Frome Valley CofE First School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 January 2025

Pupils enjoy attending this school. Adults care for them well. This helps pupils to be happy and secure. Nevertheless, the quality of education they receive requires improvement. Pupils sometimes complete work that does not help them to learn well. Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not receive the right adaptations they need for learning. New leaders are ambitious for the school. However, while pupils learn some parts of the curriculum securely, they can learn more than they do currently. Pupils behave well in the classroom and at social times. They have positive attitudes to learning. Pupils try their best in lessons, even when the curriculum is not well matched to their needs. They know that adults will help them address any worries they may have. In the early years, children listen well to adults' instructions. They sustain concentration on tasks independently. Pupils benefit from a range of clubs, such as scootering, gardening and dance. This allows them to experience new interests. Pupils develop their leadership skills through different roles in the school. For example, the eco-group helps to promote healthy eating. Pupils learn to be out of their comfort zone through a residential trip.

What the school should improve

• Some staff do not have the expertise needed to implement the curriculum effectively. They do not consistently plan work that deepens pupils' knowledge or matches the intended curriculum. As a result, some pupils do not develop new knowledge as securely as they should. The trust must ensure that staff have the skills to teach effectively so that pupils can progress well through the intended curriculum.
• Staff do not provide some pupils with SEND with the necessary adaptations to help them learn well. They sometimes give these pupils tasks that are too hard. When this happens, they do not learn well. The trust must ensure that staff have the skills to provide all pupils with SEND with the necessary support or adaptations to help them achieve well.
• The school has not considered how learning develops well enough from the pre-school until the end of the Reception Year. As a result, children do not build on their prior learning securely across some of the curriculum. The trust needs to ensure that the curriculum is carefully considered from the provision for two year olds to the end of the Reception Year so that children's knowledge and skills build sequentially in the early years.
• The school has not accurately identified the gaps in phonics knowledge for a small number of pupils who have fallen behind in reading. As a result, these pupils have words in their reading books that they cannot decode independently. The trust needs to support staff to accurately assess pupils' phonics gaps so that they become fluent and confident readers.

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