Applecroft School

Overview: Applecroft School is a good school with a strong sense of community, where pupils are happy and safe. The school has made significant changes to its curriculum, which is ambitious and well-sequenced, and has high expectations for all pupils.

Strengths:

• Pupils are happy and safe within their 'Applecroft family', making meaningful contributions to the school and community.
• Pupils learn an ambitious set of vocabulary in all subjects and are excited to use them.
• The school prioritises teaching pupils to read, with a well-sequenced phonics curriculum and effective checking procedures.
• The school caters exceptionally well for the personal development of pupils, with a wide range of additional opportunities available to all.
• Pupils are polite, friendly, and confident, with low-level disruption very rare.

Areas to improve:

• Some teachers do not have the precise subject knowledge to teach the more specialised aspects of the new curriculum confidently and well.
• Leaders do not yet have a precise understanding of the relative strengths and weaknesses in the newly introduced curriculum.

Safeguarding: The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.