Foxyards Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Foxyards is a warm and welcoming school. Leaders have worked extensively to successfully transform the curriculum, the school environment and to raise expectations of pupils. This means that significant improvements have been made to pupils' learning and enjoyment of school.

Pupils are happy and speak positively of the opportunities provided for them, including leadership opportunities, sports and school visits.

Pupils and staff live out the school's values: caring, respectful, creative and resilient. This means that pupils respect and welcome how their diverse community enriches them all.

Pupils enjoy their learning across their subjects and want to succeed.... Well-established routines mean typically pupils behave well. They are well mannered and respectful in class and as they move around the school site.

They understand that adults will support them should they have a concern.

Children in the early years are very well supported to respond to the school's routines. Skilled adults encourage language development in a variety of ways.

The pupils enjoy taking advantage of the opportunities provided for them, including the play kitchen, number games and scooping and pouring activities.

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

The curriculum at Foxyards has been extensively improved through collaborative work between leaders and teachers. It is ambitious, and leaders have carefully considered the order in which pupils learn key knowledge.

Teachers generally use assessment effectively to check that pupils have understood their learning. However, checking of pupils' understanding is less effective during lessons. This can mean that opportunities to adapt the activities to respond to pupils' misconceptions can be missed.

The teaching of early reading is very effective. Staff are well trained in delivering the phonics programme which starts from the very beginning of Reception. Effective teaching and well-structured resources enable pupils to read with accuracy.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities have their needs identified accurately and appropriate adaptations and support are put in place. Therefore, they achieve well.

Leaders have put considerable thought into the early years curriculum to successfully ensure that the children can progress well to key stage 1.

Developing social interactions is modelled effectively by adults, and children learn well thanks to clear and simple instructions. In Reception, positive progress in writing can been seen, which reflects leaders' work on literacy. Key texts are identified which underpin the children's learning.

Songs and rhymes are also a regular feature of lessons, which the children enjoy.

Leaders have worked effectively to improve pupils' attendance, especially those who most struggle to attend school. They are aware that there remains work to do on the oversight of attendance, and ensuring the most effective actions are taken in a timely fashion, to ensure that all pupils attend regularly.

Around the school, pupils behave with respect for each other. They are confident that adults will intervene should the school's expectations not be met. Leaders are rewriting the school's behaviour policy to further raise expectations and increase consistency in standards.

The personal, social and health and economic education curriculum is well designed and comprehensive. For example, pupils learn about different faiths and cultures, including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism and Judaism. Pupils have good opportunities to join a variety of leadership teams.

They put themselves forward, write speeches and are voted for by their peers. In this way they learn about democracy and how to represent the views of others. Pupils have the opportunity to take part in a variety of educational visits.

Visitors also come to the school to engage the pupils in music, plays and to discuss books. There is also a wide variety of sports opportunities. Leaders are aiming to increase the range of pupils who take up the opportunities they provide.

Leaders are supported by a knowledgeable governance team. They are aware of the challenges facing the school and have a realistic view of its strengths and areas for development. Trust leaders have changed the governance model to ensure leaders in school have even more focused support.

Staff are positive about how leaders work with them to manage workload and how leaders in school and the trust provide for their professional development. Leaders in school are aware that they need to further develop leadership in the school to ensure that all aspects of their provision are as effective as possible.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• On occasion, assessment is not used precisely enough during learning to identify pupils' misconceptions. This means that teachers can miss opportunities to better adapt and support pupils' learning. Leaders need to ensure that all teachers are skilled in using assessment effectively to adapt learning for pupils and address misconceptions.

• Leaders are developing a full strategic oversight of attendance. This means that some aspects of attendance that could be further improved are yet to be addressed. Leaders need to ensure there is ongoing detailed analysis to inform their actions to continue to improve attendance.

• Some leaders are still gaining a detailed oversight of their areas of responsibility. This means that some aspects of the school are yet to be fully developed. The trust should continue to develop their effective work to support and develop leaders at all levels.

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