Ashby-de-la-Zouch Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Ashby-de-la-Zouch Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Ashby-de-la-Zouch Primary is a joyful and inclusive school.

Pupils are happy and feel safe. Behaviour is a real strength of the school. Pupils show high levels of engagement in lessons and talk positively about their learning.

High expectations are upheld consistently by all staff. Pupils know that the school's mission is to help them to be 'ACE', which involves: achieving potential; challenging creative minds; and encouraging and nurturing talents.

Pupils' differences are celebrated.

Relationships between staff and pupils are strong. A...s a result, pupils develop a deep sense of belonging.

Pupils are well-mannered and interact with each other respectfully.

The school's Christian values are lived out by both staff and pupils. Effective support is in place for pupils who struggle to manage their emotions and behaviour.

Pupils access a range of additional learning experiences.

These include a wide range of trips, clubs and the opportunity to take on different areas of responsibility. Pupils are proud of these roles. One pupil said, 'My main job is to try to make the school a better place.'



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

The school's curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or those who are disadvantaged. Pupils achieve well and talk about their achievements with pride.

The mathematics curriculum is well sequenced and resourced.

Lessons provide pupils with the opportunity to develop their fluency, reasoning and problem-solving skills. Each lesson includes regular opportunities to recap previous learning. This helps pupils to know and remember more of their learning in this subject.

Pupils connect their learning and deepen their thinking. One pupil said, 'The reflect section of our lesson is where we put all of the bits of learning from the lesson together and think about it in a different way.'

The curriculum in the foundation subjects identifies the important knowledge that pupils should learn and how their knowledge should build over time.

Some subject areas are more developed than others. In a small number of subjects, the curriculum is new. The systems to check pupils' understanding are not yet in place.

In these subjects, pupils do not consistently recall their learning.

The school identifies pupils' needs accurately and supports pupils with SEND effectively. There are a range of suitable resources in place to ensure that pupils with SEND access the full curriculum.

Pupils with SEND achieve well.

Children get off to a strong start in the Reception Year. Staff have high expectations.

There are clear systems and routines in place, and children consistently follow these. The provision is well resourced both indoors and outdoors and relationships between adults and children are warm and nurturing. Children interact happily in all areas of the provision.

They learn about healthy lifestyles. One child said, 'If you only eat sweeties my teeth could fall out… I need to be brushing my teeth!' Children are well prepared for the next stage in their education.

There is a strong reading culture.

The school regards reading as the gateway to the rest of the curriculum. Pupils enjoy reading. Staff are well trained in teaching phonics and early reading.

The reading books that pupils take home are well matched to the sounds that they learn in their phonics sessions. This supports pupils to develop their decoding skills. Extra support is in place for pupils who require it.

The reading curriculum beyond phonics supports pupils to develop their vocabulary and comprehension skills further.

Pupils are prepared well for life in modern Britain. They have an age-appropriate understanding of different types of families and relationships.

They understand the fundamental British values and can relate them to their own lives. One pupil said: 'We vote for everything. The children get a right to have a voice in everything we do.'

Another pupil said, 'Tolerance is where you let people with other beliefs or skin colour or gender live around you and you are accepting of that.' Pupils know about different world faiths.

Staff, including early career teachers, feel well supported with regard to workload.

They say leaders are approachable and visible. Staff appreciate the consideration taken towards their well-being. They access a wide range of training opportunities.

Staff say they are proud to work at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The revised curriculum sets out the key knowledge and skills pupils should acquire.

For a small number of foundation subjects, the school does not yet have a clear picture of the full impact of these subjects' curriculums on pupils' learning. The school should ensure that the curriculum supports pupils' ability to know and remember more over time, year on year, across all subjects.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in June 2014.