Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is an inclusive school that welcomes all pupils. Staff share a strong commitment to supporting pupils' emotional needs. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and encouraging.

All pupils are valued and feel part of the school community. They love coming to school and attend well.

The school has high aspirations for pupils' achievement.

However, pupils underachieve because there is weakness in the quality of education. This is because pupils have not benefited from a curriculum that builds knowledge securely over time.

Pupils appreciate the focus placed on their mental health.

The culture of respect means that pupils know they c...an talk to a trusted adult if they have any concerns. As a result, they feel safe.

Pupils behave well in the classroom and at social times.

During breaktimes, pupils from different age groups play together cooperatively. They construct dens, climb trees and participate in sports. Pupils value the enrichment activities they have.

Clubs like yoga, darts and running develop pupils' interests and build character. Trips and visits enhance the curriculum. Pupils build knowledge of other cultures, for example, through an exchange trip to Berlin.

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

The school has not secured a high-quality curriculum for pupils. In some subjects, it has not sequenced the knowledge it expects pupils to know and remember. This makes it difficult for staff to identify and check what pupils have learned.

As a result, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge.

Where the school has reviewed the design of some subjects, the curriculum is stronger. In these subjects, the school has identified and sequenced the important knowledge pupils need to learn over time.

For example, in mathematics, children in the Reception Year learn mathematical terms, such as subitise and can use them with confidence. Older pupils build on this and use technical language to solve problems involving fractions. However, some subject curriculums are still developing.

The school has not checked the impact of the curriculum in some subjects with enough rigour. Consequently, some staff do not cover content in sufficient depth.

Children in the early years get off to a positive start.

They show high levels of interest and motivation in their learning. The provision for two- and three-year-olds focuses on developing children's communication skills. Consequently, children use this new language enthusiastically in their play.

In the Reception Year, children start to learn phonics. They use letters and sounds to help them read and write. Pupils read books that are closely matched to the sounds that they know.

This helps them to build fluency and confidence. Staff make regular checks to find out what pupils remember well. They intervene quickly to help pupils keep up.

This is reflected in the high proportion of pupils in Year 1 who succeed in the phonics screening check. Most older pupils enjoy reading. Pupils read from a wide range of genres on a regular basis.

The school's approach to behaviour centres around strong relationships with pupils. When pupils struggle to regulate their behaviour, skilled staff support them well. The school identifies pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well.

They provide effective emotional support for pupils and their families so that pupils with SEND, including those who attend the 'Bluecoat' resource base, are involved in the life of the school. Pupils with SEND learn from the same curriculum as their peers.

The school has taken resolute action to improve pupils' attendance.

The school offers support to families in removing barriers that might be stopping pupils from coming to school.

When the subject curriculum is followed as the school intends, activities are often adapted well to pupils' needs and they make progress through the curriculum. However, the lack of clarity about what all pupils should learn in some subjects hinders pupils' ability to know more and remember more.

In some cases, the activities that teachers design do not deepen pupils' knowledge or enable them to connect their learning.

The personal social and health education curriculum develops pupils' understanding of online safety, healthy relationships and how their bodies change as they get older. Pupils are tolerant and understand the importance of equality.

Older pupils have several leadership opportunities, such as mental health ambassadors, school councillors or peer mediators. These roles help pupils feel valued and make a difference to the school.

Governors carry out their statutory duties well.

However, they do not hold the school to account with rigour, including over the quality of education. Staff appreciate the support and consideration for their well-being.

Parents and carers are pleased with how well the school cares for their children.

Typically, parents recommend 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)

• In subjects where the curriculum is new or recently refined, pupils, including those with SEND, have gaps in their knowledge.

This makes it hard for pupils to build their knowledge over time. The school should ensure that the curriculum sequencing in all subjects provides pupils with the best chance of building their knowledge securely over time. ? The school has not checked the impact of the curriculum in some subjects with enough rigour.

Consequently, some staff do not cover content in sufficient depth. This limits the breadth of knowledge pupils acquire. The school should ensure that the school strengthens its checks and evaluation of the impact of the curriculum on pupils' learning.

• In some subjects, teachers do not provide pupils with work that matches the intent of the curriculum. This means that pupils are not supported to reach the aims of the curriculum. The school should ensure that teachers have the knowledge that they need to design activities that connect learning and help pupils to build up a deep body of knowledge.

• Governors do not have a secure insight into the quality of the school's curriculum. This means that they are not well placed to hold leaders to account for the impact of their actions and are not sufficiently informed about how well curriculum changes are being implemented. Governors should review how they oversee the work of the school so that they can be assured that pupils are able to achieve well throughout the curriculum.