Dolphinholme Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy members of this small and friendly school. They enjoy taking on various positions of responsibility in school.

For example, older pupils take on roles such as being a buddy to help children in the early years to settle in well.

The school grasps every opportunity to make the curriculum as engaging and meaningful as possible. For example, pupils benefit from a range of visits from local residents who help them with different school projects and events.

Pupils also enjoy completing outdoor activities in the school's extensive grounds. Pupils enjoy singing together; they sing the school song with great pride and enthusiasm.

The school e...xpects pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to achieve well.

Pupils happily rise to meet these expectations. Overall, they make strong progress through the curriculum.

Pupils' conduct embodies the school's values.

This begins as soon as children start school. Children in the two-year-old provision and across early years quickly learn to take turns and to listen carefully to others.

The overwhelming majority of parents and carers, who shared their views with inspectors, spoke very positively about the school.

They feel a valued part of this tight-knit community.

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

The school has designed a curriculum which is broad and ambitious. It has thought carefully about the knowledge that pupils should learn from the beginning of the early years to the end of Year 6.

The order in which the content is introduced has also been considered carefully so that it builds pupils' learning in a logical way.

The school makes staff training a high priority. Teachers deliver curriculums with confidence.

They carefully explain new learning to pupils. Assessment information is used well in most curriculums to adapt future lessons and to address any misconceptions quickly. In most subjects, pupils achieve well.

In a few curriculums, subjects have undergone some recent refinements so that the most important knowledge that pupils need to remember has been more clearly identified. In these curriculums, subjects are at an earlier stage of development. The school is in the process of adapting its assessment systems so that they can more accurately identify how well pupils remembering key learning over time.

Some pupils, sometimes struggle to recall prior learning in some of these subjects.

The school develops a love of reading for pupils. For example, children in the early years, including those in the two-year-old provision, join in enthusiastically with different songs and nursery rhymes.

They enjoy voting for their favourite book at the end of the day.Children in the Reception class benefit from a well-thought-out phonics programme, which they begin to learn as soon as they start school. Struggling readers quickly receive effective support so that they keep up with the phonics programme.

Pupils read books which are well matched to the sounds that they have already mastered. This helps them to read books with increasing fluency and confidence.

By the time pupils leave key stage 2, most are accomplished readers.

They read with expression and strong understanding. Pupils carry out their roles as librarians with diligence and pride.

The school makes sure that the additional needs of pupils with SEND are quickly and effectively identified.

Skilled staff ensure that these pupils access the same curriculum content as their peers. Pupils with SEND also benefit from the various extra-curricular activities that the school offers.

Pupils know that it is important to come to school each day.

They attend regularly. Pupils show very positive attitudes to their work. They behave well in lessons and during breaktimes.

Their learning is rarely disrupted by others.

Pupils benefit from a range of activities to develop their character and resilience. For example, they spoke very animatedly about the 'Talent Soirée', where they showcase a wide range of talents to each other, parents and staff.

They also look forward to the annual residential visit, where pupils can take part in team-building exercises to develop their confidence and skills. Pupils enjoy learning to play musical instruments.

The school places a high priority on developing pupils' well-being.

Pupils spoke confidently about the ways in which the school encourages them to look after their mental and physical health. For example, pupils enjoy taking part in yoga sessions and other activities during mental health awareness week.

Governors share the school's high ambition for pupils.

They support and challenge the school to make sure it is the best it can be. The school carefully considers staff well-being and workload when making any changes to policies or procedures.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school has made some recent refinements to a few subjects so that the most important content that pupils will learn is identified more clearly. These changes are relatively new and some pupils still have some gaps in their knowledge. The school should make sure that these changes become embedded so that pupils know more and remember more over time.

• In the subjects which have been recently refined, assessment systems are less well established. This makes it more difficult for teachers to use assessment information effectively to find out what pupils know and understand. The school should make sure that teachers use assessment information more effectively so that they can address any misconceptions and shape future teaching appropriately in these subjects.