Topsham School has been rated 'good' at a recent Ofsted inspection. 

The report, published on the Ofsted website on January 16, praised the pupils' broad and balanced curriculum and staff revisiting prior learning to find out what pupils remember.

The report said: "However, in some subjects, key knowledge is not always identified precisely or taught consistently well. Leaders have robust plans in place to address this.

"Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. They demonstrate the ‘Topsham Values’ and wider British values successfully in school.

"Leaders have developed strong personal, social and health education and religious education curriculums. Pupils understand and talk with confidence about different religious beliefs and cultures."

The report went onto say: "Students respect the differences of others. Pupils learn about the importance of physical and mental health, for example through yoga. Leaders invite visitors into school to teach pupils about life beyond their local area."

The report also said that the "Safeguarding team ensures that safeguarding is ‘everyone’s responsibility’. Staff receive regular training. They are vigilant in reporting any concerns.

"Leaders work with families and external agencies to ensure pupils get the help that they need as soon as they need it. This supports pupils to feel safe. Leaders make robust checks when new staff join the school."

The school was given these things to improve on: "In some subjects, including reading, the curriculum needs further strengthening. Sometimes, the expectations for what pupils should learn are not planned for explicitly or taught well enough.

"Leaders need to ensure that what pupils should know is clearly identified and consistently taught well, so that pupils learn successfully.

"Staff identify the needs of pupils with SEND well. However, sometimes, provision and targets are not precise enough to support pupils. Leaders should check the effectiveness of the support provided for pupils with SEND, so that all pupils follow the curriculum successfully."

Ofsted have four ratings to inspect schools across the country: inadequate, requires improvement, good and outstanding. Topsham School was last inspected in 2017 when it was rated good.

You can read Ofsted's full report on Topsham School on their website here - 50204893 (ofsted.gov.uk)