Gatten and Lake Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils across the school are settled and happy. They engage in activities in the 'learning street' with enthusiasm.

Pupils are eager to share their learning. They aspire to fulfil the school vision of 'excellence for each child, each day'. Staff are ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Leaders have high expectations of how pupils conduct themselves. These begin in the early years where pupils are supported to follow clear routines. Generally, pupils follow the school rules.

Where they find this difficult, pupils are provided with effective support. Good manners are modelled by staff. In the dinin...g hall, pupils follow these examples when having their lunch.

Playtimes are usually positive experiences where pupils play together with care. Bullying is rare. It is not tolerated at this school, and any incidents are dealt with well by adults.

Pupils enjoy participating in the range of experiences on offer. These are led by pupils' interests. There is a strong focus on listening to the pupils, and their opinions are valued.

Pupils are proud to represent the school in sporting competitions. Members of the girls' football team were particularly keen to share their recent victory with the inspectors.

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

This is an inclusive school.

There is a shared ambition for every pupil to learn well. Leaders quickly identify pupils who have additional learning needs. Part of this is through communication with staff and parents.

Leaders also seek advice from external agencies to provide bespoke support to individual pupils. Guidance is provided to teachers so that they know how to make curriculum adaptations to support pupils with SEND. This means that pupils with SEND can access the curriculum content alongside their peers.

In most subjects, there is a clear learning journey that allows pupils to make progress. In these subjects, leaders have identified and ordered the important knowledge that pupils need to learn. Teachers have strong subject knowledge.

They use this to good effect to question pupils so their understanding develops. However, this does not happen as well in some areas, including Spanish and design and technology. In these subjects, leaders have not yet decided on the most important information that pupils must learn.

This makes it difficult for teachers to know what they should check pupils know and remember.

Reading has been successfully prioritised by the school. Leaders understand that being able to read unlocks the curriculum for pupils.

They have invested in resources to encourage a love of reading. The new library is a focal point for pupils. Pupils who are at the early stages of reading are given the support needed to learn new sounds.

They are provided with books that match the sounds they have learned. In the early years, children become immersed in books and poetry. They enthusiastically join in when reciting their poems and can remember key phrases from shared stories.

Personal development is a strength at this school. The wide variety of clubs are matched to pupils' interests. Pupils learn about healthy relationships in an age-appropriate way.

Year 6 pupils are able to talk about different scenarios where they might feel uncomfortable and what they would do. This work helps to prepare them for secondary school. The oldest pupils help to run a bank in school.

This begins to prepare them for their future. Pupils understand that being elected to the school council is a form of democracy. They are able to relate this to voting in parliament.

Leaders share clear expectations for behaviour. From the early years, pupils learn how to resolve fallings out. This is supported by adults.

During lessons, staff challenge any off-task behaviour. Pupils respond positively and adapt their behaviour. This means that learning is not disturbed.

Sometimes, instances of poor behaviour on the playground are not challenged by adults. When pupils are finding things tricky, they can communicate this using the feelings boards in classrooms.

Staff are appreciative of the opportunities that they have for professional development.

Leaders provide training to staff to assist them to become more proficient in their roles. Subject leaders also attend network meetings to inform their own understanding. These allow them to work with colleagues from other schools to share ideas and enhance their own practice.

Staff generally feel well supported and know that leaders consider their workload and well-being. Governors are clear about their roles and responsibilities. They have linked areas to focus on.

This means that they collectively develop an overview of the school's work. They provide effective support and challenge.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Safeguarding is prioritised in this school. Staff and governors are well trained. As a result, there is a shared awareness of the procedures for raising concerns.

Leaders make referrals to other agencies when families need help. They challenge these agencies if they feel that the support is not good enough. The correct checks are carried out when appointing new members of staff.

Leaders have a clear understanding of the school community. They work with other agencies to develop greater awareness of local risk factors. Pupils learn how to stay safe in a number of ways, including road safety awareness and potential online perils.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the curriculum design is not complete. Where this is the case, teachers are not necessarily clear on how to build pupils' knowledge and understanding systematically. Leaders need to make sure they have identified and sequenced the key content to be taught in all subjects.

• There is not an agreed approach to assessing pupils' component knowledge in some foundation subjects. Staff do not always know what pupils have retained. Leaders must ensure that teachers understand what pupils must know and be able to do in each subject and use this information to plan future learning.

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