Roxeth Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy, confident and resilient at this school.

The school provides a wide range of enrichment activities and trips so that pupils gain valuable life experiences. Pupils attend a range of clubs and they benefit from the close relationship the school has with local secondary schools. The school does much to promote diversity and respect, and pupils may take on a range of leadership roles to contribute to the school community.

Pupils are safe at school and attend well. Conduct around the school is calm and respectful. Pupils are polite and courteous, and there is little disruption in class.

Children in the early years quickly develop good social skill...s and show kindness to one another.

The school has high expectations for the achievement of all pupils, including those with special educational needs/and or disabilities (SEND). Pupils study a broad and enriched education.

They enjoy their learning and make good progress.

The school works well with families. Parents and carers speak favourably of the school.

Leaders at all levels are forward-looking and carefully consider what is best for the pupils in their care.

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

Pupils study an ambitious curriculum. Teachers have secure subject knowledge and present information clearly.

Wherever possible, trips and enriching activities help make learning memorable. For example, pupils recalled the Roman mosaics in St Albans when explaining life in Roman Britain. Teachers often model and explain new ideas very clearly.

For example, pupils are shown how to pass a rugby ball effectively in their physical education (PE) lessons and how to apply their knowledge of shape and texture in observational drawings for art.

Most of the time, pupils use ambitious vocabulary and teachers consolidate learning before moving on to new content. In mathematics, pupils can use mathematical terminology accurately and apply challenging methods and reasoning to their calculations.

However, in some subjects teaching moves on too quickly before key knowledge has been understood and some resources do not support that learning effectively.

The school identifies the needs of pupils with SEND accurately and with precision. The majority of pupils with SEND are well supported to learn the curriculum alongside their peers.

Teachers are provided with thorough information about these needs and mostly make adaptations successfully where required. However, some of the support materials provided to help pupils in their learning are not effective and do not aid pupils' understanding. Leaders are reviewing the quality of these resources.

Reception classes are well resourced and offer a range of interactive activities. Staff establish routines quickly and provide a smooth transition into the Reception Year. However, the school has not fully developed the curriculum to ensure that children make strong progress.

At times, staff do not facilitate activities sufficiently well to help children learn to a high standard. Interactions with staff and resources are variable in quality. Some staff promote key vocabulary and enthuse children to learn, while others do not draw out the full learning opportunities available.

The school promotes a love of reading and pupils become fluent readers quickly. The phonics programme is set out logically to build knowledge gradually and securely. Staff deliver the programme well and are skilled in helping pupils to read.

Pupils practise reading with books that match the sounds taught in class. Teachers regularly check what pupils know. Pupils who need support with their reading are given extra help quickly to develop their fluency.

Teaching builds a culture of reading using role play, dedicated reading time and texts chosen that are both ambitious and enjoyed by the pupils.

Children in the early years learn and play with each other cooperatively. Older pupils are polite and confident.

They are motivated to learn in class. Leaders are working to ensure that minor incidents that occur outside of lessons are recorded with equal rigour. They are implementing a new system to help them analyse behaviour in further depth.

The school works closely with parents to ensure pupils attend regularly and parents feel that the school communicates with them well.

Provision for pupils' personal development is excellent. The school takes pupils to different places of worship and carefully considered trips, including London excursions.

These outings build pupils' understanding of the world around them. The school fully uses its links with local secondary schools so that pupils take part in a wide variety of sports clubs and Shakespeare workshops and performances, and regularly hear from different speakers. These experiences help pupils to think more critically and make deeper connections in their learning.

The school celebrates a different value each month and pupils take on various roles and responsibilities, including as 'rights rangers', eco-warriors, librarians and sports captains. They are very well prepared for life in modern day Britain and learn how to stay healthy and keep themselves safe, including online. Personal, social, health and economic education is organised thoughtfully.

Equality and diversity are celebrated throughout the school and pupils learn about a range of different cultures beginning in Reception.

Staff feel valued and that their well-being is a priority of leaders. Governors and leaders are knowledgeable and take their duty of care very seriously.

They are committed to further improvement.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, pupils have not fully understood key concepts and knowledge before new content is introduced.

At times, resources in these subjects do not aid learning and vocabulary is too difficult to be accessible to all the pupils. As a result, some pupils are not making strong progress across the curriculum or making links across their learning. Leaders should review and adapt how the curriculum is taught in these subjects so that all pupils can achieve well.

• In the early years, activities set do not consistently draw out the intended learning of the curriculum. Therefore, some children are not making the progress of which they are capable. Leaders should consider carefully what the core intended learning is and communicate this clearly to all staff so that activities are meaningful, and children have suitable resources to aid their learning.