Kilmorie Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a friendly and nurturing school. From the early years, children benefit from caring and supportive relationships with adults who help them to identify their emotions and to access a range of support, when necessary.

Pupils' typically achieve well in national tests and develop knowledge across the curriculum.

Leaders have reviewed the curriculum and made changes to deepen pupils' understanding of some key concepts.

Pupils are polite, courteous and kind. From the early years they play well together.

The school teaches pupils' the 'Kilmorie Qualities' to help them to understand and reflect on important social and learning behaviours such as resp...ect and resilience. Pupils typically listen carefully in the classroom and teachers provide support where pupils need it to focus on their learning.

There are a broad range of high-quality opportunities provided by the school to develop pupils' talents and interests, including instrumental lessons and sporting competitions.

Memorable events include performances on stage in a local theatre and residential stays for pupils in Years 4 and 6 where pupils learn to climb and abseil. The school organises a wide range of extra-curricular clubs including karate, chess and creative writing although the school has not ensured that all pupils benefit from all that the school has to offer.

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

The school monitors carefully the quality of education to identify areas where improvements could be made and leaders act on these.

The school has ensured that pupils learn a broad curriculum and are taught key concepts in a logical sequence in order to build pupils' knowledge over time.

Leaders take pupils' starting points into account and build upon these. For example, in the Nursery children have opportunities to develop their physical skills through climbing and balancing.

Through working with a range of simple tools, for example to cut dough for biscuits and pastry in weekly cooking classes, children also develop their manual dexterity. This prepares them for increasingly precise tasks in Reception such as drawing, forming letters and using a needle and thread to sew simple stitches.

However, some systems for identifying the starting points and needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) across the school have been more recently introduced.

Where this is the case, the work given to pupils with SEND, and adaptations to teaching and resources made for them, do not take full account of their prior knowledge. As a result, sometimes pupils with SEND move on to new work too soon before they have the knowledge they need to grasp new concepts fully.

The school has provided a range of training and support which helps staff to develop their subject knowledge and expertise, including in areas of the curriculum that have more recently been redeveloped.

Staff use a range of resources to support pupils' understanding. However, in some instances the activities that pupils are set do not focus on the key aims of the curriculum, including in the early years. When teaching does not check systematically that pupils have understood key concepts, pupils sometimes recall less important content and forget other content that is more important.

Leaders have made reading a priority. Pupils enjoy reading a wide range of quality texts. There is a clear curriculum for reading in place and training has ensured that staff have secure expertise in teaching early reading.

In the Nursery, children have regular opportunities to hear well-chosen stories and to develop an early awareness of books that they will read later on. From the start of their time in Reception, children are taught the important phonic knowledge they need to decode words and read with increasing accuracy and fluency. Later, pupils learn to read an increasingly wide range of texts with expression and understanding.

Leaders identify pupils who need additional support with reading and ensure that they receive the help they need to catch up.

Pupils' personal development is well supported. They are taught about how to stay healthy, starting in the early years where children have regular opportunities to learn about nutritious foods.

Across the school, pupils have been taught about healthy and safe relationships. Pupils are encouraged to stay safe, including online, and to report any concerns to an adult or via one of the school's worry boxes.

Classrooms are typically settled and calm.

Pupils enjoy learning. Where pupils need additional support to meet high expectations of their behaviour, the school provides it. There are clear systems in place for supporting and encouraging attendance, and attendance rates are typically high.

Governors, leaders and the local authority are well appraised of the school's improvement priorities and monitor these effectively. Staff typically appreciate the training they receive. Leaders should build upon this by ensuring that staff are provided with further guidance and support to help them to embed recent changes to the curriculum and to support for pupils with SEND.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Sometimes, teaching does not focus on work that supports pupils to learn the intended curriculum, including in the early years. Additionally, teaching does not check systematically that pupils have understood key concepts fully.

As a result, pupils' knowledge is less well developed in some areas of the curriculum which makes it difficult for them to deepen and extend their learning fully in some areas. Leaders should ensure that the activities pupils are set help them to learn key subject concepts securely and that teaching checks systematically that pupils know what they need to before moving on to new learning. ? Where systems to identify and meet the needs of pupils with SEND are new, the work given to pupils with SEND, and adaptations to teaching and resources made for them, do not take full account of their prior knowledge.

As a result, some adaptations made for pupils with SEND are not well focused on helping them to understand and remember key subject content. This leads to pupils with SEND sometimes having less secure knowledge in some areas of the curriculum. Leaders should continue to embed new systems to address this.