Sidmouth Church of England (VA) Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Pupils make strong progress from their starting points.

Where gaps in pupils' knowledge are present, these are rapidly closing. Leaders have prioritised the importance of children learning to read from an early age. Children read age-appropriate texts with confidence and can answer questions about what they have read.

Leaders engage parents and carers well in their children's education. Parents regularly help their children in class during the extended 'drop off' times in the morning. Pupils' behaviour across the school is a strength.

Pupils are polite and courteous. They enjoy school and attendance is improving. Pupils feel safe... and are safe.

Staff report concerns about pupils' welfare well and leaders use this information to take proportionate action. Pupils make strong progress in writing. They learn to write for a range of purposes and apply vocabulary well.

However, they are less confident when using punctuation. Children do not consistently access the full array of activities across the early years. On occasion, activities are not engaging to children and remain unused, particularly writing activities.

Leaders have high expectations for all staff and pupils. Staff feel valued and benefit from high-quality professional development and training. Consequently, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is strong.

The early years provision is a rich and engaging place to learn. Children make good progress and apply what they have learned in a meaningful, contextual way. Pupils access a broad and balanced curriculum.

They develop a secure understanding across all subjects, including foundation subjects such as history and science. Pupils access a rich and varied mathematics curriculum. They develop their fluency, reasoning and problem-solving knowledge through suitably challenging activities.

Staff, at all levels, are passionate about the school. This contributes to the strong team spirit. Senior leaders are in the process of handing over subject leadership to new leaders, who will drive forward improvements in their areas of responsibility.

Representatives from the trust support the school well. They have an accurate evaluation of the schools' performance. However, their understanding of how well pupils make progress lacks precision.

Information about this school

The school is split over three sites, Woolbrook Road, Vicarage Road and Manstone Avenue. Woolbrook Road accommodates pupils in key stage 2. Vicarage Road accommodates nursery-age children through to pupils in Year 2.

Manstone Avenue accommodates children in Reception through to pupils in Year 2. Day to day, the head of teaching and learning leads the school. She is supported by two deputy headteachers and unit leaders who have responsibility for particular phases of education such as the early years, and key stage 1.

The school is larger than the average-sized primary school. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals in slightly lower than the national average. The proportion of pupils with SEND is higher than the national average.