Shipham Church of England First School

Overview

Pupils enjoy attending this “welcoming and inclusive” school where they feel safe and are confident that staff will act promptly on their concerns. The school has successfully resolved previous weaknesses in learning behaviours and the curriculum, creating a “calm and purposeful environment” where pupils demonstrate positive attitudes and achieve well in core subjects.

Strengths

• Staff provide “high-quality pastoral support” and respond “calmly and sensitively” when pupils struggle with emotions.
• Early reading is strong, with staff quickly identifying pupils falling behind to help them “catch up” and become “confident readers”.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified quickly and receive effective support from external agencies, enabling them to “achieve well”.
• Personal development is enhanced through “rich developmental experiences” such as residential trips and clubs, fostering resilience and independence.
• The trust provides “strong support, guidance and challenge” which the school leadership welcomes and embraces.

Areas to improve

• In foundation subjects, the school has not fully established effective assessment systems to check pupils’ learning, meaning “gaps remain in pupils’ knowledge” for subsequent learning.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”