St George’s Church of England Primary School, Langton Matravers

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to be a member of St George's. The strong Christian values of love, truth, forgiveness and respect are brought to life in the school's work.

Parents speak highly of the school, describing it as a school with 'an excellent ethos'.

Leaders have high ambition for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They ensure everyone has the support they need.

As a result, pupils are motivated to learn.

Pupils uphold the school values in all they do. They are calm, respectful and considerate of others.

They know the school rules and behave well in lessons. Older pupils enjoy being role model...s for younger pupils at playtime. Pupils feel safe at school because staff help them if they have any concerns.

Pupils learn a lot about their local area, such as the use of sea defences along the Jurassic Coast. They take part in community events to support the school. Pupils delight in 'Love your school' days.

The whole school community comes together to enhance the learning environment. This partnership results in a sense of belonging.

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

Leaders, staff and governors have worked together to make rapid improvement since the previous inspection.

The school community is complimentary about the drive of the headteacher. Staff say that recent changes are well thought through and have a positive impact on their workload. Pupils and parents say that the school is a welcoming place to be.

Leaders and governors have a shared vision. Governors provide relevant and constructive challenge for leaders and engage proactively with external challenge and support. This has helped to improve the quality of education.

Leaders have selected the precise content they want pupils to know in most subjects. They have sequenced knowledge so it builds on to wider ideas about the subject. Pupils can recall their learning in depth.

For example, in mathematics, pupils find review questions useful. They talk confidently about prior learning and explain how their fractions learning has developed over time. In Reception, children develop their understanding of number and can create number sentences independently.

In some wider curriculum subjects, such as art and geography, leaders have not identified the specific knowledge they want pupils to know. Where the curriculum is more developed, teachers use information effectively from assessment to check pupils' learning and identify misconceptions. However, this has less impact in those wider curriculum subjects where the precise knowledge is not as well defined.

Leaders have the same ambition for all pupils. They quickly identify pupils with SEND and provide teachers with relevant information. Teachers use this information to adapt curriculum delivery for pupils who need it.

This means pupils with SEND can learn the same things as their peers and develop independence.

Pupils learn phonics as soon as they start school. Staff are well trained to teach pupils how to read.

Books are closely matched to the sounds pupils know. Leaders assess pupils regularly. They provide rapid support for those pupils who need help keeping up.

Leaders promote a love of reading. For example, pupils came dressed as a word for World Book Day. This led to discussions about different words and encouraged pupils to widen their vocabulary.

Older pupils talk at length about the books they read. They understand the importance of reading.

Pupils know the importance of the school's values.

They encourage each other to be responsible. As a result, the school is a calm place to be. Pupils know what is expected of them and they rise to these expectations.

This begins in the early years. For example, leaders teach children routines, such as lining up, through song and rhyme. Pupils love initiatives such as 'secret student' during assembly to reward a child who has behaved well.

Pupils have designed postcards that members of the school community can send one another for positive behaviour and effort.

Leaders ensure the personal development curriculum has high importance as soon as children start in Reception. Children learn about right and wrong.

Pupils create recipes to explain how to be mentally and physically healthy. Staff teach pupils the importance of quiet moments for reflection. Pupils know it is important to treat everyone with respect despite any differences.

They benefit from trips and a wide array of clubs, such as choir, football and gymnastics. Pupils take pride in leadership roles, for example, as eco and school councillors.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders, including governors, take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously. They make the required checks when recruiting staff. Leaders ensure systems to identify any pupils at risk are effective.

Staff understand the importance of their regular training. They are vigilant and report concerns quickly. Staff monitor any pupils they are concerned about.

Leaders swiftly make referrals to safeguarding partners so vulnerable pupils access the support they need.

Pupils learn how to keep safe as part of the school's curriculum. Leaders enhance the school's online and offline safety programme with expertise from external organisations.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a minority of wider curriculum subjects, leaders have not identified the precise content they want pupils to know. This means that pupils do not gain the depth of understanding in these subjects as well as they do in others. Leaders must ensure they identify the specific knowledge they want pupils to know so that pupils remember more over time across all subjects.

• In some subjects, assessment is not used well enough to check how well pupils build on previous knowledge. As a result, pupils have subject-specific gaps in their knowledge. Leaders need to sharpen the use of assessment so that pupils can learn well.