Skelton School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this school. They are happy and know that they are well cared for.

This includes even the youngest children in the Nursery Year. The nurturing environment that the school has fostered means that pupils feel safe and that they know who to speak to if they have any concerns. Parents and carers described the school as having a 'family feeling'.

The school has high ambitions for what pupils can achieve. In lessons, pupils are motivated to work hard. The school's vision to develop pupils into 'confident and capable learners' is realised.

This is reflected in the high quality of pupils' work. The majority of pupils learn well.

Pupils... consistently demonstrate respect for each other.

They behave well and respond positively to staff's instructions. Pupils attend school regularly.

There are many opportunities in place to broaden pupils' horizons, for example through whole-school trips and events.

All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), participate in these activities. There are many extra-curricular clubs available that pupils attend regularly, including those with SEND and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Older pupils relish the opportunities that they have to adopt responsibility for their younger peers.

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

The school has an ambitious curriculum that clearly identifies the knowledge that pupils need to learn at different stages in many subjects. This is particularly the case in mathematics and has resulted in pupils being confident in exploring different concepts and processes. Pupils use the right vocabulary to discuss their learning in mathematics and they are making strong progress.

In areas where curriculum is less well defined, on occasion, the activities that staff select do not support pupils to learn essential knowledge as deeply as they could. Added to this, some staff do not have the expertise required to successfully adapt the delivery of the curriculum to meet the additional needs of pupils who find it difficult to learn the content and apply knowledge fluently.

The school carefully monitors what pupils know and can do.

Typically, teachers identify and address pupils' misconceptions as they arise.

Pupils learn to read quickly, starting their journey in the early years. Children in the Nursery Year are introduced to the sounds and vocabulary that will support them to become confident readers.

They enjoy regularly sharing stories and rhymes. This sets them up well for learning phonics from the start of the Reception Year.

Staff deliver the phonics programme successfully.

Those pupils who need additional help to learn to read receive this swiftly. Most older pupils read with accuracy and independence. They also enjoy talking about the stories that they have shared in class and those that they are studying.

In the early years, the curriculum has been designed to build on children's interests and knowledge. Children quickly develop their understanding of the world around them and how to interact with others positively. Occasionally, staff do not support children to consolidate or practise their learning as well as they should.

The school identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND swiftly and accurately. In subjects where the curriculum is designed well, staff make appropriate adaptations to the delivery of the curriculum. In these subjects, pupils with SEND learn successfully alongside their peers.

The vast majority of pupils attend school regularly. The school has been tenacious in ensuring that those pupils who need to improve their rates of attendance receive appropriate additional support. Pupils adhere to the school's high expectations and incidents of poorer behaviour are rare.

When these incidents do occur, the school addresses them quickly. Clear routines are embedded from the Reception Year, and this contributes to the calm and purposeful atmosphere in the school.

The school provides a wide range of opportunities, woven throughout the school day, for pupils to develop personally.

This has included trips to a mosque and visits to a castle and the theatre. All pupils take part in these activities, and there has been careful consideration of how these experiences link to pupils' wider learning. Pupils also know how to keep themselves healthy, what positive relationships look like and ways to stay safe online.

They also have opportunities to learn about democracy through the school council, and they often take on responsibilities in the school and the wider community.

Staff feel extremely well supported by the current leadership team. They are proud to work at this school.

Governors have ensured that they have taken effective steps to support both the workload and well-being of staff.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, some staff do not deliver the curriculum effectively.

This hinders some pupils from building a rich body of subject knowledge. The school should ensure that staff are supported to design appropriate learning and adapt the delivery of the curriculum well. This is so that pupils learn as deeply as they should.

• In the early years, from time to time, staff do not support children to practise their learning as well as they should. This means that some children do not develop their knowledge and skills as quickly as they could. The school should ensure that staff are fully equipped to support all aspects of children's development.