Carlton CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at this school are confident and self-assured. For instance, they share their ideas and opinions enthusiastically with staff.

Moreover, pupils and staff show kindness and respect towards each other. This fosters a positive environment and helps pupils to feel valued.

Staff have high expectations of pupils' behaviour, and pupils meet these well.

For instance, the transition from playtime to the classroom is calm. This is because pupils know how to walk in an orderly fashion. This means that lessons can start on time, and there are fewer disruptions.

In lessons, pupils listen well and try hard to achieve their best.

Pupils enjoy taking ...on additional responsibilities. This begins with the youngest children, who help to keep their classroom tidy.

Older pupils help the school to run smoothly, for example by setting up for assemblies. Pupils who sit on the school council make decisions that help staff improve the school. These activities help pupils become vital members of the school community.

They build essential skills for independence.

The school has high expectations for pupils' learning. Pupils learn well in many subjects.

They benefit from the broad and interesting curriculum, which helps them develop their interests and prepares them well for their next stage of education.

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

The school has set out a well-organised curriculum. This means staff are clear about the knowledge and skills pupils should learn at each stage.

In most subjects, this begins in the early years and builds up gradually as pupils get older. However, in a few subjects, this is not the case. This means pupils sometimes miss some essential knowledge in these subjects because staff are not aware of what pupils have learned previously.

In many subjects, including the core subjects of English and mathematics, staff are well trained. They know how and why to teach knowledge in a particular order and how to help pupils retain it. Furthermore, in the early years, children gain essential mathematical knowledge and learn to recognise and write letters and words.

In these subjects, pupils achieve well. However, in a few subjects, staff lack the specific knowledge they need to design effective learning tasks. This means that, at times, learning activities only partially develop pupils' skills and knowledge.

Additionally, staff need to check pupils' understanding effectively. As a result, some pupils' progress through the curriculum is slower, and the school does not know how much progress pupils are making and any gaps in knowledge they have.

The teaching of phonics is a strength of the school.

Children in the Nursery learn vital language skills from skilled staff. This prepares them well when they are ready to learn to read. Children in Reception learn phonics in daily sessions.

Staff help pupils to develop their knowledge in small manageable chunks. They check pupils' reading knowledge often. This means they can address misconceptions straight away, so pupils make strong progress with their reading.

For those who need additional support, the school provides catch-up sessions. Additionally, pupils read books that match their phonics knowledge. This lets pupils use their reading skills independently, boosts their self-confidence and means they want to read more often.

Teachers accurately identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This ensures pupils with SEND have the correct support that matches their needs. The school has made sure staff have the training they need to provide this.

Staff help pupils when needed. They also make sure pupils can complete tasks independently. This means pupils with SEND are not over-reliant on adult support.

Pupils behave well. They are polite and courteous and listen well to each other's ideas. This shows they have learned to be respectful.

Routines for pupils are clear, and they understand them. Even the youngest children show good learning behaviours and can get along with each other.

The school teaches pupils to value different cultures and religions.

This helps them to understand others and to celebrate diversity. The school is a caring environment. For example, older pupils create engaging clubs for the younger ones.

Leaders work effectively with local authority advisers and school governors. They identify and take action on key proprieties, for example to improve teaching in some subjects. At times, progress has slowed due to staff absence.

Governors complete all statutory checks. Additionally, staff feel that school leaders support their well-being and try to reduce workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some foundation subjects, staff do not have sufficient knowledge of the subject-specific curriculum content. As a result, they cannot design learning effectively to develop pupils' knowledge and skills. Also, they do not routinely check what pupils know and can do in these subjects.

This means some pupils do not learn important knowledge, and gaps in their knowledge are not identified. The school should ensure staff receive guidance and support to understand and teach the curriculum content as the school intends, complete checks on how well pupils learn and use these checks to adapt teaching accordingly. ? In a few subjects, the school has not coherently organised the knowledge and skills pupils need to learn from the early years up.

This creates a gap between the early years and key stage 1. Pupils sometimes miss out on learning essential knowledge. The school should ensure that knowledge and skills development in all subjects is organised logically from the early years so children are suitably well prepared for their learning in Year 1 and beyond.