Rodborough Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Rodborough Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to Rodborough.

They say that the pupils are kind, friendly and welcoming. Pupils learn how to socialise very well. For example, Year 6 pupils are 'buddies' to the children in Reception and help them settle into school.

Pupils' behaviour in lessons and around the school is very positive. Pupils state that bullying is not an issue at the school, and if they have any concerns, teachers resolve them.

Pupils learn the routines of school very well.

Children in Reception learn to take turns while pupils in all year groups listen respectful...ly to the ideas of others. Pupils learn about the importance of citizenship. For instance, pupils vote for a Prime Minister and deputy Prime Minister for the pupil parliament.

Pupils take their roles in the pupil parliament extremely seriously. They have worked with the local community to select play equipment for the park.

Pupils have many opportunities to enrich their learning about the world through clubs, trips and visitors to the school.

Leaders have planned the trips carefully to enrich pupils' learning of the curriculum. Pupils learn about the industrial history of Stroud through visits to the canal. They also learn about Roman history through visits to local sites of interest.

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

Leaders' vision for pupils' academic, social and emotional success is shared by all staff. They have created an ambitious curriculum in many subject areas. Pupils review what they have learned previously to help them understand more complex concepts.

For example, pupils review their knowledge of maps in Year 2 to locate rivers and mountain ranges in China. In English, pupils use their knowledge of the stylistic features of writing to edit their own work. However, leaders acknowledge that some subjects need to be planned more carefully so that pupils learn better.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive the support they need to learn the curriculum successfully.

Teachers have good subject knowledge. They ensure that pupils learn subject-specific vocabulary.

As a result, pupils use appropriate terminology. For instance, pupils reflected knowledgeably on the differences between dome and plateau mountains. Pupils are proud of their work.

They are motivated to learn well.

Leaders have prioritised reading in all subjects. Children in Reception and pupils in key stage 1 learn to read well.

They make strong links between letters and the phonics sounds they hear. Staff regularly check how well pupils read, and they provide additional support when required. Children in Reception and pupils in key stage 1 are highly motivated to learn to read and enjoy reading a range of books.

From Reception to Year 6, pupils love listening to the daily reading of a novel or short stories by their class teacher. Pupils enjoy the carefully selected texts they study in English, which helps them to understand how writers use language to convey ideas and characters. For example, pupils in Year 6 particularly enjoyed 'The Viewer' by Gary Crew.

Children in Reception flourish. Through the well-planned curriculum, children develop their own imaginative interpretations of the world. Children extend their vocabulary through the curriculum, which helps children to learn to read well.

Children listen to a range of stories that help them to enrich their knowledge of language. Children also develop their manual dexterity through cutting, sticking and drawing. Through a well-planned mathematics curriculum, children learn about number well.

Pupils develop awareness of their mental health through the curriculum. This is a high priority for leaders. The personal, social and health education programme has been carefully planned so that pupils learn about healthy relationships.

Pupils learn how to respect each other and to show empathy for the feelings of others. Pupils learn to meditate so that they can manage their own emotional well-being.

Governors have an accurate understanding of the school.

Staff are overwhelmingly positive about working in the school. They state that leaders support their well-being and help to manage their workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders are vigilant about the physical and emotional safety of pupils. They work well with external agencies to ensure that pupils at risk of harm receive appropriate and timely support. All staff, including governors, have received up-to-date safeguarding training and are alert to the risks that some pupils might face.

Pupils learn how to keep safe when online through lessons about internet safety. Leaders make thorough checks on all adults who work at the school.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the curriculum does not support pupils well enough to build on what they have learned before.

This means that pupils do not have sufficiently well-embedded knowledge before moving on to more complex concepts. Leaders must ensure that all subjects are consistently well planned to enable pupils to learn successfully.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2012.

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