Churchdown Parton Manor Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Everyone is welcome and everyone matters in this school. Each pupil is valued for who they are and what they bring to the school family.

Every adult involved in the school has one aim: to provide the very best education and experience for every individual pupil.

The level of pastoral care is exceptional. All staff go out of their way to make pupils feel safe, happy and able to learn. By following the school's code of 'GEM powers', pupils learn to be kind, resilient and independent.

Pupils thrive in this environment. They behave well and work hard. As a result, their achievement is strong.

They learn the school's ambitious curriculum well.

Th...e school serves pupils with a very wide range of needs. Within the school community, there is a significant number of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Some of these pupils require highly specialised provision. The school goes to great lengths to provide the facilities and expert teaching that these pupils need. This helps pupils of all abilities to participate in school fully.

For these pupils, progress comes in very small steps. The school achieves its aim for them. There is much to celebrate about how well these pupils succeed.

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

The curriculum is mapped out in detail from pre-school to the end of Year 2. The curriculum includes the very small steps of progress that pupils in the Orchard and Acorn rooms need to make. Therefore, all pupils follow the same ambitious curriculum, even though some are at a very early stage of learning it.

This makes the quality of education highly inclusive.

Reading sits at the heart of the curriculum. This reflects the school's determination that every pupil will learn to read.

This includes pupils with high levels of SEND. As soon as children start school in Pre-school or Reception, they begin to learn about phonics. During Year 1, pupils learn to read and write words correctly.

By the end of Year 2, pupils learn to read independently. The very complex SEND needs of some pupils make them unable to undergo formal testing at the end of Year 1 or Year 2. This affects the school's published outcomes for phonics.

In pre-school, children experience an exceptional start to school life. This continues as others join them in the Reception Year. They develop the early skills that are crucial to success as they move through into Year 1.

This happens because teachers continuously assess each child and identify the next steps they need to take. Children learn the curriculum through a carefully designed balance of direct teaching, playing and exploring. Through these activities, children develop curiosity and learn to think creatively.

Teaching in Years 1 and 2 builds securely on these foundations. Teachers make clear what pupils need to learn in each lesson and how they can be successful. Teachers adapt lessons skilfully, where needed, so that pupils keep up.

In particular, the adaptations made for pupils with SEND meet their needs very well.

Teachers assess pupils' factual knowledge to identify who is on track and who needs extra help. For example, they check which phonics or number facts pupils know.

Teachers also check how well pupils have learned knowledge in subjects, such as history, geography or science. However, in these subjects there is more to learn beyond facts and figures. Pupils also need to learn how to think like a historian or act like a geographer or scientist, for example.

Teachers do not assess whether pupils are developing these skills. Early work is being done to change this, but it is too soon to have made a difference.

The school promotes pupils' personal development exceptionally well.

Children in the early years learn to understand and manage emotions. They learn to share, take turns and cooperate. From this strong start, pupils learn respect, perseverance, patience and fairness.

Pupils in Year 2 give convincing examples of tolerance and democracy. For example, they showed an inspector the ballot box used to elect the school council. They explained confidently that the same process results in the choice of Prime Minister.

A knowledgeable and hardworking governing body oversees the work of the school. Governors commit to doing whatever is necessary to overcome barriers to any pupil's learning. They have invested significantly in provision for pupils with SEND and wish to do more.

Leaders' decisions are always made with pupils' best interests at heart.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, teacher's checks do not focus well enough on whether pupils are developing the skills they need.

This means, for example, that teachers do not know if pupils are learning to think scientifically or like an historian or geographer. This can stop pupils from achieving highly across the whole curriculum. The school must ensure that assessment helps teachers to check pupils' learning of both knowledge and skills securely across all subjects.