Tudor Grange Primary Academy Meon Vale

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending Tudor Grange Primary Academy Meon Vale. They feel safe and confident. They know that there are always adults to talk to.

Staff deal with any disagreements straight away. The school provides good pastoral care.

The school has high expectations for pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and staff alike.

They have planned the curriculum carefully. Pupils study a wide range of subjects, and learning builds effectively upon what pupils already know. Pupils soon become fluent readers, and learn well.

The school lives by its values of kindness and compassion, responsibility and respect. Pup...ils show this respect towards one another and adults, including those different from themselves. Pupils are interested in their work and behave well in lessons.

They play happily at social times, and the school is a calm and orderly place. Pupils' attendance is good.

Visitors and trips out of school contribute well to pupils' learning.

The school has begun a programme of residential visits, helping to develop pupils' character. Pupils have opportunities to take up positions of responsibility and to involve themselves in the running of the school. Many take part in a range of after-school clubs, largely related to sport.

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

Leaders ensure that learning to read is the top priority. Pupils follow a structured phonics programme from the start of the Reception year. Pupils learn phonics in a logical order.

Staff use the programme's resources in a consistent way. The school makes sure that pupils read frequently to an adult. They check on what each pupil knows and can do.

Pupils who find reading more difficult are supported to keep up. Books for younger pupils are well matched to their phonic knowledge. Across the school, pupils read widely, including fiction and non-fiction texts.

They quickly become confident and competent readers.

Pupils study all the subjects of the national curriculum. In each subject, the school has broken learning down into manageable steps.

These steps help pupils to add new knowledge onto what they already know. For example, in mathematics, pupils draw on their knowledge of tables when multiplying numbers. Day-to-day activities in lessons ensure that the school's longer-term learning aims are met.

Regular opportunities to recall their previous knowledge help pupils to remember their learning in the longer term.

Teachers have secure subject knowledge. They identify the important vocabulary for each topic, and make sure that pupils use it correctly.

Teachers choose activities that engage pupils in their learning effectively. For example, in science, imagining themselves as water molecules helped pupils to understand how matter changes states. Prompt feedback enables pupils to identify their mistakes and put them right.

However, the effectiveness with which staff implement the curriculum varies a little. This is seen, for example, in the skill with which teachers use questioning to check what pupils have learned and understood and occasionally, in small group working. Nevertheless, across the school, pupils achieve well.

Staff in the early years help children to settle in quickly. The children quickly adopt important routines and learn a broad curriculum that prepares them well for Year 1. However, the skill with which adults work with individuals and small groups of pupils varies.

This is seen, for example in how effectively they promote pupils' language development.

Leaders accurately identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND. Staff draw effectively on leaders' guidance to ensure that they meet all their needs.

As a result, these pupils learn alongside their peers and make good progress through the full curriculum.

Warm relationships between staff and pupils reflect the school's values of kindness and compassion. Leaders set high expectations for pupils' behaviour.

Staff apply the school's rules fairly. This ensures that pupils behave well in lessons and at social times. Disruption to learning is rare.

Pupils follow a planned programme of personal development that teaches them how to keep themselves healthy and safe. They also learn about different traditions and cultures, for example through their studies in Black history month. Pupils enjoy a range of opportunities to take responsibility, and are coming to understand how these contribute to the school community.

The school works effectively with parents, for example showing them how to support their children's reading. Staff are happy, motivated and believe that the school is considerate of their wellbeing and workload. Leaders at all levels have shown their commitment to training staff fully for their current and future roles.

For instance, leaders have identified that those new to subject leadership need further support to help them check and evaluate how well teachers are implementing the planned curriculum. The trust provides the school with a good level of support.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There remains a little inconsistency in how the intended curriculum is implemented. As a result, some pupils do not learn and remember everything that they might do. Some curriculum leaders are relatively new to their posts, and the school should ensure that they continue to receive all the professional development they need to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the curriculum, and work with staff to improve it further.

• There is some variation in how effectively adults work with individuals and small groups of pupils. Some interactions are less effective than others. The school should provide all staff with the training they need to make the most out of their opportunities to support pupils in this way.

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