Shepeau Stow Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Shepeau Stow is a happy school.

Pupils told inspectors: 'This is a nice school. We like our friends and our learning. We feel proud to come here.'

Pupils say that they feel safe. They know that there is always a member of staff they can speak to if they are worried.

Leaders have made improvements to the curriculum.

However, they know that there is more to do. In some subjects, the curriculum is not taught well enough. This means that some pupils do not gain the knowledge and skills they should over time.

This includes some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Leaders create a calm and orderly environmen...t in the school. Pupils usually behave well.

They concentrate well when lessons meet their needs. Pupils have positive relationships with staff. Pupils told inspectors that behaviour is good most of the time and that staff deal quickly with any incidents of bullying.

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school. One parent, who represented the views of many parents, said: 'The children's well-being is of utmost importance. The school does well to offer as many enriching activities and opportunities as possible.'

Parents appreciate that the staff are approachable.

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

Over time, leaders have not ensured that the quality of education is good in all subjects. Leaders have identified the key content they expect pupils to learn.

However, they have not established ways to teach the curriculum content successfully in some subjects. This hampers some pupils from remembering the most important knowledge and building their understanding over time. Subject leaders do not check well enough how successfully the curriculum is implemented.

There is not a consistent approach to checking what pupils know and remember in foundation subjects. As a result, teachers do not regularly check how well pupils remember the wider curriculum.

Reading is prioritised across the school.

There is a consistent approach to the teaching of phonics across the school. Staff are trained well. They teach pupils to use their phonic skills to sound out unfamiliar words.

Pupils build up their phonic knowledge to enable them to read. Books are matched to the letters and sounds pupils are learning. Staff are quick to provide support when pupils fall behind.

The mathematics curriculum is well planned. However, staff have not been trained sufficiently well enough to teach the mathematics curriculum successfully. There is inconsistency across classes in how teachers teach knowledge in this subject.

Some teachers' subject knowledge is inconsistent. This means that they do not always present subject content clearly. Pupils sometimes confuse mathematical concepts, such as when weighing in grams and kilograms.

Pupils can struggle to remember what they have previously been taught. Some teachers do not consistently provide pupils, including those with SEND, with work which is matched to their needs.

Relationships are positive between children and adults in the early years.

Leaders have started to set out how learning in the early years connects with the learning that pupils will encounter as they move through the school. However, leaders have not identified effective ways to teach the curriculum content successfully in all areas of learning. Sometimes teachers provide work that is too hard for children.

Children do not reliably remember what they have been taught across the curriculum in the early years.

Pupils with SEND access the full curriculum. Most teachers provide strong support and ensure that resources are suited to these pupils' needs.

They regularly check how successfully pupils with SEND access the curriculum. Leaders regularly seek advice from external agencies, to ensure that pupils with SEND thrive at school. On occasion, some teachers do not consistently provide pupils with work that is matched well enough to their needs.

Leaders provide opportunities for pupils to help prepare them for life in modern Britain. Pupils understand the different forms that families can take. They understand right from wrong.

Pupils know how to eat healthily and keep fit. There is some inconsistency in some pupils' knowledge of different faiths and beliefs. While most pupils understand British values, including democracy, some pupils are unsure.

Pupils like to represent the school in the school council and as house captains. They like the extra-curricular clubs on offer.

Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the school's leaders.

They also appreciate the professional support that they receive. Governors and representatives of the local authority know the school well. They fulfil their statutory responsibilities.

Leaders work well with staff. They consider staff's well-being and workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong culture of safeguarding at the school. Leaders provide support to vulnerable pupils. Staff pass on potential concerns promptly.

Record-keeping is thorough. Leaders provide regular safeguarding training for staff and governors. They check that staff know how to spot pupils who may be at risk.

Governors regularly check the school's safeguarding procedures.

Leaders have ensured that the curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to learn how to stay safe, including when working online. Pupils say that they know who to go to if they have a concern.

They know that staff will take their concerns seriously.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have developed a coherently planned and well-sequenced curriculum. However, they have not established ways to teach the curriculum content successfully in some subjects.

This hampers some pupils from remembering the most important knowledge and building their understanding over time. Some pupils are not always clear what they have learned about British values. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is consistently well taught so that all pupils, including those with SEND, know more and remember more of what they have been taught.

• Leaders' approach to monitoring and evaluating the quality of education is not rigorous enough. Leaders do not have a sharp enough insight into the impact of their actions to bring about the necessary improvements. Leaders do not have a sufficiently clear understanding of how successfully the curriculum is implemented.

As a result, pupils do not always benefit from a good-quality education. Leaders should ensure that the approach to monitoring and evaluation is rigorous enough and informs leaders sufficiently well enough to drive improvements in the school's quality of education. ? Staff regularly assess what pupils know in the core subjects.

However, leaders have not developed assessment systems for the foundation subjects. As a result, teachers do not regularly check how successfully pupils access the wider curriculum. Leaders need to develop a consistent approach to assessment in the wider curriculum subjects and ensure that the use of assessment does not place unnecessary burdens on staff or pupils.