Courtney Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a welcoming and inclusive school at the heart of its community.

The school's values of 'nurture, inspire and flourish' underpin all aspects of the school's work. Pupils are wonderful ambassadors for the school. They are happy and proud to attend.

Pupils understand the school's high expectations of them. They are respectful and behave well. Pupils have positive attitudes to, and succeed in, their learning.

The school provides a broad curriculum and stimulating experiences that enrich pupils' learning. For example, a museum visit deepens older pupils' understanding of life in World War II. Residential trips help pupils to learn valuable life skills such... as team-building.

Pupils have exciting opportunities to develop their talents and interests. For example, in art lessons, they can try silk printing and sculpture. All pupils can join clubs, such as dodgeball and hockey.

Pupils can also learn to play an instrument.

Pastoral support is strong. The school forges valuable and supportive partnerships with pupils and their families.

This has a positive impact on pupils' well-being. Pupils feel safe at school. They trust adults to take good care of them.

Many parents and carers praise the school. They typically comment on the family atmosphere.

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

There have been several changes to leadership and staffing since the last inspection.

The school has worked effectively with the local authority and governors to stabilise staffing and improve the curriculum. This has had a positive impact on pupils' outcomes and their well-being.

The school provides an ambitious and rich curriculum in many subjects.

The school has identified the important knowledge and vocabulary it expects pupils to learn. The curriculum is well sequenced. However, some subjects are at an earlier stage in their development so are not implemented as well as others.

The school identifies and meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) effectively. The school adapts the curriculum, and provides additional teaching and pastoral support, when necessary. As a result, all pupils are well supported to achieve their best.

In most subjects, pupils achieve well. However, in a few subjects, the school's checks on pupils' learning do not routinely pick up gaps in pupils' knowledge. As a result, in these subjects, pupils are not sufficiently well prepared for what comes next.

The school prioritises reading. Children learn to read as soon as they start school. The phonics programme is consistently delivered well.

This enables most pupils to become confident, fluent readers. Pupils use their knowledge of phonics to help them to write. For example, children in the early years use paintbrushes and glitter to practise writing the sounds they are learning.

A small number of pupils who struggle to read, including pupils with SEND, receive extra help. This is improving their accuracy.

The effective teaching of the reading curriculum helps pupils to develop wider reading skills, such as comprehension and inference.

The school provides a variety of exciting books to inspire pupils' love of reading. Pupils enjoy reading for pleasure. They are thrilled to choose additional books as a reward for regular reading.

Pupils become absorbed when adults read to them.

Staff use good subject knowledge to model and explain learning carefully. They provide opportunities for pupils to revisit and consolidate previous learning.

Pupils use their existing knowledge to help them to develop new knowledge. For example, children in the early years use their counting skills to develop mathematical vocabulary such as 'more than' and 'fewer'. Older pupils use their knowledge of place value to round numbers.

The school provides highly effective social and emotional support for pupils who have difficulty managing their emotions, including some pupils with SEND. Pupils say there is always someone to talk to if they have any worries. This helps to ease any anxiety they might feel and encourages them to recognise and manage their emotions appropriately.

Pupils follow well-established school routines and behave well. They listen carefully and contribute well during lessons. For example, children in the early years find their learning fun.

They enjoy making 'mud cakes' and creating pictures with leaves collected on an autumn walk.

The school's comprehensive curriculum supports pupils' personal development. For example, pupils learn about healthy relationships and how to be a good friend.

Pupils can take on positions of responsibility, such as lunchtime helpers and sports captains. They learn the importance of celebrating diversity. For example, pupils learn about the life and work of Martin Luther King.

Pupils gain an awareness of different cultures when they study the work of Aboriginal artists.

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 subjects, the curriculum and assessment are still being developed.

As a result, the school does not yet precisely identify how well pupils develop and retain the knowledge and skills it expects them to. This means that pupils have gaps in their learning. The school must sharpen assessment, and adapt the curriculum where necessary, to fill gaps in pupils' knowledge and help them to know and remember more.

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