Devonshire Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at Devonshire Primary Academy. The school's motto of 'the best that we can be' is brought to life daily.

Pupils try their best. They feel valued and accepted.

The school is ambitious about what pupils can achieve.

This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils are positive about their school and their learning. Many pupils achieve well and are ready for the next stage of their education.

The nurturing environment that the school has fostered helps pupils to feel safe. They know whom to speak to if they have any worries or concerns. Pupils are ably supported to manage their emotions and make pos...itive choices.

This helps them to follow the school's rules.

Pupils' school experience is enriched by a range of trips and visits. For example, pupils spoke enthusiastically about visits to the seaside and a zoo, as well as residential trips and travelling on a tram.

These experiences help pupils better understand the wider world.

Pupils flourish in their various roles and responsibilities. These include acting as head pupils, playground buddies and school councillors.

These opportunities enable pupils to demonstrate the school's values of cooperation, pride and respect.

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

The school has carefully considered the needs and interests of all pupils in its curriculum design. It has developed an ambitious and well-thought-out curriculum in most subjects across key stages 1 and 2.

The school ensures that staff have the knowledge and expertise to deliver the curriculum effectively across a number of subjects. In most subjects, staff carefully check what pupils know and address any gaps in knowledge that pupils have. In the main, staff select activities that enable pupils to develop their knowledge in a logical and coherent way.

Nevertheless, from time to time, the activities that some staff choose to deliver the curriculum do not support pupils to deepen their knowledge as well as they could. Occasionally, this hinders how well some pupils learn.

Children in the early years benefit from an engaging and well-designed environment.

Adults focus on developing children's communication and language skills through effective questioning and strong modelling of ambitious vocabulary. However, some of the learning in the early years does not link as well as it could to learning in key stage 1. This hinders how well some children build up new knowledge.

Some pupils are not as well prepared for the demands of the Year 1 curriculum as they could be.

The school fosters a love of reading. Pupils benefit from reading a wide range of interesting books.

Staff deliver the phonics programme effectively. The books pupils read are matched carefully to the sounds they know. Typically, pupils who do not keep up with the phonics programme are supported to catch up quickly.

As a result, many children in the Reception class and pupils in key stage 1 gain a secure knowledge of phonics.

Pupils with SEND access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. There are effective systems in place to identify pupils' additional needs.

The school ensures that pupils with SEND receive the support that they need to achieve well.

Pupils behave well in classrooms and around the school. They engage in their learning and are attentive during lessons.

Children in the Nursery and Reception classes settle in well. They receive effective support to learn classroom routines and expectations. This helps children to learn and to play cooperatively alongside each other.

The school has high expectations of pupils' attendance. It works closely with parents and carers to overcome any barriers that may prevent pupils from attending school. For some pupils who do not attend school regularly, the school offers effective support to families to reduce absence levels.

Pupils learn about being safe and the importance of values such as democracy. They also learn about the differences between people, for example different families. Pupils know about different religions, and they visit places of worship.

They understand the importance of treating everyone with respect. This contributes to pupils' increasing understanding of what it means to be a positive citizen in modern Britain.

Members of the local governing committee know the school well.

Governors ensure that leaders focus on improving the quality of education pupils receive. Governors check that staff have the expertise they need to do their jobs well. As a result, most staff feel well supported to develop their expertise.

There are effective systems in place to ensure smooth working and communication between the local governing committee and the trust. Trustees check that pupils across the school achieve well.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Occasionally, the activities staff select to deliver the curriculum do not help pupils to deepen their learning as effectively as they could. This hinders some pupils from learning all they should. The school should support staff in selecting activities that help pupils to acquire and remember knowledge securely overtime.

• In a few areas of learning, the school has not ensured that the links between the early years and the key stage 1 curriculum are identified clearly. This means that some of the children's key knowledge does not build up as effectively as it could. The school should refine its curriculum thinking in the early years so children are well prepared for their learning in key stage 1.