Helmdon Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school's core beliefs of 'happiness, perseverance and success' encapsulate the caring, aspirational ethos at Helmdon.

Pupils feel safe and secure in this nurturing environment. They say that staff motivate them and encourage them to do their best.

Pupils behave well.

They are courteous and considerate. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and they work hard in lessons. They concentrate and listen well most of the time.

Pupils are proud of their school. They attend well. Pupils like spending time with each other.

They play together nicely. They make the most of the resources and facilities on offer at break times to be active. Pupil...s enjoy running the daily mile.

They say, 'It's good for your mental health and your physical health.' Pupils also look forward to competing in one of the many sports tournaments that the school takes part in.

The school provides a wide range of enrichment activities.

Through its 'contract of cultural entitlement', pupils learn about societies and traditions from around the world, as well as what makes Britain special. This includes a variety of musical, literary, artistic and theatrical experiences. These opportunities have been deliberately chosen to broaden pupils' horizons and prepare them for their futures.

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

Pupils achieve highly in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2. This journey begins in the early years, with so many opportunities for children to consolidate and apply their literacy and numeracy skills. Children in Reception enjoy spending time at the writing table.

They think carefully about the letter sounds they will use to spell words. They enjoy showing how they can write in full sentences on their own.

Reading is an integral part of the curriculum at Helmdon.

Pupils encounter a rich range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry in each class. This selection includes stories to teach pupils about diversity and equality. The value that the school places on reading is reflected in pupils' attitudes.

Pupils enjoy reading. They read often in their own time. Staff implement the school's chosen phonics programme consistently well.

The school ensures that anyone who falls behind in phonics is given support straight away to catch up. Pupils read books containing the letter sounds they recognise. This helps to develop their fluency.

Younger pupils enjoy sharing stories with Louis, the reading dog who visits the school.

There have been significant improvements to other areas of the curriculum since the last inspection. The school has adopted several new schemes of learning.

As a result, there is now a precise order to what pupils will be taught in all subjects. However, the school is in the early stages of delivering some of these changes. The new approach to helping pupils remember their prior learning has not yet had the impact that the school intends, in some subjects.

Some pupils cannot recall the important knowledge that they have been taught in sufficient detail, in those areas of the curriculum.

The school checks on the quality of teaching and learning more effectively in some subjects than others. Where checks have been less frequent, pupils' understanding is less secure.

The school has improved its provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). It has ensured that staff have the expertise they require to meet the needs of pupils with SEND in their lessons. This means that pupils with SEND learn the same curriculum content as their peers.

Staff have good subject knowledge. They explain things clearly. They check pupils' understanding before moving on.

Staff ensure that pupils have access to materials and resources to support their thinking. The development of pupils' vocabulary is a consistent feature of lessons in all subjects. Staff encourage pupils to use precise, technical terms.

They provide 'sentence stems' to help pupils structure their verbal responses accurately.

There are many opportunities for pupils to learn about their community, their country and the wider world. Pupils have a very good understanding of British values and equality.

They know why these values are important. However, pupils' knowledge of world faiths is less secure. There are a wide range of clubs and responsibilities on offer to develop pupils' talents and interests.

There is high quality pastoral support available for pupils who need additional support.

Staff like being part of a supportive, committed team. They appreciate the consideration that is given to their workload.

They say, 'We wear many hats, but well-being is clearly a priority here.'

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school has developed its approach to the recall of prior learning in some subjects.

However, these changes are quite recent. They are yet to have the intended impact on what pupils remember. The school should embed the changes that have been made to its curriculum, ensuring that pupils remember important knowledge securely over the long term.

• The school checks how well the curriculum is being taught and learned in some subjects more effectively than others. Where subject monitoring is less frequent, pupils do not gain a sufficiently detailed understanding of the curriculum. The school must check closely on the implementation and impact of the curriculum in all subjects, so its ambitious vision is fully realised.