Ofsted Report
This is a good school that provides good value for money. It is friendly and welcoming and very highly thought of by parents, who are very proud of their children's successes. Making sure that pupils enjoy learning, are safe and healthy, and play an active part in the school community is high on the school's agenda. It is not surprising, therefore, that pupils enjoy school, behave well and show good attitudes to learning. Attendance is broadly average but adversely affected by the number of pupils who go on holiday during term time. Pupils throughout the school, including those in the Foundation Stage, make good progress. By year 6, standards were average in 2006 but current attainment is higher in reading than in writing. Pupils' good academic and personal achievement signposts a bright future when they leave at the end of year 6.
Pupils make good progress as a result of good teaching and learning, and a good curriculum that focuses on boosting learning where it is needed most. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make outstanding progress because of the high quality support they receive from teachers and support staff in lessons and because of the very effective partnerships established between school, home and other support agencies. However, teachers do not make sure that the needs of the more able pupils are met consistently enough so they can show what they are really capable of. Leaders have rightly identified that writing is a priority for improvement. Recent curriculum adaptations are already helping to promote better achievement in writing. For example, there are more opportunities for pupils to develop their speaking and listening skills and there is more time devoted to writing activities. Nevertheless, there remains scope to provide further opportunities in different subjects for pupils to practise and improve their writing in a way that motivates them to learn.
Good leadership and management are keys to the school's success. Staff and governors are highly committed and hard working. Under the very strong leadership of the headteacher and her deputy, staff work closely together so that they remain on a clear path of continual improvement. Since the previous inspection, pupils' standards, the quality of the curriculum and the partnership with parents are all examples of improvement. Its self-evaluation is accurate. This is a school that knows its own strengths and is not afraid to say where it can be even better. This, along with the good improvement since the previous inspection, demonstrates that the school has good capacity to improve in the future.
