St Mary and All Saints CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils describe their school as a welcoming and inclusive community. The school's motto, 'Head, Hand and Heart', is central to daily life.

Leaders have high expectations of pupils' behaviour. Children in early years work enthusiastically with their friends. They use resources to develop their ideas independently and take joy in looking after the environment.

Relationships between staff and pupils are amicable and respectful.

Pupils feel safe and happy. Incidents of bullying, harassment or any unkind behaviour are rare.

Pupils rightly trust that staff will deal with any worries or problems quickly. Pupils like the wide range of opportunities they have... to develop their creative, sporting and leadership skills. They particularly enjoy going to concerts, residential trips and supporting younger children as peer mentors.

Pupils collect donations for charities they support and enjoy developing their interests and talents. For example, pupils relish the multi-skills sports, dinner party and dance clubs.

While leaders are ambitious for every pupil to thrive and succeed at school and beyond, some aspects of the quality of education need to improve swiftly.

For instance, pupils who struggle to learn to read are not given the right help they need to catch up quickly.

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

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils to learn a well-structured and vibrant curriculum. The curriculum in Reception is well considered which means that children are ready for Year 1.

In subjects such as mathematics and science, leaders have carefully identified the knowledge that they want pupils to learn and remember over time. In most areas of the curriculum teachers have strong subject knowledge and use it to check and adapt lessons to help all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff are skilled at identifying and providing for the pastoral and wider needs of pupils with SEND.

However, in some subjects, leaders have not identified the most important things they want pupils to learn and the order in which these should be taught. Consequently, sometimes pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

The school's approach to teaching phonics is inconsistent and leaders' monitoring of its impact is not effective.

Staff who deliver phonics are not well trained. This means pupils do not routinely learn to read as securely as they should and those who struggle are not catching up quickly enough. Leaders are rightly keen, however, to promote and nurture pupils' love of reading.

They provide plentiful opportunities for pupils to read for pleasure. For example, pupils rise to the challenge of reading the twelve carefully chosen books on their year group's 'reading spine'. They look forward to their weekly visit to the school library and listen with great concentration to adults read to them.

Teachers make learning fun. The school holds a range of themed weeks each year which contribute towards pupils' wider personal development. A recent international week involved pupils finding out about different cultures, communities and religious festivals.

They learned about inspirational people who have made a difference such as Greta Thunberg, Dr Graeme Clark (who invented the cochlear implant) and Barak Obama. One parent commented 'The Jubilee party and summer music concerts are events my children will always remember.'

Leaders ensure that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

Pupils make a difference both in school and the wider community. For instance, they take part in the annual 'Festival of Light' in the village and sing to residents at the local care home. Pupils learn about healthy relationships.

They value the way staff help them to understand the changes that happen to their body as they grow and develop.

Governors are skilled and knowledgeable in many aspects of their role. They care about pupils' personal development and the well-being of the staff team.

However, governors recognise that they do not challenge leaders well enough about the quality of education. For example, they have not checked how effectively leaders are improving the curriculum and helping all pupils become confident, fluent readers.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a robust culture of safeguarding. Staff are vigilant in looking out for signs that pupils may be at risk of harm. Leaders ensure that staff know how to report concerns they may have about pupils.

Safeguarding records are well kept. Leaders take appropriate and prompt action if safeguarding concerns need referring to external agencies. Checks on staff working at the school are thorough and recruitment processes managed well.

Pupils know how to stay safe online and when out in the community.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The approach to teaching phonics is not consistently effective. Staff are not fully trained and lack expertise in ensuring all pupils make secure progress and in knowing how to support the weakest readers in older year groups.

The use of alternative reading programmes and strategies do not help pupils learn to read fluently. Leaders need to make sure that all staff are expertly trained to deliver phonics effectively. ? The quality of curriculum design in some subjects is not well developed or fully understood by curriculum leaders.

This means that pupils' learning in some subjects does not build upon what they already know in a clearly structured way. Consequently, they are not as well prepared for the next stage of their education as they should be. Leaders need to ensure that there is a coherently sequenced curriculum from early years through to Year 6 for all subjects.

• Leaders' actions to improve the school are not always focused sharply enough on the right priorities. This means that the school curriculum and the teaching of phonics are not as effective as they should be. Leaders, including governors should sharpen up their monitoring of the quality of education so they can effectively evaluate the full impact of their work and where necessary hold school leaders to account.

Also at this postcode