Smannell and Enham Church of England (Aided) Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils' learning is disrupted by poor behaviour too often. Staff do not implement the school's behaviour policy consistently or effectively. The school has recently been supported by a highly skilled interim leader and external agencies, but changes have not resolved what have been persistent, long-standing issues.

Despite this, pupils say that they feel safe. They know the school's values of love, courage and reverence and can talk about what these mean. Pupils attend school regularly.

When pupils are at risk of low attendance, the school uses positive approaches and works with families closely.

Staff expectations of what pupils can achieve are not high enou...gh. Since the previous inspection, the school, including the governing body, has not acted with sufficient urgency to improve pupils' learning so that they achieve well.

Although the school has begun a process of change, for too long pupils have not learned enough. Recent work to ensure more pupils achieve success with phonics is beginning to show positive impact, but pupils, including those in the early years, are not as ready for their next stages of education as they should be.

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

Staff training has had some impact this year.

The school has led an intensive programme of staff development, focusing on safeguarding and making sure provision for early reading is effective. These priority areas have improved. Across the wider curriculum, however, training has been more limited.

The curriculum in subjects such as mathematics, history and art are ambitious for pupils but staff do not have secure subject knowledge. This means that the curriculum is not implemented consistently well. The activities that teachers choose do not help pupils to build on their prior learning as effectively as they should.

Staff do not check what pupils have learned well enough. As a result, pupils have gaps in their knowledge and understanding and cannot link their learning to broader concepts effectively.

Some pupils who fall behind in their reading do not catch up quickly enough.

This means that some pupils, including in the early years, are still behind where they are expected to be at this stage of their learning. The most recent published phonics outcomes were significantly below national averages. However, the school's actions mean that pupils are now learning to read increasingly well.

This is because staff have developed a more robust and systematic approach to teaching reading. Phonics training has supported staff to be consistent and precise with modelling sounds and questioning pupils accurately. In phonics, staff check how well pupils have learned and identify pupils who need additional help.

Reading books that pupils take home are matched closely to the sounds that they have learned. Pupils enjoy the school library to help them develop a love of reading.

The school's provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities has a number of positive aspects.

The school identifies barriers to pupils' learning and adapts the curriculum to address these. Where needed, the school works with a range of external agencies, such as educational psychologists and speech and occupational therapists.

In early years, adults' expectations of children's behaviour are not reinforced consistently well.

Also, adults do not help children build specific vocabulary consistently effectively. By the end of Reception, children do not achieve as well as they should across the seven areas of learning. More positively, there is an appropriate focus in the early years on communication and language.

Children share their learning joyfully. For example, when making pretend ice cream with their friends, one pupil shouted, 'This is so much fun!'. Staff use songs, rhymes and effective questioning increasingly well to help children with their learning.

Most children can maintain focus and attention.

Pupils' broader personal development is limited in some aspects, although the school has the right plans in place to improve provision further. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe when online.

Pupils also learn about staying mentally healthy and physically safe, but their understanding is not secure in some important areas, such as eating healthily or learning about fundamental British values. Currently, pupils have limited understanding of important topics, such as protected characteristics and diversity. They find it difficult to explain what they know about different faiths and beliefs.

However, pupils enjoy debating topical issues, such as plastic use, recycling and ocean pollution. Pupils also enjoy trips and visits such as local walks and a class trip to The Living Rainforest. They engage with clubs and other activities positively, although the school is rightly intending to increase the scope of this provision.

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 has not ensured that all staff promote high standards of behaviour consistently and effectively. Pupils' behaviour in lessons disrupts learning too often.

The school should ensure that all staff have high expectations and manage behaviour consistently well. ? The school, including those responsible for governance, has not acted decisively and quickly enough to tackle some important weaknesses, particularly in pupils' behaviour. While some improvements have been made, for example in safeguarding and early reading, others have not been realised fully enough.

The governing body must support and challenge the school effectively so that standards improve across all curriculum areas. ? The programme for pupils' personal development is not comprehensive enough. This means pupils' understanding of key aspects is limited.

The school must review the wider offer so that pupils develop the qualities they need to flourish in school and wider society ? Pupils do not achieve consistently well. Approaches to assessment are not effective enough and teachers' subject knowledge is not fully secure. The school should ensure that it provides the right training in these key areas to improve the implementation of the curriculum further.