Daven Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including children in the early years, are happy to attend Daven Primary School. They said that everyone is welcome in this caring school. Pupils trust that adults in school will look after them and keep them safe.

The school expects pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to achieve highly. However, some pupils do not achieve as well as they should in several subjects. This is due to weaknesses in how the curriculum is delivered.

As a result, many pupils have gaps in their knowledge. These pupils do not have sufficiently secure foundations on which to build new learning.

Most pupils conduct themselves appro...priately around the school site.

In the main, pupils show respect and they are polite towards one another. However, the poor behaviour of a small minority of pupils hinders the learning of their peers.

Pupils benefit from a well-designed enrichment programme.

They enjoy the varied range of opportunities available to them beyond the academic curriculum, such as after-school clubs and residential trips. This helps pupils to develop their talents and interests.

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

With the support of the trust, the school has started to address the weaknesses in the quality of education that pupils receive.

For example, the school has ensured that teachers are clear about the knowledge that pupils should learn. Nevertheless, current pupils do not progress through the curriculum consistently well. This is because the delivery of the curriculum is not as effective as it should be.

The school has prioritised training for staff to improve the delivery of the curriculum. However, in some subjects, teachers do not provide pupils with sufficient opportunities to recap and recall prior learning. As a result, pupils struggle to make connections with what they have learned previously.

In addition, teachers do not use assessment strategies consistently well to identify pupils' misconceptions. This means that some pupils develop gaps in their knowledge that remain unaddressed.

In the early years, however, the curriculum is more effective than in other areas of the school.

This is because the school has clearly defined the building blocks of knowledge that children must acquire to be ready for the challenges of Year 1. In the Reception Year, staff are equipped well to deliver learning successfully. Added to this, in the early years, staff place a strong emphasis on developing children's language and communication skills.

The school's approach to the teaching of reading in the early years is well structured. Staff swiftly identify any child who is not keeping up with the phonics programme. The school puts appropriate support in place so that these children develop secure reading knowledge alongside their peers.

While reading is a high priority, the school has not ensured that the less confident readers in key stages 1 and 2 receive the support that they need to catch up quickly with their reading knowledge. In addition, the books that these pupils read are not well matched to the sounds that they know. This means that some of these pupils do not become confident and fluent readers as quickly as they should.

The school has effective systems in place to identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND quickly and accurately. It works well with other agencies to ensure that pupils with SEND get appropriate help and support. However, weaknesses in how well the curriculum is delivered mean that, in some subjects, some pupils with SEND do not learn as well as they could.

Staff in the early years develop children's personal, social and emotional skills effectively. This helps children to behave well. The school has started to take effective steps to support pupils in key stages 1 and 2 who have difficulty in managing their behaviour and emotions.

However, it is too early to see the impact of these changes.

The school promotes pupils' personal development well. It is focused on ensuring that pupils, including pupils with SEND and those who are disadvantaged, develop independence and resilience.

Pupils understand and accept that people have different beliefs and come from diverse family backgrounds.

Leaders, with support from the trust, have developed a clear and ambitious vision for the school. Changes made by trust leaders enable the local governing body to hold the school to account more effectively.

Staff feel well supported by leaders. They appreciate leaders' consideration of their workload and well-being when making decisions about the school. Staff are proud to work at the school.

The school seeks to engage parents and carers as soon as children begin in the early years. For example, the school offers supportive workshops for parents and encourages them to join in with children's outdoor learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Those pupils who find reading difficult do not receive the support that they need to catch up with their peers. This means that these pupils do not become fluent readers as quickly as they should. The school should make sure that appropriate support is in place to support these pupils to catch up with their reading knowledge.

In some subjects, teachers do not provide pupils with enough opportunities to recap and recall important prior learning. As a result, some pupils struggle to connect new concepts with aspects of earlier knowledge. The school should ensure that teachers provide pupils with sufficient opportunities to revisit and embed essential prior knowledge.

• The school has not ensured that teachers use assessment strategies effectively enough to check how well pupils are learning the intended curriculum. This prevents teachers from identifying and addressing the gaps in pupils' knowledge and skills. The school should ensure that staff are suitably equipped to use assessment strategies to remedy the gaps in pupils' knowledge.

• Some pupils do not behave as leaders expect. This means that the learning of other pupils is sometimes disrupted. The school should ensure that all staff have the expertise to implement the behaviour policy consistently well to ensure that pupils follow appropriate routines.

Also at this postcode