St Faiths CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St Faiths CofE Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils and their parents highly recommend this school. Pupils receive high-quality care which makes them feel very secure. They benefit from the fact that the adults know them very well.

If pupils have any worries, there are many adults who they go to for support. Pupils are extremely positive about their experiences at school.

The school has high expectations for how pupils behave and what they will achieve.

This begins in earnest in the Reception Year. Children are expertly supported to develop their focus on a specific task or instruction. They pay attention to t...he adults and form positive friendships with their classmates.

The environment, both indoor and outdoor, entices children to learn through play. They show considerable curiosity in their learning.

As they move through the school, pupils continue to benefit from challenging work.

They really enjoy their lessons and display high levels of enthusiasm for their learning. Adults are consistent in supporting pupils to manage their behaviour effectively. Pupils learn how to work independently and with peers.

They like that they can study without disruptions. They are well prepared for their next stage of education.

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

The school has an ambitious curriculum.

From the Reception Year, it outlines clearly how future learning builds on prior knowledge. Leaders ensure that staff have the appropriate training to deliver the curriculum effectively. This means that the mixed-aged classes learn well together.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They present new information clearly, so pupils develop their understanding. In physical education (PE), younger pupils are explicitly taught to develop their coordination and ball skills in tennis.

By Year 6, pupils have honed these skills, so they play tennis much more proficiently. In the main, teachers frequently check on pupils' understanding and revisit areas where they struggle. For example, in Year 2, pupils recap homophones to secure their knowledge of different words, for example, flour and flower.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported in lessons and achieve well. The school provides staff with comprehensive information about the help pupils need. It makes regular checks to make sure staff use this well.

Pupils with SEND achieve well from their various starting points. However, a minority of pupils do not always receive appropriate help quickly enough. The support they get is not always sufficiently precise to ensure they understand or complete activities as effectively as they should.

The school has embedded an effective phonics programme to teach pupils the skills they need to read confidently. There are precise systems in place to check how well pupils learn their sounds. Many younger pupils quickly gain the skills they need to decode and blend words well.

The school has ensured staff are well trained to provide precise support to help any pupils who need to keep up. Pupils receive targeted help, such as individual reading sessions. This ensures they gain the skills they need to read confidently and fluently.

From the Reception Year, adults explicitly teach pupils how to behave well. Pupils understand and follow these expectations. Across all years, pupils display high levels of self-control.

Disruption to learning is rare. From the Reception Year, pupils learn and play well together. In class, pupils pay close attention to what their classmates are saying and respond thoughtfully.

A small minority of pupils miss school too often. Leaders are robust in doing all they can to support families to ensure all pupils have high attendance.

The school achieves its vision to develop pupils into well-rounded individuals.

Pupils benefit from a rich personal development offer. Year 5 pupils participate in a programme known as 'Charlie Charlie 1' where they develop a range of skills such as first aid and teamwork. Many pupils take part in singing, dance, or crochet club.

Sports such as tag-rugby and korfball are popular. Pupils show high levels of tolerance and kindness. They display a mature understanding of differences, such as respecting people with disabilities.

Governors, the federation, and school leaders work successfully together to ensure that pupils thrive. Leaders are ambitious for all pupils. They have effective processes in place to further refine the strong provision.

Staff are extremely positive about the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Sometimes, teachers do not provide the most appropriate support for a minority of pupils to access the challenging curriculum.

A small number of pupils spend too long waiting for help before they are supported to access the learning. The school needs to ensure that staff consistently provide appropriate, and timely, adaptations for all pupils so they can achieve well.

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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2019.