Appleton Roebuck Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love to attend this caring and inclusive school. They enjoy extremely positive relationships with adults.

Pupils know that if they have a concern, they can turn to any adult for help. Pupils are happy and safe at school. They attend well.

This school has a strong family feel where pupils genuinely care for each other. Pupils of all ages get along well, with older pupils supporting younger ones. Parents and carers comment positively about the nurturing ethos of the school.

The school has high expectations for pupils' learning and behaviour. Pupils thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. This starts in the early years where children demonstrate a...n enthusiasm for learning that grows as they move through school.

Behaviour is positive. Pupils are polite and well mannered, and they engage well with adults. Pupils behave sensibly in lessons.

They move calmly around school.

The school is a kind and tolerant place. Pupils develop an understanding and respect for those who are different from themselves.

Pupils' individuality and achievements are recognised and celebrated.

Pupils welcome the opportunities to attend a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including gardening, coding club and athletics. They are keen to take on positions of responsibility, such as junior leaders and librarians.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

In recent years, the school has reviewed its curriculum. The school has thought about what pupils learn and in what order they learn it across all subjects. There is an effective two-year cycle in place to meet the needs of pupils within mixed-age classes.

Pupils study an ambitious curriculum. They achieve well across a range of subjects. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) study the same curriculum as their peers.

Teachers carefully design lessons that help most pupils learn and remember essential knowledge. Lessons are purposeful and engaging. Teachers promote high-quality conversations in classrooms.

In mathematics, for example, pupils consider and discuss challenging problems. Right from the early years, adults develop children's speaking skills and encourage them to share their ideas.

The school's provision for some pupils with SEND does not always meet their needs well enough.

This means that some pupils find accessing the content of some lessons difficult. Leaders have begun to review this provision.

Pupils have positive attitudes towards reading in school.

They appreciate the wide selection of books that are available to choose from. Younger pupils use phonics knowledge to decode words accurately and fluently. The school quickly identifies pupils who need additional support when learning to read and ensures that these pupils access regular extra phonics sessions.

Pupils progress well in reading, becoming more confident and expressive over time.

The writing curriculum focuses on the rich texts pupils enjoy reading across school. Pupils are taught to form their letters correctly and to spell the words they can read in phonics lessons.

However, they are not routinely given sufficient opportunity to practise these skills. As a result, some pupils find more complex writing tasks, such as stories and descriptions, too difficult because they are still trying to concentrate on basic handwriting and spelling.

Children get off to a strong start in the early years.

Adults build on children's interests to support learning. Staff embrace children's curiosity to learn and question. The learning environment is exciting and engaging.

Children stay focused on their tasks. For example, they work together to gather ingredients for a potion to make Christmas even more exciting!

The school's approach to supporting pupils' personal development is a strength. It prepares pupils well for the next stage of their education.

Lessons and assemblies cover important themes and the school's values. Pupils have a secure knowledge of fundamental British values. They learn about different religions and faiths.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe in a range of situations outside of school, including when online. The school provides many opportunities for pupils to become active citizens. Pupils know they can make a difference in school, in the local community and in the wider world.

Their poster campaign to keep the local villages clean and tidy is having a positive impact.

In recent years, there have been significant changes to leadership and staffing. Leaders and those responsible for governance have taken effective action to achieve a stable position on which to build sustainable improvements.

Governors have clear oversight of the school's priorities. They ask probing questions and hold leaders to account. They are diligent and fully committed to putting pupils' interests at the centre of their decision-making.

Staff report high levels of support for their workload and well-being. Staff are wholeheartedly committed to improving opportunities for pupils across all aspects of the school's work.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Pupils do not routinely get sufficient opportunities to practise the letter formation they are taught in phonics lessons. This means that pupils do not securely progress to composing pieces of writing with confidence and accuracy. The school should ensure that early writing skills are taught effectively so that pupils build the same fluency in their writing as in their early reading.

• The school has not matched its provision for some pupils with SEND precisely to their identified needs. This means that some pupils' needs are not met fully. The school should continue to review its identification of, and provision for, pupils with SEND so that all pupils can access the curriculum to their fullest ability.