Exeter Road Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this welcoming and inclusive school in the heart of Exmouth.

They form strong relationships with staff and know who to talk to if they have a worry. Pupils trust staff to act on any concerns about bullying. As a result, they feel safe in the school.

The school is ambitious for 'every child to succeed'. In the early years, children make a strong start to their education. However, in the rest of the school, much of the curriculum is in an early stage of implementation.

Pupils struggle to remember what they have been taught. Published outcomes in 2024 show that not enough pupils in Year 6 leave the school able to write or apply their mathe...matics well enough.

The school has high expectations for how pupils behave.

Pupils understand the 'ready, respectful and safe' rules. They show respect to others, including visitors. Pupils enthusiastically participate in their learning and are keen to join in.

Pupils support one another on the playground and in the 'talking shelter.' Here, mental health ambassadors greet other pupils with a friendly smile and talk about any concerns they may have. Pupils enjoy the clubs on offer like Spanish and football.

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

Since the appointment of the interim headteacher the school has already made significant improvements to the curriculum. The school has re-organised its curriculum to reflect the move to mixed-aged classes. It is broad and balanced.

In some subjects, the curriculum sets out the knowledge pupils need to learn and the order in which they learn it so they can achieve well in each subject. For example, in mathematics, the school focuses on how well pupils develop their understanding of key mathematical concepts. This had a positive impact on pupils securing their fluency around multiplication and recall of their times tables.

However, in other subjects, the skills that pupils need to learn are not as clearly defined. For example, pupils lack the understanding of how historians find out about the past or how geographers investigate and explain.

Most teachers present information clearly.

The activities given to help pupils learn are well-thought and effective. However sometimes the checks on pupils' understanding do not identify address misconceptions in their learning. This means that staff are unable to make informed adaptations to future teaching and activity choices.

As a result, pupils do not learn important knowledge as well as they could.

Children in the early years, including two-year-olds, interact well together. They benefit from a well-designed curriculum which focuses on communication and language.

Children enjoy familiar songs, rhymes and stories which helps them learn new vocabulary. This prepares them well for the Reception Year.

Reading is a top priority.

Pupils learn the sounds they need to read words. They read books that match the sounds they know. This helps them develop their fluency and accuracy.

For pupils who struggle, staff provide appropriate support to help them keep up with their peers. Teachers read to pupils regularly. This contributes to pupils developing a love of reading.

Most pupils in key stage 2 enjoy reading from a wide range of books.

Historically, pupils' attendance has been not high enough. However, the school works closely with families to identify and remove barriers to regular attendance.

As a result, more pupils are beginning to attend school more regularly and often.

The school accurately identifies pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff typically set clear, specific targets for pupils with SEND.

Careful adaptations and resources help these pupils learn alongside their peers.

The provision for pupils' personal development is a strength. Pupils recognise the dangers of using the internet and understand how to stay safe online.

They know what makes a good friend and understand healthy and unhealthy relationships. Pupils learn about different religions, building respect and acceptance of others' beliefs and views. School councillors value the opportunity to organise activities and fundraise for charity.

Residential visits and trips to London broaden pupils' horizons and improve their confidence and independence. Guest speakers, including a fire fighter, surgeon and pilot, inspire pupils to think about future careers.

Leaders are mindful of staff workload, and staff feel supported by them.

While governors' challenge to the school is improving, this work is still in its infancy. Governors are improving how they challenge and hold leaders to account. They do not have all the information they need to check fully on the impact of the school's actions, particularly the quality of education pupils receive.

Most parents and carers value the care that the school provides for their children.

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 school has not defined the key disciplinary knowledge that pupils must learn and the order in which they should learn it.

As a result, sometimes pupils do not develop a body of subject-specific skills and gain the deep understanding of the topics they study. The school must ensure that disciplinary knowledge is sequenced so that pupils know more and remember more. ? The school has not ensured staff have the expertise to check where pupils have misconceptions in their learning and adapt their teaching to address them.

Consequently, pupils do not learn the important knowledge as securely as the school expects. The school should ensure that staff have the knowledge and expertise to identify and address misconceptions in learning when they arise. The school must continue its work to refine assessment so that learning builds on what pupils already know and closes gaps in knowledge across the wider curriculum.

• In some subjects, the school's oversight of the curriculum is at an early stage of development. This has limited the school's work to evaluate the impact of actions taken around how well pupils are achieving the aims of the curriculum. The school should ensure that staff have the expertise to enable the intended curriculum to be delivered consistently.

• Historically, the school has not ensured that governors have the knowledge to evaluate the school well enough. Therefore, they do not challenge the school as effectively as they should. The school should ensure that governors have the expertise to robustly challenge leaders to ensure they secure rapid and sustained improvement.