Appleton Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. Pupils' achievement is good and they make good progress during their time in school.

All groups achieve well, including those who are supported by additional funding such as the pupil premium, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. Teaching is good and sometimes outstanding. Relationships in lessons are good.

Pupils show high levels of enjoyment and willingly participate in all activities. Pupils' behaviour is good and makes a very positive contribution to the calm and orderly atmosphere within the school. Pupils feel safe, help each other and are confident that adults will help them sort out any problems they may ...have.

Senior leaders lead the school well and have clear priorities for further school improvement. They regularly check the quality of teaching and pupils' progress. The governing body is supportive and knows the school well.

It is not yet an outstanding school because : Although teaching is consistently good, not enough is outstanding. In some lessons work does not present enough of a challenge for pupils as teachers' expectations of what can be achieved are not high enough. Teachers mark pupils' work regularly.

However, the school marking policy is not followed rigorously by all teachers. As a result, ways to improve work are not always clear and untidy presentation not addressed. Not all teachers take advantage of pupils' good behaviour and positive attitudes to learning to try out new, exciting and innovative ideas.

Not all pupils have easy access to mathematical equipment to help them in their learning.

Information about this school

Appleton is larger than the average-sized primary school. The very large majority of pupils are of White British heritage.

The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is above the national average. (The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, children from service families and those children that are looked after by the local authority.) The proportion of pupils supported at school action is below average.

The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also below average. The school meets the current floor standards which set the government's minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in English and mathematics. A new Early Years Foundation Stage unit is under construction.