Princes Risborough Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a community school where all pupils are welcome. Staff are palpably ambitious for all pupils, regardless of their starting points. Leaders have made lots of changes to improve the school in recent times, including ensuring that the curriculum meets pupils' needs successfully.

As a result, pupils achieve well.

Staff's expectations for pupils are consistently high. Pupils understand and embrace the school's values of 'perseverance, respect, possibilities and sharing'.

Pupils frequently recognise and celebrate peers and staff, who exemplify these positive behaviours. All know the school's 'golden rules' and are rightly confident that staff will act if an...y are broken. As a result, pupils feel safe and behave well.

Pupils actively contribute to the leadership of this school. House captains, play leaders, eco-leaders, healthy eating ambassadors and school councillors, to name a few, all enjoy taking on responsibility and helping others. The school ensures there is equal access to all of the wider development opportunities the school has to offer.

As a result, as one parent righty reported to inspectors: 'The school has a real sense of community.'

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

The school has introduced an ambitious and coherent curriculum. This is setting a high standard for the quality of education.

The curriculum makes clear to teachers the important knowledge to be taught to pupils, mapping it out in a logical sequence. This is laying the foundations for pupils' academic success. This includes in mathematics, in which pupils are now achieving much better than in the past.

Teachers are highly knowledgeable and well trained. They present information clearly and use modelling well to help pupils understand. This starts in the early years, where teachers in the pre-school and in the Reception classes prioritise and model the use of language.

However, where the curriculum is new in some of the foundation subjects, the activities that some pupils complete are not well matched to the intended learning. When this happens, pupils develop gaps in their knowledge.

Core subjects are taught well.

Teachers use assessment well to identify precisely what pupils know and can do. They then use this understanding to adapt their teaching by, for example, designing tasks that allow pupils to recap important knowledge and practise new learning. This helps pupils to transfer knowledge into their long-term memories.

However, where the school's curriculum is new in some foundation subjects, assessment practice is less precise, and therefore it is not always being used to plan teaching that builds on what pupils know.

The school's provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is a strength. There are effective systems and processes in place to identify the help pupils need.

In lessons, pupils are supported well by staff to learn the school's curriculum alongside their peers. Staff in the school's specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision) are experts, supporting pupils with both their academic and wider development.

Early reading is taught well.

Staff confidently deliver a rigorous phonics programme. Regular assessment identifies pupils who need extra support to keep up. As a result, pupils develop the phonics knowledge they need to become increasingly confident and fluent readers.

Wider reading is prioritised and starts in the early years, where children are encouraged to use new words from songs, rhymes, and stories they hear. Pupils benefit from a diverse range of books and regular visits to the school's library. As a result, pupils read widely and often.

Pupils are polite and courteous. They behave well, both in and out of class. Low-level disruption is uncommon.

Pupils enjoy a variety of organised activities at playtimes. Where some pupils need additional help with their behaviour, they receive clear guidance and support from adults.

The well-being and wider development of pupils are prioritised.

Pupils learn about and show respect for those whose beliefs are different from their own. Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships and how to stay safe online. They value the range of opportunities to broaden their horizons and extend their interests, benefiting from a well-thought-out programme of trips, visits and extra-curricular clubs.

The school is well led. Leaders at all levels are united in their efforts to improve the school and have created a strong culture of teamwork. Staff feel well supported and valued in their roles.

Trustees and governors understand their statutory duties and carry them out effectively.

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 foundation subjects where the curriculum is new, there are instances where teaching does not match the objectives of the curriculum.

This can mean that pupils develop misconceptions about what they have been taught, or they find it harder to acquire and remember new knowledge. The school should ensure that teaching consistently focuses on ensuring that pupils learn the core knowledge identified in the curriculum. ? In some foundation subjects, teachers do not check how well pupils are learning the intended curriculum.

They are not clear about gaps in pupils' knowledge, and they do not address these before moving on to new learning. As a result, pupils do not always achieve as well as they could. Leaders need to ensure that teachers use assessment effectively in all subjects to support pupils to develop their understanding and to achieve well across the curriculum.

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