Lemington Riverside Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Lemington Riverside Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say they are happy, feel safe and love learning. They know that adults expect them to work hard and they do.

One pupil said, 'School is like a big family.' The school values are woven through the curriculum to encourage pupils to be collaborative, resilient and ambitious.

Pupils relish their roles, such as Year 6 ambassadors, library monitors or head boy and head girl.

They understand their responsibilities to be strong role models. All pupils enjoy attending educational outings or clubs. They speak eagerly about a residential visit where they enjoyed ph...ysical activities and searching for fossils.

Pupils also developed their independence and team building skills.

Pupils enjoy a range of play equipment at breaktimes. They say that all pupils behave well due to the high expectations set by leaders.

They state that leaders are fair and consistent with rewards and consequences. Pupils cannot remember a time when bullying occurred. They recognise what constitutes bullying and trust adults to deal with any potential incidents swiftly.

Parents and carers hold the school in high regard. Many use the words 'caring, inspiring, respectful and amazing'. They say this summarises the ethos of Lemington Riverside.

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

The senior leaders are determined to provide a high-quality education for all pupils regardless of their needs or abilities. They have designed a creative and ambitious curriculum based on educational research. It is well sequenced across all curriculum subjects.

There are clear end points set for pupils to reach, across each year group and key stage. Teachers have strong subject knowledge which they use to explain facts and support pupils. This is because leaders invest in high-quality professional development for all staff.

Teachers use assessment well in all subjects. They know what pupils can do well and what they need to do next. Teachers check at the beginning of every lesson how much pupils can remember from previous learning.

Leaders use educational visits to museums, Roman forts, local coasts and places of heritage, to bring learning in history to life. One pupil said, 'We love to see it with our own eyes.' Pupils learn historical knowledge, but also know how to work 'like historians'.

They talk about primary and secondary sources of information. This helps them to check the validity of evidence from the past.

This is an inclusive school.

Leaders have ensured that the curriculum is accessible to all pupils. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers make sure that learning is adapted to meet pupils' needs.

Pupils can access specific resources or additional support from adults. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) ensures that all adults take responsibility for pupils with SEND. As a result, these pupils achieve well.

Mathematics is a strength of the school. Pupils use the knowledge learned in previous years to help them to tackle new learning. For example, pupils in Year 6 used knowledge of measuring and reading different types of scales to solve capacity problems.

They used their knowledge of fractions to calculate measures precisely. Pupils use a range of calculation methods competently. The mathematics leader works closely with the early years leader.

Together they ensure children in early years get off to a strong start in mathematics. The learning environment is rich in number and opportunities to count, measure and recognise shapes.

Pupils are enthusiastic readers.

They love to read for pleasure in the school's fiction and non-fiction libraries. In Reception, children make a rapid start to learning to read. Pupils have opportunities to practise their reading skills every day.

Adults match reading books to the sounds pupils know. This helps all pupils to read with confidence. Staff track how well pupils learn to read.

Adults provide extra phonics or reading sessions to help pupils catch up if they fall behind.

Leaders promote mutual respect and rule of law. In religious education, pupils learn about different faiths.

Other aspects of the fundamental British values are not as well established. The curriculum does not include ample opportunities to learn about individual liberty or democracy.

Governors know the school's strengths well.

They provide support and challenge to senior leaders and they know their legal duties. However, the joint development plan and evaluation document does not identify clear objectives linked to the quality of education. This does not give governors a clear steer on how to check on the curriculum development in detail.

Staff say that leaders are considerate of their workload. Staff work well as a team and support one another.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

A strong culture of safeguarding permeates the school. Leaders and staff know children well and act in their best interests. The welfare officer works closely with families to provide timely and effective help and support.

Leaders have provided high-quality training in safeguarding. They check that all adults are aware of signs of risk or concern.

Pupils are aware of the risks they might face, including when they are online.

Pupils learn about healthy and unhealthy relationships. They say that they feel safe.

Leaders are vigilant in providing support to pupils who are vulnerable.

This means the children and the families get the right help at the right time.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Pupils' understanding of some aspects of the fundamental British values are not well established. The curriculum coverage of individual liberty and democracy needs further development.

As a result, pupils cannot recall knowledge about these aspects. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum includes the essential knowledge that pupils need to learn about all aspects of the fundamental British values. ? The joint school development plan and self-evaluation document does not focus precisely on the quality of education.

This means it is not providing precise detail for governors to monitor, for example curriculum development. Leaders should sharpen this planning so that governors are clear on what they are checking, how often they need to check and how the success can be measured.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2011.