Roydon Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are encouraged to 'be the best they can be' at this school. Pupils live out this mantra with positive attitudes towards their learning.

Pupils behave well.

They are kind, considerate and respectful. Classrooms are calm and focused. Learning proceeds without disruption.

Pupils enjoy active and sociable playtimes. Pupils have roles of play leaders, who support younger pupils to learn to play well.

The personal development of pupils is well considered.

Pupils enjoy the chance to attend yoga sessions. Trained staff offer pupils support if they are having any difficulties around their well-being. This contributes towards pupils developing ...their resilience and helps prepare them to be ready to learn.

Pupils' voices are heard and taken on board by the school. They are entrusted with a range of leadership roles, such as acting as school councillors and digital leaders. They relish these opportunities and enjoy making suggestions about how to make the school better.

New pupils have recently joined from abroad. The 'young interpreters' make sure that they are welcomed. Part of this work includes the young interpreters ensuring that significant events from different countries are celebrated so that all pupils feel included as part of the school community.

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

The school's curriculum has undergone significant change since the previous inspection. A more carefully planned curriculum is now in place across the mixed-aged classes, including in early years.

Reading is a priority.

The curriculum is well established. Trained staff teach early reading well. The books that pupils read match their stage of learning.

Adults support pupils to become fluent readers. Pupils are encouraged to develop a love of reading. Pupils respond enthusiastically to the Royal Roydon Challenge, which rewards pupils for reading regularly at home.

A positive reading culture is evident across the school.

Recently implemented curriculum plans are in place across many subjects. These have ensured a consistent approach for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils are accessing the curriculum with some success. Although the curriculum is in place, it is not fully developed across all areas. There is variability in how well teachers adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of all pupils.

This means that a few pupils either find the learning too easy or too difficult. Consequently, a small proportion of pupils do not achieve as well as they could.

In the core subject areas of reading and mathematics, teachers are skilful when checking how well pupils are achieving.

They support pupils to build on previous learning and to learn new concepts well. However, in some other subjects, pupils' progress is checked less well. Teachers do not routinely know that pupils' understanding is secure before moving on to new learning.

This means that learning is not always secure as pupils progress though the curriculum.

The school carries out appropriate checks to see how well the curriculum is working. In most subject areas, this informs leaders effectively.

However, the information that leaders gather in a few areas of the curriculum is not carefully considered. As a result, some subject leadership teams are not able to identify what is working well and what needs to improve. This leads to pupils not achieving as well in some subject areas as they do in others.

In early years, the environment supports children to learn the planned curriculum, which includes adult-led and purposeful child-led learning experiences. Interactions between children and adults are strong. These support children's learning across the different areas of learning, including specifically a focus on children developing their communication and language skills.

As a result, children are well prepared for Year 1.

The school supports pupils to behave well. Pupils are generally focused and attentive in lessons.

They understand the expectations for behaviour. This helps to make the school a purposeful place to learn.

There is a strong focus on pupils' wider development.

Pupils know the school's values and understand how they help to put these into practice. Pupils learn about different cultures and beliefs. They know how to keep themselves safe when online.

Older pupils visited the Houses of Parliament recently to consolidate their understanding of British values. Pupils attend residential trips to develop their independence and resilience. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

Governors monitor regularly and challenge school leaders effectively. The school, including its governors, is making improvements to the school. In doing so, the school has considered staff's workload and well-being.

Staff very much value this approach.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum is not always successfully adapted to meet pupils' specific needs as effectively as it could be.

This means that some pupils do not learn the knowledge as deeply and securely as they could. The school should ensure that it considers different pupils' needs precisely to ensure that successful adaptations are made to the planned curriculum so that all pupils learn the identified knowledge securely and consistently. ? In subjects where the curriculum is newer, the school's approaches to checking on what pupils know and remember are less well developed.

This makes it more difficult for teachers to assess where pupils have potential gaps in their knowledge. As leaders implement the revised curriculum, they should ensure that teachers are fully equipped to check what pupils know and can do before introducing new learning. ? Some subject leader teams are not precise enough in the evaluation of their subject.

This means that they are not able to identify accurately the strengths and next steps to improve. The school must ensure that subject leaders are trained to understand their role fully and to measure the impact of the curriculum in their subject. This will enable pupils to learn the intended curriculum successfully.