Salway Ash Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave exceptionally well.

This starts in Reception Year, where children learn to share, take turns and listen to each other. During breaktimes, 'Bronze Ambassadors' organise games that encourage pupils of all ages to play together. Pupils respond to each other with kindness and respect.

Parents and carers say their children are safe, happy and enjoy school.

Children in the early years settle quickly into school. Positive relationships between staff and pupils help pupils to become independent, resilient learners, willing to 'have a go'.

Pupils are keen to learn the school's ambitious new curriculum. They are well prepared for the next stage o...f their education.

Carefully planned enrichment activities build pupils' confidence and knowledge of the school's values.

For example, pupils perform in the annual talent show, and some are pen pals with residents in a local care home. Pupils talk with enthusiasm about outdoor education, sporting events, trips and residentials. They value the various roles and responsibilities they are elected to carry out.

School councillors are proud of the spirituality garden they designed and built with help from the school community. Pupils learn to be active citizens in their school community.

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

The school has high expectations for the academic and personal development of all pupils.

The school meets the needs of individual pupils right from the start. Staff get to know the interests and needs of children before they start school. Appropriate adaptations are then made to ensure that disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn the same curriculum as their peers.

In the early years, there is a sharp focus on the development of children's communication and language skills. Children are encouraged to explore and use new words from songs, rhymes and stories they hear. When learning to read, staff quickly identify pupils who need additional practice to secure their phonic knowledge.

Reading books closely match the phonemes and graphemes pupils learn. Regular practice of segmenting and blending, reading and writing secures pupils' phonic knowledge well. Pupils learn to be successful readers.

The school selects high-quality texts to read to pupils and discuss in class. This helps to extend pupils' vocabulary and deepen their reading comprehension successfully. Pupils use the library regularly to choose books to read for pleasure.

They enjoy talking about the authors and books they like.

The school's curriculum sets out detailed sequences of learning from Reception Year to Year 6. The school's expected end-of-year outcomes match the early years foundation stage and national curriculum expectations.

However, the curriculum's important content is not clearly emphasised in some subjects. This makes it difficult for staff to check what pupils must know and remember. Consequently, pupils have gaps in their knowledge in some subjects.

For example, pupils can recall their learning and name the world's continents and oceans. However, they cannot remember important curriculum content about the United Kingdom or rivers.

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe in their community and online.

They understand what healthy relationships are and how to manage money. The new curriculum is helping pupils to make links in their learning to real-life examples. For example, pupils published a book, 'Food Glorious Food', with healthy recipes and accompanying stories.

Through the curriculum and educational visits, pupils are developing their knowledge and experience of life in modern Britain.

The school has high aspirations for pupils' behaviour. This is evident in pupils' exemplary conduct and attitudes to learning.

There is a calm and orderly environment in the school. The school ensures that pupils who need additional support to recognise and manage their feelings receive the right help. Pupils are equipped with the tools and confidence to manage their own behaviour and to secure friendships.

The well-being of pupils, parents and staff has a high profile at the school. Pupils enjoy and attend school regularly. There are established systems for checking that pupils are safe when absent.

The school supports parents to improve their child's attendance. Staff appreciate the school's consideration and support for their well-being.

Leaders at all levels, including governors, know and understand the school's strengths and areas for development.

They have a clear vision for the school. The school has systems in place to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of leaders' actions accurately.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school does not check that pupils can recall the curriculum's important content in some subjects. This means that pupils have gaps in their essential knowledge. The school needs to refine the curriculum further in these subjects to ensure that pupils have opportunities to learn and review important knowledge to know and remember more.