Lyme Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Lyme Community Primary School is a happy place where everyone is respected for who they are. The school's 'I can!' values of inspire, challenge, achieve and nurture are lived out in all aspects of school life.

These values help pupils to feel confident and to make the right choices which support their learning.

Pupils are enthusiastic and keen to learn. They enjoy the challenges that each day brings.

Pupils listen attentively and do their best to live up to the high standards that the school sets for their achievement. Many pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well in a range of subjects.

The scho...ol sets high expectations for pupils' behaviour.

Teachers establish routines to support children's behaviour in the early years, and these continue throughout the school.As a result, pupils are kind, courteous and well mannered. There is little disruption to learning.

The school has organised a range of experiences for pupils that extend beyond the academic curriculum. These include a variety of additional clubs and visitors who come into school to speak to pupils in assemblies. Pupils eagerly take on leadership roles.

School councillors, reading buddies and the safety squad make meaningful contributions to school life. Pupils develop their confidence and leadership skills in these valued roles.

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

The school has made changes to the curriculum during the last academic year, including in reading and physical education.

This means there is now a suitably broad and ambitious curriculum that meets the needs of pupils, including those with SEND. In most subjects, pupils' learning is carefully mapped out from the early years to Year 6. Staff are clear on exactly what pupils need to know and the order in which they should learn the subject content.

For the most part, teachers design activities that help pupils to learn well. However, occasionally, the activities that some pupils complete do not maximise their learning opportunities, and they do not learn as well as they could.

The school's provisional published data for 2024 shows that the proportion of pupils who met the expected standard in reading at the end of Year 6 was below the national average.

This was primarily because the changes made to the reading curriculum had not been in place long enough for this group of pupils to benefit fully. Currently, most pupils develop into confident and fluent readers.

The development of pupils' spoken language is a priority.

In the early years, staff carefully model the use of subject vocabulary as children play. In later years, pupils rehearse their ideas orally before writing. This helps to develop their thoughts as well as their accuracy in writing.

Due to previously low outcomes in reading, the school ensures that reading is prioritised throughout the school. The library and reading areas in all classrooms are warm and inviting spaces. Pupils benefit from access to carefully chosen high-quality books that expand their vocabulary and challenge their understanding.

Older pupils enjoy the freedom to choose what they are reading next.

Children begin the phonics programme as soon as they enter the Reception Year. All staff deliver the phonics programme consistently well.

For the most part, the books pupils read are matched well to their phonics knowledge. However, on occasion, the books that a small number of pupils read do not align as well with the sounds they have learned. This hinders these pupils from becoming confident and fluent readers as quickly as they can.

The school has highly effective processes to identify and support pupils with additional needs at the earliest opportunity. Staff ably adapt the content and delivery of the curriculum to meet these needs. As a result, pupils with SEND achieve well and are fully involved in all aspects of school life.

The school provides strong pastoral support for pupils and focuses on developing pupils' thinking skills. This helps pupils to develop self-awareness and an understanding of how their decisions can impact others.

The school's emphasis on pupils' wider development is very well developed.

It has ensured pupils understand they have a voice and the right to form their own opinions. Through the many aspects of the programmes to promote pupils' personal development, pupils gain a strong sense of respect. They learn about different faiths and cultures and understand that they should not discriminate against others.

The school tracks pupils' attendance rigorously. When attendance falls below the expected level, the school works with families and outside agencies to provide the right support and challenge to bring about improvement. This is successful.

Current attendance levels show that more pupils are attending school regularly.

The school considers the workload and well-being of staff in the decisions it makes. Staff appreciate the support that the school gives them to carry out their roles effectively.

As a result, staff feel valued.

Governors fulfil their role with commitment. They monitor the school's continuous improvement closely.

Governors are clear about their strategic roles and responsibilities. This enables those responsible for governance to hold the school to account fully for the quality of education that pupils receive.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• On occasion, the activities given to pupils do not closely match the intended curriculum. This sometimes prevents pupils from deepening their subject knowledge.The school should ensure that the activities chosen by staff match the intended learning more closely.

• A small number of pupils at the early stages of learning to read are sometimes not provided with books that are closely matched to the sounds they know. This means these pupils do not learn to read fluently and accurately as swiftly as they could. The school should ensure that these pupils practise their reading using books that are well matched to their phonics knowledge.