St Laurence CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a happy and welcoming school. It encourages all pupils to be trustworthy, hardworking and creative.

Leaders and staff have high expectations. This, and their hard work, helps all pupils to learn and develop well.

Pupils are valued as individuals and as important members of the school community.

They value the caring relationships that underpin the school's positive ethos. Pupils enjoy school. Their attendance and behaviour are typically good or better.

Pupils feel safe in school. They talk confidently about how interesting assemblies and different lessons help to keep them safe.

Children are supported well and get off to a good start... in the early years.

As they grow older, pupils do lots of activities that help to foster confidence. Pupils in the school come from many different backgrounds. Their shared experiences while at school ensure that all develop common insight and understanding of the wider world.

Pupils enjoy the 'extras' they get such as philosophy sessions.

Parents and carers support the school. They say it is like a 'big family' with 'different people who listen to each other'.

Nearly all parents and carers would recommend the school to others. The school environment is mostly attractive and well resourced.

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

The school's curriculum is broad and ambitious, including for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

It covers the national curriculum and includes plenty of enrichment activities. The school has identified what pupils should learn in each subject. This is usually translated into detailed curriculum plans for each class.

In a few foundation subjects, these plans are still developing.

In most subjects, teachers ensure that pupils have solid foundations before moving on to new work. Teachers have been given training in the best teaching methods, which includes guidance on teaching different subjects.

However, some foundation subject coordinators do not check if guidance is being followed. In these instances, teachers' less effective teaching choices and pupils' uneven learning are not picked up. However, teaching is strong overall and helps pupils do well in national tests.

Early reading is taught well. Children learn phonics as soon as they start school. Pupils benefit from focused and specialist teaching of reading, which is organised carefully.

Most become fluent and confident readers quickly. Any pupils who find reading difficult receive immediate help. This includes a few pupils with severe reading difficulties who started at St Laurence after struggling at a previous school.

All pupils are encouraged to read often and widely as they get older. Pupils with SEND are taught well. Teachers and other adults identify pupils with SEND quickly.

They adapt classroom activities and provide extra resources to meet the needs of these pupils. The school uses specialist staff to cater for pupils' specific difficulties, including their social, emotional and mental health needs. Leaders check regularly on the impact of specific support provided for pupils, which is usually very effective.

Children in the early years settle quickly. Staff pay particular attention to their speech and language development, which prepares them well for Year 1. In the popular Nursery, the physical environment and some equipment is out of date and not used fully to support the wider curriculum.

In Reception, children learn well across all areas of learning.

Pupils' wider development is emphasised by the school and its staff. From the early years onwards, staff encourage oral confidence and fluency in pupils.

As a result, pupils are articulate and confident speakers. This is supported by a wider programme of enrichment, which gives all pupils a wealth of sporting, musical, social, cultural and other opportunities. Popular clubs include 'Stompers' (the school orchestra), chess and cooking.

Circle time, assemblies and diverse visitors to school help pupils to broaden their horizons. All pupils learn to reflect on their place in the world, including though regular 'philosophy' sessions in weekly circle time.

The school is an inclusive community of pupils from different backgrounds.

Pupils usually treat each other with kindness and respect. A few can lack awareness of the impact of their actions on others. The school is tackling this by introducing peer mediation in circle time.

Leaders, including governors, have a clear and ambitious vision for the school. This is shared by the wider school community. Their twin focus on academic achievement and personal development helps to make sure that St Laurence pupils are prepared very well for the next stage of their education.

Staff recognise and appreciate the different ways that leaders show support for them. They are proud to work at 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)

• The physical environment in the Nursery and some of the equipment is rather outdated. Their current condition limits their use as an effective tool for helping all children to develop well across all areas of learning. The school should ensure that the Nursery's physical environment is better equipped and suitably organised so that it gives all children more and wider opportunities to learn.

• In some foundation subjects the delivery of the curriculum has not been monitored closely enough. As a result, there remains some variability in how well the curriculum is delivered. The school should ensure that subject leaders carefully monitor the quality of teaching in all subjects to ensure that it is of a consistently high standard across the curriculum.