Foxfield Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Foxfield gives pupils an experience that goes well beyond the ordinary. It sets the highest academic and personal standards, with a clear focus on helping pupils to become thoughtful, independent young people.

Pupils are highly respectful of others, and their behaviour is impeccable.

They know that behaving well is more than just obeying the rules but also about adhering to important values, such as tolerance and open-mindedness. This is amply illustrated by pupils, who comment that they 'don't look at the person' but 'at their hearts'.

Pupils report that bullying is rare.

They are confident that their teachers will deal with any problems effectively..., and they do. Pupils comment that they feel safe in school. Leaders ensure that they are kept safe.

One of the school's many strengths is the understated way that pupils' academic and personal excellence is promoted. Leaders and teachers understand that everything they do is about giving all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), the best education possible. The curriculum is highly ambitious.

It encompasses a broad range of experiences and a depth of learning that prepare pupils extremely well for their secondary education.

Another strength is that everyone works together to achieve excellence for pupils. This is what makes the school so successful.

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

Leaders have designed a highly ambitious curriculum. Working closely with teachers, they have thought deeply about what they want pupils to learn at each stage, whether that is by the end of the week, the term or the year. Leaders' curriculum thinking sets out this learning clearly for everyone to understand.

As a result, expectations are both explicit and exacting. Knowledge and skills are broken down into manageable steps so that pupils understand the basics before moving on to more complex work. The curriculum builds in opportunities for pupils to recap on previous learning so that they remember things in the long term.

This has a strong impact on pupils' achievements, including in reading, writing and mathematics, which are consistently high.

Pupils' learning in all the subjects they study, including personal, social and health education, is equally strong. For example, pupils can talk knowledgeably about how government works and the importance of equality, not just here in Britain, but globally.

The curriculum is underpinned by a set of themes that enable teachers to make meaningful connections between ideas in different subjects. For example, pupils study Ancient Egypt in history and modern Egypt in geography. They gain a deep understanding of the importance of place and natural resources, including how these are connected through time.

Pupils' personal development is promoted very successfully through a wide range of initiatives. These include before- and after-school clubs and many opportunities to contribute to the life of the school. For example, the junior leadership team has helped to improve the playground.

Pupils readily take on roles such as playground buddies and digital leaders, helping others to get the most out of school.

Leaders ensure that reading, including early reading, is a central pillar of the school's work. The teaching of phonics starts at the earliest opportunity in Reception so that, by the end of early years, children are reading with increasing accuracy and fluency.

Leaders are careful to make sure that pupils read books that match the sounds that they are learning in phonics. The strong subject knowledge of teachers and teaching assistants, supported by ongoing training, ensures that all pupils receive the same high-quality experience. Targeted support is used most effectively to close any gaps in learning.

Pupils become confident readers of a wide range of books by Year 6.

The early years curriculum ensures that children develop the knowledge and skills they need to move into Year 1 and beyond. The curriculum links closely to the programme in Years 1 and 2 so that pupils continue to build their knowledge and skills in the same carefully structured approach as they move through the school.

What makes the early years provision so strong is the way the curriculum comes alive in the classroom. Staff create a hugely positive environment that simply oozes learning. From fostering language, number and physical skills, to developing independence, the early years provision sets up children to succeed in the future.

Pupils with SEND are provided with the same carefully designed curriculum, with its delivery adapted astutely to their needs. Leaders and staff have a strong understanding of the individual needs of pupils, including those with autism spectrum disorder. They ensure that pupils with SEND are given accurately targeted support so that they can achieve highly and make progress through the curriculum as well as their peers.

Governors and trustees contribute much to the school's drive for excellence. With leaders, they ensure that staff workload and well-being are fully considered. A thorough programme of professional development, including school and trust-based training, helps to keep staff up to date.

Governors and trustees hold leaders to account effectively. They know the school inside out, making time to visit the school regularly.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that safeguarding is always a priority. The safeguarding team has an encyclopaedic knowledge of those pupils who are vulnerable. The team uses this knowledge, and its close relationships with outside agencies, to ensure that, where pupils need support, it is provided quickly.

Staff are well trained to recognise the risks to pupils. They know how to refer their concerns to leaders and the importance of doing so without delay. Leaders use a wide range of information to help them identify those pupils who may need support.