Merley First School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school's curriculum and carefully planned experiences ensure pupils grow to become respectful and thoughtful citizens.

Pupils are enthusiastic about these opportunities. Pupils are kind and care for each other. They are encouraged to take responsibility within the school.

Pupils are enthusiastic 'voice champions' and eco-warriors. As peer mediators and play leaders, pupils help to create successful playtimes for all. Pupils are proud to have a positive impact on school life.

Pupils know how to be a successful 'Merley Learner'. Staff help pupils to develop the skills to be ready to learn. This begins in the early years when children develop the life skills... of resilience, determination and independence.

Regular opportunities to learn outdoors, build pupils' confidence and ability to communicate effectively. Pupils apply their positive attitudes, skills and knowledge well in many subjects.

The school ensures pupils' mental health and well-being is a priority.

Pupils learn to appreciate people's lives different from their own. They reflect on their feelings regularly. Staff use pupils' reflections to provide individual support for those pupils who need extra help.

Most pupils behave well and are eager to learn.

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

The trust has devised a well-sequenced curriculum. The school has broken down the curriculum content further into small and logical steps in most subjects.

Trust and school leaders support staff to develop their knowledge of agreed teaching techniques. For example, the use of questions to check pupils' knowledge and understanding. Before children begin Reception Year, staff work with parents and pre-schools to accurately identify the children's strengths and areas for development.

When teachers know pupils' prior knowledge, they use this information to plan appropriate learning activities, such as in mathematics. This enables pupils to learn successfully.

The early years curriculum and provision are ambitious for all.

Staff effectively adapt their teaching to meet the needs of children very well. This includes pupils with spe-cial educational needs and/ or disabilities (SEND). Children regularly practise their skills to build secure knowledge in the seven areas of learning.

Outdoor learning sessions provide a wealth of opportunities for children to develop strong personal, social and emotional knowledge. For example, children follow rules to safely and patiently wait their turn to light fires with flints. Learning activities such as this pur-posefully support children's communication development.

Children thrive in the early years.

Nevertheless, there are a few wider subject curriculums for pupils in Years 1 to 4 that are not as well developed. Teaching does not make effective use of assessment to plan and check what pupils must know and remember.

Learning activities are sometimes unnecessarily repeated. This does not help pupils to build on prior knowledge or make connections between important concepts. Pupils do not secure and deepen their knowledge sufficiently well in these subjects.

Staff model and support children to use social and technical language extremely well. The sharp focus on effectively developing children's communication and language prepares them to listen to and recall letter sounds correctly. Staff use their secure phonic knowledge to successfully check and ensure pupils pronounce phonemes accurately.

Pupils' reading books match their phonic knowledge. Staff quickly identify pupils who need additional keep-up sessions. These extra sessions are implemented swiftly to ensure pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, stay on track with the school's high expectations.

Pupils' reading fluency and comprehension are developed well through regular practice and targeted activities. Class reading books are purposefully chosen to introduce pupils to a wide range of authors and genres. Older pupils know how reading helps them to improve their writing and spelling.

Leaders have correctly identified the need to improve pupils' spelling. The school has recently implemented a phonics-based spelling curriculum for Years 3 and 4. It is too soon to know the impact of this work.

The school has taken care to ensure library books support pupils' understanding of different cultures, religions and fundamental British values. Pupils talk confidently about what British values mean and how they relate to their own lives and world events.

Pupils are supported to make positive behaviour choices.

Many choose to focus and engage in their learning without reminders from staff. A very small number of pupils receive additional support to help them recognise their emotions and manage their own behaviour. This leads to a calm and orderly environment around the school.

Most pupils attend school regularly. Leaders work with families to help them over-come difficulties that prevent their children from attending school.

Staff appreciate the support of leaders, including governors and trustees, to manage their workload.

For example, staff value and appreciate the quick response time from the trust's technical support team.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few wider curriculum subjects, assessment is not used well.

Teaching does not use assessment to reflect on and adapt the curriculum sufficiently well. This means sometimes pupils cannot build on prior learning. The school needs to ensure teachers use assessment to reflect on and adapt the curriculum so that pupils know and remember the curriculum's essential knowledge.

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