A Barrow school is celebrating after securing praise in its latest Ofsted report.
Ormsgill Nursery and Primary School was found to be good for its quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development of pupils, leadership and management and early years provision.
The report highlighted its skilful staff for understanding the needs of pupils and having high expectations of achievement and behaviour.
The report said: “The school considers carefully how to support each pupil to overcome challenges in their lives and to thrive. Pupils achieve well and they behave sensibly.”
Inspectors said pupils were happy at the school, part of South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust, because they know that staff care about them and are genuinely interested in their ideas and views.
The report also highlighted the school’s well thought out curriculum which was taught with expertise and enthusiasm.
However, it said that in some subjects, sometimes checks on pupils’ long-term knowledge were less effective and as a result, some teaching was less successful.
The report added: “On occasion, pupils do not remember some essential information.”
And while inspectors said teachers oozed enthusiasm and knowledge about books and reading and expose pupils to a rich array of language, ideas and imaginary places, sometimes the school did not conquer gaps in pupils’ speaking skills, which affected some pupils’ oral language skills.
The report added: “The proportion of Year 6 pupils who attained the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics in 2024 was significantly below the national average.
“The school is acutely aware of the circumstances that led to this dip in outcomes. It takes swift and effective action to support individual pupils who are at risk of not succeeding in the national tests and assessments.”
Inspectors added: “There is high ambition to see all pupils flourish at the school.”
Headteacher Mick Cull said he was proud of the school’s incredible team and what had been achieved together and thanked parents and the wider community for their continued support.
He said: “This excellent outcome is no small feat in a school such as ours. It is a result of the dedication of our staff, their hard work and commitment to our pupils, not just over the past few days, but over a prolonged period of time.
“We are particularly pleased the inspectors recognised our supportive and inclusive learning environment and the very strong relationships between staff and pupils. We look forward building on this and making our school better still.”
He said staff were already working on developing pupils’ oral language skills and enhancing long-term knowledge retention.
Chair of governors Hannah Croskery said: “I’m so pleased that the report really does reflect the hard work and dedication of Mr Cull and his wonderful staff. I’m thrilled to be a small part of a community that really does have children at the heart of all that we do.”
South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust chief executive Professor Andrew Wren added: “I’m delighted to see the inspectors have specifically recognised the enthusiasm and experience of the staff and the overwhelmingly positive impact of that in the learning environment.”
