Lawrence Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are well cared for by the adults in school. Many pupils join the school at different times in the year. They arrive from a wide range of countries.

There are currently 32 different languages spoken by these pupils. Pupils embrace the diverse nature of their school community. Pupils said of their music lessons 'when we sing, we sing in unison'.

This sums up the way pupils interact. They respect each other. Pupils' positive attitudes help to make the school a happy and harmonious place.

Children in the early years, and pupils who are new to school, settle quickly into the routines of learning. Pupils behave well in lessons, at playtimes and when they mov...e around school. They said that bullying occasionally happens, but that staff deal well with any incidents.

Pupils feel safe and well supported.

Leaders have high expectations for pupils. Pupils in key stages 1 and 2 achieve better than they did in the past.

Leaders have improved the early years curriculum, particularly for children in the nursery. However, children in the Reception Year have not benefited from these improvements. These children are not as well prepared for their next stage of education as they need to be.

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

Leaders ensure that all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), access an exciting and ambitious curriculum. The curriculum supports pupils to develop a wide range of knowledge and to explore new talents and interests.

Subject leaders carefully consider what pupils need to know and the order that knowledge should be taught.

This clarity helps teachers to ensure that pupils successfully build on their learning over time in most subjects. However, leaders do not provide sufficient guidance for staff who teach and support learning in the early years. This is particularly the case for staff who work with reception-aged children.

These staff miss opportunities to reinforce or extend children's knowledge across each area of learning. There is an unevenness in children's development as a result. Children are not fully equipped to embrace the challenges of the Year 1 curriculum.

In most subjects, teachers have been well trained to deliver leaders' high-quality curriculums. Teachers make sure that pupils acquire the key knowledge that leaders expect them to. They carefully identify and address pupils' misconceptions.

In these subjects, teachers are also clear about the best way to deliver new learning to pupils. This enables pupils, including pupils with SEND, to learn well.

In a small number of subjects teachers have not received the training that they need to deliver the curriculum as effectively as they should.

As a result, teachers do not consistently choose the most appropriate activities to support pupils' learning. Pupils do not achieve as well as they could in these subjects.Staff in the Nursery Year encourage children to listen carefully for sounds.

They introduce children to lots of new words through stories and play. Children begin to learn to read as soon as they enter the Reception Year. However, leaders' expectations of how quickly some children should learn new letters and sounds are too low.

As pupils move into key stage 1, teachers support pupils to close the gaps in their phonics knowledge. Pupils develop a love of reading. Older pupils are keen readers.

They talk knowledgeably about a wide range of texts that they have read. Pupils' secure reading knowledge supports them well to learn new knowledge in other subjects.

Teachers help pupils who are behind with their learning to catch-up quickly.

This includes providing extra help for pupils who arrive from overseas at the early stage of learning to speak English. These pupils receive well-tailored support to help them build secure spoken language and reading knowledge.

Leaders identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND effectively, including in the early years.

They ensure that children and pupils with SEND have access to the same curriculum as their peers.

Leaders and staff place a strong focus on pupils' wider development. Pupils are caring.

They want to help others. Pupils learn about diversity among people and families. They demonstrate mature attitudes towards each other.

This supports pupils to behave well and focus on their learning in lessons without interruption.

Governors have benefited from external support to develop their expertise. The governing body has been strengthened by recent appointments.

Governors are well- equipped to offer leaders informed support and challenge. Staff feel valued and supported. They appreciate that leaders are considerate of their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders make sure that staff know how to keep pupils safe. Staff identify pupils who may be at risk of harm and take appropriate action if they have a concern.

Leaders follow up any concerns swiftly. They work closely with a range of partner agencies to support families and protect pupils.

Staff also know how to identify pupils who may need help with their mental or emotional health.

Leaders put effective pastoral support in place quickly.

Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe online. They learn about potential risks in the community, including knife crime.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have not ensured that some teachers have built up the expertise that they need to deliver all subjects consistently well. At times, in a small number of subjects, these teachers do not select the most appropriate activities to deliver subject content. Pupils do not build up their knowledge as well as leaders expect them to as a result.

Leaders should make sure that teachers receive the support that they need to enable pupils to build up a rich body of knowledge across the curriculum. ? Leaders are at the early stage of redesigning the early years curriculum. Reception-aged children do not build up their knowledge equally well across each area of learning.

A number of these children do not develop their phonics knowledge as well as they could. This means that they are not as well prepared as they need to be for Year 1. Early years leaders should clarify their curriculum thinking to enable children in the Reception Year to build securely on the strong foundations of the Nursery Year.