Marshfield Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Marshfield Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Marshfield is a welcoming, creative school where pupils are happy and feel safe.

They say lessons are fun and they learn a lot. The many parents and carers who expressed a view are proud of the school. They told inspectors that it is, 'nurturing, caring and inspiring'.

Leaders want all pupils to succeed. Pupils are motivated to do their best and live up to the high expectations leaders have of them. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well.

Pupils are respectful and polite. They understand how to b...ehave. This results in a calm and orderly environment in classrooms and around the school.

Pupils say bullying is rare but if it does happen, adults deal with it quickly.

Pupils enjoy the range of clubs, events, and activities on offer. Leaders have created the 'Marshfield Musts' to provide pupils with valuable opportunities and experiences.

These include joining community art projects and travelling on a train. Pupils were delighted to experience flamenco dancing and eat Spanish food.

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

Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum.

They have made links between subjects to help pupils to learn well. For example, when learning about the origins of democracy in Ancient Greece, pupils use this information to explore democracy in modern Britain. Leaders want all pupils to experience a rich, engaging curriculum and have made adaptations to achieve this.

In modern foreign languages, pupils learn Spanish and develop their knowledge of the culture in Spain and other Spanish speaking countries.

Reading is high priority. Leaders have set out what pupils will learn at each stage.

Staff are well-trained in the teaching of early reading. They apply the chosen phonics approach consistently. This means that most pupils are becoming confident, fluent readers.

If pupils do fall behind, they receive the support they need to catch up. Pupils enjoy adults reading to them and they enjoy reading to adults and each other. Books are matched to the sounds pupils know.

Older pupils benefit from well-planned reading opportunities across the curriculum. Access to a wide range of books and reading activities, such as 'book at bedtime', increase pupils' enjoyment of reading.

Pupils enjoy the varied mathematics curriculum, particularly the challenge which they say, 'stretches your brain'.

In the early years, children explore numbers in a range of ways. Adults encourage them to talk about what they notice. Pupils swiftly recall their multiplication and division facts.

They are encouraged to explain their reasoning to deepen their understanding. Leaders have identified, in precise detail, what they want pupils to learn in most areas of the mathematics curriculum. However, where this is not the case, sometimes pupils do not learn content as well.

Leaders provide professional development opportunities for staff that strengthen teaching. Staff use assessment well in some subjects to identify gaps in pupils' knowledge and check what they can remember. However, sometimes assessment is not precise and leaders' knowledge about pupils' learning is not as secure.

Pupils know how to behave in lessons and around the school because leaders have high expectations. Clear routines established in the early years are built upon. Pupils are keen to learn.

They focus well during lessons.

All staff have high ambitions for pupils with SEND. They make adaptations that enable all pupils to play a full and active part in school life.

Leaders include the views of pupils, parents and carers when planning extra support.

Pupils are respectful, tolerant, active citizens who live out the school values. They understand there are different types of families and can talk about healthy relationships.

The personal, social, health and economic education curriculum helps pupils to keep themselves safe.

Staff are proud to work at Marshfield. They say the school is well-led and managed by leaders, who prioritise staff well-being and workload.

Governors take their roles seriously and have an accurate view of what the school does well and where it can be developed further. They provide support and challenge to senior leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders prioritise safeguarding. Staff know pupils and families well and quickly identify signs that indicate pupils may need help. Leaders ensure that staff receive comprehensive, up-to-date training in keeping pupils safe.

Safeguarding records are detailed and show swift action to involve other agencies when needed. Leaders carry out the necessary checks to ensure that adults are safe to work with children.The curriculum provides pupils with the knowledge they need to stay safe in different situations.

This includes how to stay safe online. Pupils know who they can go to should they need help.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some areas of the mathematics curriculum, leaders have not broken down content into the small steps of learning.

As a result, sometimes pupils miss learning important steps. Leaders should ensure all aspects of the mathematics curriculum is carefully sequenced so that pupils do not have gaps in their understanding. ? Assessment is not used effectively in some foundation subjects.

Consequently, teachers are not always sure how secure pupils' knowledge is. Leaders must sharpen the use of assessment in the foundation subjects so they know that pupils are gaining and retaining the knowledge they need.

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 September 2012.