Weeth Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and proud of their inclusive school, where everyone is welcome. Staff know each child as an individual, nurturing warm and trusting relationships so that pupils feel safe and secure.

Staff use this knowledge to remove any barriers to learning. Consequently, pupils who need additional support to learn receive effective help. This is particularly evident in the support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils live up to the school's values, like respect and resilience, which are shared through the Weeth Rainbow. They behave well, move around the school sensibly and are polite to visitors.

Leaders have ensured... that pupils have many opportunities to take responsibility and play an active part in school life.

This is something pupils do with relish. Older pupils are enthusiastic about supporting younger pupils through their work as playleaders and prefects or reading to them in the school library.

Leaders involve parents in their children's education effectively.

For example, in early years, local area walks with parents are built into the curriculum throughout the year. In surveys, parents overwhelmingly state that they would recommend the school.

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

Leaders and governors are unwavering in their commitment to providing pupils with a strong education.

The school's ethos of 'Inspire, Influence and Impact' is threaded through everything the school does. Pupils' progress during their time at the school is clear to see in their learning, their positive attitudes and their aspirations for the future.

Leaders have designed a detailed curriculum for most subjects, which helps teachers to teach well.

Subject leaders have developed their expertise in curriculum development. In the subjects where this is strongest, leaders and teachers have carefully considered the knowledge and skills pupils require, beginning in the early years. However, in some subjects, leaders are in the early stages of making refinements to the curriculum.

In these subjects, they do not use assessment well enough to help them to know precisely what pupils can do well and what they need to learn next.

Leaders have prioritised reading. Staff have a good understanding of how to teach pupils to read.

In the early years, there is a strong focus on developing children's understanding of language and communication skills. Pupils begin to learn phonics as soon as they start in the Reception Year. They read books that are matched to the phonic knowledge that they are learning.

They quickly build their confidence and learn to read fluently. Staff help pupils to keep up if they begin to fall behind. Pupils develop a love of reading.

They are enthusiastic about the school library, different authors and books they enjoy reading.

Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and accurately. Staff are well informed about pupils' individual needs.

Teachers make the right adaptations for pupils, checking carefully what they have learned. Pupils with more complex needs are very well supported to learn alongside their peers.

Leaders have provided pupils with a wide variety of opportunities to develop their own interests and talents, including pupils with SEND.

There are a range of clubs, including football, netball, rugby and surfing. The personal development curriculum covers a range of topics including equality and protected characteristics, physical and mental health and emotional well-being. Leaders have placed high importance on supporting pupils to manage their mental health.

As a result, pupils are open and honest about how they are feeling. If they feel sad, they know there is always an adult they can speak to about this. Pupils learn about a range of faiths through religious education.

However, they do not know as much as they could about the lives of others from different families and cultures.

The school is led with compassion and kindness. Governors and trustees are aware of what the school is doing well and how it needs to be improved.

They ask challenging questions to hold leaders to account. Staff value the support and guidance that all leaders, including governors, provide them. Staff say that their well-being and workload are taken into consideration.

They are proud to work at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders take a robust approach towards safeguarding, and there is a strong culture of vigilance throughout the school.

This means that pupils feel safe. The personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum is working well to teach pupils how to keep themselves safe.

Staff have up-to-date safeguarding training, using this to identify and report concerns.

Leaders respond quickly to concerns and are adept at finding solutions to support vulnerable pupils. Appropriate checks are in place for adults that work or volunteer in the school. Governors and trust leaders monitor safeguarding thoroughly.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the improvements that leaders are making to the curriculum and the use of assessment are in the early stages of development. Leaders must fully embed the curriculum and the assessment of pupils' learning so they can be assured that pupils know more and remember more. ? Some areas of the personal development curriculum are not designed well enough.

Leaders' plans to improve pupils' understanding of lives different from their own are not yet embedded. As a result, pupils' knowledge of how people might live beyond their community is not as strong as it could be. Leaders should enable pupils to gain a broader understanding of diversity beyond their community.