Farnham Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to be part of this school's diverse community.

The school provides many opportunities for collaboration with parents and carers. Parent workshops provide information about how subjects are taught. Many pupils join the school at different times of the year.

Most parents who spoke to inspectors expressed how pleased they were with how the school has supported their child to quickly settle into routines.

Warm and strong relationships between adults and pupils are seen across the school. Most pupils are polite and respectful of others.

In lessons, behaviour is generally positive. Where the learning intention is clear, pupils settle to wo...rk quickly. On some occasions, when tasks do not fully meet the needs of pupils, a few pupils lack focus in their work and become distracted.

Pupils learn about different types of bullying. Most pupils consider bullying to rarely occur. The school's records confirm this to be the case.

Pupils know that they can speak to a trusted adult if they have a concern or worry.

The school has established processes to track, monitor and analyse pupils' attendance. This helps staff to support parents to ensure that pupils regularly attend school.

Rates of attendance are improving. The school regularly promotes and rewards high rates of attendance. The school council has recently produced a video to share with parents.

This illustrates to pupils and their families the consequences on pupils, and their education, of not attending school regularly.

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

The school has high ambitions for all pupils. There is a clear aim for pupils to achieve well during their time in the school.

The school's curriculum has been designed with this in mind. Most pupils leave the school prepared well for the next stage of their education. Subject leaders have ensured that what pupils learn builds on the curriculum in the early years.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well in class. Skilled adults usually provide appropriate levels of support. They foster a culture of developing independence.

This means that pupils with SEND do not become overly reliant on the support they receive.

The school has identified the important knowledge and skills that pupils must learn. Careful consideration has been given to the vocabulary that pupils must learn.

Adults reinforce the use of the identified vocabulary effectively. This helps pupils to become increasingly confident in their work. In some parts of the curriculum, some of the knowledge that pupils must learn has not been broken down sufficiently.

This makes it difficult for pupils to make connections to prior learning. It is also difficult for teachers to check precisely what pupils have remembered.

Staff benefit from high-quality training.

Staff value the opportunities they are given to develop their practice. There is a collegiate approach to fulfilling the school's high ambition for its pupils. Although systems are in place to support staff development, the school does not consistently check that the improvements they make to develop the school are having the intended impact.

The school has implemented a consistent approach to the teaching of reading. High-quality training provided to teachers and support staff enables them to teach phonics sessions with confidence. Adults' strong subject knowledge supports them to address errors in pronunciation quickly.

The school is determined that all pupils will learn to read as soon as possible. Leaders recognise that this is important for pupils to fully access the curriculum. Teachers provide regular and purposeful practice for pupils to develop fluency in their reading.

Pupils read books that are matched to their phonics knowledge. They use strategies to segment and blend words accurately. This helps pupils to read with increasing fluency and accuracy.

Children in the early years are provided with plenty of opportunities to develop their skills in communication and language. Adults model the use of language effectively. Children enjoy exploring their learning through play.

Adults support this well. For example, some children used the outdoor area to build a construction. An adult skilfully guided their problem-solving to help them find the correct shape to make the construction stronger.

Pupils benefit from visits to local places of interest. These are planned into the curriculum well. Visits to the theatre broaden pupils' awareness of culture.

Pupils speak passionately about the opportunities they get in school. They were keen to tell inspectors about a recent art project in which they displayed their work in a local hall. They enjoyed curating the displays and sharing the experience with their parents.

Leaders, including those with responsibility for governance, have established ways in which to work in purposeful collaboration with parents. The school's parent parliament, as well as surgeries arranged by the trust's central team, provides regular opportunities for parents to find out about the school. Through this, parents also provide feedback about their experiences of the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The school has established effective processes to ensure that the adults working with pupils are appropriate. The school's curriculum enables pupils to learn how to keep themselves safe, including online.

Staff receive regular training and updates to support their work to safeguard pupils. Sometimes, this training is too generic in its approach. It does not enable staff to fully consider what they have learned and how it applies to the school's context.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some parts of the curriculum, the school has not sufficiently broken down the important knowledge that pupils need to know. This makes it difficult for teachers to check that pupils have learned what is intended. The school should refine the curriculum so that teachers know precisely what knowledge pupils must learn in all subjects.

• The school does not consistently check that improvements made in school are having the intended impact. Some areas for development are not identified and addressed as quickly as they might. The school should regularly check that the actions to develop the school are having the intended impact.

• Some safeguarding training does not enable staff to fully consider its application in their roles. Some staff do not consistently know how what they have learned applies to the school's context. The school must ensure that staff have regular opportunities to consider what they have learned so that they are confident to identify and manage any concerns that they encounter.