Much Birch CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Much Birch is a kind and caring school where parents, pupils and staff celebrate feeling part of a family.

Pupils feel safe because of the warm relationships they develop with staff who help them when they find things difficult.

Pupils welcome visitors to their school, wearing smiles on their faces and an openness to share the many positive experiences they have. They recognise the importance of being inclusive and know that their school is a nice place to belong because everybody is accepted and noticed.

There are many wider opportunities that pupils get to develop their talents and interests. Many enjoy learning craft in the forest school, while others spea...k effusively about being pupil leaders by representing the school council or acting as buddies to those in younger classes.

A focus on the development of pupils' character has supported them to understand the meaning of the term 'moral compass'.

Many pupils seek to do the right things for the right reasons, showing perseverance and humility while doing so.

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

Leaders at this school demonstrate a determination to do their best for the community they serve. They welcome challenge and new ways of doing things.

The school seeks the support of advisers who help develop the quality of education on offer. By placing as much emphasis on pupils doing well academically as they do their wider development, leaders believe they develop happy and motivated pupils who enjoy learning. Pupils agree.

Children in the early stages of their education get off to a good start. The curriculum is well matched to children's interests and needs. Children learn to enjoy stories and rhymes and many are reading with greater accuracy.

They show a readiness for their learning and an increasing ability to regulate their emotions. Many play well together and have strong relationships with key adults.

Pupils demonstrate a wider love of reading.

A growing choice of books from different time periods and authors positively influences pupils' reading choices. Those at the early stages of reading are well supported by the school's approach to the teaching of phonics. The most vulnerable readers receive the precise support they require to read accurately and fluently.

The school has successfully trained staff in how to adapt lessons to support all pupils to access the intended learning. In some subjects, training in how to use assessment effectively is successfully enabling staff to challenge misconceptions and deepen pupils' learning. However, support staff lack the necessary subject-specific knowledge in some subjects.

The wider curriculum is developing, with some subjects having coherently planned learning sequences that build successfully on what pupils know. However, in a few subjects, this is not the case. Monitoring in these subjects has not identified that activities are often prioritised over the development of the important skills and knowledge the school wants pupils to acquire.

An identified area of improvement is mathematics. Pupils learn the basic number facts and many are confident when rehearsing written calculation methods. However, a lack of opportunities to develop verbal and written reasoning prevents pupils deepening their understanding of some mathematical concepts.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are increasingly well supported and their needs accurately identified. The school is further developing its systems to assess and review learning plans, but successfully engages parents in this process. Those agencies working with the school do so effectively to remove barriers that may affect a pupil's ability to learn.

Pupils with SEND are making good progress from their starting points.

Pupils behave well and many demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning. They understand what bullying is, and, while rare at their school, know who to report to should it occur.

Improvements to attendance procedures mean that many pupils now attend school regularly with far fewer pupils being persistently absent.

Pupils take part in the wide range of clubs that the school offers. Archery, debating club and mindfulness are just a few of the things they enjoy.

Pupils are active citizens and 'courageous advocates', supporting those in need of their support. When they move to secondary school, pupils show their gratitude to Much Birch by purchasing legacy gifts to benefit those that remain at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Not all pupils are supported to deepen their understanding in mathematics. They are not routinely given the opportunity to apply the facts and calculation methods they learn to problem solving and this impacts on the depth of their understanding. The school should ensure that there are regular opportunities for all pupils to develop their reasoning skills in mathematics.

• In a few subjects, learning sequences are not coherently planned and are not monitored effectively. As a result, pupils' learning is often disconnected and does not build on prior learning. The school should ensure that there are coherent learning sequences so that learning builds progressively on what pupils know and their impact is monitored.

In some subjects, staff are unfamiliar with the knowledge required to deliver the disciplinary elements of the curriculum. As a result, learning can be driven by activity rather than the subject-specific knowledge staff intend pupils to acquire. The school should ensure that all staff know how to deliver learning sequences as intended.

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