Roos Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The guiding principles of, 'together we care, learn and shine' are lived out by the pupils and staff at Roos Church of England Primary School. Pupils model these well in their focused attitude to learning and the calm manner with which they conduct themselves around school.

Staff encourage this through the high expectations they have of pupils. Pupils talk positively about the roles they hold. For example, older pupils lead collective worship during whole-school visits to All Saints' Church.

Pupils are happy and feel safe at this school. They are polite and respectful to each other. Staff expect pupils to behave well, and they do.

Pupils say that bullying is ...rare; leaders' well-maintained records confirm this. If bullying does happen, pupils know that trusted adults will sort out their concerns quickly and effectively. Relationships between adults and pupils are highly positive.

Parents and carers are positive about the school. They are very complimentary about the work that staff do to help their children achieve well. One parent's comment was typical of the views of others, when they said, 'Both of my children have loved their time at Roos.

The whole team are supportive and genuinely care about our children.'

While pupils enjoy learning a broad curriculum, in some subjects, curriculum thinking is at an early stage.

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

The headteacher, staff and governors at Roos Church of England Primary School form a tight-knit, caring team.

They want the best for each and every pupil. Teachers ensure that pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics. Effective leadership has placed emphasis on the teaching of these core subjects.

Purposeful and active lessons support all pupils to succeed.

Leaders have prioritised reading. They have put an effective reading programme in place.

They have high aspirations of what pupils can achieve in reading. Pupils meet these high expectations. Leaders check regularly on how well pupils are learning to read.

Staff provide effective extra help to those that are falling behind. Consequently, almost all pupils are developing into confident, fluent readers. Older pupils, who might be less confident in reading, do not have access to suitable resources to continue to support them in their reading journey.

In Reception, leaders have prioritised the development of communication and language skills. They nurture a sense of curiosity in all children. There are highly positive relationships and interactions between staff and children.

High-quality resources underpin the provision across all areas of the early year's curriculum. Learning builds on what children already know and can do. As a result, children make particularly strong progress.

While pupils access a stimulating curriculum in this part of school, leaders have not developed their wider, whole school, curriculum plans to show how the foundations of children's learning in the early years is built upon.

Learning is strong in a number of subjects in the wider curriculum, such as in design and technology and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. Here, teachers work together to deliver progressive learning from pupils' starting points in the early years through to Year 6.

In science and some foundation subjects, including history, leaders are at an earlier stage of implementing their new plans. Leaders are establishing detailed plans which show the important knowledge and vocabulary that they expect pupils to know and remember in these subjects.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils are supported well.

They access the same curriculum as other pupils in school. Pupils with SEND and those who might face disadvantage achieve well. Parents are positive about the care and support that their children receive.

Pupils behave well in lessons and around school. Behaviour expectations are clear. Pupils understand the consequences of their actions if they fail to follow the behaviour approach.

In lessons, pupils listen attentively and respond well to instructions. Staff intervene in a timely way if pupils need additional support to focus. This ensures that learning is rarely disrupted.

Relationships between adults and pupils are highly positive. Leaders have introduced Stella, a school dog, under the dog mentor scheme. This initiative has had a very positive impact on pupils.

Pupils explore many aspects of the wider curriculum. For example, pupils learn about equalities and can discuss issues around gender stereotypes. Pupils successfully recall their learning about how to keep themselves safe.

There is a rich offer for developing pupils' spirituality and moral awareness. This is based on the Christian ethos of the school. Leaders place a strong focus on early careers education.

Local and national employers, including those in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics industries, inspire pupils to be ambitious in thinking about their future careers. For example, an aquarist from 'The Deep' presented a day in the life session. Similarly, teachers have linked visits to a major film studio with careers in this industry.

Staff appreciate the actions that leaders take to reduce workload and to support them with a positive work-life balance. Staff feel valued and are proud to work in the school. They recognise how working together with schools in their local cluster supports this.

The governing body has an accurate view of the school's strengths and weaknesses.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Pupils feel safe here.

They receive a comprehensive education on how to keep safe both online and offline. They recall this information well showing mature attitudes in discussions.

Suitable checks are made to ensure that all adults are safe to work with children.

Regular training enables staff to recognise signs that may suggest a pupil is at risk of harm. Leaders work proactively with external agencies to ensure that pupils get the help they need. There is an effective system in place to ensure that staff report and record any concerns they may have about pupils.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculums in science and some foundation subjects are not sufficiently well planned. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied. Leaders have started to identify key components of knowledge and to sequence these across year groups in these areas, but this work is not complete.

Further work and training are required to ensure consistency of implementation across classes and to assist all pupils to learn with increasing success in all subjects. ? Curriculum planning does not currently build on the knowledge and skills that pupils gain in the early years consistently well. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is fully sequenced so that it supports pupils to know and remember more over time, from the early years to Year 6.