Summercourt Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and safe at Summercourt Academy. The vision and values permeate through the school.

For example, through 'Aim High, Smile and Shine', pupils speak highly of the kindness of others. They are polite, considerate and inclusive of everyone because they know that equality is important.

The school has high expectations of pupils through the design of its broad and ambitious curriculum.

Staff are determined for pupils to succeed in all that they do. Pupils rise to this, achieve well and show positive attitudes to their learning. This begins in the early years, where children thrive with an impressive start to their educational journey.

Pupi...ls' wider development is at the heart of Summercourt. The school provides a wealth of opportunities, especially to develop pupils' talents and interests. For example, the school works with local theatres to provide a range of performance experiences.

It ensures that pupils participate in a variety of extra-curricular clubs and sporting events throughout their time at school. Pupils talk fondly of these, including the gardening club, where they learn how to look after plants. The school tracks participation of its offer closely to ensure that all pupils benefit, including disadvantaged pupils, whose involvement is high.

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

The school, alongside the trust, is ambitious for pupils to be successful, especially those who are disadvantaged. It checks carefully how well pupils are learning the curriculum and provides professional development to support teaching. Staff appreciate the high level of support provided by leaders to support their workload and well-being.

Across subjects, the school has identified the knowledge and vocabulary that pupils need to learn. Where this is clearly defined, pupils are supported to build their knowledge securely through regular opportunities to revisit important concepts. For example, in art, through the careful sequencing of concepts such as drawing and painting, pupils build their knowledge progressively.

This helps them to gain knowledge securely and to remember their learning.

However, in a small minority of subjects beyond early years, concepts have not been sequenced carefully enough. Consequently, pupils do not revisit these often enough to secure knowledge into their long-term memory.

In addition, the tasks given to pupils do not always help them to deepen their knowledge or make links with what they have learned before. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their understanding and find it hard to recall their learning.

The school makes checks on how well pupils are learning the curriculum.

For example, in mathematics, checks at the start and end of each unit of study help to identify pupils who need more support. This informs future learning to ensure that pupils build their knowledge based on what they know and can do. Inclusion is a strength of the school.

There is a clear process to identifying and supporting pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. These pupils benefit from precise support to enable them to learn the curriculum well alongside their peers.

Children in the early years flourish.

They learn with sustained concentration and engagement through well-planned activities that closely match the ambitious curriculum. The school supports children to connect new learning with what they already know as well as promote high levels of independence. For example, children know where to find bug collecting tools to locate ladybirds in the garden.

The school relentlessly ensures that children receive all the help they need to progress exceptionally well through the curriculum.

The school prioritises helping pupils to learn to read. Pupils read books that enable them to practise the sounds they know.

This helps them to become confident and fluent readers. The school tracks carefully how well pupils are developing their phonics knowledge and provides swift support for those pupils who need it. A love of reading is promoted.

Pupils value their library and enjoy sharing their favourite books and authors.

The school has clear routines in place to ensure it is calm and orderly. Pupils know these well and want to be successful.

They value the recognition they receive when they gain success. The school tracks the attendance of pupils closely and provides support to families who need it. Most pupils attend well because of the school's actions to promote high attendance.

The school maps out opportunities to enhance pupils' experiences. Pupils appreciate visits to enrich the curriculum, such as a visit to a railway linked to learning in history. Pupils value the difference they make through their leadership roles.

They take pride in their school community. For example, the litter picking station enables pupils to look after their school environment.

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 minority of subjects beyond early years, the school has not identified clearly enough the knowledge pupils need to know and revisit. As a result, some pupils do not deepen their knowledge of concepts well enough to build and retain their learning. The trust needs to ensure the school is clear about the sequencing of knowledge that pupils need to learn and revisit in all subjects so that they can deepen their understanding equally well across the breadth of the curriculum.

• In key stages 1 and 2, sometimes learning tasks do not help pupils to make links with previous knowledge or deepen their learning well enough. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge and so are less prepared for future learning. The trust needs to ensure that tasks given to pupils enable them to build their knowledge securely across all subjects.