Sopley Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Sopley Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

The staff have created a real sense of community in this caring school.

Pupils show kindness and respect towards one another and adults. Older pupils look after younger ones at different times in the school day, acting as their 'buddy'. This helps pupils to feel safe.

Staff are ambitious for what pupils can do, including for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils have considerable knowledge across a range of subjects. This is helped by the wider offer that includes carefully planned visitors and trips that enhance what pupils learn in different curr...iculum areas.

The school encourages pupils to develop their sense of responsibility. Staff provide pupils with a range of purposeful leadership opportunities, for example being an 'information technology monitor'. These roles enable pupils to develop their organisational skills.

Pupils behave well and enjoy learning. They and their parents and carers appreciate the strong support that they receive from the staff with their work, their emotions and any worries that they may have. One parent reflected the views of others by saying: 'My child thrives here.'



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

The school's curriculum is ambitious for pupils. They learn a broad range of subjects. The curriculum sets out the essential knowledge and key vocabulary pupils should learn.

In some subjects, the curriculum has been redesigned carefully to ensure that pupils progress securely from the early years through to Year 6. This means pupils learn new knowledge in a logical sequence and use what they already know. The school has set out clearly what children in the early years should know and be able to do by the end of the Reception Year.

Staff teach children well in the early years. However, in a very small number of subjects, the school has not ensured that pupils remember what they have been taught beforehand. In these subjects, pupils sometimes struggle to recall aspects of their prior learning.

Consequently, pupils do not achieve as well as they could.

Adults explain new learning well to pupils. They use a range of resources effectively to help develop pupils' understanding.

In many subjects, teachers check pupils' learning and subsequently use this information to focus future lessons. However, this process is underdeveloped in some subjects. Consequently, sometimes pupils are set learning activities that are not matched precisely to what they need to learn next.

The school prioritises teaching pupils to read. Staff are well trained and ensure that pupils make a strong start in learning to read. Children in the early years and key stage 1 receive effective phonics teaching.

The staff are skilled in closely and consistently following the reading and phonics scheme. Pupils who need help to keep up with other pupils get the support that they need quickly. Pupils at the early stages of reading have books that are matched well to the sounds that they know.

This supports them to read with fluency and confidence.

The school has high expectations for pupils with SEND and identifies them accurately. Staff work closely with wider professionals, ensuring that advice is sought to meet pupils' needs fully.

As a result, the school provides effective support. Staff make well-chosen adaptations in how the curriculum is delivered. This means that pupils with SEND can access the full curriculum and that they achieve well overall.

Staff establish warm relationships with pupils while setting high expectations for behaviour. A parent commented, echoing others' views: 'The teachers are very welcoming and friendly.' Low-level disruption is rare.

Children in the early years concentrate hard and want to do well. Older pupils are motivated and resilient learners. They settle to focus on their learning quickly and respond enthusiastically to questions and support that the staff sensitively provide.

The school makes pupils' attendance a high priority, taking effective action to ensure that pupils attend regularly. As a result, attendance is improving strongly.

Pupils' wider development is very positive.

The school develops pupils' knowledge and understanding through carefully chosen activities and opportunities. Pupils understand and live out British values. This is because they are woven through the curriculum.

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online and in the community, valuing visits from people such as the police service and fire brigade, who help develop pupils' understanding.

The school rightly ensures that the work that the staff undertake has a positive impact on pupils. The school also manages improvements carefully.

This means that there is not a negative impact on staff workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the school has not established robust systems of assessment that check what pupils know.

As a result, pupils' learning is not always moved forwards quickly enough. The school needs to ensure that there is effective assessment across all subjects so that staff understand what pupils know, adjusting subsequent teaching accordingly. ? In a very small number of subjects, pupils have not learned the essential knowledge that they need sufficiently securely.

This means they are not able to draw on their prior learning and achieve as well as they could. The school must ensure that pupils are secure in the important knowledge set out in the curriculum.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in June 2018.