The Richmond Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at The Richmond School. They are proud to be part of the Richmond family. They learn to respect other people and to embrace difference.

Pupils like working with Evie, the trainee therapy dog, and were delighted to be part of her naming process through the 'Great British Bark Off'. The curriculum is enriched by pupils attending educational visits. Pupils have many opportunities to take part in sporting activities and the arts.

There are some weaknesses in the school's curriculum. This means that pupils do not remember what they have learned as well as they should. There are inconsistencies in the way that phonics has been taught, which means that pupil...s do not read as well as they could.

Leaders have been unsuccessful in getting pupils to develop a love of reading. Pupils said that they do not enjoy reading and have read only a few books.

Pupils, generally, get on well, however, a few pupils do not behave as well as they should.

Pupils know what to do if they have a worry or concern. Pupils say that some bullying takes place in the school. However, they say that leaders deal with individual incidents when they occur.

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

The school is successful at helping pupils to develop personally and socially. The school's curriculum for relationships, sex and health education is well planned and sequenced. Pupils know about how to eat healthily.

Pupils know how to stay fit, both physically and mentally.

The school's curriculum is still being developed. In some subjects, like physical education and mathematics, plans set out what pupils need to know and remember, and the content has been carefully sequenced.

In some other subjects, including science and history, leaders have not thought carefully enough about the order in which content is taught. Teaching in such subjects does not systematically build on what has gone before and prepare pupils for what will come next. As a result, pupils do not always remember what they have learned over time.

Over time, some pupils have fallen behind in phonics. A new programme for teaching phonics has very recently been put in place. The new programme makes clear which sounds pupils will learn and when.

However, this is not being taught consistently. In some classes, teachers do not check on how well pupils are practising the sounds that they are learning. As a result, some pupils continue to not acquire knowledge of sounds quickly enough or fall further behind.

Some older pupils have not developed a love of reading. They told inspectors that they do not enjoy reading. They said that they do not read widely or often.

There is a new reading curriculum in place to deal with this, but this is at a very early stage of being used and has not yet had a positive impact.

Children enjoy their time in the early years. They are happy and play well together.

Adults make sure that children are looked after and are safe. Adults have created a positive environment, which promotes meaningful learning for children in some of the areas of learning. However, the curriculum plans are not always precise in setting out exactly what children should learn during their time in the Reception Year.

Therefore, children are not gaining detailed knowledge across all of the curriculum as well as they might.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities get the help they need. Staff know these pupils well and help them to learn the school's curriculum.

They receive good quality pastoral support.

A few pupils do not behave well and are, occasionally, disrespectful towards adults. Some staff need clearer guidance on how to manage pupils if they misbehave.

Leaders keep records of poor behaviour and follow up any instances of misbehaviour. However, leaders do not always review or check the records to look for any patterns or trends. This limits their ability to see what needs to be improved.

Leaders remain ambitious for the school. They are determined to provide a good quality of education. They have improved how the schools' leadership team is organised.

They have helped staff to make workload manageable. Nevertheless, the school's curriculum is not sequenced consistently across all subjects. Also, improving the teaching of phonics and early reading remains a priority for leaders.

While improvements are gathering pace, there is a long way to go before these aspects of the schools work are securely good.

Governors are enthusiastic and keen to improve the school. They know what the school does well.

They challenge leaders about the rate of improvement.

Pupils' attendance is high. Leaders work tirelessly to ensure that pupils attend school regularly.

Leaders and the school's family welfare officer work well with parents to bring around improvements.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a positive culture of safeguarding in the school.

Staff quickly raise any safeguarding concerns, regardless of how minor they might appear to be. Leaders identify where help is needed and make sure that the right sort of help is put in place.

The school's family welfare officer provides a wide range of help and support to pupils and their families.

They make sure that work with other agencies is joined up and working as well as it should.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have not made sure that there is a consistently well-sequenced curriculum in all subjects. This limits the ability of pupils to acquire and recall sufficient knowledge over time.

Leaders should implement a coherent and sequenced plan in all subjects. ? There are inconsistencies in the way that phonics and reading are being taught. This has meant that some pupils do not read well enough and that older pupils, in particular, are not developing a love of reading.

Leaders should fully implement the new programme for phonics and reading to address these issues. ? Leaders have made a start in setting out what children should learn and know in the areas of learning in the early years foundation stage. However, for some areas of learning the plans do not set out precisely the content that needs to be covered.

This means that children may be missing or not reviewing some of the most important knowledge that they need to learn during the Reception Year. Leaders should complete and implement the plans that set out clearly what children are expected to know before they start key stage 1. ? Leaders keep detailed records of any misbehaviour that occurs.

However, they do not review the records to identify any trends or patterns of misbehaviour. This means that they are not identifying any steps they can take to improve pupils' behaviour or support staff in preventing any reoccurrence of poor behaviour. Leaders should be proactive in considering actions they can take to address the issues presented by the few pupils in the school who misbehave.