Furneux Pelham Church of England School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Furneux Pelham Church of England School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this warm and welcoming school with a close-knit family feel.

From the moment children start in the Reception Year, they quickly settle into school life. Staff typically have high expectations of pupils. Pupils work hard to meet these expectations and, overall, they achieve well.

The school provides a range of enrichment opportunities that enhance the curriculum. Pupils benefit from a wide variety of trips, events and extra-curricular activities. These broaden pupils' horizons and o...pen their eyes to the world around them.

For example, pupils value the chance to plant trees in the school grounds or represent the school when singing at The Royal Albert Hall.

There is a clear culture of respect for differences across the school. Pupils freely debate their own opinions during lessons in a respectful and thoughtful manner.

They develop their confidence by leading assemblies about their own cultures and beliefs. This helps pupils to learn from each other. It also builds the positive relationships pupils share.

Pupils look after each other when playing on the playground or when sitting together to chat during lunchtime. All of this helps to establish the strong sense of community that exists in the school.

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

The school has recently introduced new curriculums in most subjects.

Across subjects, the curriculum is well designed. The school has set out the knowledge pupils need to understand into a logical order to meet the needs of the mixed-age classes. This helps pupils to build their understanding over time.

Teachers typically have appropriate subject knowledge. They check pupils' understanding closely. Usually, teachers use these checks to help them match work to what pupils need.

For example, in the Reception Year, well-designed activities enable children to secure their understanding of number, shapes and patterns. This helps children to be well prepared for learning in Year 1. However, staff do not consistently adapt the learning activities they expect pupils to complete as well as they could.

Sometimes, teachers set pupils complex work before they have secured the building blocks of knowledge they need to access it. On other occasions, they set work that is too easy and does not deepen pupils' knowledge as well as it could.

The school identifies the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well.

New approaches to doing this have added greater clarity for staff in how best to support pupils with SEND. This helps staff to provide the help pupils with SEND need to learn well. For example, the use of specific resources in mathematics helps pupils to articulate their understanding of what they have learned.

The school has established a positive reading culture. This begins when children first start in the Reception Year. Staff identify pupils who need extra help with their reading.

Effective, focused phonics sessions help these pupils to develop both their confidence and fluency. Pupils of all ages enjoy reading. Staff inspire pupils to read widely and often through the books they read to them in class.

Older pupils love to settle down to a good book.

Pupils enjoy writing. The English curriculum teaches pupils to write with creativity and flair.

Pupils write well for different audiences and purposes. They use interesting language that makes their writing engaging to read. However, pupils sometimes struggle to use some technical features of writing linked to handwriting, grammar, punctuation and spelling.

This is because staff expect pupils to apply these features before they have secured their understanding of them. When this happens, some pupils make common errors in their writing that persist.

Pupils typically behave well throughout the school day.

Children in the Reception Year quickly develop the confidence and independence they need to be effective learners. The school further develops this through the personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) curriculum. This teaches pupils important knowledge to prepare them well for their futures such as what makes a healthy relationship.

Governors keep a close eye on how well the school is doing. Leaders have carefully managed the recent improvements they have made to the curriculum. This has developed staff subject knowledge while carefully managing their workload and well-being.

This means staff provide the support that pupils need to achieve well. Staff are proud to be members of the school community.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There are occasions when staff give pupils work before they have the prior knowledge they need to access it. In other instances, staff do not provide pupils with the work they need to deepen their existing knowledge. When this happens, pupils do not build on their understanding as well as they could.

The school should ensure staff understand how to adapt the work they give to pupils to what pupils need. This is so pupils better secure or deepen their understanding of important knowledge. ? Sometimes the school expects pupils to apply important technical features of writing before they know how to.

When this happens, pupils make errors in their writing. The school should ensure that teachers provide pupils with the opportunities they need to secure their understanding of important knowledge in handwriting, grammar, punctuation and spelling. This is so pupils better apply this to their independent writing.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in January 2020.