Feniton Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Feniton Church of England Primary School Station Road, Feniton, Honiton, Devon, EX14 3EA

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

The school was last inspected 14 years ago and judged ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework. This reflected the school’s overall effectiveness under the inspection framework in use at the time.

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Overall effectiveness Good

From then until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between inspections. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the past inspection. 13 and 14 March 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend Feniton Church of England Primary School. They are polite and welcoming. Pupils describe the school as a place where everyone can be themselves. They talk confidently about the way in which the school’s ‘HEART’ values help them to give their best and to be understanding of others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and conduct. Pupils understand the school rules and follow them well, both in and outside the classroom. This starts in the early years, where children listen carefully to staff and behave well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe. They value the positive relationships they have with staff. Pupils say that staff listen to them and are there for them if they need to share any worries or concerns. They say that bullying does not happen. If it were to occur, they are confident that adult would deal with it quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the range of clubs and visits on offer to them, such as watching a symphony orchestra perform. They value becoming sports leaders, eco-warriors, librarians and members of the ethos committee. Pupils say that these roles build their confidence and help them to act as role models to others.

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better?

Leaders have high expectations for what all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), can achieve. They accurately understand what the school does well and where it needs to improve. Leaders have created a curriculum that is designed well. They have carefully considered what pupils need to know and when they need to know it.

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better?

Reading is a priority in the school. Pupils read a range of texts with increasing accuracy and fluency. They say that reading takes them ‘away to a calm place' and helps them learn new things. Pupils enjoy listening to adults read stories. They talk confidently about how teachers help them to read with expression in their reading sessions.

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better?

Children begin learning phonics as soon as they start school. They learn and remember new sounds well. Staff benefit from the training they receive to teach phonics effectively. Books that pupils read match the sounds they learn, which helps them to gain confidence. If pupils fall behind, they receive the support they need to help them to catch up quickly.

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better?

Leaders have put in place a well-structured mathematics curriculum. This starts in the early years. Teachers use songs and rhymes to develop children’s mathematical vocabulary well. As a result, children confidently describe number patterns. Pupils 13 and 14 March 2023

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build on this as they move through the school. They use their mathematical knowledge well to tackle more complex problems.

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Pupils learn well in most of the wider curriculum subjects. In music, for example, teachers routinely check on what pupils know and remember. Pupils confidently play a range of instruments and share their musical understanding well, using words such as dynamics and timbre. However, in some other areas of the curriculum, this is not the case. Some teachers do not use the information they have well enough to deepen pupils' understanding. Future learning does not take into account what pupils remember over time. This hampers the progress that some pupils make.

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Leaders are ambitious for what pupils with SEND can achieve. Staff know the pupils well. Leaders work closely with parents and external agencies to ensure that pupils with SEND receive the help they need. Pupils’ plans are precise and regularly reviewed. As a result, pupils with SEND learn the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. They take a full and active role in the wider life of the school.

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Pupils have positive attitudes to their learning. This starts in the early years. Children are eager to take part in their learning. Disruptions to learning are rare. The environment in classrooms and around the school is calm and purposeful.

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Leaders support pupils’ personal development well. Pupils talk confidently about fundamental British vales, such as democracy. They understand what it means to be a good friend and the importance of treating everyone equally. Pupils develop their sense of character by taking part in a civic award. They say that this helps them to help others in their community.

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Governors are ambitious for the school. They carry out their duties effectively and know the school well. Governors ask challenging questions to help the school improve. Staff are proud to work at the school. They value the support they receive from leaders, particularly with regards to their well-being and workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure there is a strong culture of safeguarding across the school. They provide staff with up-to-date safeguarding training. Staff used this well to spot the signs that may indicate a pupil is at risk and act quickly. Leaders work well with a range of professionals to help vulnerable pupils and their families.

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Safeguarding

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe in the real and online world. They understand the importance of not sharing personal details online.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make the right safeguarding checks during recruitment. However, more rigour is needed to ensure that these checks are accurately recorded on the single central record. 13 and 14 March 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, assessment is not used well enough to check that pupils have remembered the knowledge they have been taught and to deepen their understanding. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge or do not build their knowledge well enough over time. Leaders need to ensure that teachers use assessment effectively across all subjects and use this information to inform future learning.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, 'disadvantaged pupils' refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 13 and 14 March 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10242379 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 18 November 2008

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Information about this school

 The school is a voluntary-aided Church of England school which is part of the Diocese of Exeter. The last section 48 inspection took place in January 2019, where the school was judged to be excellent.  The school is part of the Otter Valley Federation.  The head of school was appointed in January 2023.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  There is a before- and after-school club managed by the governing body.  The school has pre-school provision for three- and four-year-olds.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 13 and 14 March 2023

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 Inspectors met with the executive headteacher, the head of school, subject leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, staff, pupils and representatives from the governing body. The lead inspector also held a telephone discussion with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: reading, mathematics and music. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, looked at samples of work and spoke to pupils about their learning.  Inspectors spoke to leaders about the curriculum in some other subjects.  The lead inspector listened to pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 read to an adult.  Inspectors considered how well the school protects pupils and keeps them safe. The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead to evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding. The lead inspector also scrutinised the school’s

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single central record.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site. Additionally, inspectors spoke to pupils to discuss their views about the school.  Inspectors considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View. They also took into consideration the staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Ben Jordan, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

James Gentile His Majesty's Inspector 13 and 14 March 2023

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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