Crockenhill Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn and achieve well here.

Children in the early years get off to a strong start to their schooling. Across the school, pupils develop the positive approach to learning that the school expects from them. For example, pupils receive praise and are celebrated for their creativity or perseverance.

These values reflect the school's aspirations for every pupil to do their best. This includes those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), who benefit from well-planned support. However, the school does not coordinate some aspects of its work as effectively as it should do.

This includes the role that governors play in supporting and challe...nging the school.

Pupils describe one another as being kind, helpful and polite. They are happy in their time in school.

They interact well with staff and each other. Pupils enjoy taking part in the trips and workshops provided by the school, including overnight 'adventure' stays. The school helps pupils to be active citizens, both within the school and beyond.

Older pupils take pride in their role as 'buddies' for children in Reception Year. Pupils are encouraged to undertake charitable activities to support their chosen good causes. This helps to foster a strong sense of community.

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

The school's curriculum is well matched to what pupils need at each stage. Staff have a clear understanding of pupils' starting points. In the early years, staff are skilled at introducing new vocabulary and ideas to extend children's thinking.

Well-designed lessons and activities help all children to be ready for key stage 1. The school has designed the curriculum to extend pupils' cultural learning as well. For instance, pupils encounter classic fiction texts and the work of famous artists, such as Monet and Seurat.

This helps pupils to develop their own sense of what it means to be an artist or a writer.

Teachers model and explain new ideas effectively. This enables pupils to understand what they need to do, whether forming a new letter or creating a template for lino printing.

Most of the tasks and materials that teachers provide are in line with what the curriculum sets out for pupils. In reading, for example, the school selects books that are matched well to what pupils can read independently. In Reception Year, children revisit letters and sounds repeatedly.

As a result, they develop a secure grasp of the foundations of reading. However, at times, in some other subjects, the work that teachers set is less effective in supporting pupils' learning. Some tasks do not follow the sequence of the curriculum.

Occasionally, resources lack the detail that pupils need to complete the work fully. In these instances, pupils' understanding is less secure as a result.

The school uses effective methods to check what pupils know and can do.

Staff are alert to identifying potential learning needs. The school uses this information to adapt the curriculum successfully, including for pupils with SEND. Weaker readers receive precise support to close gaps in their knowledge of letters and sounds.

This helps them to become more confident readers. Although outcomes in the phonics screening check in 2024 were low, over time the school's support helps weaker readers to catch up well.

Pupils' good behaviour helps to create a positive climate for learning in the school.

Suspensions have reduced sharply. This is thanks to the effective work of the school to support pupils who struggle with their behaviour. Attendance has significantly improved this academic year.

The school works closely with families to support them in being in school and on time. However, the school does not draw together everything that it knows about pupils' attendance and punctuality. Although overall attendance is on an upward trend, there is not a clear strategy to address the higher rates of absence and lateness for disadvantaged pupils.

The school teaches pupils about different faiths and backgrounds. Pupils visit a variety of places of worship, including the local church and mosque. This helps pupils to understand and respect one another's beliefs.

Pupils are taught about keeping themselves safe online, and about what positive friendships and relationships look like. They are prepared well for life beyond the school gates.

Leaders at all levels are committed to achieving the best for pupils.

However, in several aspects of the school's work, including curriculum, attendance and behaviour, leaders' oversight and analysis are not as secure as they should be. This hinders the development of effective shared practice in these areas. The governing body does not have the required understanding of some aspects of its role.

It has not ensured that robust systems are in place to oversee the school's fulfilment of all its statutory responsibilities. As a result, this limits how effectively governors can hold the school to account for the quality of the education provided.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Sometimes, in some subjects, the work and resources that teachers provide are not aligned with the learning aims set out in the curriculum. This means that some pupils are not developing their knowledge in as much depth as they could. In these subjects, the school should ensure that the tasks set, and the materials that pupils use to complete these, reflect the intended learning from the curriculum.

• The school does not have a systematic approach to tracking and supporting improved attendance and punctuality for key groups of pupils. As a result, absence and lateness for some of these groups are not reducing in line with their peers. The school must ensure that there is a strategic approach to analysing and tackling the issues that underpin lower attendance and punctuality for some pupils.

• The governing body does not have a strong understanding of its role and how to make sure that the school fulfils its statutory duties. As a result, the governing body is not assuring itself that the right actions are being taken to manage resources, hold leaders to account and to ensure that the school's vision is being enacted well. The governing body must develop its knowledge of, and processes for overseeing, all areas of the school's work with the appropriate rigour.