Salcombe Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Salcombe Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Everyone is part of Team Salcombe. The whole community is encouraged to be part of the 'crew', supporting the school in any way they can. Leaders make the most of the school's coastal location.

For example, pupils go paddle boarding with the help of a local business.

Leaders have high hopes for pupils. They bring interesting people into school to give pupils ideas about the careers they could aspire to when they are older.

Pupils are polite and confident. They feel able to strike up a conversation with anyone. When there is conflict, staff help pupils to... talk through the problem and resolve it together.

It is rare for pupils to experience any bullying.

Through their good behaviour, pupils earn a school-based currency. They save this in the school bank and spend it in the school shop.

All of this is run by pupils.

A small number of pupils find it difficult to settle down to their learning. Teachers use a behaviour chart to tackle this.

Pupils say that this works well. Any disruption is short-lived, and they are soon able to concentrate on their learning.

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

Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum.

Pupils learn about people who have made an impression on the world in different places and at different times throughout history. They also learn about the things that are important to local people. With the support of the trust, leaders have thought carefully about how they organise the curriculum for pupils in mixed-age classes.

Pupils learn new and interesting content each year through a rolling programme.

Children in the early years learn to read quickly. There is a well-structured curriculum in place which sets out the order in which children will learn each sound.

Children enjoy their phonics lessons enormously. They take pride in seeing the progress they make as the weeks go on. The reading programme is working especially well for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Some of these pupils make exceptional progress.

Teachers promote reading well. They read to pupils every day.

Pupils learn that reading is something they can do whenever they have a spare moment. When pupils find a book they enjoy, teachers encourage them to read the next book in the series. Leaders celebrate pupils' achievements by treating them to a new book.

Pupils excitedly choose their reward from a vending machine stocked with books.

The curriculum for mathematics is well designed. Leaders set out a series of small steps that pupils need to take in their mathematical learning.

In the early years, teachers help children to pick up and use mathematical language. Pupils begin to understand difficult ideas through practical activities. For example, they build and explore 3D shapes.

As pupils grow older, they continue to be successful in mathematics. When there is a difficult concept, staff support pupils with different tools and resources to help them to 'see' the idea in different ways. This helps pupils to remember key learning.

Leaders are continually improving the curriculum. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is closely involved in curriculum design. As a result, adaptations are built in to meet pupils' needs well.

Teachers' enthusiasm for each subject is infectious. Leaders have set out what pupils should be able to do year on year. In some subjects, however, the important knowledge that pupils should learn and remember is not clear.

For example, in Spanish, leaders want pupils to be able to pronounce words correctly in Year 3. However, pupils told us that they do not learn enough about the phonics of the language to do this.

Staff are proud of the polite behaviours that pupils have.

Pupils open doors for adults and ask after their well-being. Leaders have worked with pupils to identify a set of positive attitudes towards learning. Pupils have chosen fun characters to represent these, for example Tara the Teamwork Octopus.

Inspectors saw pupils working together in lessons and contributing keenly. However, a few older pupils told us that behaviour can be a little unsettled at times. When this happens, teachers manage it well.

The way that leaders plan for the wider development of pupils is a strength of the school. The pupil-led eco council recently won a Green Flag award for its work on the school's clever use of plastic. Its members gave a presentation on their work to an audience including the local member of parliament.

Leaders are also developing links with elementary schools in Spain and Ethiopia to help pupils learn about other cultures.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and other staff are acutely aware of possible risks to pupils' safety and well-being.

They use the curriculum to encourage pupils to teach pupils to avoid behaviours that could be risky.

Staff are alert to signs of neglect and readily report these. This helps leaders to build a picture of what is happening in pupils' lives that could be harmful.

Leaders work closely with other agencies to get help to families when they need it. They go out of their way to support vulnerable pupils in difficult circumstances. There is a strong culture of learning from challenging cases among trust and school leaders.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders continue to improve their curriculum plans. Pupils make the most progress in the subjects where the knowledge they will learn is set out in a logical order for teachers to follow. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum in each subject is well planned and sequenced so that new knowledge builds on what has been taught before and supports pupils to develop the skills they need.

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 a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection.

However, if we find some evidence that a good school could now be better than good, or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.