Risby Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very proud of their school. Pupils say, 'you can be who you want to be'. Pupils feel valued because their views are listened to.

For example, pupils created plans for new outside play equipment, using a budget allocated by leaders. The final design was chosen after all pupils voted.

Learning is interesting.

Pupils are enthusiastic about the content of the curriculum. The lessons linked to the theme of 'journey of discovery' are among pupils' favourite because those pupils spoken to said they love learning about the continents of the world and geography is a popular subject area for many.

Pupils feel happy and safe.

They are very r...espectful of each other and adults. Pupils know what is expected of their behaviour and their learning. They behave well in lessons and around school.

Pupils fully engage with all learning opportunities. 'Thank you' is often heard being said around the school without a prompt. Pupils say there is a zero tolerance for bullying.

If it happens, it is quickly dealt with so it stops.

There are a range of clubs for pupils to attend, for example drama, football and craft. This helps pupils to develop their talents beyond the classroom.

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

Leaders have planned an ambitious curriculum that develops pupils' knowledge and deepens their understanding of the world they live in. Leaders have made sure that key skills and knowledge pupils need to know to develop further are frequently revisited in the curriculum. This helps pupils to make connections in their learning, so they successfully know and remember more.

Where teachers are more confident and have strong subject knowledge, they teach the curriculum well. They check what pupils know and understand and use this information to adapt plans for future learning. Where the curriculum has new content, teachers feel less secure about their subject knowledge.

Where this is the case, pupils develop their knowledge and skills more slowly compared with in other subjects. Teachers are not trained well enough in areas where there has been new curriculum content added.

Leaders are passionate about making sure that pupils develop into confident readers so they can 'read to learn'.

They have created an ethos across the school that nurtures a love of reading. An example of this is 'snack and story time', which happens across the whole school. Pupils of all ages sit animatedly listening to adults read while eating their snack.

Teachers are well trained and confident in delivering the reading curriculum. Important reading skills are consistently taught from early years to Year 6.

In Reception, children quickly learn the sounds that letters make and begin to decode and read simple words.

These skills are then frequently revisited to increase pupils' fluency. Regular checks help teachers to identify if a pupil is falling behind with their reading. Quick and effective actions are carried out to address any gaps found.

As a result, pupils develop into confident, fluent readers.

Leaders have made sure that all staff know and understand the behaviour systems and expectations. All staff have high expectations for pupil behaviour and implement them consistently.

Classrooms are calm, orderly and respectful places to learn. Playtimes are happy, with pupils of all ages playing together and supporting each other. Routines are understood and followed by all pupils.

For example, the first bell at the end of playtime means stop and be silent. All pupils respect and follow this rule, including the youngest children. This ensures that all pupils return to their learning swiftly and with little disruption.

The needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are accurately identified. Leaders work with class teachers to put in place additional provision where needed. This enables pupils with SEND to learn the same curriculum as others alongside their peers.

However, on occasions the checking of pupils' achievement against their targets, including what pupils think, is not as clear. Therefore, there are some examples where leaders do not fully know how effective the provision for pupils with SEND is in a few areas of the school.

Leaders provide for pupils' wider development well.

Pupils learn to care for the environment and for each other. Pupils are aware of themselves as members of a local community. Examples of this are the pupils' involvement in 'wilder schools' and their 'eco village' project.

This ensures that pupils develop a clear and respectful understanding of how people and families can be different.

Governors know the school well because they carry out regular monitoring visits to check for themselves what leaders report is accurate. Governors make recommendations from these visits which are appropriately followed up.

Governors understand their role in supporting the well-being of staff and regularly check in with leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff understand their responsibility to safeguard pupils.

This includes carrying out the appropriate checks to ensure that all adults are suitable to work with pupils.

Regular and specific training helps adults to understand and identify the risks pupils face. This helps staff to be vigilant about looking out for signs of harm.

Adults know how to report a concern. Leaders take swift action in response to any concerns raised. This includes involving other agencies where needed.

The curriculum content ensures that pupils learn successfully how to stay safe both on and offline.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Where the curriculum has had new content added, some teachers are less confident with teaching parts of the new curriculum. This impacts on the progress that some pupils make.

Leaders should provide teachers with guidance and support, so that they are confident and able to teach new content more effectively. ? While systems are in place to identify and support pupils with SEND, they do not consistently provide leaders with a clear and precise oversight of the effectiveness of the SEND provision. Leaders should develop systems in place to support pupils with SEND that provide them with accurate information so they can evaluate more effectively the SEND provision across the school.

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