Kewstoke Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has not established an effective safeguarding culture. Arrangements to keep pupils safe do not meet statutory requirements. For example, the school has not followed up on safeguarding concerns with sufficient rigour.

The school has failed to put support in place for pupils who are at risk of harm.

Pupils are happy in school. They conduct themselves sensibly around the school building and playground.

However, at times, pupils' attitudes to learning are less positive. The school is in the process of developing a new behaviour policy, but it is not applied well by staff. This means that the behaviour of some pupils disrupts learning.

Staff ar...e ambitious for pupils to succeed. Pupils typically learn and achieve well. Most are ready for the next stage of their education.

Pupils benefit from a range of additional opportunities. Many learn to play instruments such as the recorder or saxophone. Clubs such as gymnastics, multi-sport events and crafts help pupils develop their interests.

However, too many pupils miss out on essential learning and enrichment experiences due to persistently high levels of absence.

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

The school has designed a broad and balanced curriculum. It has identified the key knowledge that it wants pupils to learn.

The curriculum is carefully ordered from the early years to Year 6. For example, in mathematics, children in the early years learn to recognise and count whole numbers. As they progress through the school, pupils build their mathematical knowledge well.

For instance, pupils in Years 5 and 6 can explain the relationships between multiples of different numbers.

The school is still developing staff's expertise in a few subjects. This means that some staff lack the confidence to teach areas of the curriculum as well as others.

Sometimes, they do not check that pupils have understood a new idea before the lesson moves on. As a result, some pupils develop gaps in their knowledge. This hinders pupils from building their knowledge in these curriculum areas as securely as they do in the more established subjects.

Reading is prioritised. This starts in the Nursery Year, where staff introduce new words and encourage children to use them in their spoken language. Children in the Reception class, and pupils in key stage 1, are taught the letters and sounds they need to read fluently.

They regularly read books that match the sounds they know. This helps them build confidence when starting to read. Older pupils recognise the importance of reading.

They read from a selection of high-quality novels and picture books that capture their imaginations and foster a love of reading.

The school identifies the additional needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) quickly and accurately. Staff adapt their delivery of the curriculum when necessary.

As a result, most pupils with SEND learn well, particularly in the more established subjects.

In early years, children engage fully in their learning. They demonstrate high levels of curiosity, independence and enjoyment.

However, older pupils' attitudes to learning are not as positive. Some staff do not set high expectations. This means pupils' learning is disrupted because adults do not reinforce the new behaviour policy well.

The school does not track incidents of poor behaviour well enough. This makes it difficult for the school and governors to determine how well the behaviour policy is working and where improvements are needed.

The school is determined to reduce the high rates of persistent absence.

Recently, expectations have been raised. There are early signs of improvement. However, persistent absence remains high for some groups of pupils such as those who are disadvantaged.

Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of healthy friendships and relationships. Through their actions, pupils show an understanding of fundamental British values. The school involves members of the local community in leading clubs and hosting visits to the local church.

Pupils appreciate leadership responsibilities such as being house captains or members of the eco-council. Pupils on the school council are proud of the books that they selected for the new school library.

The school engages well with staff.

Staff appreciate the steps that current leaders have taken to reduce their workload and improve their well-being. Consequently, staff feel valued and appreciated.

More recently, the school has strengthened its work to ensure that it is better aware of the shortfalls in its provision, including that related to safeguarding.

However, the governing body has not carried out its role effectively. The level of challenge offered by governors is not holding the school fully to account for pupils' safety, attitudes to learning or attendance. Governors lack the expertise that they need to fulfil their roles well.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

The safeguarding culture is weak. The systems to keep pupils safe are not effective.

There are widespread failings in the safeguarding of pupils. Governors have not carried out their roles as they should. They do not have enough knowledge to check that safeguarding systems are working.

Governors do not fulfil their statutory responsibilities by ensuring that the school's safeguarding policy is understood and implemented consistently by all adults. Governors have not ensured that their safeguarding and safer recruitment systems are as thorough as they should be. Some staff do not have up-to-date training on aspects of safeguarding.

Pupils learn how to stay safe both online and offline. They are confident that adults in the school will help them if they need it. Staff know how to report safeguarding concerns in a timely manner.

However, the recording of such concerns is ineffective. The school does not review safeguarding records with sufficient rigour. As a result, the school does not have sufficient oversight of safeguarding.

It cannot be assured that suitable actions have been taken to keep pupils safe. It also means that opportunities to systematically identify or address any patterns or trends are missed.

The school does not routinely share information and actively seek expert advice when it should.

In some cases, the school has not taken appropriate action when concerns have been reported to them. This has left some pupils at potential risk of harm. Consequently, the school has failed to spot and act upon serious and significant concerns.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Governors do not fulfil their statutory duties to safeguard pupils. They have not ensured that the safeguarding and safer recruitment systems are as thorough as they need to be. As a result, the school does not have a strong safeguarding culture.

Governors must ensure that the school's safer recruitment procedures are thorough and that there is a full and accurate record of these checks. ? The systems for recording, reviewing and sharing safeguarding concerns are ineffective. Actions taken to safeguard pupils are missed or not taken quickly enough.

This has left some pupils at potential risk of harm. The school should make sure that safeguarding information is recorded precisely and actions are documented clearly and shared in a timely manner. ? Governors do not hold the school to account as well as they should.

They have not challenged the school sufficiently around pupils' behaviour and attendance, meaning that necessary improvements have been slow. Governors must ensure that they gain a clear oversight into the effectiveness of the school's actions so that the necessary improvements are swift and sustainable. ? Some staff have low expectations of pupils' behaviour in lessons.

Some pupils, especially older pupils, lose concentration, which hampers their own ability, and that of others, to learn new concepts. The school should raise its expectations of pupils and ensure that the new behaviour policy is followed consistently well so pupils' behaviour improves. ? The school's work to reduce persistent absence is at an early stage of development.

While there are some signs of success, absence levels remain high. Pupils, therefore, miss out on valuable learning. The school should ensure that it further develops and enhances its systems to reduce the barriers that prevent some pupils from attending school regularly.

• In a few subjects, some staff lack the confidence to deliver subject content well. As a result, pupils do not build their knowledge as securely as they do in the more established subjects. The school should focus on developing staff's knowledge and confidence to teach all parts of the curriculum so that pupils know more and remember more.