Tudor Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and kept safe. This is because they know that teachers are there to help them.

Pupils also know that they are listened to by leaders and staff. They appreciate the support available for their well-being, and the opportunities to talk through any worries they may have.

Pupils typically behave well.

This is because there are clear routines and expectations in place that are consistently applied by the staff team. Bullying happens rarely. Any incidents that do arise are dealt with swiftly.

Pupils know who to report any concerns to and trust that adults will help them should they need it.

Children in the early years benefit from... a secure start. The well-considered curriculum provides them with a secure base of knowledge to build from.

From Year 1 onwards, pupils generally follow an appropriate curriculum. Teachers do not consistently check pupils' understanding of what they have learned. This means pupils' errors and misunderstandings are not identified and corrected, and so can persist over time.

Pupils have opportunities to become leaders through taking on responsibilities, for example, being elected as school councillors or prefects. Pupils take these roles seriously.

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

Leaders have prioritised the development of early reading since the last inspection.

A new phonics programme has been introduced and staff have been trained to ensure that it is delivered effectively. Pupils practise reading regularly with books that are closely matched to the sounds that they have learned. This ensures that pupils develop into accurate and fluent readers.

Weaker readers are identified swiftly, and appropriate additional help is put in place to help them to catch up.

The curriculum in the early years identifies the essential knowledge and skills that children need to secure so that they are well prepared for Year 1. Teachers focus on this and check carefully what children have learned.

This ensures that any gaps or misconceptions are identified and addressed quickly. As a result, children secure their understanding across the different areas of learning. For example, in mathematics, children in Reception practise counting using different resources.

These opportunities help them to understand the different ways that numbers can be made. This supports them to add larger numbers later on.

The curriculum for pupils in Years 1 to 6 matches the scope and ambition of what is expected nationally.

Important ideas that pupils need to learn and remember have been identified. These have been logically sequenced so that pupils revisit previous learning and embed key concepts over time. However, in some subjects, this work has been completed very recently.

It has not had time to make a positive impact on how well pupils learn.

Assessment is not used well enough to ensure that teaching builds effectively on what pupils know or can do. While teachers check pupils' understanding of what they have learned in reading and mathematics, this is not the case in other subjects.

This means pupils' errors and misunderstandings are not identified and corrected, and so can persist over time. As a result, pupils have gaps in their understanding and struggle with more complex ideas in these subjects.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified quickly.

Staff make appropriate adaptations to tasks and activities to ensure that these pupils access the same curriculum as their peers. However, the weaknesses in assessment mean that pupils with SEND are not consistently helped to learn and remember the most important knowledge.

Pupils behave well and demonstrate positive attitudes towards their learning.

A calm, purposeful atmosphere is evident in most lessons and when pupils are moving around the school. This is because routines are well established. Leaders have effective systems in place for ensuring that pupils attend school regularly.

Pupils' broader development is well considered. The 'Tudor Way' drives the inclusive ethos of the school. The motto 'Be kind, be brave, take pride and work hard' underpins pupils' learning about respect, resilience, and strength of character.

Pupils are encouraged to take on responsibility, including in the local community. For example, they have been involved in litter picking.

Leaders and those responsible for governance have not sufficiently checked the impact of the school's curriculum.

A number of subject leaders are new to their role. Their expertise is still developing, and currently, they do not have sufficient knowledge and skills to check the quality of the subjects that they lead across the school. As a result, leaders at all levels do not have a fully accurate view of the school's effectiveness.

This means priorities are not sufficiently focused on improving the most significant areas of weakness swiftly enough.

Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the support that they receive from leaders to manage their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Safeguarding is a high priority. Staff and governors understand their statutory responsibilities because they have been well trained.

Concerns are swifty identified and reported.

Leaders act on any referrals that they receive, working effectively with external agencies to make sure that pupils and their families get the help that they need.

The curriculum has been designed to help pupils to understand how to stay safe, including when online. For example, pupils are supported to understand the risks associated with extremist views.

Additional workshops aim to help parents and carers to mitigate these risks outside of school.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In several subjects, teachers do not check carefully what pupils have learned and remembered. This means that errors and misconceptions are missed and persist over time.

Leaders must ensure that teachers check pupils' understanding and address any aspects that pupils are finding difficult. This will help pupils to secure the important things they need to learn, tackle more demanding learning and be better prepared for the next stage of their learning. ? Leaders and those responsible for governance do not have a fully accurate view of the school's effectiveness.

This means that priorities for improvement are not sufficiently well focused. Leaders must ensure that they check the impact of the curriculum on pupils' learning. They must also ensure that subject leaders have sufficient knowledge and skills to evaluate and secure improvements in the areas for which they are responsible, particularly in ensuring that the curriculum supports all pupils to learn and remember more.