Yoxford & Peasenhall Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Yoxford & Peasenhall Primary Academy continues to be a good school.

The headteacher of this school is Katy Last.

This school is part of Consortium Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Andrew Aalders-Dunthorne, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Dawn Carman-Jones.

What is it like to attend this school?

Yoxford and Peasenhall Primary Academy is a calm and nurturing place in which to learn.

Pupils are happy in school. They know that learning is important. Pupils develop a curiosity about the world around them.

They delight in the well-planne...d enrichment provision. Pupils have regular opportunities to cook, explore, hike and craft.

Pupils are benefiting from the heightened expectations the school has recently put in place across the curriculum, including in phonics.

Pupils appreciate the help and support they get to succeed with tricky tasks. In some curriculum subjects, pupils need further support to connect their prior learning to new topics to fully deepen their understanding.

From Reception upwards, pupils show positive attitudes to their learning.

Pupils follow instructions carefully. They respond positively to the well-developed school routines, such as the rising and lowering of the flag. Leaders ensure that pupils understand why it is important to attend school regularly.

Pupils value the strong relationships they have with adults. They trust them with their concerns and worries, and, as a result, pupils are safe. Pupils learn what it means to be a good friend.

They develop their leadership skills with roles such as prefects, reading ambassadors and house captains. Pupils apply this to their playtimes, organising games for each other and inviting others to play together.

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

The school has created a curriculum that enables pupils to build knowledge incrementally over time, from early years upwards.

Teachers ensure that pupils revisit more complex concepts. Pupils have sufficient practice to secure their current learning. However, in some subjects, teachers do not always check that pupils have a solid enough understanding of their prior learning.

Therefore, when moving on to new content, some pupils find it hard to make connections with what they have learned before. This means that some gaps in learning remain or that pupils do not extend their understanding in the depth or detail that leaders intend.

The school has prioritised reading.

Leaders are making rapid changes to phonics teaching to ensure that work set for pupils matches the ambitious curriculum aims. This is starting to have a positive impact. The books pupils are now reading allow them to rehearse new phonics knowledge.

As a result, younger pupils are getting better at securing the sounds they need to know to develop as fluent readers. When pupils are not keeping up with the pace of the reading programme, staff quickly identify the gaps that pupils have and provide targeted support. Pupils enjoy reading.

In older year groups, pupils develop the complex skills for delving deeper into texts. They articulate their ideas about the writers' choices confidently. For example, they can explain why the synonym 'elements' is used instead of 'weather' when reading a non-fiction text.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well cared for, including in early years. Staff quickly identify needs and put the appropriate support in place to ensure that pupils with SEND can access the full curriculum successfully. Staff have nurturing relationships with pupils.

They provide strong pastoral support to ensure that pupils are ready for learning. Staff work well with parents, carers and external agencies to seek the right support for pupils. As a result, pupils with SEND achieve their learning targets.

The school is focusing on improving attendance. There are high expectations that all pupils should be in school regularly. The school works closely with parents and carers to identify and overcome barriers that stop pupils attending school.

These efforts are beginning to bear fruit, and leaders continue to monitor attendance carefully.

Pupils are well-behaved. They know the school rules and routines and respond to these positively.

Pupils are able to express their personalities yet know how to do this respectfully towards adults. Staff are quick to respond to any behaviour that is not in line with their positive expectations. Pupils conform to these reminders.

Pupils engage enthusiastically with a worldwide organisation that promotes personal growth, through the medium of outdoor pursuits and volunteering in the local community. From Reception, pupils learn survival, cooking and first-aid skills that will help them in later life. Pupils are confident to explain how these wider opportunities prepare them well for their next phase of education.

Pupils are respectful and caring towards each other. They make sure that everyone feels welcome in their school irrespective of differences.

The school has been through a period of change that has been well managed by the leaders.

Staff are supported and well trained, including on how to coach others. This means they work together to improve the school effectively. The trust monitors closely the school's performance and holds leaders to account where needed.

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 subjects, teachers do not always check that pupils have a solid enough understanding of their prior learning. This means that, when moving on to new content, pupils find it hard to make connections with what they have learned before.

This limits how securely pupils are meeting the curriculum aims. The school needs to ensure that, in all subjects, teachers check routinely what pupils need to have remembered before moving on to new learning.

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

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

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 2019.