Pulham Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy being in a school that is positive and respectful. In lessons, pupils are keen to learn.

Their teachers model kindness. Teachers are patient and understanding of pupils' differing needs. Pupils reflect this kindness back to the adults who work with them.

Bullying is rare and pupils are safe. Pupils know that if they have a worry, they can go to an adult who will help.

Pupils have opportunities to take part in a range of clubs and activities, such as forest school and visiting the local church.

They can also take on responsibilities at school, such as through becoming a 'minister of maths' or a member of the eco-council. Leaders celebrate... this mature and responsible behaviour in assemblies. At playtimes, there is plenty for pupils to do.

Older pupils help younger pupils to play and make friends.

Pupils engage enthusiastically with learning opportunities the new curriculum provides. This helps pupils learn more about different peoples, places and eras.

Sometimes, these topics are tricky for pupils to learn. This is because leaders have not adapted the curriculum enough by taking into account what pupils already know.

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

In the short time that new senior leaders have been working in the school, the curriculum has been comprehensively changed for the better.

This is because they have prioritised the quality of pupils' education. Leaders have chosen new schemes of work that set out the knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn. This curriculum is at an early stage of implementation and leaders have not yet perfected ways of checking its implementation.

As a result, pupils who have gaps in learning cannot always understand the new curriculum content.

Teachers teach with enthusiasm and commitment. However, the extent to which pupils understand what is being taught in subjects, such as history and geography, is sometimes limited.

This is because training to support the teaching and selection of tasks is at an early stage. Further, the tasks that pupils complete sometimes cause them to remember the activity rather than the intended knowledge. Leaders are aware of this and have plans in place to develop teaching further.

Leaders recognise the importance of teaching reading well, especially as many pupils at the school are at an early stage of reading. This includes pupils in older year groups. Leaders have trained all adults to teach reading.

They have invested in more adult support to help pupils to catch up. Frequent and precise assessment helps leaders to make sure that teaching meets pupils' needs. The teaching of reading is excellent.

It helps pupils to learn phonics, develop reading fluency and become proficient readers.

Staff in the early years are experienced, knowledgeable and caring. Teachers adapt the curriculum, so that it builds on children's prior knowledge and experiences.

Staff use all available opportunities to encourage children to be kind and to share with one another. This helps children to develop their language and communication skills. The stories, songs and rhymes that children learn also help them to learn new vocabulary.

Leaders are quick to identify pupils' special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They have increased support for pupils' social, emotional and mental health needs. They and staff have adjusted the support pupils get to help them learn.

This enables pupils with SEND to have access to the full curriculum, in line with their peers.

All adults in the school are committed to developing pupils' positive behaviour and attitudes. Lesson routines help pupils to behave well.

Staff model politeness by using consistent language and by considering pupils' needs. This helps pupils to overcome their own worries and anxieties, so that they can fully take part in classroom learning experiences.

The school provides a wide range of opportunities for pupils' positive personal development.

The age-appropriate relationships, sex and health education and religious education curriculums are part of this picture. Teachers teach pupils to appreciate and respect different opinions, cultures, and religious practices. They learn the ways that families and people are varied and unique.

Teachers encourage pupils to be reflective, for example, through daily opportunities to record in their 'gratitude journals'.

School leaders and governors share the same, proactive vision for school improvement. They work together to prioritise areas for improvement, and to manage the pace of change.

Parents speak highly of the positive changes that new leaders have set in motion. Staff feel supported with their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff, including leaders and governors, are knowledgeable about safeguarding. They are committed to ensuring pupils' safety and well-being. Staff are alert to the signs of harm, aided by the fact that they know the pupils, families and the community very well.

A team approach and frequent communication, where 'no concern is too small', helps leaders to secure additional support for pupils in a timely way. Safeguarding records are detailed and well organised. Leaders check these records regularly.

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, including online. Leaders' checks of the suitability of adults to work with children are robust.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum beyond English and mathematics is at an early stage of implementation.

Currently, pupils' learning of this wider curriculum is limited by the way that curriculum plans are not sufficiently adapted to consider their prior learning experiences. This means that pupils do not understand and learn as much of this new curriculum as they could. Leaders should ensure the curriculum is matched well to build on what pupils already know and can do.

• The teaching that pupils receive and the tasks that they are set do not consistently help pupils to learn and remember the knowledge set out in wider curriculum plans. This is because staff do not have enough subject and subject-pedagogic knowledge to make the best choices of how to teach new content and choose tasks for pupils to do. Leaders should ensure that teachers have sufficient subject knowledge to, and use pedagogical approaches which, give pupils the best opportunities to understand and remember the knowledge and skills set out in the curriculum.