Barwick and Stoford Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at this friendly and welcoming school. Strong and respectful relationships exist between pupils and staff.

One pupil summed this up by saying, 'school is like my second family'. Pupils trust staff. They are confident that staff will deal with any difficulties they have, including bullying.

Parents say that their children feel safe at school.

Leaders have high expectations of pupils. However, these are not reflected in pupils' day-to-day experiences.

Leaders have not made sure that there are policies and practices throughout the school that support pupils to learn well. Some areas of the curriculum are not well developed. This means t...hat pupils, including those in the early years, do not gain the important skills and knowledge that they need.

Nonetheless, pupils enjoy learning. They are polite and listen to instructions. Pupils look after each other, including older pupils acting as role models for younger pupils at lunchtimes.

Pupils are accepting of those who are different to them. They enjoy taking on responsibilities, such as being part of the eco-club. Pupils appreciate the extra-curricular clubs that staff provide, such as cricket, multi-sports, choir, cooking and football.

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

The school has been through a turbulent time. Governors acted swiftly to secure the school's leadership. They responded sensitively to support the well-being of the whole community.

However, leaders have not made improvements with enough urgency. They do not know the school's strengths and weaknesses well enough. Leaders' plans for improvement lack precision.

They have not put in place important systems and procedures to improve the quality of education. They have not addressed weaknesses with enough rigour.

Leaders have created an overview of the curriculum.

However, in many subjects, they have not thought clearly about the knowledge they want pupils to learn. Teachers do not help pupils to link their learning to what they already know. Pupils can talk about their most-recent learning, but they struggle to remember what they have learned in the past.

In many subjects, leaders do not have systems in place to check how well pupils are learning. They have not thought how the curriculum builds on what pupils learn in the early years. As a result, pupils have gaps in their knowledge.

Staff are attentive to the needs of children in the early years. They treat pupils kindly. However, the environment and resources in the early years do not always help children to learn well.

As a result, pupils are not well-prepared for the next stage of their education.

Leaders make sure that all pupils can take part in all aspects of school life. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Leaders identify pupils' needs quickly. They plan support for pupils in imaginative and thoughtful ways. Pupils with complex needs are well supported by trained adults.

The teaching of early reading is well-organised. Staff skilfully teach the phonics programme. They check pupils' understanding carefully.

Pupils learn phonics from the start of their time in school. They proudly use their phonic knowledge to read books for themselves. Children read books that match the sounds they know.

This helps them to grow in confidence and fluency. Older pupils know why reading is important. They enjoy the books that their teachers read to them.

Teachers give pupils clear guidance about the books they can read for themselves. Throughout the school, pupils who need it are given extra support with their reading.

Pupils behave well.

They are respectful and show positive attitudes to their learning. However, the number of pupils who are persistently absent from school is too high. Recently, leaders have been addressing this more directly.

Their actions have not yet had enough impact to improve pupils' attendance.

Leaders organise a range of activities to support pupils' personal development. Pupils learn about staying healthy and relating well to others.

However, pupils do not have secure knowledge about important content, such as fundamental British values or cultures different to their own. They find it difficult to remember their learning over time.

Staff are proud to work at the school.

Leaders have built positive relationships across the school community. Parents consider leaders to be open and approachable. At the start of the year, leaders brought the whole school community together to develop a new set of school values.

Staff say that this helped to bring the team together. They appreciate the support that leaders, including governors, give them to fulfil their roles.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders understand the risks to pupils within the local community. They provide training that helps staff to identify any concerns. Staff know how to report concerns to leaders.

Leaders take swift and appropriate action. Leaders meet regularly to monitor the impact of their actions.

Pupils learn how to stay safe, including online, through the curriculum.

Governors carefully oversee the safeguarding systems in the school. They make sure that the appropriate checks are carried out on all the adults who work in the school.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have not tackled the weaknesses in the school with enough urgency and rigour.

This includes attendance. Their actions have not had the necessary impact on the quality of education that pupils receive. Leaders must make sure that they have clear plans for improvement.

They must also hold staff to account for the realisation of these plans. ? In many subjects, leaders have not identified the important knowledge that pupils need to know and remember. Teachers do not help pupils to remember key knowledge.

Pupils have significant gaps in their understanding. They are not well- prepared for their future learning. Leaders must identify the important knowledge that pupils need to know and remember, from the early years onwards.

They must support teachers to help pupils know and remember this knowledge. ? Leaders have not established a clear and ambitious vision for children in the early years. They have not made sure that it is realised through strong, shared values, policies and practices.

This means that practice in the early years does not meet the needs of children. It does not prepare them well for their future learning. Leaders must establish a clear and ambitious vision for the early years and ensure that it is reflected in children's day-to-day experiences.