Spittal Community Primary School

Overview

Spittal Community School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection. Pupils are described as happy, safe, and proud to be part of this caring village school, where strong relationships exist between families and staff. The school continues to provide a high-quality education with exemplary behaviour and a strong focus on pupil well-being.

Strengths

• Pupils display "exemplary" behaviour, showing "positive attitudes towards their learning" and treating others with kindness and respect.
• Reading is central to the curriculum; phonics are taught well, and pupils become "confident, fluent readers" through closely matched books and regular progress checks.
• The mathematics curriculum is "well sequenced," allowing pupils to build knowledge effectively, with teachers using "expert subject knowledge" to address misconceptions.
• Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is strong, with staff identifying needs without delay and providing "well targeted support."
• Leaders prioritise personal development, offering a wide range of clubs, visits, and opportunities to develop tolerance and respect for different cultures.

Areas to improve

• In some subjects, the important content pupils need to learn is not clear enough, meaning lesson activities do not consistently match intended learning and pupils’ learning is not as secure as it could be.
• There are inconsistencies in early years provision, where some activities and the learning environment do not sufficiently support children to practise learning or develop new skills securely.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.