Silverton Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy being at Silverton Church of England Primary School.

Everyone is welcome. Pupils like learning and want to do well. The school enriches pupils' learning beyond the classroom very well.

For example, pupils relish outdoor learning days and field trips to Dartmoor.

Leaders and teachers have high expectations of pupils in reading, writing and mathematics and expect them to do well. As a result, across the school, pupils are learning more and remembering more.

However, in a few other subjects, pupils do not do quite as well, because the curriculum is not as well planned out.

Pupils are polite, considerate and feel safe. They are conf...ident that behaviour is good in the school.

They like the 'high five' rules the school has created and say that adults use these consistently. Pupils say that bullying does happen, but that it is very rare and adults deal with it straight away.

Pupils appreciate groups such as the School Council and the JETs (Junior Ethos Team).

There is a strong family feel in Reception. Consequently, everyone settles in well. 'Playground Pals' make sure that everyone has someone to play with and no-one is left out.

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

Pupils say that they love reading. They learn to read from day one. They do well because of the ordered and consistent approach that the school follows.

Teachers make sure that the books pupils take home match the sounds that they know. Pupils have lots of opportunities to practise and rehearse their reading. Because of this, they gain the knowledge and skills they need to be fluent readers.

The school has worked hard to make sure that the curriculum in English and mathematics is ambitious and meets pupils' needs well. Learning is carefully planned so that pupils have opportunities to practise and deepen their knowledge. Pupils are learning more, and standards have risen across the school.

However, learning in some other subjects, such as geography, has not been as well ordered. Consequently, pupils have gaps in their knowledge and understanding. Leaders are addressing this head on, but it is early days.

Teachers use a range of strategies to help them find out what pupils have learned and need to do next. As a result, pupils are achieving increasingly well over time. However, a minority of the lowest-attaining pupils do not learn enough.

These pupils do not gain all the basic knowledge they need to help them move on with their learning consistently well.

The school makes sure that the learning provided for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is helping them to catch up. Many of these pupils are achieving well.

However, sometimes the targets set for individual pupils' needs are not as sharp as they could be.

Children in the early years get off to a great start. Staff know their children well.

They use this knowledge to plan an exciting and stimulating curriculum which ensures children are ready for Year 1. Children are enthusiastic and engaged learners who cooperate well with each other. For example, they enjoy music making and playing in the mud kitchen together.

Parents and carers say how much they appreciate this caring setting.

Pupils behave well in lessons. Pupils apply their understanding of the school's 'learning characters' and the '5Bs' effectively.

As a result, when pupils get stuck with their learning they keep going and do not give up.

The school's curriculum deepens pupils' wider experiences of the world well. It is carefully planned to address pupils' needs.

The school provides a wide range of activities it calls its 'musts before you leave Silverton'. These include trips to the theatre, walking on Dartmoor and experiencing live music. Pupils understand their place in the wider world through their charity work and links with their partner school in Ethiopia.

Staff say that they are well supported by their leaders. They are enthusiastic about the many opportunities that being part of a wider group of schools gives them. The new governing body has already begun to challenge leaders to ensure ongoing improvements.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff have good relationships with parents and other partners that they work closely with. They know their children well and are quick to address any concerns.

Pupils say that they feel safe in Silverton.

The checks that the school carries out for new staff are effective. All staff have received statutory training for safeguarding and apply it well.

The executive headteacher regularly checks staff understand key messages well enough to help keep children safe.

What does the school need to do to improve?

The curriculum in some subject areas has not been as well planned as in others. As a result, there are some gaps in pupils' knowledge and understanding.

Leaders have new plans in place to address this. Leaders need to assure themselves that the learning planned for pupils in the foundation subjects is ambitious and well planned, so that pupils achieve consistently well across every subject. .

Teachers do not always identify the missing component parts of the knowledge pupils need to move on with their learning. This means some pupils, particularly the lowest attaining, including those with SEND, have gaps in their knowledge which makes it hard for them to catch up. Leaders need to make sure that next steps for these pupils are precise so that learning builds on what pupils already know.