Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School

Overview

Pupils feel “safe and happy” at this school, where adults care for them well and maintain high expectations. Despite recent transitions in leadership and changes to pre-school provision, the staff team has ensured that pupils’ education has not suffered, maintaining high morale and a supportive culture. The school is judged as Good across all key areas, with pupils achieving well in national tests and being well prepared for the next stage of their education.

Strengths

• The curriculum is “detailed and ambitious” from Reception upwards, ensuring teachers know precisely what pupils should learn in a logical order.
• Staff implement the curriculum well, explaining concepts clearly and encouraging pupils to use key vocabulary, resulting in strong learning across most subjects.
• Reading is prioritised from the start, with staff trained well in phonics helping pupils to become “confident, fluent readers”.
• The school’s Christian ethos underpins a “well-considered personal development programme,” helping pupils become “caring and compassionate citizens.”
• The governing body provides “effective support and challenge,” closely scrutinising attendance and managing recent changes smoothly.

Areas to improve

• The pre-school curriculum has not kept pace with recent provision changes, meaning staff are unclear on how learning develops and children do not build on prior knowledge well enough.
• Systems for checking long-term knowledge retention are not fully established in some subjects, leaving gaps in pupils’ knowledge unaddressed.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.