Peninsula East Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Peninsula East are eager to learn. They are highly engaged in their lessons and are flourishing in an environment where independence is promoted.

Staff have high expectations for all pupils to achieve, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils are keen to live up to these expectations.

Behaviour across the school is exemplary.

Pupils with responsibilities such as the head boy and head girl lead by example. The '10 learner attributes' are at the heart of the curriculum, promoting confidence and resilience for every pupil from the moment they start school.

Pupils feel safe.

They understand h...ow to keep physically and mentally healthy. There is an emphasis on every pupil becoming a 'digital citizen'. Pupils have access to individual technology to support their learning.

As a result, the school has prioritised pupils' learning about how to stay safe online.

The school has thoughtfully considered the wider curriculum opportunities. Disadvantaged pupils, including those with SEND, benefit the most from this offer.

Trips and visitors are designed to reinforce learning, alongside an extensive range of clubs and activities. Community links are at the centre of this offer and the links with local business has resulted in an annual careers fair to promote pupils' future aspirations.

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

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum that incorporates the full range of traditional curriculum subjects.

This is well sequenced from the early years through to Year 6. In the majority of subjects, pupils confidently remember their learning and teachers know how to check this. In a small number of subjects, such as history, there is still work to do.

In these subjects, the way that pupils are taught is not precise enough and the checks to see if pupils remember their learning are not specific enough. This means that not all pupils are learning as well as they could. The school has already identified a wide range of appropriate training and support from within the school and across the trust to address this.

The school has high expectations for all pupils to achieve well. This includes pupils with SEND. This does not reflect some of the previous published outcomes.

Pupils' engagement in lessons and as demonstrated in their work over time show clear evidence of these high expectations. This starts right from the early years, where children independently sustain concentration in activities across all areas of learning for extended periods of time.

There is a sharp focus on early reading.

A love of reading is promoted from the very start of Nursery, where books and stories are cherished by staff and children. The book vending machine has inspired pupils across the school to read a wider variety of texts. The phonics programme is used effectively to support all pupils, including those with SEND, and is followed consistently by all teachers.

As a result, the majority of pupils confidently read well-matched books by applying the sounds that they know. Pupils who lack confidence or fluency with reading are quickly identified. The school provides tailored support to enable pupils to catch up and then keep up with their peers.

Teachers have excellent subject knowledge overall and have benefited from high-quality, focused training.

Pupils behave with high levels of respect for each other, starting in the early years. Tolerance is taught explicitly and pupils talk knowledgeably about their school being welcoming and supportive to everyone in the local community.

Attendance is a high priority. The school regularly scrutinises the attendance of individuals and groups of pupils to identify ways to support improvements effectively.

The extensive range of planned, wider curriculum opportunities is a very strong aspect of the school's work.

Pupils make key decisions around the clubs that are on offer. They talk positively about the importance of having a voice in the school's decisions. Pupils' leadership roles, that include school council and 'eco-ambassadors', support pupils' independence effectively.

Pupils use these roles to have a positive impact on the local community, for example during a recent litter pick in the local holiday park. The engagement of the local community is a high priority for the whole school and the wider trust.

The school, ably supported by the trust, has prioritised a programme of highly targeted training.

Staff well-being is regularly reviewed. Leaders ensure that staff workload is managed very effectively so that staff can focus on doing their very best for pupils. Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the support they receive.

Governors and trustees provide well considered support and challenge for the school. This includes regular opportunities to engage with staff and pupils.

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 small number of subjects, the way that pupils are taught is not precise enough. This means that some pupils are not learning as successfully as they could. The school should continue to provide high-quality training to ensure that all staff's pedagogical knowledge supports pupils to know more and remember more.