St Philip’s CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this happy and welcoming school. The school's vision is lived out through the warm, caring environment and the positive relationships that pupils and adults have.

Pupils feel safe at school. They are confident that adults will help them with their learning or address any concerns they may have.

The school is ambitious for all pupils.

From the start, children in Reception Year learn to follow classroom routines, and this helps them to listen and respond to adults. Most pupils achieve well. They engage with their learning and are enthusiastic to answer questions and contribute their ideas.

Pupils are polite and considerate. They ...move around the school in a calm and orderly way. Pupils play well together during breaktimes.

They make good use of the outdoor spaces and play equipment. This supports them to be physically active.

Pupils have opportunities to contribute their ideas to the school.

This includes the school council's work in redeveloping the collective worship programme. The eco team is proud of the work it does to raise awareness of environmental issues by, for example, holding a 'no electricity day'. These experiences help pupils to develop their character and a sense of responsibility.

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

The school has implemented an effective phonics curriculum. From the start of Reception Year, children learn to blend sounds into words. They also learn to form letters and words accurately in their written work.

Adults check what pupils know and provide extra help when needed. This helps pupils build their knowledge well. Pupils who are at risk of falling behind get extra help to practise their reading with an adult.

Pupils read often in school and at home. This means they become fluent and confident readers.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported in lessons.

They use resources that help them learn the curriculum alongside their peers. Adults help them to practise their learning. This means they build their knowledge well.

The curriculum is well organised. Pupils follow a sequence of learning that helps them build on their knowledge. For example, in mathematics, children in Reception learn to identify and count numbers to five before moving on to 10.

In Year 1, they use this knowledge to identify number families and make addition equations. Pupils in Year 3 build on this by calculating hidden doubles. In art, pupils in Year 2 experiment with different types of pencils.

In Year 3, they develop their drawing skills by sketching with rubbers, and by Year 6, they perfect their use of line, tone and shape to create light effects in their drawings.

In some subjects, the school has not identified the essential knowledge that each year group should know. This lack of clarity means teachers do not check that pupils have secured this knowledge.

As a result, some pupils do not remember what they have learned previously and do not build their knowledge well.

The school's personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum helps pupils learn how to be healthy and responsible citizens. They learn to cook nutritious meals.

They contribute to the wider community, for example by organising a coffee morning to raise funds for a national charity. Through enrichment activities, key stage 2 pupils learn and develop new skills. For example, they learn to play lacrosse or make paper crafts and comic books.

Pupils reflect on the lives of others. Through the school's reading spine and writing framework, they learn about people from diverse backgrounds. On 'philosophy Fridays', the whole school stops to reflect and to share their ideas.

For example, they discuss what it means to be a good friend or if animals can be sorry. This work supports pupils in considering their own views and respecting each other's views.

Trustees and governors have an accurate understanding of the school.

They work with the school to ensure it receives the support needed to continue moving forward. The trust's training and guidance materials support local governors to be effective in their work.

Staff value the work that has been done to reduce their workload, for example in the expectations of tasks they must carry out within their designated working hours.

Parents and carers value the positive relationship they have with the school. All agree their children are happy, safe and achieve well.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some curriculum subjects, the school has not identified the key knowledge that pupils need to acquire as they move through the curriculum. As a result, teachers do not check that pupils have secured this knowledge and pupils cannot always recall what they have been taught. The trust needs to ensure that the essential knowledge for pupils to remember is clearly identified and routinely checked.