Priddy Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Priddy Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

The school's mission of 'Being the best that you can be' exemplifies Priddy Primary School. It promotes both the academic and broader development of pupils.

The school has high expectations for all. Pupils rise to these.

Pupils know the school rules of 'Be respectful, be ready, be safe'.

Consequently, they feel happy and safe at school. Pupils develop character through leadership opportunities. In younger years, pupils manage the fruit and are playground leaders.

Pupils further up the school can be librarians who make book recommendations. Eco-warriors improve pupi...ls' understanding and care for the environment, such as caring for injured hedgehogs. This helps them to make tangible contributions to the school.

The school offers a wide range of opportunities to develop pupils' talents. Musical theatre, art and science clubs spark interests. Pupils enjoy trips, such as to the Somerset Rural Life Museum, the pantomime and to The Wild Place to learn about deforestation and conservation.

Pupils develop community spirit through performances and showcasing artwork at the Priddy Folk Festival.

Parents speak highly of the support provided by the school for their children. There is a well-being action group that involves and considers the views of members of the school community.

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

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum. It has carefully sequenced the knowledge it wants pupils to learn in small steps towards bigger end points. The school has decided the vocabulary it wants pupils to know and remember.

The most important concepts have been identified and these are taught well and revisited. The school has considered what pupils need to learn before they leave primary school. As a result, pupils build their knowledge securely.

Teachers' subject knowledge has been developed through a series of training sessions, including how to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Adults model new concepts to pupils well. They use a variety of resources, such as a range of maps in geography, to develop pupils' understanding.

Because of this, pupils learn the knowledge leaders intend. For example, pupils in Year 2 learn that Uganda is a landlocked country. Pupils with SEND learn from the same ambitious curriculum.

They learn alongside their peers and achieve well.

Teachers check pupils' understanding well in most areas of the curriculum. Assessment in subjects, such as reading, is well developed.

In these subjects, assessment precisely identifies what pupils know and where gaps in learning lie. However, in a minority of wider curriculum subjects, where the curriculum is newer, assessment is not always used with enough precision to check what pupils know and remember. Consequently, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge.

Reading has been prioritised. Children learn phonics as soon as they start school. All staff have been trained in the scheme to teach phonics well.

Children read books that contain the sounds they have learned. Support is put into place quickly for children who need it. As a result, children learn to read quickly and achieve well in national assessments.

Pupils get a chance to perform poetry, such as 'C is for Curiosity' at World Book Day. They attend a local literature festival. Pupils across the school develop a love for literature and reading.

Children settle quickly in early years. They develop a secure understanding of number. Children identify odd and even numbers and sort these into categories.

They are encouraged to position themselves so they can write well with their 'feet flat on the floor and tummies to the table'. As a result, pupils learn to write letters and numbers correctly in line with the school's agreed strategy. Children leave early years ready for learning in Year 1.

Warm relationships between staff and pupils mean they feel well cared for. Pupils are enthusiastic about learning. Outside the classroom, pupils show consideration for one another.

Pupils' attendance is a high priority. The school takes effective action to encourage regular attendance. Consequently, attendance has improved and pupils attend well.

The school's well-structured personal development programme is a strength. Pupils know how to stay safe online and look after their mental health. Pupils understand the fundamental British values because they are threaded through the curriculum.

They learn about road safety by making 'slow down' signs for the local community. Pupils develop an understanding of the world beyond Priddy.

Priddy Primary school is well led.

Governors hold leaders to account through clear lines of communication. The school has managed curriculum developments carefully. Staff are appreciative of the investment in their expertise.

Leaders and governors are united in their ambition to deliver the best education they can for 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 some wider curriculum subjects, assessment does not precisely identify what pupils know and remember.

As a result, some pupils have gaps in knowledge. The school should ensure gaps in learning are assessed with precision to identify where pupils' knowledge could be developed further.

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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 2018.