Canewdon Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy being at this school and say it is fun. Most attend well and are keen to learn. Pupils get off to a good start in early years.

They settle quickly and are keen to learn. In the rest of the school, teachers do not build well enough on this strong start. Over the last two years, pupils' attainment and progress, in national tests, have been too low.

There are a wide range of opportunities for pupils to enjoy sport, art and singing. Staff arrange trips to exciting places such as the Harry Potter film studios.

Staff expect pupils to behave well at all times.

This starts as soon as pupils join Reception and continues in each age group. There i...s good behaviour at lunchtimes, when pupils are active and play well together. Pupils show respect to teachers, visitors and each other.

Pupils learn in a safe environment. Bullying is rare, but pupils know what to do if they have concerns.

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

The early years provision gives children a secure foundation for the next stage of their education.

Children achieve well across the early years curriculum. There has been effective training for the team. This results in, for example, a consistent approach to teaching phonics.

This good start is not built upon sufficiently in key stages 1 and 2. Pupils do not make progress that is good enough because teachers' expectations of pupils are not high enough. Some teachers' ambition of the curriculum for their pupils is too low.

Published outcomes for pupils' achievement have been low for two years.

Pupils study all the subjects of the national curriculum. Teachers organise these subjects around topics.

The result of this planning prevents pupils from learning more and remembering more over time. For example, science is taught as set of one-off topics rather than a clear sequence of learning scientific knowledge. In music pupils' knowledge of vocabulary is weak.

This is because pupils do not study the subject regularly enough. Sometimes teachers focus on getting the task done rather than whether learning is taking place. Furthermore, in English and mathematics, there are gaps in pupils' knowledge and understanding.

Pupils enjoy reading. The school is working to increase parents' involvement with reading. For example, parents visit Reception and learn phonics alongside their children.

There has been effective training for teaching assistants to support learning. They work well with pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Staff work hard to increase pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

The local Member of Parliament explained how democracy works when he visited the school. There are many opportunities to take part in clubs and activities for sport, art and singing. The school is enhancing links with the local church.

Pupils understand how to stay safe and healthy. Leaders have recently introduced the 'daily mile' to improve physical exercise. Leaders are exploring ways to raise pupils' aspirations further.

Leaders and governors are ambitious for their pupils. Yet, there is inconsistency in how well the curriculum is taught. This is both in the way teachers organise when they teach subjects, and the way subjects are taught.

The new leadership recognises the weaknesses and understands what teachers need to do. Leaders and governors have taken some effective action this academic year. For example, the arrangements for teaching older pupils have been changed in response to the weak public examination results.

Teachers have benefited from some training through the school's federation to improve the quality of their teaching. There has not been enough impact.Leaders have effective strategies and work hard to improve attendance.

Most pupils enjoy coming to school. In most cases of absence there are good reasons and where this is not the case leaders take robust action.New leaders have sought support from outside the federation and this has begun.

It is too soon to see the impact.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All requirements are met for pre-employment checks.

Staff are suitably trained and know what to do if they have concerns about pupils' welfare. There are appropriate systems to check that pupils are kept safe and to follow up any referrals to external agencies. There are regular checks from governors.

A representative of the local authority has been invited in to the school to make sure that leaders are doing the right things.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Teachers do not plan a curriculum that is ambitious enough for their pupils. This leads to pupils doing work that is too easy and not gaining the knowledge and skills of which they are capable.

Teachers should improve their knowledge of what pupils can already do and set work that is matched to their age and abilities. . The curriculum is not organised in a way that allows pupils to develop sufficient cumulative knowledge and understanding in different subjects.

As a result, pupils do not make enough progress across the curriculum. Leaders should improve the curriculum by planning for pupils to acquire knowledge and understanding in scientific, linguistic, artistic and humanities subjects in a systematic way.There have been some training events for teachers, for example in delivering phonics and mathematics.

It is clear that teachers have picked up useful tips from these events. However, they are one-off opportunities. The school needs to develop a more consistent approach to professional development leading to teachers having the knowledge and skills to deliver effective lessons across the curriculum.

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