Corvedale CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a calm and happy school, that pupils are proud of.

Pupils say that the school is 'like a family'. The staff know the pupils and their families really well and they establish warm and nurturing relationships. A typical parental comment was, 'This is a lovely school with a family atmosphere and a strong sense of happiness and well-being.'



Pupils know that they can share any worries with trusted adults and that they will help to keep them safe. Pupils are taught to keep safe online and in the local community. Pupils are proud to be part of their house groups.

They love the house activity days, where they work alongside pupils from other year g...roups and learn skills such as den building, British sign language and knot tying.

The school has high expectations of pupils. The curriculum is ambitious and has been carefully considered to take account of mixed-age classes.

Pupils learn in depth about their local environment and its history. This helps them to develop a strong sense of citizenship.

Children in early years settle quickly.

They are polite, well-mannered and follow routines. They are taught to be independent and resilient learners.

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

The school has developed a high-quality curriculum.

Leaders work continuously to ensure that pupils learn important knowledge and skills in a sequential way in the mixed-age classes. Subject leaders have developed effective systems to check if pupils remember their learning. In subjects such as history and mathematics, staff use retrieval quizzes and activities to check that pupils remember key learning.

While staff say this has had a positive impact on pupils' learning, subject leaders have not fully evaluated the impact of their curriculum areas on the quality of pupils' outcomes.

The school's approach to reading is thorough. Stories, poems and nursery rhymes are carefully mapped out starting in Nursery through to Year 6.

Learning centres around well-chosen stories. For example, in early years, children learn about plants and growing. Children in Nursery have planned activities based on 'The Enormous Turnip', while in Reception learning is based on 'Jack and the Beanstalk'.

The phonics curriculum begins as soon as children start in Reception. Staff are skilled and this helps them to identify any errors and misconceptions as they arise. Pupils with gaps in knowledge are well supported to catch up with their peers.

This ensures that pupils become proficient readers.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are quicky identified. All staff know the pupils well and ensure that adaptations are in place to support learning.

This helps most pupils with SEND to learn well. However, at times, the teaching and resources are not adapted as well as they could be, and therefore a few pupils do not always learn as well as they could.

Children flourish in the early years.

The school has identified precisely what children will learn and in what order, starting with the provision for two-year-olds. Skilled staff support children to develop their vocabulary and, as a result, children talk confidently about their learning.

Behaviour in school is calm.

Pupils know the school rules of 'Be ready, be respectful and be safe'. Most pupils behave well and have positive attitudes to learning. Any low-level disruption is dealt with swiftly and calmly so that it does not negatively impact learning.

Pupils are respectful and embrace differences. Pupils say that bullying is not tolerated. The school prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.

Pupils understand fundamental British values and how they align to the school values. One pupil said, 'They are just a guide about how to live.' Pupils learn about cultures and beliefs different to their own.

There is an extensive extra-curricular programme in place. There is a wide variety of opportunities for pupils to develop their skills and talents. These include multi-sports, netball, cross-country, chess, football, indoor rowing, gardening club and wildlife watch.

In addition to this, all pupils represent the school in different sporting events and competitions, including at inclusive sports festivals.

Governors understand their roles. They ensure they challenge school leaders to maintain an accurate and up-to-date view of the school.

They are conscious of the workload and well-being of staff. Staff feel listened to and are proud to work at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Pupils are safe in school and know to tell an adult if they are worried or concerned. However, there are some minor issues with some safeguarding records. Staff do not always use the most up-to-date forms to record safeguarding concerns.

At times, the follow-up actions leaders have taken are not always logged. While this does not put pupils at risk of harm, it does mean that the safeguarding records are not sufficiently detailed enough.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There are some minor issues with some safeguarding records.

A small number of records are not clear about the follow-up actions leaders have taken after a concern is raised. While this does not put pupils at risk of harm, it does make it harder to follow up on any actions. The school should ensure that all safeguarding records are logged in a detailed and consistent way and that follow-up actions are made clear.

• For some pupils with SEND, the teaching and resources used do not consistently support them to learn effectively enough. This means that some pupils with SEND do not make as much progress as they could. The school should continue to ensure that teaching and resources are well considered and adapted to meet the needs of all pupils with SEND.

• While the school's curriculum is ambitious, the impact of recent changes has not yet been fully monitored. This means that leaders do not have a clear understanding of the impact of their work on pupils' outcomes in their subjects. Leaders should ensure that all subject leaders are given the opportunity to monitor the impact of recent changes to check how well pupils learn the intended curriculum.