Steam Mills Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Key findings

This is a good school. It was judged to be satisfactory at its previous inspection and has made particularly rapid progress over the last year.

Children get off to a flying start in the Early Years Foundation Stage and pupils continue to make good progress through the rest of the school. Their attainment in English and mathematics is significantly above average by the time they leave at the end of Year 6. Although pupils' progress in mathematics is good, it is not as strong as that in English, mainly because teachers do not always use the sections of lessons when they are speaking to the whole class as effectively as they could.

Pupils' progress has improved as a result of rapid developments i...n the quality of teaching. While teaching overall is good, there were examples of outstanding teaching observed during the inspection. Recently introduced systems of assessment and target setting are beginning to be used well by staff.

However, targets set for pupils' next steps in learning are not always sufficiently precisely matched to their needs and abilities and teachers' marking does not often refer to these targets in order to accelerate progress further. Pupils are thoughtful, considerate and welcoming to visitors and behave well in lessons and around the school. The school has thorough procedures for keeping pupils safe and pupils say they are very safe in school and that they are comfortable approaching an adult if they have a problem.

The headteacher has instituted procedures, such as the revised system for tracking pupils' progress, which have accelerated the rate of progress that the school is making. Staff and the governing body are fully involved in the process of school improvement and there is a shared sense of determination to take the school forward.

Information about the school

The school is smaller than average and almost all pupils are White British.

None speaks English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free schools meals is broadly average. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs is broadly average and most of these have moderate learning difficulties.

There are no pupils with disabilities. The school meets the current floor standards. The school has recently started a breakfast club.

There have been a number of staff changes recently. The headteacher took up her post in September 2011 and two of the four classes are currently being covered by temporary teachers as the full-time teachers are on maternity leave. The village playgroup occupies a building on the school site but it is managed privately and will be inspected separately.