Egginton Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school stands at the heart of Egginton and surrounding areas; it is the focal point of life in the community.

Pupils sing at local events, attend festivals and deliver dramatic performances. This helps to build their confidence and displays their talents. These experiences enhance pupils' learning and strengthen the bond between the school and the community.

Pupils feel safe and happy at the school. They behave well. They follow the school's 'seven golden rules' that are known by all.

Pupils adore attending and thrive in a nurturing and supportive environment. The school's increasing popularity reflects the dedication and care of the staff.

Leade...rs possess a clear vision and hold high expectations of pupils' behaviour, attendance and achievement.

This vision aligns with the school's motto, 'to be all I can be'. From the moment children start at the school, they receive the care, guidance and support needed to realise this vision and ambition. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well from their starting points.

Parents and carers deeply value the attention given to each child's well-being and development. One view, which is typical of many states: 'This is a fantastic school, which is family oriented.'

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

The school has significantly refined its curriculum and approach to assessment since the last inspection.

Teachers identify the key knowledge for children and pupils to learn. The curriculum develops from early years, enabling pupils to cumulatively build their knowledge.

Pupils often recall what they have been taught and learned.

For example, they can refer to artists they have studied and techniques used in their work. Older pupils have developed a deep understanding of mathematical vocabulary, which they use to explain how they apply their learning to solve problems. However, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge.

This is partly because pupils who have joined during a key stage have not yet fully covered all of the curriculum content. Additionally, staff do not ensure that pupils have frequent retrieval practice to reinforce their recall of prior learning. The school is resolving this quickly.

The school prioritises reading, with children in early years making a good start in acquiring phonics knowledge. Staff give children carefully selected books that help to develop their fluency and comprehension. This reflects the structure and ambition for all areas of learning in the early years.

Staff explore children's interests and adjust the provision accordingly. They have high expectations of children, preparing them well for key stage 1.

Pupils quickly become confident and fluent readers in key stage 1.

Pupils enjoy accessing a wide range of reading books across the school. New resources are suitably challenging and help pupils to achieve well in reading.

Pupils apply their reading knowledge well when writing.

Their skills in composition are suitably developed. However, their written compositions in subjects other than English often lack the same level of detail. Pupils' standards of presentation and handwriting are of higher quality in their English books compared to other subjects.

The school has effective processes in place to identify and meet pupils' additional needs. Individual pupils' needs are identified quickly and appropriate support is put in place. Pupils with SEND achieve well.

Pupils' positive attitudes to learning are reflected in their work ethic. The school provides a calm and supportive environment where everyone is valued. Pupils' attendance rates have improved since the last inspection, and there has been a notable reduction in the number of pupils who frequently miss school.

Pupils benefit from a well-designed personal development programme. During story time, pupils listen to books which promote their understanding of fundamental British values. Pupils elect their peers to be school councillors.

This helps them to learn about democracy. Pupils know about faiths and beliefs different from their own. For example, they can share their knowledge of Islam and Hinduism.

Pupils enjoy residential visits and social events that aid their social development.

Pupils understand the hallmarks of a healthy lifestyle, including diet and participation in physical activity. Staff prioritise pupils' mental health through initiatives such as 'well-being Wednesday' and participation in sports activities.

This significantly enhances pupils' well-being.

Governors are passionate about the school and use their knowledge to provide suitable levels of challenge and support, holding leaders to account. They ensure that all pupils, have equal opportunities to experience the full curriculum and achieve well.

Leaders have resolved most areas identified for improvement at the last inspection. Staff feel well supported by leaders, including consideration of their workload. They receive appropriate training to improve their teaching practice and leadership in their subject areas.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Pupils can occasionally struggle to recall aspects of previous learning in some subjects. Prior knowledge is not revisited frequently enough.

This limits pupils' ability to build on prior learning. The school should further refine its approaches to revisiting prior learning to strengthen pupils' memory and deepen their understanding so pupils can achieve highly in all subjects. ? Pupils' standards of writing vary between their compositions in English and in other subjects.

As a result, pupils are not consistently applying their skills across a range of writing genres as well as they could. Pupils' standards of presentation and handwriting are similarly not at the same standard across the wider curriculum. The school should review the curriculum for writing across all subjects to raise standards further.

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