Lord Blyton Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Since the last inspection, the school has worked to improve the curriculum.

However, further work is needed to ensure that pupils receive a good quality of education. The school's high expectations for pupils are not consistently realised. This is particularly the case in the foundation subjects, such as geography.

Pupils at Lord Blyton Primary School are delightful. They enjoy coming to school and have positive attitudes to learning. Pupils' behaviour in lessons and at breaktimes is good.

Adults quickly deal with any worries or problems pupils might have. The school provides a range of pastoral support to pupils and their families. Where pupils' attendance i...s not high, strategies are in place to work with families to improve this.

Staff know the local community well. Everyone works together to ensure that pupils are safe and well cared for.

The school provides opportunities for pupils to play a role in the local community.

For example, pupils lay a wreath at the cenotaph on Remembrance Day. There are some extra-curricular clubs on offer to pupils. These help them to develop their talents and interests.

However, there are aspects of the curriculum for personal development that pupils do not have enough understanding of. For example, they cannot talk about why fundamental British values, such as democracy, are important.

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

The school has rightly prioritised the teaching of reading and mathematics.

The impact of this is evident in pupils' outcomes. The phonics programme is well embedded. The school has trained most staff in how to teach the school's phonics scheme.

The school has invested heavily in reading books. These books closely match the sounds that pupils know. Pupils who struggle with learning to read are supported effectively to catch up.

Children in the early years get off to a strong start. In Nursery, children learn how to distinguish between different sounds and how to listen carefully. Routines and expectations for behaviour are well established.

Activities in the provision support children to develop early mathematical skills well. As soon as children start Reception, more formal phonics and mathematics teaching begins. Children's knowledge of sounds and number quickly develops.

All subjects have a coherently planned and sequenced curriculum in place. In the foundation subjects, curriculums begin in Year 1. The school is working to improve the link between early years and Years 1 to 6.

In some subjects, such as science, the curriculum needs further refinement. This is because curriculum plans do not match the needs of the pupils and their starting points.

Teaching across school is currently inconsistent.

Sometimes, teachers' explanations in lessons are not clear. This causes confusion for pupils and learning time is lost. When this happens, pupils show patience.

Their behaviour does not deteriorate. On occasion, the tasks that teachers give to pupils do not match the learning objective for the lesson. This means that pupils do not learn the key knowledge that they need to know.

This makes checking what pupils know and remember difficult.

Subject leaders are knowledgeable and passionate about their subject. Some have had a range of professional development to support them with their role.

They are allocated time to check what is being taught. However, they do not consistently use this information to make changes to the curriculum and improve it.

The provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is a strength of the school.

Pupils in the school's resource bases benefit from personalised teaching. Staff plan opportunities for pupils to play and work with their mainstream peers. The school is inclusive.

All pupils have equal access to the curriculum and extra-curricular clubs. The school works with a wide range of external agencies, such as speech and language services, to secure the support that pupils need.

Pupils know that they should treat others with respect and treat everyone equally.

They show some understanding of the protected characteristics, for example race and religion. Their knowledge of how to stay safe online is strong. However, pupils do not have enough understanding of some other things that will help them in later life.

For example, they cannot talk about what a healthy relationship should look like, or how to keep themselves physically healthy.

School leaders, including governors and the local authority, do not have a wholly accurate view of the school's current position. While there are areas of strength, there is much to do to ensure that pupils achieve well across the curriculum.

Governors understand their role and their statutory duties. They have a secure understanding of the school's context, including the community that it serves. Leaders consider staff's workload well.

Staff are positive about working at the school. They work well together as a team.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some foundation subject curriculums are not sufficiently focused on the most important knowledge that pupils in this school need to learn. This means that pupils are taught content that is not well matched to their needs or starting points. The school should ensure that the curriculums in the foundation subjects align more closely with the context of the school and pupils' starting points.

The curriculums in the foundation subjects are not implemented consistently well. This means that pupils are not learning or retaining key knowledge long term. The school should ensure that the curriculums in all foundation subjects are implemented to a consistently high standard.

• Some elements of the personal development curriculum are not taught explicitly enough. This means that pupils' understanding of aspects such as healthy relationships, diversity and British values is limited. The school should ensure that pupils have regular, meaningful opportunities to learn about these aspects so that they are prepared well for life in modern Britain.

• The checks that leaders make on what is being taught, and how it is taught, are not sufficiently rigorous. As a result, some leaders have an overly positive and/or inaccurate view of how well the curriculum in their subject is implemented. The school should ensure that subject leaders are supported to ensure that the curriculum is implemented effectively in their subject.