and consistent across the school R4 Improve the resources and provision of learning experiences in the outdoors for younger pupils What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to show how it is going to address the recommendations. Estyn will work with the local authority to review the school's progress.