Staverton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious and want pupils to achieve the very best at Staverton Church of England Primary school. They have raised expectations of what pupils are capable of and prioritised reading. However, the quality of education pupils receive is not good enough.

Leaders' actions to put in place a well-planned and sequenced curriculum are very recent. Consequently, too many pupils do not yet gain the depth of knowledge they need to be successful across the curriculum.

Pupils enjoy coming to school.

Relationships are positive between pupils and adults. Pupils play well together at breaktimes and lunchtimes. Pupils report that incidents of bullying are rare..../>
They are confident that adults will help them to resolve any issues if they occur. Some younger pupils do not concentrate well in lessons because staff do not use the school's behaviour system consistently. This hampers their learning.

Parents appreciate the recent changes made by leaders. The emphasis on a 'school without walls' has brought the community together and strengthened links between home and school.

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

Leaders have taken action to improve the quality of the curriculum offered to pupils.

However, there is still a lot of work to do. The curriculum is not designed sufficiently well so that it is clear what key knowledge pupils need to learn and when this should be taught. Recent changes mean that some sequences of learning in subjects build on what has come before, for example in science, but this is not yet consistent across all subjects.

Some teachers do not check pupils' learning well enough to ensure they remember key knowledge. For example, in mathematics teachers do not check that pupils have a secure understanding of prior knowledge. Pupils do not make links with what they already know.

Teachers' subject knowledge in some areas of the curriculum is insecure. As a result, teachers are unable to accurately assess and address pupils' misconceptions.

Leaders accurately identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

They are proactive in seeking external advice. Precise pastoral support is in place for those pupils who need it. However, adults do not consistently follow the agreed plan.

Some learning is not tailored sufficiently well for pupils with SEND. As a result, some of these pupils do not learn the curriculum as well as they could

Children get off to a good start in Reception. Adults make sensible choices about what children should learn.

Engaging indoor and outdoor learning helps children to learn well and develop their language skills. Leaders prioritise reading. Adults are well trained to deliver phonics effectively.

Pupils benefit from books that match the sounds they are learning. Where needed, additional sessions help children keep up with the phonics programme. Pupils enjoy the high-quality literature that they read in lessons.

Alongside the new and well-stocked library, this is helping them to develop their love of books. However, gaps in learning mean that some older pupils still need to catch up.

Most pupils behave well.

However, some adults who work with younger pupils do not have high enough expectations and low-level disruption is tolerated. This means that learning is disrupted, and pupils do not learn as well as they could.

Leaders provide opportunities to enhance pupils' wider experiences.

However, these are not well thought out to support pupils' learning effectively. Pupils enjoy, for example, the opportunities they get to represent their school in the Trowbridge Youth Parliament. However, they do not make links between this and democracy.

Pupils enjoy the Year 6 residential and a recent whole school trip to Weymouth beach. They learn about healthy relationships and know how to keep themselves safe, including when they are online.

Governors have an accurate view of the school.

They question leaders' actions to secure improvements detailed in the school development plan. Leaders value the support and challenge that governors provide.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders complete appropriate checks before staff and volunteers begin working at the school. Staff and governors attend regular safeguarding training. They know and understand their roles and responsibilities.

Staff know how to record and report concerns for pupils' welfare. Leaders respond with appropriate action in a timely manner, including engaging with external agencies.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have not mapped out clearly enough what pupils need to know and remember across the curriculum.

As a result, pupils do not develop the detailed knowledge they need. Leaders need to make sure that the key knowledge pupils need to know is clearly identified and is well sequenced so that pupils know more and remember more. ? Some younger pupils find it difficult to sustain their concentration because staff do not have consistently high expectations of behaviour in lessons.

Low-level disruption is tolerated at times. This hinders pupils' learning. Leaders need to ensure that staff apply the behaviour policy consistently and raise expectations of pupil behaviour, particularly in key stage 1, so that all pupils can learn without interruptions.

• The implementation of the curriculum across the school is too variable. Learning is not always adapted well enough to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. Leaders need to support teachers to know how to adapt learning appropriately to meet pupils' needs.

• Assessment is not used well in some foundation subjects. Pupils' errors and misconceptions are not picked up or addressed. Leaders need to ensure that teachers have secure subject knowledge so that assessment is effective, and teachers can adapt learning when needed.

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