Cloverlea Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including children in the early years, enjoy their learning and make friends easily at this school.

Leaders have created a warm, caring environment that helps pupils to feel happy and safe. Pupils value the rewards systems and are proud to take on leadership roles. They play happily together at breaktimes and lunchtimes.

They trust staff to resolve any worries they may have effectively, including any incidents of bullying.

Pupils' learning is enriched by a wide range of activities and visitors. Pupils, including children in the early years, enjoy the different clubs on offer, particularly sports clubs.

These include tennis and dodgeball. Pupi...ls told inspectors that they strive to do well in local competitions that they take part in.

Leaders have high expectations for pupils' learning and behaviour.

Pupils achieve well in some subjects. However, in other subjects, they do not learn as well as they should. This is because leaders have not made clear the important knowledge that pupils should learn and the order in which they should learn it.

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

Leaders have reviewed the curriculum across the school. For example, subject leaders have considered the key knowledge that pupils need to know by the time they leave Year 6. In many subjects, the curriculum has only recently been introduced.

In some of these subjects, leaders have designed the curriculum so that pupils' learning builds logically over time. Teachers understand clearly the essential knowledge that pupils need to learn in each class. This helps pupils to know and remember more in these subjects and they achieve well.

That said, in many subjects, leaders have not clearly set out the important knowledge that they want pupils to learn. Consequently, teachers are not clear enough about what pupils need to learn and when they should learn it. In these subjects, pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

Leaders have ensured that the curriculum in the early years is well designed and builds children's knowledge logically over time. The curriculum is well developed to meet the needs of children across all areas of learning. The activities that children complete support them effectively in order to gain the knowledge that leaders expect them to learn.

Leaders have ensured that all staff prioritise the improvement of children's speech and language skills. This helps children to learn in other areas of the curriculum.

Subject leaders are ambitious for pupils to achieve well in their subjects.

However, some leaders have not checked whether pupils develop their knowledge securely over time. This means that, at times, pupils form misconceptions. Some staff do not support pupils to address these misconceptions.

Consequently, pupils continue to have gaps in their understanding in a number of subjects.

Leaders' adoption of a new phonics curriculum has had a positive impact on pupils' phonics knowledge, including children in the early years. Typically, the phonics curriculum is delivered well, and staff assess pupils' reading skills accurately.

Leaders have introduced new reading books, and teachers read regularly to pupils. This has helped to promote a love of reading in pupils. Over time, most pupils develop into confident and fluent readers.

Leaders provide effective support to any children and pupils who need help to catch up with their reading in the early years and key stage 1. However, the new phonics curriculum is not fully embedded in key stage 2. Not all staff have received the training that they need to support pupils who struggle with reading in this key stage.

In addition, the books that pupils use to practise their reading do not closely match to the sounds that they know. This affects pupils' confidence and hinders their progress.

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils to achieve well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The needs of pupils with SEND are identified carefully and quickly. However, as is the case for other pupils, some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they should due to weakness in some subject curriculums.

Pupils, including children in the early years, behave well in class and are keen to learn.

Their conduct around the school is also of a high standard. They are considerate of others and are polite to their peers and visitors. Pupils and children understand and value the routines that are in place.

Any disruption to pupils' learning during lessons is rare.

Leaders help pupils to value diversity in the world. Pupils learn to respect differences between people in the community.

Pupils talked about the importance of respect. They develop as active citizens and are fully involved in school life. For example, older pupils are proud of their leadership roles, such as being reading ambassadors.

Some pupils are active members of the school council. Pupils develop a mature understanding of the importance of equality. They develop a secure understanding of different cultures, and they value them.

Committed staff are proud to work at the school. They feel highly valued by leaders. Teachers appreciate the opportunities to develop professionally.

Leaders consider the workload and well-being of staff when making decisions.

Governors monitor the development of some important aspects of leaders' work. However, governors do not hold leaders sufficiently to account for the quality of education on offer to pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that staff receive regular safeguarding training. Staff understand their responsibilities and how to spot if a child or pupil might be at risk from harm.

Staff act on any concerns promptly. When necessary, leaders work with external agencies so that pupils get the help that they need.

Pupils know how to stay safe.

They know that staff will help them. The curriculum helps pupils to learn about different risks that they may face and how to manage these. For example, pupils learn about healthy relationships and how to stay safe in a variety of situations.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, leaders and teachers are not clear enough about the important content that pupils should learn. This means that pupils are not as prepared for subsequent learning as well as they should be. Leaders should ensure that teachers are clear about the sequence of knowledge that pupils need to learn so that pupils can build new knowledge securely on what they already know.

• Leaders have not ensured that teachers deliver the phonics curriculum well enough. Pupils who struggle with reading in key stage 2, do not get the support they need to help them to catch up. Leaders must ensure that the phonics curriculum is implemented effectively in all key stages and that staff have sufficient training to deliver it well.

• In a few subjects, the checks that teachers make on pupils' learning, including for pupils with SEND, do not identify sufficiently well gaps in pupils' knowledge. This means that some pupils move through the curriculum with ongoing misconceptions in their learning. Leaders should ensure that teachers use assessment strategies well to ensure that pupils' learning is secure before introducing new concepts.

• Leaders, including governors, do not have enough oversight of the curriculum. They do not know how well pupils are learning across a range of subjects. Leaders and governors should ensure that they glean the information they need to check how well pupils are achieving in all subjects.

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