Telscombe Cliffs Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and safe at Telscombe Cliffs Primary School and Nursery. They say that they are 'all friends who look after each other'.

Leaders' focus on pupils' well-being has helped them to settle back into school after the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. Pupils enjoy coming into school.

Teachers have high expectations for pupils' behaviour.

Pupils say that behaviour is better now than it used to be. If any silly behaviour happens, teachers will deal with it. When talking to inspectors, pupils could not remember any bullying that had happened recently at their school but could recall when it had happened in the past.

They feel that if bullying h...appened now, staff would listen and act quickly to stop it.

Children in the early years get off to a good start because learning is well planned. Older pupils work hard and concentrate in lessons, but teachers are not ambitious enough for their learning.

Pupils do not learn and remember the essential knowledge they need in all subjects because the curriculum is not yet fully formed. In particular, the lower-ability pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not supported well enough with their learning.

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

Senior leaders have a clear understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses.

The interim executive board are working strategically alongside the acting headteacher with a sharp focus on school improvement. Ably supported by the deputy headteachers, the acting headteacher has already brought about some significant changes, most notably in pupils' behaviour. They are polite and respectful to each other and their teachers.

At breaktimes, pupils play sensibly together. In the classroom, they generally work hard and concentrate. When, on occasion, pupils are off task teachers swiftly use the new agreed procedures to deal with this.

There is more to do, however, to improve pupils' learning. More often than not, subject leaders are new to their role and many teachers are new to the school. Staff do not yet have secure enough knowledge across the full range of subjects.

Senior leaders have recently purchased commercial schemes to support the planning and delivery of the curriculum, but training so far has focused more on how to teach than what to teach. Staff are not yet fully familiar or confident with the content.

The newness of the curriculum means that what leaders want to see in the classroom is not always happening.

Teachers do not always plan and check on learning in such a way as to help pupils to remember key knowledge and build on this over time. For example, in mathematics, teachers do not always check that pupils have a secure understanding of prior knowledge and skills before teaching the next steps. This means that pupils do not learn as effectively as they should.

The exception to this is in early years where staff plan activities that interest children and build on what they already know. Staff in the Nursery and Reception classes nurture children's communication skills. They model spoken English well and skilfully question children to encourage them to explain their thinking across the different areas of learning.

Leaders are determined that all pupils will be reading at an appropriate level for their age. In reality, lower-ability pupils or those with SEND do not always succeed in doing so because teachers are not yet sufficiently skilled to meet their needs. They are not supported well to keep up and build their skills to become fluent readers.

The same is true for these pupils in other subjects. Too often, the work planned for them is too hard, so leaders rely on providing extra support to try to help them catch up.

Leaders ensure that pupils have a range of opportunities which extend beyond their academic education.

Pupils enjoy the many clubs they can join, with Mindful Yoga being a particular favourite. Leaders' recent review of the school's vision and values means that pupils understand the importance of having respect and tolerance of others. They say that everyone is different, and difference is good.

However, pupils do not have a deep enough understanding of cultural differences or fundamental British values.

Leaders prioritise the well-being of pupils and staff. The school's well-being expert helps pupils deal with changes and supports them with looking forward to the future.

Training for staff is well organised and planned in advance. However, as yet many staff are new to leadership roles and have not had the training they need to develop their expertise and skills.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders are passionate about supporting vulnerable families and did this particularly well during lockdown.

Safeguarding processes are robust and enable leaders to identify and help pupils who may be at risk of harm. All staff know pupils well and understand the types of vulnerabilities that may be barriers to keeping safe.

Leaders ensure that staff know and fully understand the reporting structures in school. Training is in place to ensure members of staff new to the school are inducted fully. Those responsible for governance ensure that school leaders are safer recruitment trained.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The teaching of reading is not planned well enough to meet the needs of all pupils. This means some pupils, especially lower-attainers and those with SEND, do not read as well as they should. Leaders must ensure that teachers understand how to adapt teaching to support all pupils to learn to read.

They must make sure that all pupils at an early stage of reading are given books that support them to practise the sounds they have already learned. ? Many subjects in the curriculum are not planned clearly enough to ensure that pupils learn the right things in the right order. As a result, pupils have gaps in their knowledge.

Senior leaders must ensure that training and support are provided for subject leaders to develop their roles so that there is a well-sequenced curriculum in each subject. In turn, subject leaders should ensure that teachers are supported to deliver the curriculum to a high quality, including how to check that pupils remember the important knowledge. ? Teachers do not plan effectively for the lower-ability pupils, or pupils with SEND.

Leaders must ensure that staff have the knowledge they need to plan and implement sequences of work that meet the academic needs of these pupils. ? Pupils do not have a deep enough understanding of different cultures, including fundamental British values. Leaders need to develop this aspect of the curriculum to enable pupils to increase their understanding of what it is like to live in modern Britain.