Lyme Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils typically commented, 'Teachers inspire us, and we inspire them.' This quote sums up Lyme Primary. Leaders fulfil their motto: To inspire, challenge, achieve and nurture (ICAN).

Leaders have high expectations for all pupils. They have made improvements. Disadvantaged pupils reach higher standards than in previous years.

Teachers, through the different subjects, make learning fun and exciting. This means that pupils want to carry on learning. They concentrate in lessons and are eager for more.

In return, pupils are polite and friendly, and respond well to adults. Pupils said that they feel happy and safe. Most pupils behave most of the time.

Som...e of the pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) find it hard to behave. Staff manage the pupils with SEND well and minimise poor behaviour. In physical education (PE) lessons, some younger pupils do not listen to the teachers.

They mess around when they should be listening. Pupils said that there is little name-calling. They said that adults sort out any bullying so that it does not happen again.

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

One of the children gave me a ticket in the outdoor area used by Nursery and Reception children. The ticket allowed me to sit on a milk crate at the back of a makeshift bus. From this vantage point, I could see that the youngest children are happy at school.

They know which resources to get to inspire different games and activities. They concentrate and are willing to have a go. Sometimes, the staff do not help the children to express themselves in full sentences.

At times, staff across the school do not model the correct use of language.

The school's curriculum is not planned and sequenced in some subjects. Leaders already have plans for next year's curriculum and plans to train staff in how to deliver it.

They are bringing this about. Leaders have been successful in improving teaching in mathematics, reading and science. Pupils, as they move through school, know more and remember more.

Their achievement is good. This is because teachers make sure that pupils understand before moving on to further learning. Leaders know they have been less successful in PE.

They have plans to increase the time spent on PE and to improve the long-term plans in the subject. They are also about to change the language they have been learning from Spanish to French. It was good to hear pupils in the playground answering my 'Hola' with 'Bien, que tal?'

In most subjects, pupils remember what they learned in previous years.

However, sometimes, the knowledge has not stuck. They have forgotten key pieces of information, such as the names and location of the world's continents or key skills in sports. This means that teachers have to slow down to fill in the gaps in pupils' knowledge before moving on to the next piece of learning.

The school is not a results factory. Leaders do not narrow the curriculum to chase higher attainment at the end of Year 6. Nor do they take pupils off the school roll unless necessary.

The curriculum is ambitious. Teachers take time to build up pupils' knowledge in most subjects. This is less successful in PE.

Staff moved on too quickly, for example, before checking that all pupils knew how to hold the tennis racquet. Overall, pupils have a positive attitude to learning. However, on occasions, younger pupils' behaviour in PE lessons is not as good as it could be.

Reading has a high profile. By the end of Year 2 in 2019, every pupil could read at the expected standard. Very capable teaching assistants help pupils to catch up if they fall behind.

Pupils read fluently, particularly story books.

Provision for pupils' personal development is strong. There is a very well-crafted curriculum which develops pupils' understanding of the world and their rights as citizens.

Teachers develop pupils' sense of responsibility through jobs around the school but also through campaigning for social change. Pupils are respectful and know how to treat others. They cooperate well in lessons and this aids their learning.

Teachers teach pupils with SEND well and make sure that they study the full curriculum.

Governors have helped to shape the ethos and direction of the school. They support and challenge leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Safeguarding is a high priority for the school. Leaders make sure that the staff have the training that they need to protect pupils.

The school uses a good system to identify pupils and families who may need early help. Staff manage incidents well and follow through on cases. Staff work well with other specialists, including health workers.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

In PE, the long-term plans do not fully cover the national curriculum. They are not sequenced as well as they could be, for example in dance. Pupils only have an hour of structured PE a week, which is below the recommended two hours a week.

Leaders should make sure that the pupils learn PE from well-constructed and sequenced plans that gradually build up their knowledge and skills. They need to ensure that staff delivering PE lessons make better use of assessment and check that pupils have the knowledge and skills they need before moving on to further learning. Leaders also need to ensure that the behaviour of some younger pupils during PE lessons improves.

. In some subjects, at the start of a topic, the pupils have forgotten important knowledge and information. In mathematics, teachers revise key information and build pupils' memory.

The school should work on building pupils' memory of the knowledge that they will need for further learning in other subjects, such as geography and PE. . In some classes, the adults do not model or teach pupils to improve their spoken language.

In some lessons, pupils do not express themselves using good vocabulary or technical language. Some staff use non-standard spoken English and model incorrect grammar when they teach pupils. The school should consider ways of helping pupils to speak clearly and correctly, using good vocabulary, technical terms and standard English.