River Mead School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school The executive headteacher leads with a relentless ambition for excellence. She has successfully steered the school through challenging times. Staff training and subject support networks facilitated by The Mead Academy Trust are leading to continually improving standards.

Staff morale is high. The headteacher has developed a motivated team who share her insatiable appetite for improvement. Leaders' high expectations and well-targeted challenge and support have resulted in improved teaching which is securely good.

Leaders make effective use of additional funding. Consequently, the differences between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils a...nd others nationally are diminishing. Leaders implement a high-quality curriculum which promotes pupils' achievement across a range of subjects very well.

However, leadership of some of the non-core subjects such as modern foreign languages (MFL), PE and music are just developing. Teachers make effective use of what they know pupils can do and understand to plan learning that helps pupils to make good progress. River Mead is a nurturing haven of aspiration.

Pupils feel safe to make mistakes and are eager to learn from them. They demonstrate pride in their learning and show an appetite to learn. Teachers engender a love of reading.

This, and the strong teaching of phonics have resulted in above national average standards at the end of key stage 1. Exclusions have been high in the past. However, they are significantly reduced.

Pupils conduct themselves well in lessons and around the school. Teaching in mathematics has led to pupils' much improved ability to reason and solve problems. However, sometimes pupils' lack of fluency and recall of number facts slows down their ability to calculate efficiently and accurately.

Teaching in the resource base supports pupils' learning very well. They make good progress against their goals. However, their development of mathematical understanding is less secure than other aspects of learning.

Although pupils' attendance has improved, there are still too many of the younger pupils who are persistently absent from school.

Information about this school

River Mead is smaller than the average-sized primary school. The school has a 20-place resource base providing specialist provision for pupils with a range of complex needs.

Most of these pupils have an education, health and care plan. The local authority places these pupils. The school is part of The Mead Academy Trust of three primary schools in Wiltshire.

It is governed by a board of trustees which has delegated some of its functions to an academy advisory group. The vast majority of pupils are White British, and most pupils speak English as their first language. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils eligible for the pupil premium is well above the national average.

The proportion of pupils with SEND is well above the national average. The early years foundation stage consists of an integrated unit of Nursery and Reception children. The school has a breakfast and after-school club run by the governing body.