Dorridge Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Dorridge Primary School is a happy and high performing school.

Pupils are proud to attend such a special place. They are rarely absent. There is a strong family feel.

Pupils feel safe and cared for in school because they are. Dedicated staff members put their needs at the heart of all they do. The focus on ensuring pupils feel secure and welcomed is tangible.

Pupils welcome newcomers to the school with open arms. They quickly settle and become part of the Dorridge family. Pupils behave impeccably at all points of the day.

They are beautifully well-mannered and polite.

The school has a steely determination that pupils achieve high academic st...andards. This ambition is realised through pupils' outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics.

This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The school provides a wealth of opportunities for pupils to develop skills and widen their experiences outside of the classroom. All pupils represent Dorridge in some form during their time at school.

This might be through a leadership role, through school performances or as a member of a sporting team. This supports them in being both socially and academically ready when the time comes to leave their much-loved primary school.

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

The outcomes pupils achieve are truly impressive.

They achieve extremely well in reading, writing and mathematics. Reception-age children learn to read as soon as they start school. Staff are skilled teachers of phonics.

Pupils benefit from this and almost all are working at, or beyond, expectations of the school's chosen phonics scheme. The school ensures pupils to read regularly and widely. Pupils use phonics strategies to quickly decode unknown words.

Mathematics is taught equally well. Teachers regularly revisit prior learning. This helps to address any misconceptions.

Pupils become confident and fluent mathematicians.

The curriculum has been developing and evolving in the foundation subjects for a long time. However, there is still work to do to ensure the precise knowledge the school wants pupils to learn is clearly exemplified.

Where this important knowledge is not explicit, pupils do not always learn the most important information at the right time. Learning activities do not always enable pupils to demonstrate subject-specific understanding. This in turn affects how well staff can identify how well pupils are learning the curriculum in some subjects.

The school identifies pupils with SEND without delay. These pupils are supported well in lessons so they can learn seamlessly alongside their peers. Staff carefully adapt resources.

Pupils are helped and encouraged to be independent learners through support that has been carefully considered.

The school is a shining light in how pupils should behave. Pupils are keen learners and demonstrate highly positive attitudes in lessons.

The respect they have for each other is inspiring. They show a similar level of respect for the incredibly well-kept school building. It is beautifully calm, and conducive to learning, because pupils strive to always follow the school rules.

This continues at social times, where pupils take full advantage of the stunning school grounds in a sensible and safe way. Older pupils support younger children with sensitivity and care.

Pupils experience an exceptional range of meaningful and varied opportunities to fully prepare them for life in modern Britain.

They learn about life in different parts of the world and about how they can support those less fortunate than themselves. Pupils and staff work together to support the school's chosen charities. This includes the yearly 'marathon' that pupils and staff complete over a number of days.

Pupils know the importance of leading healthy lives and how to keep themselves safe in different situations. The school's work to develop pupils' wider character development is highly sophisticated.

Children in the early years settle very quickly.

They eagerly take on responsibilities, such as those of health and safety officers. This enhances their independence and decision-making skills. Children show high levels of concentration and enjoy working alongside their peers.

However, learning opportunities sometimes underestimate exactly what children can do, based on their strong starting points.

The school is led very well. It has a secure understanding of what needs to be done to make it even more successful than it already is.

They want nothing more than the very best. The school is held in high regard by parents and carers. They recognise the high-quality education and care their children receive from kind, committed and caring staff.

Governors are skilled and dedicated professionals who support the school wholeheartedly on its journey of continual improvement, supported by the recently joined trust.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The key knowledge that leaders want pupils to learn is not explicit enough in some foundation subjects.

This means that pupils do not build up their knowledge and skills as well as they might. The school should ensure that the curriculum is clear about what pupils should learn, and in what order, so pupils can build their knowledge logically over time. ? In some foundation subjects, the school does not use assessment well enough to check pupils' understanding.

This makes it harder for staff to address misconceptions. This prevents some pupils from building their knowledge securely on what they already know. The school should ensure that assessment strategies are used effectively in the foundation subjects to support pupils' next steps in learning, starting in the early years.

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