Falconhurst School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school This is a good school where pupils make good progress.

This is because their needs are accurately identified and teachers work hard to make sure lessons meet those needs. Disadvantaged pupils, the most able disadvantaged, the most able and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive well-targeted support and the progress they make is improving quickly. The school is exceptionally well led by the headteacher.

She is determined to give every pupil the best possible opportunities for success. The headteacher has developed a strong senior leadership team who share her ambition and vision for the school. The governing ...body is effective and committed to working with the school to ensure continuous improvement.

They offer a good level of support and challenge. Teachers plan lessons carefully to make them relevant and exciting. As a result, teaching, learning and assessment are good.

Teaching is not routinely challenging enough for the most able pupils. This means that sometimes pupils could make even better progress. Pupils enjoy their learning and talk passionately about doing their best.

They are not afraid to make mistakes and take every opportunity to learn from them. Children in the Nursery and Reception classes receive a good start to school because the rich environment and good standards of care support them to make good progress. Pupils are proud of their school and enjoy working together.

The school is a safe place to be and pupils are cared for well. Most parents are positive about the way that the school is led. However, leaders do not ensure that parents are as involved in their children's learning as they could be.

This means that opportunities for families to support pupils' aspirations and progress are not used as well as they could be. Pupils are not encouraged to read as much as they could. This means that their progress in reading is not as rapid as that seen in writing and mathematics.

Information about this school

The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website. The headteacher was appointed in September 2015 to support the school for three days each week and was appointed to the permanent full-time post starting in January 2016. The deputy headteacher started her role in September 2016.

The school is a larger than average-sized primary school, with a Nursery and a Reception class. Pupils come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds and there are twice as many pupils who speak English as an additional language as there are nationally. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is slightly below other schools nationally.

The proportion of pupils who receive support through the pupil premium is higher than the national average. The school does not meet the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectation for pupils' attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics. A breakfast club is provided by the school for all pupils.