Reed First School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This village school is friendly and welcoming. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive.

Pupils are happy to come to school. They are respectful and polite. Pupils enjoy praising each other for their achievements.

Leaders ensure pupils have opportunities to develop their strength of character, so they become more confident learners. In the past, there were lower expectations of pupils. Staff now have higher expectations and pupils rise to the challenge to do their best.

Pupils are motivated and develop positive attitudes to learning. They achieve well and enjoy learning.

Pupils value how the staff are kind and help them with any worries....r/>
Bullying is rare and dealt with effectively, and pupils feel safe. Classrooms are calm and purposeful places to learn.

Pupils learn a broad and balanced curriculum.

They value the wider experiences they have that help to make their learning more fun and interesting. Pupils particularly enjoy being in the outside area, which allows them to play in a natural environment.

Parents make very positive comments about the school.

They say their children make progress and that they learn about important values. Parents are happy with the care and support their children receive.

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

Leaders' curriculum plans are thought through and organised carefully so that pupils can learn the important knowledge they need to achieve well.

All subject planning begins in the early years, where communication and language development are key factors. Adults help children to communicate confidently and make sense of the world around them. The curriculum builds on what children know and can do and what sparks their interest.

Opportunities for children to develop their mathematical understanding are carefully planned. Deliberate language choices help with pupils' learning across the school.

Staff have good subject knowledge, and ongoing training is a priority.

Pupils talk with confidence about how they learn from the guidance that staff give them. They say that it is 'OK to make mistakes'. Some subjects have newer curriculums.

Due to past teaching, some pupils have less secure knowledge and skills in these subjects. Leaders recognise this and, in most subjects, this is being addressed. In a few areas, teachers still need to make the necessary adaptations to help pupils remember and use important knowledge.

Leaders prioritise the teaching of reading. Children begin daily phonics lessons from the start of Reception. Staff receive regular training and guidance to teach phonics and reading well.

Pupils are grouped so that they are learning at the right pace and to enable them to receive targeted support if necessary. Adults check on pupils' phonics knowledge regularly. They use these checks to identify where they need to adapt the phonics curriculum and to provide extra help to pupils.

Pupils who fall behind with their reading are helped to catch up quickly. Teachers ensure that pupils read books that are matched to the sounds pupils know. This helps pupils to read accurately and with understanding.

The books pupils read more widely are linked to the topics they learn, including celebrating diversity and promoting personal growth.

Staff create purposeful working environments. Pupils behave well and have positive attitudes to learning.

This ensures that lessons flow smoothly. Pupils' learning is rarely disturbed by others' behaviour. Pupils talk enthusiastically about their aspirations and how to be more resilient.

This prepares them well for the next stage in their learning. In the early years, well-established routines and clear expectations help children feel safe. Children's experiences in the early years prepare them well for learning in key stage 1.

Pupils enjoy various opportunities to develop their learning outside of the classroom. They are enthusiastic about assemblies linked to the school's values.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified at an early stage.

They access the same curriculum as their peers. Teachers adapt the curriculum and activities appropriately so that pupils with SEND make gains in their learning and independence. Leaders ensure that pupils who need more specialised support receive this.

The headteacher and staff have a clear vision for providing high-quality education. Governors are dedicated to the school and, over time, have organised the building of a library on the school site. However, governors are less clear on some priorities to make the school even better.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that staff receive regular safeguarding training and updates. This ensures staff are vigilant and can recognise the signs that a pupil may be at risk of harm.

They know the importance of reporting all concerns. Leaders follow up on concerns promptly. They work with outside agencies to ensure that pupils are safe.

Leaders ensure that all the checks on adults' suitability to work in schools are carried out thoroughly. Governors check regularly on safeguarding procedures.

Pupils learn how to recognise different risks.

They speak with confidence about how to keep themselves safe, including online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

• The curriculum plans in some subjects are new. In a small number of subjects, pupils have gaps in their understanding due to weaknesses in previous curriculum planning.

Leaders should continue their work to train staff to be more confident in adapting the curriculum where needed. Teachers need to fully account for the pupils' prior knowledge and understanding as precisely as possible in their planning, so that pupils achieve as well as they can in all subjects. ? Governors are becoming increasingly effective in fulfilling their roles.

They work with leaders to agree and monitor progress towards priority areas for improvement. However, governors are less clear about some priorities to improve the quality of education and how these will be achieved. Governors must ensure that priorities for improvement focus precisely on what is needed to improve the quality of education further.