Lydbury North Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Lydbury North CofE (A) Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Lydbury North CofE (A) Primary School know the school's values off by heart.

They believe in 'growing to be the best we can be for God, ourselves and each other'. One pupil commented, 'It's important to always try hard in everything we do'. Parents and carers can see this vision in action, with one being typical when they said 'Lydbury North is a lovely school where children of all ages can interact, learn and socialise together, building good friendships between all ages'.

Pupils are polite and well mannered. They behave well in and around school. Pupils u...nderstand the school rules of 'be respectful, be ready and be safe'.

One pupil commented, 'we help each other because we know each other well'. They show respect to others. Bullying does not happen often and any concerns are followed up quickly.

Pupils are happy and safe.

Leaders have high aspirations for pupils. They have constructed a curriculum which enables pupils to understand different societies and cultures.

Carefully planned trips and visitors help pupils to deepen this understanding. Pupils enjoy learning at school; they contribute well to school life.

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

Leaders have constructed a curriculum which carefully considers the mixed-aged classes that pupils are taught in.

This curriculum builds from the early years. For example, children in Nursery and the two-year-old provision are well prepared to study geography in later years. Leaders have set out the key knowledge and vocabulary they expect pupils to learn over time.

This is then regularly revisited and assessed in further learning to ensure pupils remember. However, some subjects are not as well developed as others. Leaders have not had enough opportunity to check how well pupils have learned the curriculum in these subjects.

They have not ensured that any identified improvements needed to the curriculum are made.Leaders promote a love of reading. Pupils read and are read to daily.

The reading curriculum is well planned. Pupils read in different subjects and leaders have ensured that pupils have access to a range of books and authors which are culturally diverse. Leaders have put in place an effective phonics and early reading curriculum.

All staff are well trained to teach phonics. Teachers model sounds clearly and accurately. Pupils regularly practise the sounds they are learning.

This helps them to secure their phonics knowledge from an early age. Regular assessment helps teachers to identify pupils who need more support to help them read fluently. Pupils receive extra help where needed to help them keep up.

Staff identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) quickly. Teachers make appropriate adaptations to their teaching for pupils with SEND. For example, pupils with SEND may receive extra adult support or specialist equipment to help them to learn.

As a result, these pupils participate fully in lessons, and have work and support matched to their needs.

Leaders prioritise pupils' personal development. This is a strength of the school.

Pupils value the opportunity to take on responsibilities, which develops their understanding of being responsible citizens who contribute to society. These include opportunities to be peer mentors, well-being champions and members of the worship crew and eco crew. One pupil commented, 'We get to support each other a lot and are well trained to do this'.

In addition to this, year 5 and 6 have been trained as 'youth leaders' and have whole-school projects to plan and carry out. They have led on fundraising for local and national charities. Pupils enjoy a number of clubs, including in construction, sewing and sports.

Governors know the school well and share leaders' high ambitions for pupils. Staff feel that leaders regularly take their workload into account. Staff get the time to do what needs to be done in their role.

Being able to work across the two schools in the federation supports staff's development.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have ensured that all staff are trained to recognise the signs which indicate that a pupil may be at risk from harm.

Leaders act promptly when any concerns are reported. Leaders have a secure understanding of a range of risks, including domestic abuse and county lines. Staff understand and play a valuable part in the community they serve.

Pupils learn how to stay safe online and in the community. For example, they learn about keeping information private online, and what makes a healthy relationship.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some leaders have not evaluated the impact of their subject across the school.

This means that they cannot be sure that pupils learn the curriculum as intended. Leaders should ensure that subject leaders are able to develop their roles, including understanding the impact of the curriculum on pupils' learning.

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

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

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2012.