Gotherington Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The Gotherington GOALS are woven into daily life for pupils.

The GOALS help pupils to develop positive attitudes to learning. For example, pupils of all ages are proud of how they strive to give their best and love learning. Consequently, pupils have a good understanding of what it means to be a successful learner.

Pupils enjoy taking on responsibility through roles such as house captains and school councillors. They are proud of the contribution they make to school life, such as the design of the new buildings and play resources. Pupils feel part of their community.

They participate in charitable work, such as the food bank, to help those in need. They mark ...important national occasions by representing the school at the annual Remembrance service and join the village in celebrations such as the living Advent calendar.

In lessons, pupils are attentive and work hard.

They learn that people are different and have different opinions and backgrounds. They know that it is important to treat everyone fairly. However, this does not always show in their behaviour towards one another.

Some pupils experience friendship issues and name calling. The school's new restorative approach to managing behaviour is not yet embedded. This means that some pupils still struggle to interact kindly and take personal responsibility for their actions.

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

Reading is at the heart of the school's curriculum. The 'Reading River' for each year group identifies books that pupils will study or listen to during the year. This means that pupils leave the school having read a broad range of fiction and non-fiction.

The curriculum for Reception children uses rich stories that spark their interest and enjoyment in reading. Author visits, local competitions and initiatives such as the 'Birthday Book' all contribute to pupils' love of reading.

The school ensures that pupils learn to read well.

The sequenced phonics programme builds pupils' knowledge and fluency as readers. Any pupils who need help receive support promptly. Older pupils develop key reading skills.

They gradually apply these to more and more complex texts. At times, these texts are too difficult for some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to read independently.

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum.

It has chosen content that develops pupils' cultural capital and equips them with the knowledge and skills they need for the future. This knowledge is carefully sequenced so that pupils build on what they already know. The school has also ensured that pupils can build links between subjects.

The school has identified the key concepts pupils need to understand. While these are not yet fully embedded, they are already having an impact on pupils' learning.For example, pupils can make links across different historical periods, such as inventions in the Victorian age and tools in the Iron Age.

Teaching accurately checks pupils' understanding. Any misconceptions are addressed quickly. This helps pupils to secure their understanding.

For example, in phonics, pupils quickly learn the accurate pronunciation of sounds. This is because teaching picks up any incorrect articulation. In some subjects, the school is refining assessments to link more closely to the knowledge pupils need to learn.

Pupils with SEND learn alongside their peers. Adult support helps pupils to read and participate in learning. However, teaching sometimes relies too heavily on this one type of support.

It does not use a wide range of adaptation to enable pupils to learn independently.

The school has developed a range of provision to support pupils' mental health and well-being. The school dog, Hero, is successfully used to encourage pupils to come to school, to regulate their behaviour and to comfort them.

They are proud of the mental health award they have.

Governors play an important role in shaping the vision for the school.They have a good understanding of the community it serves and how this has changed over recent years.

They know precisely the strengths and areas for development within the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Teaching does not use a wide range of adaptation to help pupils with SEND to learn well.

Consequently, pupils are over-reliant on adult support and struggle to learn independently. The school must develop teachers' skills to scaffold learning for pupils with SEND so that they develop independence in their learning. ? Some pupils do not always behave well towards one another.

The school does not use the information from incidents to adapt what pupils learn in the wider, non-academic curriculum so that there is demonstrable improvement to their interactions. The school must make better use of analysis to shape the provision for personal development and behaviour management. This is to enable pupils to apply what they learn to their relationships and interactions with one another.