Attleborough Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Attleborough Primary is a welcoming, happy and inclusive community. Pupils are respectful of different groups of people. One pupil, summing up the views of many, said, 'We are all different.

It is good to be different.'

Pupils behave well in lessons and play happily together at breaktimes. Pupils say bullying is not an issue, and they know several adults they can talk to if they have any worries.

Positive relationships between staff and pupils are a strength of the school. Pupils know that staff care for them and appreciate how they are looked after. Pupils say they enjoy school, feel safe and are happy.

Pupils like the recently restarted extra-curr...icular opportunities on offer, such as fencing, multi-skills and baking. They particularly enjoy taking part in the daily mile. All pupils are part of the school council.

They appreciate this opportunity to have their say and make changes to the school, such as improving the equipment available at playtimes.

Pupils enjoy their learning. However, they do not always remember the important knowledge they need to know before they move on to new content.

As a result, pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

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

Leaders have created a broad curriculum that identifies the knowledge and skills pupils must learn in all subjects. Staff use the information they gather from assessments to establish which pupils are doing well and which pupils may need extra support.

In some subjects, this is helping pupils to retain knowledge and apply it to more complex learning. For example, in mathematics, pupils use their prior knowledge of place value to develop their understanding of column addition.

In subjects other than English and mathematics, subject leaders do not monitor how well the curriculum is being delivered or how well pupils are learning.

Leaders' plans for the implementation of this monitoring have been hampered by the pandemic and staffing absence. Leaders do not always know where pupils may need help or further support.

Leaders have identified what they want children in the early years to learn in most areas.

For example, in mathematics, children practise different ways to represent numbers. This helps to develop a good understanding of the value of different numbers. However, not all plans clearly identify what children should know.

This means that in some areas of learning, staff are not delivering the curriculum with enough focus for children to be ready for Year 1. Therefore, some children do not make the progress they should.

Leaders have recently introduced a new phonics programme.

Staff have received the training they need to teach phonics but do not deliver the new programme consistently well. As a result, not enough pupils are making a strong start in learning to read. Leaders have taken steps to address this and additional intervention groups to provide extra support are now in place to help pupils catch up.

It is too early to see the impact of this work.

Leaders foster a love of reading. Adults regularly share stories with pupils using well-chosen books.

Older pupils enjoy reading. Pupils are excited about the opportunity to use the school library again.

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), receive targeted support to meet their individual needs.

Pupils with SEND praise how the support they receive has helped them. Staff make sure all pupils, including the most vulnerable, have their social and emotional needs met.

Leaders have thought carefully about how they want to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.

They actively promote diversity. For example, in science, leaders ensure pupils learn about scientists of different genders and ethnic backgrounds. In personal, health, social and economic education, pupils learn about how to keep healthy, whether physically or emotionally.

Children in the early years have their social and emotional needs met as soon as they start. They learn about different feelings and how to express them.

The leadership team have worked effectively to create a positive, nurturing community at the school.

Staff feel well supported, including those at the early stages of their careers.

Governors are supportive of leaders and the school community. Governors' work in recent months has focused on the recently formed federation and safeguarding.

Although governors discuss curriculum development, they are too accepting of leaders' information without seeking further assurances or asking further probing questions. As a result, they do not know enough about the quality of education the school provides for pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a positive culture of safeguarding in the school. Leaders and staff are vigilant in identifying pupils who need early help. Staff have received effective training on safeguarding.

There are robust systems to check pupils are getting the help they need quickly. Leaders work effectively with social care colleagues and the education welfare officer.

Leaders ensure that the curriculum teaches pupils about online safety and healthy relationships effectively.

This ensures pupils can identify and share concerns they have about themselves or others.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In the early years, leaders have not clearly identified what pupils need to know in all subject areas. Staff are not delivering the whole curriculum effectively to give pupils all the knowledge and skills they need for Year 1.

Leaders need to ensure all curriculum planning begins in the early years. ? Phonics is not consistently well taught across the school. Some staff lack confidence in how to deliver this curriculum, and this impacts negatively on the day-to-day teaching of phonics.

Intervention to identify and support effectively pupils who have fallen behind has only recently been established. This means not enough pupils are secure in their phonics knowledge. Leaders need to ensure that phonics is taught consistently by all staff, so pupils secure the phonics knowledge they need to become confident readers.

• Most subject leaders have not had the opportunity to check curriculum plans are being well delivered across the school. As a result, these subject leaders are unclear about how pupils are faring in their curriculum areas and what needs to improve. Leaders need to ensure that monitoring by subject leaders is embedded and that leaders are able to identify how pupils are progressing in the curriculum, including where pupils may need additional support.

• Governors do not robustly check the quality of education. They rely too much on information provided by leaders, without providing challenge to school leaders about how pupils are faring in the curriculum. Governors need to routinely check how well pupils learn across the full range of subjects with the same high level of scrutiny that they provide to other areas of their work.

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