Fryent Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this school. They warmly welcome those who arrive throughout the year. Pupils feel and are kept safe.

Relationships between the school and their families are supportive and respectful. Pupils are confident to share any worries they may have and know that any concerns will be addressed.

Pupils typically behave well and engage positively.

Expectations are high and consistently applied. This starts in early years, where children learn to take turns, share and work together. Pupils enjoy being invited to the 'VIP lunch' when they have demonstrated the school's values of creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking.
.../>The curriculum is typically ambitious. However, it is at an early stage of implementation and not taught consistently well. This means that pupils, including some withe special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do not achieve as well as they should, including in national assessments.

Pupils enjoy activities designed to develop their talents and interests in art, sport and music. Pupils benefit from opportunities to visit places of worship and complete a residential trip to Wales. For pupils who may choose not to attend these events, local alternatives are provided, for example rock climbing or kayaking.

Pupils develop a sense of responsibility through fundraising for chosen charities. They take on roles such as becoming members of the school council.

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

Following a period of change, leaders and governors have accurately identified the improvements that are needed to help pupils learn and achieve well.

In most subjects, the curriculum has been updated so that it fully aligns with the breadth and ambition of what is expected nationally.

The knowledge pupils need to learn has been identified. It is well sequenced so that pupils practise and embed important ideas.

For example, in mathematics, children in early years count forwards and backwards in different steps. Pupils build on this when learning to multiply and calculate fractions. Similarly, in religious education (RE), pupils learn about religious leaders, before learning about how people demonstrate their faith through prayer, worship and pilgrimage.

Important aspects of the early years curriculum, such as children's language development and mathematical understanding, are less clearly defined and sequenced. This limits the rigour in developing, for example, children's vocabulary and communication.

In some subjects, the curriculum is delivered effectively and helps pupils achieve well.

However, this is not consistent. Teaching does not routinely build on what pupils already know. Checks on learning are not used well enough to identify and correct misconceptions, so these persist in pupils' understanding.

There are times where learning activities provided do not match the ambition of the intended curriculum. As a result, pupils do not consistently develop the depth of knowledge and understanding they need to achieve well. Leaders have rightly prioritised ensuring that the curriculum is delivered with precision.

They have set appropriate actions to address these weaknesses.

The importance of reading is promoted through author visits, book fairs and competitions. Pupils enjoy reading and being read to.

In the Nursery, children join in enthusiastically with familiar rhymes, stories and songs. Pupils talk confidently about their favourite authors. Staff have been trained to deliver the school's chosen phonics and reading programmes.

However, sounds are not modelled with consistent precision. Although checks are made to identify pupils who need additional support, the information gathered is not used consistently well. Pupils are sometimes moved on before they have secured the knowledge they need.

This limits their fluency, confidence and readiness to learn more complex sounds.

Pupils with SEND are identified swiftly. The school works closely with external specialists to secure helpful advice.

Pupils who attend the additional resource provision receive a strong education. The curriculum is designed carefully and supports pupils to achieve well. Staff in the provision deliver the curriculum with expert precision.

They help pupils to develop as confident and independent individuals, who can manage their feelings and emotions. However, adaptations for some pupils with SEND who attend mainstream classes, do not consistently help them access the intended curriculum. Similarly, some teaching does not build on what pupils have already learned.

This hampers opportunities for these pupils to learn and remember the curriculum.

Pupils try hard and take pride in their work. They move around the school sensibly and are welcoming to visitors.

The school has improved the structure of playtimes. Pupils value these changes. Effective systems for managing attendance have resulted in an improvement in the number of pupils that attend school regularly and on time.

The offer for personal development helps pupils to understand how to keep physically and emotionally healthy. Pupils develop their understanding of challenging discrimination and celebrating diversity through, for example, learning about different faiths. The opportunities provided support pupils who attend the additional resource provision to learn life skills, such as shopping, first aid and fire safety.

There is strong provision for supporting pupils' well-being, including working with specialists to help pupils manage their transition to secondary school.

Staff, including those at the start of their careers, feel well supported to manage their workload and well-being. They value the opportunities they have to develop professionally.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum, including in aspects of reading and mathematics, is not implemented consistently well. As a result, pupils, including some who have recently arrived or have SEND, do not routinely develop the knowledge and understanding they need to achieve well, including in national assessments.

The school should ensure that staff implement the curriculum in the way it has been designed. This includes ensuring staff have sufficient knowledge and understanding to choose activities that match the ambition of the curriculum and make effective use of assessment to identify and address any misconceptions. ? The adaptations made for pupils who are lower attaining, have recently arrived or have SEND in mainstream classes, are not consistently well chosen.

As a result, these pupils are sometimes not supported to access the intended curriculum. The school should ensure that any adaptations help pupils build on what they already know and can do and are closely aligned to their needs and the intended curriculum outcomes. ? The curriculum for early years does not provide sufficient clarification about important aspects of learning, including children's early language and mathematics.

As a result, children are not typically well supported to develop the knowledge and skills they need to access the curriculum. The school should ensure that the curriculum provides sufficient clarity about what children should learn and when. The school should ensure that staff gain the knowledge and support they need to maximise high-quality interactions with children across different areas of learning.