Stoke Lodge Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school sits at the heart of its local community. Everyone is welcome. Pupils who join midway through the school year settle quickly because staff waste no time in getting to know pupils and families.

Almost every parent or carer would recommend the school. Pupils are proud to be part of school life. They study a broad curriculum and the vast majority enjoy school.

Staff's judicious use of praise makes pupils feel genuinely valued. A highlight for many pupils is receiving a 'shout out' postcard home to share notable achievements.

Typically, pupils, including those in the early years, behave well, because they understand and follow the school rules well..../>
Pupils know that staff are on hand to talk things through when something goes wrong. The resources around school, which pupils readily use, help them think about mutual respect and tolerance.

The curriculum enriches pupils' experiences and knowledge.

For example, pupils learn about contemporary composers and artists such as Errollyn Wallen and Barbara Hepworth. The school's residential visit programme is extensive and fosters teamwork well. Staff teach pupils that showing empathy and understanding diversity are central to becoming effective young citizens.

If bullying happens, pupils are confident that staff sort it out.

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

Leaders have undertaken considerable work to improve the curriculum. It is suitably ambitious and includes what pupils should know and remember in every subject.

The quality of education pupils receive is now good.

Leaders and teachers use the expertise of trust staff well. Teachers embrace taking part in additional training to learn about educational research and approaches to implementing the ambitious curriculum.

This ensures that staff's subject knowledge is continually improving. Staff's morale is generally high.

Staff have a clear rationale when they make adaptations to the curriculum.

For example, in mathematics, staff address pupils' misconceptions astutely and revisit important learning. The whole curriculum, including in the early years, covers a broad range of subjects. Typically, pupils retain the knowledge set out in the curriculum well.

However, there are occasions when teaching for a minority of pupils in lower key stage 2 does not build firmly on the essential knowledge that pupils need to know next. This slows these pupils' learning down.

Over time, leaders have pursued a strong emphasis on developing pupils' oracy skills.

In addition, leaders' strategy to teach pupils technical vocabulary in a wide range of subjects is paying off. Across the school, many pupils develop confidence in speaking and debating across a range of subjects. However, at times, staff in the early years do not interact with children well enough to develop their early language skills or model talking in sentences.

Staff have a consistent approach to teaching phonics. Most pupils learn to read accurately. Recent changes to the whole-school reading strategy are making a positive difference.

As a result, more pupils are gaining a solid understanding of what they read.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have fair and equal access to the full curriculum. There is no curriculum narrowing.

Teaching usually takes into account pupils' individual targets well. As a result, pupils with SEND are making steady progress through the curriculum.

This is not uniformly the case for pupils who speak English as an additional language (EAL).

A minority of these pupils are not supported well enough to learn and understand the context and component parts of sequences of work. Leaders are already taking action to resolve this. For example, it is a top priority in the school's improvement plan, and leaders are drawing on expert advice.

However, leaders' work to assure themselves of the curriculum quality for these pupils is too recent to have demonstrable impact.

The personal, social and health education curriculum includes everything it should. It teaches pupils about staying safe and building healthy relationships well.

Pupils develop confidence and resilience through the curriculum and assembly themes over time.

Most pupils attend well. Leaders have stringent systems in place to challenge poor attendance.

Over time, pupils' behaviour and attitudes have improved markedly. As a result, suspensions are now rare.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that the safeguarding policies and procedures are in line with government guidance. All relevant employment checks are carried out.

Staff understand and apply the school's policies and procedures for reporting concerns.

They do this swiftly. Written records are detailed. Leaders report concerns quickly and work closely with external agencies to keep pupils safe.

Pupils feel safe. They demonstrate a strong understanding of the dangers of using social media and how to raise concerns should they need to.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders' work to refine the curriculum so that it supports pupils' early language acquisition for pupils who speak English as an additional language is at an early stage.

A small number of these pupils do not get the precise support they need. Leaders need to ensure that all staff's subject knowledge is consistently strong and that they adapt sequences of work so that pupils who speak EAL understand the context and the essential component knowledge within sequences of work so they progress well through the curriculum. ? At times, staff do not use all the information they have about what pupils know, or do not know, to plan teaching.

On occasions, lesson sequences miss out important steps in knowledge or staff's interactions with children in the early years are not sufficiently precise. This slows learning down. Leaders must ensure that teaching is built firmly on what pupils need to know next and that any inconsistencies in curriculum quality are addressed successfully.

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