Ridgeway Primary Academy

Overview: Ridgeway Primary Academy is a good school where pupils are happy, secure, and valued. They achieve well and develop their leadership skills through various roles and activities. The school has high expectations of every pupil, including those with SEND, and provides engaging lessons that provide practical learning experiences.

Strengths:

• Pupils are happy and feel safe, with adults listening to them and supporting them with any worries.
• Pupils meet the school's high expectations and achieve well, with those with SEND achieving particularly well.
• The school's curriculum is well-designed, with engaging lessons that provide practical learning experiences.
• Phonics teaching is a strength of the school, with well-trained staff delivering the phonics programme effectively.
• Pupils become fluent and enthusiastic readers, with those who need extra help receiving the support they need.

Areas to improve:

• In a few subjects, pupils do not remember what has previously been taught, resulting in some gaps in pupils' knowledge. The school should develop and implement strategies to help pupils remember important content and build pupils' understanding.
• At times, the activities in the early years are not sharply focused on helping the children embed or move forward with their learning. The school should ensure that continuous provision learning activities give children the chance to consolidate and/or learn key knowledge and skills.
• Some parents have concerns about different aspects of the school's work, including communication and interaction with the school. The trust and school should review and further strengthen their work with parents to secure the confidence of these parents.

Safeguarding: The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.