Deal Parochial Church of England Primary School

Overview: Deal Parochial Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school, with a palpable sense of care and community, where pupils are happy to come and are known well by staff. The school has a strong emphasis on reading, and pupils are resilient to setbacks and persevere with the support of staff.

Strengths:

• Leaders have made careful curriculum plans to map out the skills and knowledge that all pupils need to achieve.
• Teachers and staff model enthusiasm for learning in lessons, checking carefully that pupils understand what is being taught.
• Early reading is taught well, with staff having the expertise to teach phonics precisely and providing additional support for pupils who struggle to read with fluency.
• Pupils are focused and engage well with their learning, posing thoughtful questions and sharing what they know with staff and visitors.

Areas to improve:

• Leaders need to continue to develop a systematic process for supporting pupils to retain their learning over time, as pupils cannot consistently connect what they have learned to previous learning, nor can they remember this learning in the longer term.

Safeguarding: The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with a clear culture of safeguarding in the school, staff receiving training, and leaders making timely referrals to seek support from appropriate agencies.