‘Happy and safe’ Kirkby Malzeard school rated ‘good’ by Ofsted

Kirkby Malzeard Church of England Primary School has retained its ‘good’ rating in an Ofsted report published this week.

Inspectors visited the 90-pupil school, which is between Ripon, Masham and Pateley Bridge, on September 26 for only its second assessment in a decade.

As with the previous one in 2018, the school was judged to be ‘good’.

The report said:

“Pupils love coming to school. Pupils are happy and safe in this nurturing environment. The school’s values of kindness, patience, love and peace thread through every aspect of school life.

“Excellent relationships develop between staff, pupils and families. Many pupils move into the area from other schools. They settle in well and make new friends quickly. Staff listen well to pupils and value their ideas.”

Bullying was described as “rare”, safeguarding was assessed to be “effective” and the school was described as “calm”.

The buddy system, where older pupils mentor younger pupils, was praised for being a good way for pupils to “get to know each other really well”.

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Governors were praised for supporting and challenging senior leaders well.

Inspectors said the “well designed and ambitious” curriculum “deepens pupils’ thinking about culture and life beyond Kirkby Malzeard”, adding:

“For example, pupils learn about the reasons why people migrate. They study the Industrial Revolution and the Windrush generation.”

Some areas in need of improvement at the school, which is federated with St Nicholas Church of England Primary School in West Tanfield, were highlighted.

“There is a lack of consistency in the way in which members of staff check pupils’ knowledge systematically, identify misconceptions and provide direct feedback. This means that some pupils are not given a direct steer to make their learning better.

“The school should ensure that all staff are trained to assess pupils’ knowledge and give them timely feedback.”

‘Hugely positive feedback’

Head teacher Sarah Taylor (pictured above) said the school was proud of the “hugely positive feedback” in the report.

Ms Taylor added:

“The report identified how much our pupils love coming to school and praised the behaviour of pupils who they say live up to the high expectations of behaviour set by staff and treat one another with high levels of respect.

“Inspectors also commented on the calmness within school and the ‘working hum’ as pupils focus on the learning in our ambitious curriculum.

“We are delighted that they recognised the hard work of the staff to provide such a positive environment for our pupils.”