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Pupils at St Margaret's Church of England Primary School are happy and exceptionally well behaved. They live and breathe the school's values that help them to understand what thankfulness and forgiveness really mean.
The Christian ethos of the school underpins all aspects of school life. Community links with the church provide rich opportunities for pupils to engage in charitable work, developing empathy and kindness. Leaders aim for all pupils to value, respect and care for others, and they do.
Everyone is welcome in this inclusive school.
Pupils develop very positive attitudes to learning. This is because they rise to leaders' high expectations of what all ...pupils can achieve.
Staff are caring and supportive. Pupils enjoy the strong, positive relationships they form with teachers and other adults. Pupils know that bullying and the use of derogatory language are not tolerated.
As a result of feeling happy, safe and well supported, pupils achieve well.
From the start of early years, children settle in well. They are eager to get into school in the morning.
Parents and carers are very happy with the way the school supports their children. If any issues occur, most parents say that staff sort things out quickly.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The headteacher sets high expectations for pupils' achievement and behaviour.
Staff and governors share this ambitious vision. Pupils rise to the challenges they are set. Staff rarely need to remind pupils about the expectations for behaviour and for learning.
Since the previous inspection, leaders have worked hard on the areas for improvement that were identified. This has paid off. The teaching of reading is now a strength of the school.
Most pupils learn to read fluently and confidently by the end of Year 1. Those pupils who need extra help are well supported to catch up. In wider reading sessions, older pupils learn how to analyse texts in more detail.
This rich experience helps pupils to enjoy a wider range of books and helps to broaden their vocabulary.The curriculum in most subjects has been refreshed recently. Subject leaders have received effective training in curriculum planning.
Leaders use their infectious passion for their subject to plan an engaging curriculum, making good use of the school's locality. Pupils' learning is carefully sequenced. In the Reception class, children learn about the Great Famine in Ireland and grow their own potatoes.
This topic is revisited when older pupils learn about emigration. Pupils develop in-depth knowledge of the cause and effect of historical events. They can explain the difference between primary and secondary sources and why this is important in history.
Leaders give teachers regular feedback on their teaching. They provide teachers with effective support to improve their practice. However, teachers' use of assessment to identify pupils' misconceptions in lessons varies in its effectiveness.
Leaders have identified this as a priority for improvement.
Teachers ensure that the curriculum is accessible to all pupils, regardless of their needs. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported in lessons.
They learn the same curriculum content as their peers. Teachers adapt resources appropriately. Support assistants provide extra help when necessary.
As a result, pupils with SEND make strong progress.
In early years, most children make strong progress in reading and mathematics. However, children's progress in writing is weaker.
Staff do not intervene readily enough to guide children to the activities that will best support their needs. Children with speech and language needs make slower progress than their peers. This is because opportunities are missed for children to practise their language skills.
COVID-19 affected school life in many ways. The school's normally high attendance figures are now lower, reflecting extended absences due to COVID-19 infections in the spring term of 2022. At the start of the autumn term in September 2021, some pupils struggled at first to sustain their concentration after the disruption to their education caused by the pandemic.
Leaders have tackled this sensitively, for example by providing flexible breaktimes. Teachers know their pupils well. They use a variety of effective approaches to help pupils build stamina for learning.
Pupils who previously struggled no longer struggle to concentrate on learning.
Pupils enjoy contributing to the Christian life of the school and participating in community fundraising events. Pupils develop leadership skills as playground leaders or online safety team members.
The pupil 'SWITCH' team meets weekly to plan assemblies and celebration events, reinforcing the school's core values. Pupils play a highly positive role in creating the respectful, caring environment in school. Parents are pleased that their children are so happy here.
Safeguarding
The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
Staff know the pupils well. They are well trained to spot changes in behaviour.
They report any concerns they might have about pupils' safety or well-being. Leaders monitor these reports to ensure that any trends are picked up quickly. They work closely with parents and external teams where necessary to make sure that pupils and families receive the support they need.
Leaders make sure that pre-employment checks are carried out on all staff before they start working at the school. Staff receive regular safeguarding updates and training to refresh their knowledge. This reminds them that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.
What does the school need to do to improve?
(Information for the school and appropriate authority)
• Teachers' use of assessment is variable in its effectiveness. As a result, some pupils make stronger progress than others because they receive helpful, timely feedback on their work. Leaders should ensure that teachers develop their use of assessment in lessons further to give all pupils more immediate, constructive feedback on their learning.
• Staff in early years do not support children's learning consistently well. This leads to some pupils making slower progress, particularly in writing and speech and language development. Leaders should take steps to improve the quality of provision in early years further by: ? providing further training and development for staff to strengthen support for children's learning, particularly in relation to writing and speech and language ? ensuring that planned activities are closely related to the learning objectives and that children are guided more deliberately towards the activities that will best support their learning needs.
