Queen's Crescent School

Overview

The report describes a school where “everyone is welcome” and pupils feel “safe and well supported” due to positive relationships with adults. Leaders are “ambitious for all pupils,” including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, ensuring a “good quality education” with high expectations from the Reception Year.

Strengths

• Pupils are “keen to learn” in a “calm and purposeful atmosphere,” with bullying described as “rare.”
• Reading is a strong priority; an “effective phonics programme” helps pupils build words and read “fluently.”
• The curriculum in mathematics allows pupils to explain understanding using “accurate and precise vocabulary.”
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities “progress well through the curriculum alongside their peers.”
• Personal development is robust, with pupils learning about “consent,” “positive relationships,” and mental health through activities like yoga.

Areas to improve

• In some wider curriculum subjects, “the essential knowledge that leaders want pupils to learn has not been identified,” leading to gaps in what pupils know.
• Assessment is “not used effectively” in these subjects, meaning leaders lack an accurate picture of pupil retention.
• Leaders must “identify the key knowledge they want pupils to learn and check pupils’ understanding more effectively.”

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are “effective,” with staff well trained to identify signs of harm and working with external agencies to keep pupils safe.