The Fountains Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Ambition is high for all pupils at The Fountains Primary. The school wants pupils to achieve academically and thrive socially and emotionally. Pupils have many special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) that can affect how they learn or access the world around them.

Parents, carers and staff work together effectively to overcome potential barriers and help pupils thrive.

The school works with parents well from the moment a pupil joins. Parents are positive about the school and the opportunities it provides for their children.

Staff get to know pupils' individual needs. They use this information carefully to enable pupils to achieve.

Leaders... and staff are eager for pupils to be able to be active members of their school, local and global communities.

Enjoyable school clubs, community visits and exciting visits to places such as London, Blackpool and Germany broaden pupils' horizons and enrich their lives.

Pupils are happy and content. This is because the school treats pupils with kindness and care and values every moment with them.

Perceived bullying is rare, and pupils told inspectors there is always someone they trust who they can ask for help. When perceived bullying happens, leaders act promptly to put things right.

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

Ambitious leaders, caring staff and dedicated governors expect pupils to work hard, behave well and be proud of their school.

Supported by the multi-academy trust, they act quickly when the provision does not help pupils achieve their potential. Staff are positive about the school. They feel it is well led and managed and that leaders care for their well-being.

Consequently, this community is driven to get the best outcomes for pupils.

Children get off to a great start in the early years. Before children join the school, leaders liaise with the local authority, pre-school agencies, professionals and parents to get as much information as possible.

They use this information well to help each new pupil settle into school. Exciting and imaginative classrooms and outside spaces help pupils to engage with their learning and surroundings. This helps children become enthusiastic and excited learners early on.

Many pupils start at the school with their SEND identified by pre-school services or previous schools. Staff work hard to ensure that this identification is accurate and fully reflects the areas pupils need help with. Educational psychologists, family support teams and other services work alongside staff to provide the right support at the right time.

The school carefully considers the environment and provision pupils need to learn best. The school's curriculum pathway model means that the provision closely matches each pupil's needs. Subject leaders have ensured that teachers create a series of lessons to enable pupils to learn at different times.

When required, leaders have made changes to the curriculum, such as to raise the profile of science or review religious education and modern foreign language curriculums.

The school rightly prioritises developing pupils' communication skills. Speech and language therapists support staff in identifying what is needed for each pupil to give them the tools to communicate.

Training for all staff encourages signing, symbols and other communication systems. However, although these strategies are implemented well in most classes, this is not always the case for some pupils who need the most help with communicating and understanding their learning.

The school makes reading a priority.

Teachers work hard to ensure that pupils learn pre-reading skills, such as awareness of different sounds. Pupils enjoy the daily reading sessions and the special events run by staff, such as the 'Masked Reader'. This helps them develop a love of stories and reading.

The schools plans carefully to develop pupils' phonological skills, and all staff regularly check pupils' learning. When pupils need more help, the class team works closely with the school's intervention team to provide appropriate extra support with phonics or additional tutoring.

Pupils behave well and want to learn.

Staff training sets out the expectations for how staff should support pupils. Staff act on this training and sensitively support pupils during difficult times. Pupils want to come to school and attend well.

Leaders carefully consider why pupils might be away from school and provide timely support to families when needed.

The school has thought carefully about the personal, social and emotional skills pupils need to develop to succeed beyond the school gates. Different committees, such as the eco-council and online safety, help pupils take on and learn about responsibility.

The school council recently created a child-friendly safeguarding policy so all pupils know how to ask for help when needed.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school does not consistently implement the communication systems pupils need to access the curriculum.

While a broad and robust offer exists for developing staff knowledge and skill in this area, some staff do not ensure that pupils are supported with the appropriate spoken language, symbols or signing. This means that some pupils do not learn as well as they could. The school needs to ensure that all staff act on the training provided to adapt the curriculum and provision to meet the children's receptive, processing and expressive skills.

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