Lady Elizabeth Hastings’ CofE VA Primary School, Thorp Arch

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for what pupils will learn.

These are realised. Pupils are safe, happy and achieve well. Relationships between adults and pupils are nurturing.

The school ensures pupils have specific adults they can go to if they have any concerns or worries.

Pupils are supported to understand and regulate their emotions. This is effective and pupils behave very well in lessons.

Classrooms, from the early years to Year 6, are calm and purposeful learning environments. At breaktimes, older pupils care for younger pupils. These interactions are nurturing, reflecting the qualities modelled to pupils by adults.

Pupils have a dee...p and rich understanding of the world around them. They enjoy a high-quality personal development curriculum. In most subjects, the school ensures they rapidly identify and close any gaps in pupils' knowledge.

Alongside this, pupils thrive in a range of exciting extra-curricular activities. They play sports and learn instruments. Forest school also skilfully promotes pupils' spiritual and moral development.

It does this through expertly planned and sequenced learning.

Pupils make an impressive contribution to society. They raise money for a range of charities.

For instance, they carry a mattress around the school field. This raises awareness of the lack of beds for people in poverty.

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

The school prioritises learning to read.

Phonics lessons are well sequenced. Staff access regular training and support, which enables them to follow the phonics approach with fidelity. Pupils quickly learn the sounds that they need to begin to learn to read.

Pupils read books that match their current phonics knowledge. This helps them to develop into confident readers. Any pupils at risk of falling behind access extra sessions.

This intervention is highly effective and helps pupils to remember sounds and read them in words.

The school has implemented a new broad and balanced curriculum. Leaders have thought carefully about what they want pupils to learn in each subject.

This supports all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to progress well through the curriculum from the early years through to Year 6. Leaders check what is being taught in lessons regularly. This ensures that any staff training needs are successfully addressed.

However, in a small number of foundation subjects, assessments in lessons are not checking what pupils learn precisely enough. As a result, the school is not able to consistently identify and address gaps in learning. In these subjects, pupils are not benefiting from the curriculum as much as they could be.

Early years provision at the school is exceptional. The curriculum is carefully considered so that it aligns to children's development needs. Adults introduce activities carefully to model learning and support children's understanding.

These activities are then embedded in the learning environment. Here, children can rehearse and develop further confidence and accuracy in a highly meaningful way. The school actively involves parents in the children's learning.

This includes providing parents with information to help support children's learning at home. Children in early years are extremely well-prepared to confidently make their next steps in education.

The personal development offer in the school is of an exceptionally high quality.

Staff systematically revisit and build on pupils' understanding each year. As a result, pupils have a deep understanding across a range of important areas. This includes having clear and precise knowledge about gender stereotypes and equality.

For example, pupils in Year 6 share expert views on individual freedom to wear clothes that best represent them. The taught curriculum includes fundamental British values. This is effective and pupils have a detailed grasp of elements such as democracy.

The school enhances pupils' understanding by expertly weaving British values into their daily school life. Leaders are adept at monitoring the personal development offer and addressing any gaps. This means that pupils' understanding is consistently and effectively realised at an age-appropriate level.

Over recent years, there has been some turbulence in staffing. Leaders have not let this prevent them from improving the school. They have ensured that staff and parents are informed during this period of transition.

This has been done skilfully and effectively by school leaders. Staff are incredibly happy working at the school. They state their well-being and workload is always considered.

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school. Typical comments include, 'It is a privilege to be able to send our children to such a caring and supportive school. Our children are thriving.'



Governance at the school is very effective. Governors have the skills and expertise to fulfil their roles well. They ensure they have an accurate picture of the school through robust systems of checking and quality assurance.

Governors provide appropriate challenge and support to school leaders. There is a clearly positive impact from governors' actions.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Assessments in some foundation subjects are not providing the school with precise information on pupils' learning. As a result, the school is not able to ensure the curriculum is implemented as consistently as it could be. Leaders should refine how they monitor curriculum impact so that their high ambitions can be realised across all subjects.