Sundon Lower School

Overview

Sundon Lower School continues to be a good school, maintaining a "harmonious and happy community" where pupils value friendship and respect. Leaders have a shared vision for improvement following recent changes, including joining a new academy trust, and most pupils achieve well compared to their peers nationally.

Strengths

• Pupils behave well, responding to "high expectations for behaviour" and showing respect and consideration for others.
• The curriculum is clearly planned, with a specific focus on securing vocabulary to address the impact of the pandemic on language skills.
• Early reading is taught effectively from nursery, with rapid support provided for those needing help to catch up in phonics.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are quickly identified and receive detailed support, allowing them to make "sound progress."
• Older pupils are actively involved in decision-making, such as choosing charities to support and organising fundraising events.

Areas to improve

• Some staff do not consistently check on what pupils know and use this information to adjust teaching, meaning pupils sometimes miss out on the right help to secure new ideas.
• Some staff lack the strong subject knowledge needed to teach effectively, occasionally failing to explain things clearly or make links to prior learning, which limits some pupils’ achievement.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.