The Avenue Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 1 March 2023

Leaders are ambitious for every pupil to achieve well. Pupils benefit from a high-quality curriculum in many subjects. Pupils value and follow 'The Golden Rules', as do staff. The rules of being kind, gentle, honest and respectful help staff to ensure a calm and respectful environment where pupils learn well. Pupils say they enjoy assemblies about the golden rules because these help everyone to get along. Pupils are eager to contribute to lessons. Most pupils focus well, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They are supported effectively by staff, who know how to manage individual needs well. This means that lessons are rarely disrupted. Pupils value the staff, who help them to resolve friendship problems. They say that this helps to prevent bullying. Pupils know about different types of bullying and unkind behaviour. Bullying is rare. When it occurs, staff act quickly to sort it out. This helps pupils to feel safe. Leaders are determined that every pupil contributes towards their school and wider community. Pupils learn leadership skills through a range of roles, such as being a member of the junior leadership team. They enjoy meeting with the head of school to represent all pupils in having a say about the choice of after-school clubs and sports.

What the school should improve

• In some foundation subjects, such as history, leaders have not identified the precise component knowledge that pupils need to learn at each stage. Pupils do not have the opportunity to regularly revisit key knowledge and skills. As a result, pupils are not sufficiently able to connect their current learning with previous learning. Leaders should ensure that the curriculums for foundation subjects set out the knowledge and skills pupils need to know and when. They must ensure that there are opportunities for pupils to revisit knowledge so that pupils are well prepared for future learning.
• The books that some pupils read in key stage 1 do not match their phonic knowledge. This means some pupils do not develop their fluency when reading independently. Leaders need to ensure that all pupils receive books that match the sounds they know so that every pupil can practise reading to build fluency and confidence.

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