Rowena Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They engage well with adults and each other. Pupils listen carefully and show kindness to one another.

Warm relationships between staff and pupils create a safe and supportive environment. Parents and carers value this. There is a positive and respectful culture throughout the school.

Pupils show respect and understanding to one another. They are polite and well-mannered.

The school is ambitious for pupils' academic and personal development.

Pupils work hard, try their best and achieve well. A calm and orderly environment is firmly embedded right from the early years. In lessons and discussions, pupil show exceptional f...ocus and are enthusiastic to contribute.

They embrace and follow consistent routines. Pupils play harmoniously together outside, socialising calmly and sensibly.

Pupils have an excellent understanding of the world around them.

They discuss fundamental British values confidently. Pupils are proud to care for others by organising events like anti-bullying activities and charity fundraisers. They build strong connections with the local community, including a caring relationship with a nearby care home.

Residents join school events and are visited by the choir. Pupils engage enthusiastically with professionals like police officers to learn about careers. They are dedicated to their leadership responsibilities such as being playground leaders and as 'Rowena Rangers'.

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

The curriculum builds pupil's learning over time effectively. Well-considered resources and tasks help support pupils to remember important facts and knowledge. For example, in religious education (RE) pupils use their knowledge organisers to help them compare important aspects of Christianity and Islam.

Resources for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are adapted effectively to enable them to access the curriculum successfully. Pupils speak confidently about what they know and remember over time. However, in some lessons, the school does not consider the tasks carefully enough.

In these lessons, pupils do not get the opportunity to record what they know and remember.

Phonics and reading are taught consistently well, with a strong focus on phonics from the early years. Books are matched carefully to pupils' phonics knowledge.

This helps pupils read accurately using the sounds that they know. Well-trained adults check regularly how well pupils learn their phonics. Pupils who need extra support access tailored interventions.

These are effective and help pupils catch up quickly. The school's environment promotes pupils' love of books, including in the outdoor areas. Pupils enjoy reading and listening to the 'top 30 reads' in each Year group.

In the early years, writing is promoted across the curriculum. Early writing skills begin with mark making and activities to help with pencil control. Children learn to form letters correctly through phonics and during their work with adults.

However, in key stage 1, sometimes pupils do not have enough opportunities to practise and secure important foundational skills such as sentence structure and letter formation before writing more complex pieces of writing.

The early years curriculum is highly ambitious and prepares children exceptionally well for Year 1. It builds on some children's lower than expected starting points and is tailored around children's specific learning needs well.

In Reception, the curriculum builds on the knowledge children have learned in Nursery by extending their language and vocabulary. In both Nursery and Reception, highly engaging activities stimulate children's imagination. A 'careers suitcase' introduces them to different jobs.

Hygiene practices, like daily tooth brushing, are promoted through effective links with the school nurse. Children are happy and cooperate well with each other. They access resources independently and follow the school's well-established routines consistently.

Pupils show maturity and responsibility in meeting the school's exceptionally high expectations for behaviour and conduct. They take an active role in setting their class rules. Pupils show pride when positive behaviour is regularly praised by adults.

They are excited to receive rewards including a treat from the 'brilliant basket'.

The school works closely with pupils and their families to ensure that there are clear expectations for attendance. This is helping improve pupils' attendance.

The school is continuing this work to make sure that all pupils attend regularly and on time.The way the school promotes pupils' character and personal development is exemplary. The personal development offer is designed expertly and builds pupils' deep understanding of important topics in an age-appropriate way.

Pupils engage confidently in debates and discussions about different faiths. They have thoughtful conversations about the importance of respecting difference. Extra-curricular activities are deliberately designed to capture all pupils' interests and needs.

For example, lunchtime sports clubs are offered to ensure that pupils with SEND participate fully.

Leaders, including governors and trustees, know the school's strengths and next steps well. They have structures and systems in place to continue to move the school from strength to strength.

Staff have a positive view of the school. They appreciate the support they receive both personally and professionally.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In key stage 1, the curriculum is not implemented sufficiently well to enable pupils to develop the basic skills for writing, including grammar, punctuation and handwriting. This means that pupils are not able to write fluently, neatly and with accuracy. The school should ensure that pupils build fluency in the basic skills for writing and take pride in the presentation of their work.

• In a small number of lessons, the learning tasks and activities do not match the intended curriculum. This means that pupils do not have the opportunity to record their understanding of the curriculum well enough. The school should ensure that the curriculum is implemented consistently and effectively in all subjects.

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