Spreyton School

Inspection of Spreyton School Spreyton, Crediton, Devon EX17 5AJ

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 17 and 18 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and well looked after at this warm and welcoming school. They embrace the school’s values of ‘passion, pride, perseverance and positivity’. Staff know pupils very well. They have created a nurturing environment and are attentive to individual needs. Pupils feel listened to and valued. They are confident that staff will resolve any issues quickly. Pupils feel safe. They enjoy coming to school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school sets high expectations for pupils’ achievement and behaviour. Pupils strive to meet these. The school helps pupils to feel proud of their progress and confident in what they accomplish. Pupils show a keen interest in their learning and work hard. They learn the curriculum successfully. Pupils behave consistently well in both lessons and during social times. Children in the pre-school and Reception Year, benefit from a calm, settled and engaging environment. This secures a positive and productive start to their education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the wide range of opportunities that are available in the school. They enjoy clubs such as baking, drama and animation. Pupils play an active part in their local community, including volunteering in the village store and participating in VE Day celebrations. These experiences help pupils to build their confidence.

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

The school is firmly committed to ensuring that pupils experience success in their learning. Federation and school leaders have acted swiftly to address the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection.

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

Over the past 12 months, the school has worked diligently to review and design an ambitious curriculum for its mixed-age classes. It has sequenced the curriculum to ensure that essential knowledge and skills build progressively. However, the impact of the new curriculum is less evident in subjects where it is not fully embedded. While pupils generally learn well, in these subjects their ability to recall prior knowledge and connect it to new learning is less secure.

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

The school has ensured that staff have the necessary subject knowledge and expertise to deliver curriculum content effectively. Staff explain new learning clearly to pupils. They design activities that support pupils in developing the knowledge that they need.

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

Reading is a high priority. Across the school, staff develop children’s love of reading. They skilfully use the phonics programme to ensure that pupils read with increasing accuracy, fluency and enjoyment. Staff quickly identify pupils who need extra help and support them to catch up. Pupils discuss their favourite authors and books with enthusiasm. They gain the knowledge and skills they need to become confident and proficient readers. Pupils of every age grow to truly love reading.

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

The school identifies the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) quickly. Staff are adept at making adaptations to enable pupils with SEND to learn 17 and 18 June 2025

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the curriculum successfully. They fully include pupils with SEND in every aspect of school life. The school acts decisively to secure expert help from a range of professionals for pupils who need it.

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Children in the early years, including the pre-school, are enthusiastic and curious learners. Staff take time to find out each child’s individual strengths and areas for development. They use this information to support their next steps. Staff are skilled at extending children’s language through high-quality talk, songs and rhymes. Children learn important reading, writing and mathematics skills, such as how to double numbers and count sets of objects reliably. This ensures that they build strong foundations for future learning.

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Pupils behave well. They understand and follow the school’s rules and routines, resulting in lessons that are free from disruption. Across all year groups, pupils play happily together. Older pupils take a caring and supportive role towards their younger peers. Leaders check pupils’ attendance closely. They work with families to reduce absence, when necessary, and ensure that pupils attend regularly.

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The provision for pupils’ personal development is well considered. Through assemblies and the school’s personal, social and health education curriculum, pupils learn about relationships, consent and discrimination. Pupils know how to stay healthy and understand the importance of prioritising sleep, drinking water and eating a balanced diet. They learn key skills for navigating the world safely, including road safety and online safety.

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Staff are proud to work at this school. They appreciate the support and consideration shown by leaders to manage their workload and well-being. Staff benefit from the professional development and school improvement systems provided by the federation. Governors are well informed about the school’s strengths and priorities. They use this knowledge to provide effective challenge and support.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The implementation of the revised wider curriculum is relatively new. As a result, in some subjects, pupils’ knowledge and recall are not as deep and connected as in other curriculum areas. The school should ensure that the implementation of the revised wider curriculum is fully embedded to enable pupils to secure knowledge in their long- term memories. 17 and 18 June 2025

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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). 17 and 18 June 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Christopher Dack

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School details

Website www.spreyton-primary.devon.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 26 March 2024, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Devon Moors Federation. This is a formal collaboration with seven other local schools, sharing an executive headteacher and a governing body.  This is a smaller than average-sized primary school. Pupils are organised into two mixed-age classes.  The school operates and manages an on-site pre-school that provides provision for three- to four-year-olds.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors 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 17 and 18 June 2025

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provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the second routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, the inspectors met with the executive headteachers and the head of school. The lead inspector met with representatives from the governing body, including the chair of governors. He also spoke with a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also considered the

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curriculum in some other subjects.  The lead inspector listened to some pupils reading to a familiar adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: 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.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at lunchtime. They spoke with pupils and staff about behaviour.  Inspectors spoke with a range of staff to discuss how the school supports their workload and well-being.  Inspectors considered the views of parents and carers through their responses to the online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View. They gathered the views of staff through the online staff surveys, as well as discussions conducted throughout the inspection.  The inspectors reviewed a range of the school’s documents, including self-evaluation

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reports, minutes of governing body meetings and behaviour incident logs.

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Inspection team

Neil Swait, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Richard Light Ofsted Inspector 17 and 18 June 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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