All Saints CofE Primary School and Nursery, Nuneaton

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Children get off to a very strong start at All Saints CofE Primary School and Nursery.

Their language develops quickly and they soon adopt orderly routines. Staff forge strong relationships with pupils and provide exceptional pastoral care. Pupils know that if they have any concerns, there is always an adult to turn to.

This helps them to feel safe.

The school has high expectations for what all pupils can achieve. Pupils learn to read quickly and fluently.

They learn the important knowledge of the curriculum effectively. They are well prepared for the next stage in their education.

Pupils behave well because staff apply the behaviour policy ...consistently.

The school is a calm and purposeful place to learn. Pupils behave well in class. They get along together and play happily at social times.

Everybody feels included.

Pupils learn to treat others with respect, including those who are different from themselves. They have good opportunities to take responsibility, for example, as peer mediators.

They support others to cooperate and be kind to each other. Pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, enjoy taking part in a few after-school clubs linked to sport.

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

Reading is a top priority.

Children in Nursery receive expert help to speak and listen carefully. They concentrate for long periods and show resilience when engaged with new learning. Children are ready to learn sounds and letters from the start of the Reception Year.

Staff teach phonics consistently well and check closely on the sounds that pupils know. There is effective support for pupils who find reading more difficult. This helps them keep up with the pace of the programme.

Books for younger pupils are carefully matched to their phonics knowledge. Older pupils learn the different skills that make up reading.

Pupils study all the subjects in the national curriculum.

In each subject, leaders have planned the curriculum carefully so that new knowledge builds on what pupils already know. There is a logical progression of learning from the early years to Year 6. On a day-to-day basis, teachers ensure that they implement the curriculum as intended.

For example, they make sure that pupils learn the key vocabulary in each unit of work. This helps pupils to remember their learning in the longer term.

Teachers have good subject knowledge.

They present information clearly. Teachers use resources effectively and often imaginatively. For example, in Year 1, pupils learned well about the importance of camouflage for animals by looking in the playground for knitted caterpillars of different colours.

In general, teachers check what pupils have learned effectively, for example by scanning their answers or asking questions of specific pupils in class. The school uses longer-term assessments of what pupils have learned to make improvements to the curriculum.

The school identifies the additional needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) promptly and effectively.

Children with additional needs in the early years receive exceptional support. Staff draw on detailed guidance to ensure that they meet pupils' needs well. As a result, pupils with SEND make secure progress through the full curriculum.

From the Nursery onwards, staff help pupils in an age-appropriate way to understand and manage their own feelings. Pupils respond well to the school's approach to behaviour. They recognise the need to take account of others, and understand the importance of saying sorry.

Pupils take a pride in their work.

Pupils' attendance is below the national average. The school works tirelessly to address any barriers to coming to school.

Leaders publicise the importance of attendance and work closely with individual pupils and their families to manage the start of the school day better. The rate of absence is falling slowly but consistently.

The planned programme of social and personal education teaches pupils about healthy relationships and how to keep themselves safe, including online.

Through the choice of texts for study and subjects such as religious education, the school has taken important steps to widen pupils' social and cultural knowledge. Pupils recognise difference as being something to celebrate.

The school thinks carefully about improvement actions.

It holds detailed knowledge of its strengths and areas for development. For instance, staff identified the need to provide children in the early years with more support for their early writing. They successfully adapted activities to better develop children's fine motor skills.

Staff are well trained and contribute effectively to school improvement priorities. The school is considerate of their workload and values their views.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Too many pupils are persistently absent. As a result, they miss out on important continuity of learning and many personal and social development opportunities. The school should increase its efforts to ensure that all parents understand the value of regular attendance and send their children to school regularly.