Cliff Lane Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at this school are happy. They know that they have good relationships with adults, who they can go to if they need help.

Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They are ready and keen to learn. The school supports pupils to achieve the high expectations that it has of them.

Pupils are accepting of everyone's differences. This encapsulates the warm and nurturing environment within the school. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe and look after their mental health.

The range of well-being exercises they engage in give them strategies to do this.

Pupils have several leadership opportunities open to them. These include being junio...r road safety officers, members of the school learning council, members of the young planetarians team (eco-team) and librarians.

The trust runs a pupil parliament across the schools within the trust. This involves pupils visiting each other's schools and contributing to development in the schools.

Pupils have a range of trips, visitors, and clubs available to them, which starts in the early years.

These experiences help the pupils to broaden their knowledge and enhance their learning.

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

The school has developed at pace. The school's motto, 'do it right, do it well, do it!', highlights the high aspirations that the school has of every pupil.

The school has developed the curriculum to be ambitious, broad and well supported by additional opportunities.

The curriculum in many subjects is planned thoughtfully to ensure that pupils' learning builds over time. In most areas of the curriculum, pupils remember their learning well.

This is because teachers revisit topics and check closely what pupils know and can do. In a few subjects, however, this does not happen. Consequently, pupils are not as secure in their knowledge and understanding of some key content.

The school is highly inclusive. Staff have a thorough understanding of the differing needs of pupils. They address barriers to education so that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well.

Pupils' needs are identified and assessed carefully to ensure that they get the provision needed. The school works well with external agencies and is persistent in getting the right support for pupils. Staff are well trained and support the learning of pupils with SEND effectively.

Reading is a priority at the school, starting in the early years. Staff expertly deliver the school's chosen phonics programme. They check carefully that pupils know their sounds before they move on.

Pupils experience success when they learn to read, as staff match books to the sounds pupils know. Pupils enjoy sharing books with their 'reading buddies' and adults. Pupils enjoy choosing a variety of rich texts from the well-resourced library to complete their reading challenges.

This helps to develop a love of reading.

Children in the early years have well-established routines. Staff question children, and the children take turns to answer the questions.

Rhymes and songs are used well across the curriculum to enhance learning. Children engage well with adults and are well prepared for learning in Year 1.

The school has clear expectations for pupils' behaviour, which pupils know and respond to positively.

Staff have received training to manage behaviour appropriately and effectively. The school's work to improve pupils' attendance is having a positive impact. Staff work closely with families so that more pupils attend school regularly.

There is a sharp focus on ensuring that pupils are well equipped for living in modern Britain. This includes pupils keeping themselves safe, especially online. Older pupils have learned a song or a rhyme for every aspect of staying safe, which they enjoy sharing.

The curriculum for personal, social and health education covers wide-ranging themes. This helps pupils to develop as kind, tolerant and open-minded young people. Pupils learn how to be physically and mentally healthy and have healthy relationships.

Leaders and staff share a clear and strategic vision for the school and its pupils. Staff are passionate about their roles and responsibilities. They value the professional development opportunities they have available to them to make them even better in their roles.

Governors and the trust offer effective challenge and support, which has contributed to securing improvements as the school has evolved.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few foundation subjects, teachers do not revisit important knowledge, or check that pupils can recall the key knowledge they need to know.

This means that teachers do not always help pupils to build on prior learning effectively. Therefore, pupils do not make as much progress as they could. The school should ensure that, in all subjects, the curriculum is planned and taught to provide pupils with the opportunity to revisit key content and knowledge so they remember more over time.

Also at this postcode