Dame Tipping Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This small school community is friendly and welcoming.

Pupils are polite and kind to each other. They love to learn and try hard in their lessons. Some older pupils become peer mediators.

They help other pupils at break time to play together and make friends.

The trust has supported the school to develop a new curriculum in recent years. This curriculum is broad and ambitious.

Teachers have secure subject knowledge and deliver the curriculum with confidence. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are particularly well-supported to access the curriculum.

The school supports pupils' social, moral, spiritual and cultur...al development exceptionally well.

Pupils are encouraged to become active citizens who make a difference in their community. They organise fundraising events for a local hospice and visit residents to sing songs. Eco-ambassadors organise ecology projects within the school.

Pupils of all ages are encouraged to take on different leadership roles. Through these opportunities they gain confidence in public speaking and develop their leadership skills. For example, reading ambassadors in Years 5 and 6 help to organise the school library and classroom book corners.

They often read to younger pupils.

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

The school's curriculum has been constructed to be ambitious for pupils. As a result, learning now builds up coherently over time.

Pupils apply their learning to increasingly challenging tasks as their knowledge grows. For example, in science, pupils build up their knowledge of plants and reproduction from the early years into Years 1 and 2. In Reception, children learn about seeds and seed growth.

In Years 1 and 2 they learn in more detail about the life cycle of different plants and animals such as amphibians.

Teachers know the school's curriculum well. They have a clear understanding of what they want pupils to learn.

They use strategies to assess what pupils know at the start of topics. They re-assess pupils to see how well they have learned new content by the end. When teaching some content, teachers could do more to ensure that all pupils in the classroom are being challenged suitably.

At times, teachers do not recognise when pupils have only a superficial understanding of new ideas. As a result, some pupils who have knowledge gaps go unnoticed.

Reading has been prioritised across the school.

Pupils of all ages read widely and often from a range of fiction and non-fiction texts. The school has increased the resourcing of books to give pupils a wider range of authors and genres to choose from than was previously the case. In the early years, the stories that children learn are incorporated into the wider activities around the early years indoor and outdoor spaces.

Adults encourage children in Reception to take part in creative art projects that further explore the themes they are learning about.

Staff have received recent training in the school's chosen phonics scheme. They model sounds and the blending of sounds into words clearly.

As a result, pupils make swift progress in the reading programme. The books that pupils read match the sounds they know. Pupils who fall behind the reading programme are quickly identified.

Teachers offer effective additional support to help these pupils to improve their fluency and accuracy so that they catch up with their peers.

Staff enjoy working in this school. They appreciate leaders' efforts to reduce their workload and support their wellbeing.

The trust has provided effective additional support to leaders to increase their capacity to manage school development.

In this small school, staff know the pupils exceptionally well. There is a range of wider educational trips and enrichment activities.

Leaders ensure there is something for everyone. In class, all staff know and understand the needs of pupils with SEND. Leaders ensure these pupils receive the support they need to flourish in the classroom alongside their peers.

Attendance in the school is below the national average. Leaders have identified pupils who have the most significant barriers to good attendance. They provide effective support for these pupils and their families so that their attendance improves over time.

However, leaders could do more to develop a stronger culture of good attendance for all pupils.

From Reception, children are encouraged to develop positive habits and routines. The school has high expectations for the behaviour of pupils.

Lessons are focused and pupils try their best. Pupils enjoy educational outings linked to their learning. They visit museums, galleries and local parks.

Pupils in Years 5 and 6 attend a residential journey.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• At times, teaching of subject content lacks precision.

Adults in the classroom are not fully clear on the key knowledge and skills they want pupils to learn. They are not routinely and systematically checking that pupils have secured new knowledge before moving on. As a result, some pupils do not have a secure and deep understanding of the concepts they have been taught.

Leaders must ensure that all staff have the depth of pedagogical understanding to deliver the curriculum. ? Attendance in the school is not high. Leaders should ensure they work with all families to improve the attendance of pupils over time.