Eaton Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils flourish at this school. They feel happy in the knowledge that they are cared for and celebrated for their individual qualities. Pupils said that the best part of school is being with their friends and the staff.

Everyone is welcome here, regardless of any differences that they may have.

The school is dedicated to ensuring that pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well. Pupils enjoy learning and strive to meet the school's high expectations of them.

Pupils benefit from a range of opportunities to learn beyond the academic curriculum. For example, they can take part in activities such as knitting, yo...ga and choir. Pupils enjoy showcasing plays for the school community.

From Years 1 to 6, many pupils experience taking part in a residential visit. This helps them develop both their teamwork and independent skills.

Pupils are mature and sensible.

They move around the school, including the outdoor areas, quietly showing consideration towards others. Year 6 pupils act as role models when taking on the responsibility of being a 'buddy' to children in the Reception class. Pupils throughout the school are friends.

They play kindly and cooperatively together at breaktimes.

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

Since opening as an academy school in December 2020, the school has worked closely with the multi-academy trust to ensure that all pupils, including those with SEND, receive a high-quality education. This has helped the school go from strength to strength.

The school has designed a robust and carefully considered curriculum. It has ensured that curriculum content is clearly ordered from the early years to Year 6. This means that staff know what to teach and when to teach it.

Pupils build up a broad knowledge over time and they understand the important 'big ideas' across the curriculum. From the early years to Year 6, children and pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

Teachers deliver the curriculum effectively through carefully chosen activities.

They structure many lessons to enable pupils to recap and embed their prior learning. In a small number of subjects, there is variation in how effectively the school helps pupils to revisit key information. This means that, on occasion, they are unable to retain some important knowledge in the long term.

The school carries out regular checks on pupils' learning. In the majority of subjects, these checks successfully help the school to identify any areas where pupils' knowledge is not secure. In a small number of subjects, assessment strategies are still being refined.

This means that teachers do not have the specific information that they need to enable them to help pupils know and remember all that they should.

The school ensures that children in the Reception Year make a successful start when learning to read. Children learn from a carefully structured phonics curriculum.

This helps them to build their phonics knowledge quickly to become fluent readers. Children strengthen their learning by reading books that only contain the sounds that they have learned. Pupils in Year 1 continue to learn combinations of letters, which become more complex.

Most pupils successfully meet the national standard in the phonics screening check. Pupils across the school enjoy reading from the broad spectrum of books that the school has selected for them. Members of each class promote a love of reading in their role as reading ambassadors.

The school knows pupils, particularly those with SEND, well. The school quickly identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND and implements supportive strategies to help them learn all that they should. Pupils are well supported by skilled staff.

Pupils are polite and helpful. They make the extra effort to have pleasant conversations with others. Children in the early years confidently share humorous interactions with staff and visitors.

Pupils have a thirst for learning. The school recognises this and provides a broad range of opportunities to enhance pupils' interests. For instance, it arranges for local historians to speak to pupils.

This supports them in developing their historical knowledge and skills. Pupils learn about important global issues, such as plastic pollution. Junior safety officers play their part in promoting safety.

For example, by arranging competitions to teach others about first aid.

The school ensures that pupils gain broad experiences to prepare them for life in modern British society. Pupils learn about a range of different cultures and faiths as well as fundamental British values.

They understand the importance of tolerance towards others who may have different viewpoints to their own.

The multi-academy trust provides a clear structure for governance. Governors support and challenge leaders appropriately.

Staff were overwhelmingly positive about the school. They appreciate that, despite significant changes over the past three years, the school has taken steps to consider their workload. Staff feel valued and enjoy taking pride in their work.

Parents and carers appreciate the work that the school does in supporting their children academically and emotionally. They said that they are proud to be members of the school community.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, the school does not ensure that pupils have sufficient opportunities to revisit essential learning. This means that, on occasion, some pupils do not transfer this learning to their long-term memory. In these curriculum areas, the school should develop strategies to ensure that pupils deepen their understanding successfully to build up a rich body of knowledge over time.

• Assessment strategies are still being developed in a small number of subjects. This means that teachers sometimes do not have sufficient assessment information to address the gaps in pupils' learning. The school should refine its approaches to checking on pupils' learning to ensure that teachers have the information that they need to help pupils to learn and remember the curriculum well.

Also at this postcode