Crowcombe CofE VA Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Leaders and governors are committed to the continual improvement of the school. They evaluate their work carefully and have successfully tackled many of the recommendations from the previous inspection. However, some improvements need more time to become fully embedded.

Pupils are a credit to the school. They are polite, friendly and behave well. Pupils are keen to learn and listen respectfully to others' views.

Pupils feel safe at school and say that adults look after them well. The teaching of early reading and phonics is highly effective. Teachers use assessment effectively to ensure that children's and pupils' work is well-matched to ...their needs.

Consequently, pupils make good progress in securing their early reading skills. Effective teaching ensures that most pupils make good progress in a range of subjects over time. However, on occasions, teachers do not use assessment precisely enough to adjust their teaching to match pupils' needs closely.

Any relative weaknesses in teaching and pupils' progress are being remedied as a result of recent training and support. However, a minority of pupils are not challenged sufficiently well. Leaders have ensured that the school's curriculum provides pupils with a breadth of knowledge in different subjects.

The teaching of mathematics is effective. Pupils are becoming more fluent in mathematics and increasingly apply the skills they have learned to reason and solve problems well. Leaders' strategies to improve the teaching of spelling, punctuation and grammar are having a positive impact.

Pupils now use interesting vocabulary to good effect. However, some pupils are not provided with sufficient opportunities to apply their writing skills. As a result, a minority of pupils do not write with the complexity expected for their age.

Leaders make effective use of additional funding. As a result, disadvantaged pupils make good progress and achieve well. The progress of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is improving.

Leaders and teachers provide strong care and support. Pupils thrive in their social and emotional development.

Information about this school

The school is much smaller than the average-sized school.

It is federated with Stogumber Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School. There is one executive headteacher and one governing body. Subject leadership is shared across both schools.

Reception and key stage 1 pupils from both schools are taught in two mixed-age classes at Stogumber Primary School. Key stage 2 pupils from both schools are taught in two mixed-age classes at Crowcombe Primary School. Two inspectors carried out inspections of each school simultaneously.

There is a Nursery, which is managed by the governing body. No children are registered at Crowcombe Primary School. Nursery children are registered at Stogumber Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School.

The Nursery is currently based at Crowcombe Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School. There are fewer than five Reception-aged children registered at Crowcombe Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School. The majority of pupils are of White British origin.

The proportion of pupils eligible for pupil premium is well below the national average. Very few pupils speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils who receive support for special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average.

No pupils have an education, health and care plan. A breakfast club and an after-school club are held at Crowcombe Primary School and attended by pupils from both schools in the federation. A minibus is used to transport pupils to and from each school.