Yattendon School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Yattendon School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Yattendon are buoyant and full of energy.

They are excited to talk about their experiences of school, and they enjoy their learning. Pupils feel safe and know that school staff are there to support them.

Leaders have developed an ambitious curriculum and want every pupil to acquire the knowledge and skills they need for future success.

Leaders know that following the pandemic, some pupils need more help with reading and mathematics. These pupils are getting the help they need to catch up and succeed in their learning.

Pupils across the school are personable an...d welcoming.

They are confident in sharing their thoughts and points of view, but also listen carefully to others. They work alongside each other in class supportively and constructively. Classrooms are calm and purposeful.

Parents say that the school communicates with them very well. They feel that their children are happy and eager to attend each day. Parents of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities feel that their children get the support they need to thrive socially and academically.

There is a very broad club offer, which leaders have worked hard to maintain throughout the pandemic. This is appreciated by pupils and parents.

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

Senior leaders at this school are determined to provide pupils with an excellent education.

They have a clear vision of what this will look like and are redeveloping the school's full curriculum offer. In 2019, leaders identified that pupils were not achieving as well in mathematics as they should have been. Leaders introduced a new mathematics curriculum in September 2020.

Teachers are confident in their delivery of the curriculum. Pupils are carefully assessed on an ongoing basis. Any pupil at risk of falling behind receives immediate and effective support.

Reading is prioritised well. Teachers regularly read carefully chosen books to pupils, and pupils can talk about their reading preferences. Leaders know that the pandemic has had a considerable impact on pupils' reading development.

Assessments identified that more Year 3 pupils arrived this year without the phonics knowledge they needed to learn to read successfully. In response, leaders have introduced a new phonics programme. All pupils who still need to learn aspects of the alphabetic code receive careful teaching and support.

Well-trained staff listen to them reading daily. The books they read are carefully matched to the sounds they have learned.

Across the foundation subjects, leaders have carefully considered what they want their pupils to learn and in what order.

As they have introduced new curriculums for each subject, leaders have identified aspects in some subjects that need further refinement, for example to ensure that pupils have more opportunities to carry out fieldwork in geography.

Senior leaders know that not all teachers have expert knowledge in each subject that they teach. This means that teachers sometimes do not explain things clearly to pupils.

To support teachers, leaders provide detailed plans and information, setting out the core knowledge pupils will have learned previously, as well as what now needs to be taught. Leaders know that over time, they need to continue to support teachers to develop their subject-specific expertise in each subject that they teach.

Assessment within the foundation subjects is still being refined.

Teachers know that they need to be checking how well pupils are learning the intended curriculum in each subject, but this does not always happen effectively. Teachers do not always identify, for example, whether all pupils have understood their explanations.

There is a broad club offer, including pop choir and pond club.

Many clubs are provided free of charge to enable all to attend. Pupils attend three residential experiences, starting with a night camping at the school in Year 3, building towards a four-night residential in Year 6. Roles, such as house captain, reading ambassador and school council, enable pupils to make a tangible contribution to their school.

Pupils are proud to hold these leadership roles at Yattendon.

Weaknesses in governance were identified prior to the pandemic. A review was carried out and a clear action plan was written.

Recent appointments to the governing body have brought additional experience and expertise to the board. The board has been reorganised and training provided so all governors now have a clear understanding of their role and how to perform it.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Senior leaders, and those with additional responsibilities for safeguarding, understand their role well. They provide ongoing training to all staff so that they can identify when a pupil might be at risk. Staff are confident in raising their concerns.

Those responsible for safeguarding refer to and work with external agencies, including children's services, very effectively. Leaders recognise that the pandemic has impacted the well-being of pupils and the community. Leaders have responded sensitively and thoughtfully to this rising need.

Senior leaders are trained in safer recruitment. They ensure that safer recruitment procedures are carefully followed. The curriculum has been developed to ensure that pupils learn about matters such as consent and online safety in an age-appropriate way.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some teachers do not have expert knowledge of all the subjects that they teach, particularly of some foundation subjects. This means that they do not always explain key concepts and ideas clearly to pupils. To enable teachers to present subject matter across the curriculum with clarity, leaders need to ensure that over time, they carefully develop all teachers' subject-specific knowledge across the full range of subjects they teach.

• Teachers do not consistently incorporate effective assessment opportunities into their foundation lesson designs. Nor do they always utilise opportunities within the lesson to check that all pupils are developing the intended understanding. Misconceptions are not consistently identified and addressed.

This means that some pupils do not acquire the knowledge that they need to make good progress across the curriculum. Leaders need to develop assessments in the foundation subjects so that teachers are systematically checking pupils' understanding and all pupils are supported to embed knowledge and use it fluently.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2013.

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