Littlemoor Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at this vibrant, welcoming school. They enjoy learning and socialising with their friends.

The school values of friendship, independence, respect and excellence are evident in the way that pupils conduct themselves.

The school has high aspirations for pupils' achievement. Following some major changes to the curriculum, an increasing number of pupils now meet the school's high expectations for their academic success.

However, because of weaknesses in the previous curriculum, some pupils have gaps in their learning. They do not achieve as well as they should.

Pupils, including children in the early years, engage fully in their lessons....

Disruption to pupils' learning and to school life is rare. The school does not tolerate poor behaviour. Pupils said that they trust adults to deal quickly with any concerns that they have.

Pupils benefit from a wide range of experiences that go beyond the academic curriculum. For example, they spoke enthusiastically about their trips to the zoo and the theatre. They enjoy the outdoor pursuits that they take part in at the local outdoor activity centre.

Pupils also attend cooking, dance and martial arts clubs. These experiences enable pupils to develop new interests and find unexplored talents.

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

Since joining the trust, the school has made a number of changes to the curriculum.

It is now broad, balanced and ambitious. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), benefit from the improved curriculum. Across subjects, and in the early years, the school has identified the important knowledge that pupils will learn at each stage.

The school ensures that staff receive high-quality training to enhance their delivery of the curriculum. This is having the greatest impact in the early years. Here, children learn all that they should in readiness for Year 1.

In some subjects, staff are well equipped to design learning that builds on what pupils in key stages 1 and 2 already know. However, some teachers do not select activities that support pupils to learn the subject content of the curriculum as deeply as they should. This hinders pupils from making connections between what they have learned already and new subject content.

In some subjects, staff make sure that the knowledge that pupils learn becomes embedded in their long-term memory. However, in other subjects, teachers do not help pupils to remember their prior learning. As a result, some pupils struggle to recall and build on their previous learning.

This hinders these pupils from learning as well as they should.Pupils are passionate about reading at Littlemoor. The school provides them with a diverse range of texts written by a variety of authors.

The school makes sure that staff who deliver the phonics curriculum are well trained to do so successfully. Children in the Nursery Year gain a good grounding in communication and language. This prepares them well for when they enter the Reception class and begin to link sounds and letters.

Pupils in key stage 1 build their phonics knowledge well. Those pupils who find reading difficult receive timely and appropriate support. Consequently, most pupils start Year 3 as confident and fluent readers.

The school identifies the additional needs of pupils, including those with SEND, quickly. Staff receive effective guidance to equip them with the knowledge to support these pupils effectively. Although staff adapt their delivery of the curriculum to help pupils with SEND access learning, these pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

This is because they experience the same shortcomings in the delivery of the curriculum as their peers.

Pupils are polite and friendly. Their learning is rarely interrupted by others.

From the start of the Nursery Year, children are taught by skilled staff to play cooperatively and learn the school rules and routines. The school prioritises pupils' attendance. When pupils' rates of attendance dip, the school intervenes successfully to minimise any further absence.

Pupils are taught how to stay physically and mentally healthy, and how to stay safe online. They proudly carry out their roles of responsibility. For example, being prefects, well-being champions and sports leaders.

Pupils have a secure understanding of healthy relationships and consent. They pride themselves on making everyone feel welcome in their school. However, pupils do not learn enough about different religions, cultures or fundamental British values.

As a result, their understanding of these areas is less developed than it could be.

Trustees and members of the local governing body have a strong vision and high expectations for the school's future. They hold the school to account effectively.

The school prioritises staff's well-being and manages staff workload carefully. Staff feel valued and they are proud to work at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the activities that teachers choose to deliver the curriculum do not help pupils to deepen their knowledge. Consequently, some pupils do not learn all that they should. The school should ensure that staff are suitably equipped to design learning tasks that support pupils to acquire knowledge securely over time.

• Some teachers do not provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to recap on what they already know and can do. This hinders some pupils' progress through the curriculum. The school should ensure that teachers check that pupils' previous knowledge is fully secure so that they can build their learning over time.

• Some pupils have a limited knowledge of other religions, cultures and fundamental British values. This means that they are not as well prepared as they should be for life in modern Britian. The school should ensure that pupils have sufficient opportunities to learn about diversity within modern society so that they are well prepared for the next phase of their lives.