Riverview CofE Primary and Nursery School VA

Overview

The report describes a school where pupils benefit from staff’s “high aspirations” and a “focused learning atmosphere.” Leaders have established an “ambitious curriculum” that provides a secure foundation, particularly in English and mathematics, fostering a community where pupils feel “welcomed and included.”

Strengths

• Staff model expectations effectively, creating “calm and happy environments” where bullying is handled “swiftly and effectively.”
• Reading is a “strength of the school’s provision,” with intensive support ensuring weaker readers and pupils with SEND achieve well.
• The curriculum is “firmly established” in core subjects, with teachers using questions well to check understanding and adapt to misconceptions.
• Pupils develop resilience and a sense of community through opportunities such as hiking in Snowdonia and visiting the ‘library bus’.
• Leaders engage constructively with staff and parents, creating a culture where families feel part of a community and governors “support and challenge leaders effectively.”

Areas to improve

• Leaders must reduce pupils’ absence and persistent absenteeism further, as current actions have not yet had a “consistently positive impact.”
• Leaders should ensure teachers’ subject knowledge is “equally strong across all subjects,” as explanations in a few subjects are not always clear enough.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are “effective,” with staff being “knowledgeable about keeping children safe” and leaders working closely with external agencies to secure necessary support.