Shelley Primary School

Wickhurst Lane, Broadbridge Heath, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 3LU

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Inspection dates: 21 and 22 January 2025

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 21 and 22 January 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Shelley is a welcoming place. Pupils are happy here. They are respectful and show kindness towards each other. They feel safe and trust adults to help them with any issues they may have.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school sets out clear expectations for pupils’ behaviour in its ‘behaviour blueprint’. Children in the early years settle quickly into routines. Pupils demonstrate highly positive attitudes to their education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has ensured that there is a wide range of subjects in the curriculum. However, staff do not always make sure that pupils remember knowledge securely in each subject. In some subjects, activities do not help pupils to secure and deepen their understanding of what they have been learning. This means that some pupils have gaps in their knowledge. As a result, they do not achieve as well as they should across the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils and families value the wide range of opportunities and support provided by the school. For example, pupils benefit from visiting places of interest, such as museums. This enhances their learning, for example through visiting an open-air archaeological museum when studying Anglo-Saxons in history. Pupils appreciate opportunities to learn about leadership and supporting others. They benefit from taking up roles such as house captains, inclusion ambassadors and peer mentors.

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

The school has created a broad curriculum which covers the full range of national curriculum subjects. In most subjects, the school has identified the important knowledge that pupils should learn. This has been logically sequenced to build right from the start of the early years. For example, pupils in the Reception Year are given regular opportunities to develop confidence in using and understanding numbers. This prepares them well for learning in key stage 1.

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

The school has not made sure that pupils develop their knowledge securely across the range of subjects they study. For example, the activities that teachers deliver are not consistently well matched to the intended curriculum aims. This means that pupils sometimes remember the activities rather than the knowledge they need for future learning. Recently, the school has started to provide more training for staff to ensure that there is greater consistency in the implementation of the curriculum. Staff appreciate this professional development. However, this work is in its early stages and teachers are not confident in all aspects of curriculum delivery.

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

Working relationships between staff and pupils are warm and respectful. Pupils are keen to participate and contribute their ideas. Teachers explain ideas clearly. However, they do not use the information about what pupils know to identify and address gaps in pupils’ learning consistently. This means that on occasions they move learning on before pupils’ knowledge is secure. This limits pupils’ depth of understanding of ideas and concepts. 21 and 22 January 2025

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The school has prioritised reading. They have established a clearly structured approach to the teaching of phonics from the time children start in the Reception Year. Staff have received effective training and benefit from ongoing support to develop their practice. Books are well matched to the sounds that pupils have been taught. Staff check that pupils are on track with the reading programme and provide extra help and support for the small numbers who fall behind. This helps these pupils to catch up swiftly. Pupils continue to benefit from opportunities to read from a variety of high-quality texts as they move up through the school.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn alongside their peers. The school carefully identifies these pupils, providing helpful support from adults. The school makes sure there are resources to support these pupils, enabling them to access the curriculum successfully. However, pupils with SEND have gaps in their understanding because activities are not designed consistently to consolidate and apply their knowledge. This means they do not achieve as well as they are capable of.

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Pupils cooperate and work well together. Parents and carers are very positive about the school and the education it provides. Pupils attend well. The school works closely with families to ensure that any attendance concerns are followed up quickly. Staff work effectively with external agencies to ensure that there is support in place for pupils’ welfare and well-being.

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The school has an extensive programme for pupils’ personal development. Pupils learn about how to look after their physical and mental health. They appreciate and respect difference in their local community and in the world. The school provides a rich range of opportunities for pupils to develop their talents and interests. Pupils can choose to join a range of clubs including football, coding and drama. They keenly take up responsibilities such as school council representatives, which helps them to understand how democracy works.

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The school has been through a period of some turbulence. The school’s view of its effectiveness has not been fully accurate. Recent leadership changes at the school have helped to identify more sharply the priorities for improvement. Governors are recently appointed to their roles. They are clear about their responsibilities and have started to receive relevant training. However, their work to hold the school to account is at an early stage. There is not sufficient rigour in checking the impact of actions to improve the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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 The curriculum is not implemented consistently across all subjects. Where this is the case, the knowledge the school intends pupils to learn is not taught in sufficient depth. Teachers do not use information about what pupils know and can do to deliver activities which consolidate and deepen what they have learned. This means that pupils are not able to recall and apply knowledge securely. The school should provide effective support for all staff and check the impact of the actions they have taken so that pupils learn consistently well across the curriculum.  The school has not established a full and accurate picture of its effectiveness in all areas of its work. Priorities for improvement have not been focused sharply enough on impact. Governors should ensure that that they make use of the full range of information available to them about the school’s performance, so that they can check the impact of the curriculum on pupils’ learning and hold leaders to account.

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How can I feed back my views?

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' is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school's pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 21 and 22 January 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 5 and 6 June 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, there have been significant changes in the governing body. A new chair of governors has been appointed.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors s carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024, will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. 21 and 22 January 2025

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 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 has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and other senior leaders. Inspectors met with governors, and representatives from the diocese and local authority.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of their work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector gathered the views of pupils, parents and staff through discussions and

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Inspection team

Russell Bennett, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Hanna Miller Ofsted Inspector 21 and 22 January 2025

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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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