Southwold Primary School and Early Years’ Centre

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a vibrant and diverse school, where pupils are happy and safe.

Pupils and staff provide a warm welcome to the many pupils who arrive partway through the academic year. The school community helps these pupils to settle quickly into their studies and make friends. Relationships between pupils and staff are positive.

The school strives for all pupils to flourish. It ensures that pupils have a strong start to their education. This helps current pupils to be successful, including pupils who are new to school and who are new to speaking English.

Staff have high expectations of pupils' behaviour. Most behaviour is positive at social times. If staff need to r...emind pupils to be 'ready, respectful and safe', pupils respond appropriately.

Sometimes, bullying can happen, or disrespectful language is used. Staff deal with these incidents effectively by helping pupils to manage their behaviour choices. Pupils agree that the school rules are fair.

Pupil behaviour leaders are proud of their role to remind their peers about the school's expectations. Most pupils understand and demonstrate respect and consideration to others.

Pupils are knowledgeable about life in modern Britain.

They understand what it is like to live in a democracy and that children's rights are protected. Pupils know to treat everyone equally, and they understand people's protected characteristics. Staff and pupils work together well as champions for equality.

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

The school's published results do not provide the full picture of pupils' achievements. Many pupils arrive and leave the school during the academic year. Some of them have not had long to study the curriculum before taking national tests.

The longer that pupils attend the school, the more they benefit from the school's well-thought-out curriculum.

The school has designed a curriculum that is ambitious for its pupils. It is clear what pupils need to know and remember in each subject.

There are plenty of opportunities for pupils to revisit the most important knowledge. However, in a few subjects, this design is new, and it does not always allow pupils to build effectively on what they already know. The school has improved the mathematics curriculum.

There is a sharp focus on arithmetic proficiency. In the early years, the mathematics curriculum lays appropriate foundations for number and early counting. The sequence of mathematics from early years into key stage 1 is currently being refined.

Staff have appropriate subject knowledge that supports effective teaching. They explain new information clearly, and this helps pupils to understand new concepts well. Staff engage pupils' interest in learning.

They ensure that pupils understand the new vocabulary that they need to access new knowledge. This includes effective language development for children in the early years. Revisiting previous learning helps pupils remember knowledge well.

Staff ask probing questions to check pupils' understanding. However, sometimes staff do not identify and resolve pupils' errors, leaving pupils with gaps in their learning.The school identifies the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) accurately.

These pupils benefit from appropriate support and guidance to help them achieve well.

Reading is a priority for this school. Pupils begin with the foundations of language and communication in Nursery.

Children learn about the sounds they hear around them and early rhyme. These skills build well towards children learning their letters and sounds in Reception. Effective checks of pupils' phonics knowledge make sure that all pupils keep up.

Pupils who arrive partway through the year benefit from appropriate catch-up support. Books are closely matched to the sounds that pupils know. Staff help pupils to read with expression.

While staff deliver the phonics programme consistently, they occasionally miss mistakes made by pupils and do not always correct them.

The school is calm and orderly. Most pupils meet the school's high expectations for behaviour, and learning is rarely disrupted.

Pupils are studious when they focus on their learning. The school manages pupils' attendance well. Some pupils have improved their attendance.

However, others miss too much of the school's valuable education.

The school provides high-quality, wider opportunities for pupils' character development and well-being. Guest speakers teach pupils valuable skills about being safe.

Pupils learn about citizenship through mini-police workshops. They appreciate the importance of how to stay safe online. They understand ways to be healthy.

Initiatives such as the 'green team' promote pupils' responsibilities. Pupils benefit from drama and music activities such as learning to play brass instruments. Local university workshops inspire pupils to consider future opportunities.

Governors are effective in their roles. They understand their duties. The school provides opportunities for parents and carers to come into school and learn about the curriculum.

Staff develop their expertise with high-quality professional development. They appreciate the consideration by leaders to reduce their 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 a few subjects, the school has not designed the curriculum well enough to build on pupils' prior knowledge and understanding. This means that pupils do not always have the key knowledge they need to deepen their learning. The school should further develop their curriculum so that pupils build their knowledge towards the curriculum's ambitious end points.

• Staff do not consistently resolve misconceptions and errors that pupils make. This means that pupils make mistakes that are left uncorrected, and these errors are perpetuated.The school should ensure that staff use effective strategies to correct any errors that pupils make so that pupils achieve well.

• The school has an appropriate focus on attendance, but too many pupils continue to miss too much school. This means that these pupils miss learning and struggle to keep up with their peers. The school should ensure that pupils attend well so that they benefit from the high-quality education that the school provides.