East Ayton Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

East Ayton Primary School is at the heart of the community.

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the opportunities that the school provides for its pupils. The residential visits and many clubs on offer are well attended and enrich the curriculum pupils receive. All pupils and teachers are proud of their school and what they have achieved.

The school has high expectations of pupils' behaviour and learning. It is a place of high aspiration and celebration.

Pupils behave well.

Classrooms are an oasis of calm. Learning takes place without interruption. Relationships between pupils and staff are respectful and positive.

Pupils ar...e safe and happy. They work hard. Staff listen to pupils and take any concerns they have seriously.

The school provides opportunities for pupils to take on roles of responsibility. Year 6 pupils volunteer to work with other pupils during lunchtime. They act as positive role models for their younger friends.

Democratically elected school councillors are proud to have raised funds to restock their school library. Leaders have fostered a love of reading and placed it at the heart of the curriculum. Pupils enjoy having stories read to them.

They say that when teachers read to them, they can relax and be calm. One pupil told inspectors that stories send her to a magical world.

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

Leaders have made effective improvements to the quality of the curriculum they offer.

The school's curriculum is ambitious and well planned. For each subject, staff have identified the important knowledge and skills that pupils will learn. This is more developed in some subjects than others.

In the less well-developed subjects, further work is required to ensure that lessons are matched fully to leaders' ambitious aims. Published outcomes do not reflect the current quality of the curriculum and teaching in this school.

Leaders ensure that staff have the knowledge they need to teach phonics well.

Teachers make regular checks on the sounds that pupils have learned. They use this information to match the books pupils read to the sounds pupils know. Pupils who need help to keep up receive the support they need.

Phonics preparation is prioritised as soon as children start in the Nursery. In Reception, teachers model vocabulary well and help children to choose adventurous language. This means pupils get off to a strong start in their reading.

In mathematics, the curriculum is well planned and sequenced. Teachers select well-considered activities during lessons to help support pupils' learning. A focus on problem-solving and reasoning is helping pupils to become skilful mathematicians.

In the early years, teachers provide lots of opportunities for children to count and recognise numbers. In the Reception class, inspectors saw children measuring stacks of blocks with ribbons while adults worked with children to measure their height with metre sticks.The needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are carefully considered.

Teachers make changes to the way work is presented so that all pupils access the same highly ambitious curriculum. In physical education (PE), the curriculum has been altered to ensure that all pupils, including those with additional, physical or medical needs, can access it appropriately.

The school's personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum helps pupils to develop an age-appropriate understanding of relationships.

They understand the many different types of families there are today. Pupils show respect for these differences. Pupils understand the importance of exercise on their physical and mental health.

Pupils are accepting and respectful of others. When asked, pupils said, 'Everyone in school believes in a diverse world'. However, pupils' understanding of different religions and world views is underdeveloped.

The curriculum does not help pupils to remember the different religions they have studied. It does not provide enough opportunities for pupils to experience different cultures and beliefs. Pupils say that they would like to learn more about different faiths.

The governing body is clear about its vision for the school. However, in recent months, changes to the governing body have limited opportunities for members to check on the impact of the school's actions.

Together with the school, governors ensure that staff workload is considered as changes are made.

All staff appreciate the consideration given to their workload. They feel valued, supported and proud to be members of staff at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the lessons that are taught do not match the school's longer-term curriculum goals accurately enough. As a result, pupils are not learning the full breadth and depth of leaders' ambitious curriculum. The school needs to ensure that the content of all curriculums matches the school's longer-term and ambitious aims.

• Pupils' understanding of different world faiths and views is underdeveloped. Pupils cannot remember important information about the religions they have studied. The school should ensure that the curriculum suitably broadens pupils' knowledge of different cultures and ethnicities so that they understand the diverse nature of modern Britain.

• The checks that governors currently make on the school's work are not incisive. They are unable to support and challenge the school knowledgeably. The school should ensure that members of the governing body are able to check the impact of the school's work with precision.

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