Bere Regis Primary and Preschool

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are kind and polite. They are proud to attend the school.

For example, pupils with leadership roles are eager to make a difference. They champion important issues, such as sustainability and celebrating diversity.

Children get off to a strong start in the pre-school and Reception Year.

Staff provide the care and support that children need. Children are inquisitive. They sustain their concentration well as a result of effective activities and resources.

Pupils behave well. From the early years, they learn to follow routines and cooperate with each other. For example, children learn how to wash their hands and how to help tidy up the classroom t...ogether.

Pupils, of all ages, get on well together during lessons and at social times.

The school has high expectations of pupils' achievement. Pupils live up to these expectations.

Most pupils have positive attitudes to learning. On occasions, however, some pupils are not motivated by the work that they do.

Pupils benefit from a range of clubs and activities.

For instance, they enjoy sports, board games and cooking. Pupils have opportunities to develop their musical interests by learning to play an instrument and performing together. The school helps pupils to make good use of these opportunities.

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

Pupils follow a broad and ambitious curriculum. In most subjects, the school has identified the essential knowledge and skills that pupils should gain. For example, in science, older pupils remember readily the important components of blood.

In a few subjects, however, the school is still identifying and ordering the precise knowledge that pupils should learn. This means that pupils sometimes do not build on what they already know and can do.

Teachers have the expertise they need to implement the curriculum.

For example, teaching has a sharp focus on the vocabulary that children should learn in the early years. As a result, children develop their language skills well in preparation for key stage 1. At all ages, teaching routinely checks that pupils have learned the curriculum.

Occasionally, however, the work that pupils do does not deepen their understanding as well as it could.

Pupils learn to read accurately and with increasing fluency. From Reception Year, children read books that are matched well to the sounds they are learning.

Pupils who need additional support to keep up receive it promptly. Older pupils read regularly and get the help they need to close any gaps in their phonic knowledge. Staff read to children in the early years in a way that builds their interest in words and books.

The school has strengthened how it identifies and assesses special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). It works well with parents to define and review steps in pupils' learning. Staff receive useful information about how to make adaptations to the curriculum.

As a result, most pupils with SEND build their knowledge, skills and independence.

Pupils benefit from an effective personal, social and health education programme. They learn about healthy eating and how to be kind to others, for example.

Older pupils learn about keeping themselves safe online. This builds on the knowledge that children gain in the early years about people they can trust. The school helps pupils care for their own well-being.

Pupils learn to reflect on things that are going well for them or when they might need some help.

The school provides opportunities for pupils to learn how to care for the world around them. For instance, pupils participate eagerly in a 're-wilding' project.

They collect acorns and grow them into saplings to plant in a local forest. Pupils raise money for charities and help to run community events, such as a VE Day tea party. These experiences help pupils to develop their understanding of citizenship.

Pupils are prepared well for their future lives. They learn about democracy by voting for the school council, for example. They gain an understanding of different faiths and religions and of diverse role models in history.

The school helps children begin to find out about future jobs and careers through its 'apprentice' programme.

The school has high expectations of pupils' behaviour and attendance. Most pupils live up to these expectations.

Pupils who need help to attend more regularly or to manage their behaviour receive sensitive support from staff.

Trustees and leaders have an accurate view of the school's strengths and areas for further development. Together, they have ensured that the school has made improvements to the quality of education.

Trustees ensure that the school fulfils its statutory duties. They gain the insights they need to hold leaders to account, while being mindful of staff's workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few subjects, the school is still identifying precisely the knowledge that pupils need to learn and by when. This means that pupils sometimes do not build their knowledge and skills cumulatively. The school should ensure that it identifies the essential knowledge that pupils need to gain in all subjects.

• On occasions, teaching does not match pupils' work well enough to their starting points. As a result, pupils do not gain the depth of understanding that they could. The school should ensure that teaching consistently builds from pupils' existing knowledge.