St Matthias Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are welcoming, polite and respectful at St Matthias Church of England Primary School. Each day they try hard to live the school's ethos of 'aspire, achieve, believe.' Staff care, they do their best to make sure pupils achieve well, particularly in mathematics.

There is a strong safeguarding culture across the school. Pupils are safe here.

The school rules 'ready, safe, respectful' are consistently applied by all staff.

Pupils know what is expected of them. They listen and engage well in lessons. At social times they are kind to one another.

Older pupils support and encourage younger pupils to take part in games and make new friends. Pupils say... that occasionally they fall out. They resolve minor disputes among themselves.

On rare occasions when behaviour falls short of the school's expectations, restorative conversations help pupils to think about the impact of their behaviour on others.

Older pupils look forward to spending time with their friends and learning new skills at the yearly outdoor residential. Pupils enjoy opportunities to deepen their knowledge in subjects such as history, geography and science through visits to museums, fieldwork trips or visiting workshops in school.

Clubs such as football, choir and cricket help pupils to widen their interests.

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

Pupils get off to a great start in their reading. This is because staff are highly skilled.

They provide effective teaching and pupils apply their phonics knowledge well when reading books that match the sounds they learn. Any pupil that falls behind in their reading is quickly identified and supported to catch up swiftly. Pupils are passionate about reading.

Visiting authors, storytelling festivals, a book sharing library, reading prizes and a reading cafe all help to instil a love of reading. Parents and carers value reading workshops which help them to support their child when reading at home. As a result, pupils read with the confidence and accuracy expected for their age.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well. The school works tirelessly with a range of external agencies to ensure pupils' additional needs are identified swiftly and prioritised. Staff make sure pupils with SEND get the right help and support to be successful in school.

Parents are extremely appreciative of the school's work in this area.

The school has created an ambitious curriculum for all pupils. Knowledge is carefully ordered so that learning builds on the things that pupils have learned before.

Across most lessons, teachers make regular checks on pupils' learning. Where this happens, misconceptions are identified and addressed quickly so that pupils know what to improve and how to improve it. This helps pupils to make sense of their learning.

However, in a few subjects, teachers do not always make sure gaps in pupils' knowledge are closed before moving on. Where this happens, new learning does not build successfully on the things pupils already know. This holds pupils back.

Children in the early years achieve well from their starting points. Staff work with parents to carefully plan and meet each child's learning needs. Children learn to take turns, share and follow routines.

Children have lots of opportunities to practise and use numbers. They develop a strong understanding of early mathematical knowledge. Vocabulary and communication are prioritised, and most make strong progress.

However, a few children struggle to develop an effective pencil grip or form letters correctly. This means they do not learn to write with the fluency expected for their age.

The school has an effective personal development offer for all pupils.

Pupils understand the importance of healthy and safe relationships. They know how to keep themselves safe online. Local police workshops enhance this aspect of the school's work.

The school provides high-quality pastoral support for all pupils. The school's therapy dog contributes to 'Wellbeing Wednesdays'. Pupils develop a secure understanding of different faiths and different festivals through story, dance and shared experiences.

This helps pupils to understand and respect difference. Pupils live the school's values such as 'courageous advocacy' by fundraising for a Leukaemia charity. They take on responsibilities such as Worship warriors and school council representatives.

This helps them to develop their social and moral responsibility.

Leaders know the school and its community well. They identify the right priorities for improvement.

Lots of work has gone into improving attendance rates and reducing persistent absence. However, there is further work to do to identify and overcome barriers to good school attendance for a few pupils. There is great rigour in how the trust holds leaders to account for the school's performance.

It provides highly effective challenge and support. Staff feel well supported by leaders to manage their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few subjects, teachers do not always use assessment well enough to check pupils' prior learning. This means that, in some cases, pupils cannot demonstrate and recall previous learning when needed. The school should ensure that teachers are clear on the specific prior learning pupils need to know and remember so that essential learning is embedded into their long-term memory across all subjects.

• There is an inconsistent approach to the teaching of fine motor skills and handwriting in the early years. This results in variability in expectations and inconsistency, which impacts a few pupils as they move through the school. The school should set out clearly how early writing is taught so that pupils learn to write effectively from the start and build handwriting fluency effectively as they move through the school.

• Despite the school's work, a few pupils do not attend school often enough. This means they miss out on important learning. The school should continue to work with parents and external partners to overcome any barriers to good attendance and instil the importance of regular school attendance.