Quernmore Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Overview: Quernmore Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School continues to be a good school, where pupils feel safe and happy, and are well-prepared for the next stages in their education. The school's motto of being 'rooted and grounded in love' describes the school well, with pupils describing it as 'one big family'. Pupils rise to the school's high expectations of their achievement, and most pupils achieve well.

Strengths:

• Pupils feel safe and happy, and know that adults care about them.
• Pupils value the support that they receive and trust that there is always an adult available to help them if they are worried.
• The school's curriculum is thoughtful and carefully considers the needs of pupils, from the early years through to the end of key stage 2.
• Teachers explain new ideas clearly and are knowledgeable about the subjects that they teach.
• The school supports pupils' wider development well, with a range of after-school clubs and opportunities for residential trips.

Areas to improve:

• In a small number of subjects, teachers do not use assessment strategies well enough to identify exactly where pupils have gaps in their learning.
• At times, the early reading and phonics curriculum is not delivered as clearly and precisely as it could be, which slows some pupils' progress in becoming confident and fluent readers.

Safeguarding: The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.