Torre Church of England Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. The youngest children typically start school with skills that are below that expected for their age.

Different groups of pupils, including those with additional needs, make good progress in their learning and achieve well. The quality of teaching is good. Teachers provide a safe and stimulating learning environment for pupils, particularly in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

School leaders have taken robust action to improve the way young children learn letters and the sounds they make (phonics) so they make good progress in reading and writing soon after starting school. A strength of the school is the pupils' moral and social developm...ent. Pupils behave well and show respect and courtesy towards adults and each other.

They feel safe in school and are free from bullying as a result of the staff's care and attention to pupils' welfare. Teamwork is strong, resulting in senior leaders, although not governors, having an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and areas for improvement and use this well to promote improvement. The headteacher has high expectations of the staff team to provide the best quality of education for the children.

The leadership of teaching is good and all are committed to continuous improvement. This accounts for the typically good quality of teaching. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Occasionally, teachers' expectations of pupils are inconsistent.

Teachers do not always set the tasks at the right level for children, which results in some losing concentration too easily. Teachers do not always encourage pupils to think about and undertake their own learning, thus limiting their ability to be independent. Governors' understanding of the performance of teachers is not secure enough.

Their understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of teaching in the school is too limited.

Information about this school

The school is above average in size. It is currently in the process of increasing its size to accommodate a growing population in the local area.

Nearly all pupils attending the school are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils who are disabled or who have special educational needs supported by school action is below average. The proportion of pupils supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well below average.

The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives pupil premium (additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals or children who are looked after by the local authority or are service children) is broadly average. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in a maintained Nursery class (Tiny Torre) ,and two reception classes, one of which is housed next to Tiny Torre and the other in the main school. The rest of the school has one class in each year group.

The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set out the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress. The headteacher and staff work with other local schools in the area as part of the Torbay Teaching School Alliance , leading the English network. The school runs a breakfast drop-in session in the school hall and an after-school club on the school site.