Freethorpe Community Primary and Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like their school and are happy. This is because staff care about pupils' well-being and have high expectations for their learning.

Pupils are safe. They are kind and look out for each other. Pupils know they can always seek help from an adult if they have a concern.

Pupils' attendance rates are high. Reception-age children are ready to learn because their teachers establish clear routines. They quickly gain knowledge of the world around them.

Pupils are eager to answer teachers' questions and discuss what they have learned. They play well together. Younger children enjoy reading with their older peers.

Pupils appreciate the multitude of clubs... and other extra-curricular activities on offer. They compete in a number of sports, which develops teamwork. Pupils hone their horticultural knowledge in the garden.

They build their patience and self-control in the archery club. They sing, dance and act in musical theatre productions.

Pupils enjoy a range of excursions and visits by outside speakers.

They go to churches, coastal museums and Norwich castle. Visitors re-enact Ancient Greece and the battle of Troy. These activities enhance pupils' geographical, historical and cultural understanding.

Pupils experience life away from home and develop independence on residential trips to the Isle of Wight.

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

The school has constructed a highly ambitious curriculum to guide pupils' understanding of the world and equip them with the knowledge needed to navigate this. The content pupils learn links logically to what they have learned before and to other areas of the curriculum.

Older pupils explore 'Oliver Twist', for example, and learn about life in Victorian Britain. This helps them to empathise with children who experienced hardship, both current and past.

In light of weak outcomes in mathematics in 2023, leaders bolstered the curriculum.

Teachers now ensure pupils practise arithmetic regularly. As a result, pupils calculate with ease. Leaders continue to refine the curriculum so that pupils apply their mathematical knowledge more independently to reason and solve problems.

Staff present new knowledge with clarity. They meticulously check that pupils understand. Their questions refine and shape pupils' thinking.

Leaders have made reading a priority. Teachers adopt a consistent approach to the teaching of reading. In the Nursery, children learn rhymes and listen to stories.

Reception-age children recognise new sounds and form letters accurately. They begin to blend these sounds to read words. Older pupils read with fluency and expression.

They grasp grammatical concepts and apply these to their written work. Teachers respond quickly when pupils fall behind with their reading to help them catch up.

The school has established an inclusive ethos.

Most pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) flourish because of the support they receive. They are happy and confident. Pupils treat their friends with SEND with kindness and patience.

Attendance of pupils with SEND has improved considerably over the last year. However, a minority of pupils with SEND do not swiftly benefit from precise support to help them read better. Furthermore, some teachers do not receive appropriate guidance on how best to adapt the curriculum for pupils with SEND.

As a result, some pupils with SEND do not read, or achieve, as well as they could.

The school provides a well-structured personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum. Pupils understand how their bodies, thinking and interactions will change in an age-appropriate way.

They know how to develop healthy relationships founded on respect and consideration. Pupils are open-minded and do not tolerate any form of prejudice. Pupils' understanding of world religions and other cultures, however, is limited.

Pupils contribute to school life and the local community. They vote for representatives on the school council. The school councillors' ideas lead to changes to school life, such as new activities at lunchtime when the weather is inclement.

Pupils raise money for charity and care for the local environment. These experiences strengthen pupils' understanding of democracy and they gain important leadership skills.

Leaders have a robust understanding of what the school does well.

They identify concisely how the school needs to develop. Governors support leaders and hold them to account for their decisions. Leaders' actions lead to improvements in the quality of the curriculum and areas of school life.

Staff appreciate the training they receive, which supports them to realise the school's ambitious vision better. Most parents are happy with the quality of the education the school provides. Some are less pleased but acknowledge recent improvements.

The school is well placed to improve even further.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school does not ensure that pupils build sufficient knowledge of different world religions, cultures and their commonalities.

As a result, pupils do not develop as rich an understanding of diversity in Britain and the wider world as they could. The school must ensure that pupils gain a broader knowledge of global religions and cultures so they are better prepared for life in a richly diverse world. ? The school does not provide teachers with precise guidance on how to adapt the curriculum for some pupils with SEND.

Furthermore, some pupils with SEND do not receive swift and appropriate support to help them to read better. As a result, pupils' learning slows. The school must ensure that all pupils with SEND receive precise and timely support to help them to achieve as well as they could.