John Perryn Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this nurturing 'family' school. They learn in a calm environment and build strong working relationships with their teachers.

They engage well with their learning and are taught to show kindness to others through the 'John Perryn Way'. This approach aims to make pupils aware of their rights and responsibilities, as well as those of others. Pupils like that leaders and teachers listen to their ideas on how to make the school better.

Leaders ensure that pupils learn a broad and ambitious academic curriculum.Learning in class is enriched by many trips, clubs and activities. Leaders act effectively to secure improvements to what pupils learn and how ...well they remember this knowledge.

This means that pupils are achieving well. By the end of Year 6 they are ready for secondary school, both in terms of the knowledge gained and their attitudes to learning. Many have developed a sense of what they would like to do in the future.

Pupils are happy and safe in school. Teachers have very high expectations. They ensure that they understand the needs of each pupil well.

Working closely with parents and carers, they support pupils according to their specific circumstances and needs. There is very little disruption to learning. Pupils said that bullying is rare.

On the rare occasions on which it occurs, it is dealt with effectively.

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

New leadership has re-established high expectations for pupils' learning across the school. Leaders consider carefully the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

All pupils benefit from studying a broad curriculum that includes all national curriculum subjects.

Leaders ensure that subjects are designed ambitiously. Learning is well sequenced to build knowledge over time.

Leaders have put training in place to ensure that teachers are knowledgeable about the subjects that they teach. They also think carefully about how to build a love of learning, and this was seen very clearly, for example in early years, where classrooms buzzed with children's joy in learning.

Leaders' ongoing work to improve the ambition and delivery of the curriculum means that pupils are now learning and remembering knowledge well in most subjects.

This includes in reading and mathematics.

Leaders have implemented a strong reading curriculum, including for phonics. This is delivered effectively so that pupils grow in confidence as accurate readers.

Teachers check understanding carefully and provide extra help swiftly for pupils, where this is needed. Staff check that pupils are reading books that match their phonics knowledge. Leaders ensure that a love of reading is modelled and encouraged by staff throughout the school.

Pupils who read regularly and widely earn books from the rewards book vending machine. In the early years, staff join in children's play purposefully, modelling how to use vocabulary in different contexts. This supports children's language development effectively.

While overall the curriculum is strong and well established in many subjects, there are a small number of subjects where leaders' work to secure improvements remains incomplete. In subjects which are further ahead in their development, leaders have fully considered the 'nuggets' of knowledge that pupils need to learn. They devise logical sequences of lessons, with well-chosen questions and activities.

This means that pupils acquire and deepen knowledge successfully. In addition, because teachers know what is expected of pupils at each stage, they check carefully for misconceptions and address these effectively.

In those subjects where leaders' work on the curriculum is recent, pupils' understanding and recall of subject content are less secure.

In English, for example, some pupils find it hard to apply what they have learned about grammar when writing extended pieces. New leaders have accurately identified what needs to be better, and are making improvements.

Leaders think carefully about how best to tailor support to pupils' individual needs and circumstances.

For example, when concerns arise about attendance, they work closely with families to ensure that absence is reduced. Leaders also identify pupils with SEND quickly and accurately. They put appropriate support in place, and this is personalised to each pupil's needs.

Pupils who speak English as an additional language also receive well-targeted support, for example with learning subject-specific vocabulary.

Leaders model a culture of kindness in the school. Pupils talk about how the 'John Perryn Way' helps them to behave thoughtfully.

They learn a curriculum that prepares them to understand difference. Pupils engage readily with positions of responsibility like buddying, or as online safety or anti-bullying ambassadors. Leaders consult pupils often about what could make the school better.

The school council recently took on the responsibility of planning changes to the playground.

Governors know the school well and ask challenging questions. They are aware of the demands on leaders.

They have supported them in stabilising the staff team and finding solutions when issues arise, including drawing on support from the local authority's educational advisers.

Staff are proud to work at the school. They feel well supported by the knowledgeable and focused leadership team.

Families are appreciative of all that staff do to support and care for their children.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders are vigilant.

They ensure that staff are well trained to recognise and report concerns about pupils. Leaders are swift to respond to these. They provide support in school and make referrals to safeguarding partners where this is needed.

They work supportively with families to address concerns.

Leaders carry out checks to ensure that appropriate staff are employed. They have rigorous processes in place to manage concerns about staff if they arise.

Pupils learn how to stay safe through a carefully designed curriculum. They know how to report concerns and trust staff to help them. They feel safe.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Sometimes, teaching does not rigorously check how well pupils have learned key knowledge. This means that there are times when some pupils retain misconceptions. Leaders need to further train staff so that they routinely check effectively how well pupils have understood and remembered the taught curriculum.

• In a few subjects, leaders' work to raise ambition and improve how well pupils learn remains ongoing. Pupils' understanding and recall of subject content in these areas of the curriculum are less secure than in the other areas. Leaders need to embed their work to ensure that all subjects are planned and taught with ambition and rigour, so that pupils achieve highly across the curriculum.

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