Crowan Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The quality of education that pupils receive is inadequate. Pupils are not taught a coherent and well-planned curriculum to prepare them for the next stage of their learning. This includes those children in the early years foundation stage (EYFS).

Pupils, particularly those who find reading hard or those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do not receive the right support they need to help them overcome their difficulties. This means too many pupils struggle with the most fundamental aspects of learning, including how to read well.

Pupils like attending Crowan Primary School.

This is a warm and friendly school where pupils enjoy positiv...e relationships with each other, as well as with the adults who work alongside them. Pupils say that bullying is rare. If it happens, staff are usually quick to deal with it in a sensitive and appropriate manner.

The atmosphere is mostly calm and orderly, so pupils can go about their day in a safe and purposeful manner. However, there are times when teachers do not expect enough of pupils. As a result, pupils produce work which is not good enough in some subjects.

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

Senior leaders and governors have not taken the right actions to identify key weaknesses at the school or resolve these well enough. Leaders' checks of the quality of education, particularly in relation to pupils with SEND and other vulnerable pupils, lack rigour and focus. This has contributed, along with weak external challenge, to inaccurate self-evaluation which is overly positive.

As a result, leaders have become complacent. They have failed to spot deficiencies in the curriculum. This includes in the early reading and phonics programme and the provision for most pupils with SEND, which continue to be a barrier to learning for pupils.

Middle and senior leaders are misguided and ill-informed, despite being dedicated. They want the best for pupils but lack the curricular knowledge and expertise required to plan and implement a high-quality curriculum. Consequently, too many subjects are weak.

Pupils are not as well prepared for the next stage in their education as they should be, particularly those who need help to catch up.

Curriculum design and implementation are weak. Too many subjects are poorly planned and fail to set out the small steps needed for pupils to achieve well, particularly for those who have fallen behind.

Limited sequencing and long intervals between some episodes of learning mean that pupils do not remember what they have been taught previously. For example, in modern foreign languages and computing, pupils are unable to recall previous learning. There are too many gaps in their knowledge.

Teachers do not check or assess what pupils know well enough, so gaps in pupils' knowledge are not identified or addressed quickly enough.

The early reading programme, including how phonics is taught, is not fit for purpose. Leaders have not ensured that there is a high-quality programme in place to get pupils reading with confidence and fluency.

Progression of phonics is poorly planned. Teachers' assessment is weak and lacks precision. Pupils' phonics books are not matched closely enough to the sounds they are learning.

As a result, pupils do not learn to read as well as they should, particularly those who find it difficult and pupils with SEND. Too many of the weakest readers are not supported well to catch up, including in the EYFS.

The school does not have a coherent or well-planned curriculum in the EYFS.

Teachers do not have an agreed pathway to help all children get off to a strong start in the Reception Year. Too much of the children's learning is left to chance. Teachers can become overly reliant on planning learning which is based on children's discovery or following their interests.

The lack of an ambitious EYFS curriculum, with clear curricular goals across different areas of learning, means children are not assured of reaching the expectations required to be ready for key stage 1.

Leadership and management of SEND are poor. Most pupils with SEND do not have effective and high-quality personal plans in place.

Targets on individual plans lack precision. They are overly ambitious and not beneficial for the pupils. The SENCo has not checked the quality of the plans or their implementation well enough.

A few pupils with suspected or undiagnosed SEND do not have a basic plan in place. These failings adversely affect the progress and experiences of too many pupils.

Leaders ensure that they promote pupils' understanding of equality and diversity.

Pupils learn about relationships, including the importance of respecting others. They have a secure understanding of fundamental British values and know why these are important. Pupils are particularly proud of their work to support the environment, including recently planting trees for conservation.

However, some pupils have difficulty understanding how different religious beliefs and non-faith views have an impact on their world at both a local and global level.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders, including governors, fully understand their safeguarding responsibilities.

As a result, they ensure that safeguarding procedures, including staff training, pre-employment checks and arrangements for reporting concerns, are implemented diligently. Staff are tenacious in undertaking their safeguarding duties to keep pupils safe. They work effectively with a range of external partners, such as the police, when needed.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum is weak or poorly implemented in too many subjects. As a result, pupils do not gain the knowledge and skills to be prepared for the next stage in their learning. Leaders must design and implement an effective curriculum to ensure that pupils achieve well in all subjects.

• The early reading and phonics programme is poorly designed and implemented, including for children in the Reception Year. Consequently, pupils fail to build secure phonic knowledge to become fluent and confident readers, particularly those who have fallen behind. Leaders must implement a high-quality phonics programme to enable all pupils to read well.

• The school does not have a coherent and well-sequenced curriculum in the EYFS. This means children's learning and their experiences are too variable. Children are not prepared consistently well for the next steps in their education.

Leaders must implement a high-quality curriculum that provides a strong foundation in all areas of learning. ? Leaders, including governors, have an overly positive view of the school. Their evaluations are wide of the mark.

As a result, leaders are too complacent and have failed to identify key weaknesses. Leaders must have the right knowledge, coupled with effective systems, to accurately check the work of the school and hold others to account. ? Senior and middle leaders, including subject leaders, lack the necessary knowledge to implement an effective curriculum.

As a result, too many subjects fail to provide an acceptable quality of education. Senior leaders and governors must ensure that staff have the expertise to lead their areas of responsibility effectively. ? The leadership of SEND is weak.

This has led to poor provision and practice for many pupils with SEND and does not meet pupils' individual needs well enough. Leaders must implement effective systems with high-quality, personalised plans that help pupils to overcome identified barriers to their learning. ? Leaders and teachers do not have consistently high expectations of pupils' attitudes to learning.

Consequently, there are times when pupils do not work well or try hard enough. This reduces the quality of pupils' work and interferes with their learning. Leaders must take steps to help pupils maintain good attitudes to learning in all subjects and situations.

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