Allenby Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Allenby Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very happy to attend Allenby Primary. They demonstrate the school's values in all their interactions.

Pupils are confident and articulate. Their opinions are valued. Pupils are encouraged to share their ideas to improve their school and 'be the change'.

The school's 'learning friends', such as 'Olly owl', remind and guide them how to do this.

Pupils feel safe. Behaviour in lessons and around the school is calm, and there is no disruption to learning.

Pupils play together happily at breaktimes in a well-resourced outdoor area.

Pupils' attend reg...ularly and try to rise to the school's high expectations. The well-designed curriculum reflects the pupils and the community, and it is thoughtfully linked with pupils' wider experiences.

Pupils achieve well and learn the knowledge they need to be successful at the next stage of their education.

Pupils get many opportunities to be problem-solvers through the curriculum and school life. They use these skills to take on various responsibilities in the school.

These include roles that are linked to their work on understanding children's rights. These roles allow pupils to contribute to the whole-school community, where they suggest fundraising ideas or changes to make the school even better.

Pupils are welcoming.

They show a genuine interest in new people, places and different points of view. Pupils are taught how to debate and value the contributions of others. They keenly discuss and demonstrate what they know.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Reading is prioritised in the school. There is a sharp focus on learning to read as soon as children start school. Staff have high levels of expertise and confidence in teaching phonics because there is regular training and development.

The school provides parents and carers with lots of guidance and resources to help them to support their child with reading at home. Leaders regularly check that the early reading curriculum is implemented well. They provide modelling for staff to help them understand how to make improvements.

Pupils quickly learn to read. Those who need additional support are quickly identified and the right help is put in place.

Pupils benefit from an ambitious curriculum in this school.

They are fascinated by what they learn. Teachers provide opportunities for pupils to discuss prior learning in every lesson. As a result, pupils can talk about their learning with confidence.

Pupils ask insightful questions in lessons and make links with what they have learned before, including in other subjects. For example, in history, pupils develop a good understanding of chronology. They use this to make comparisons between historical periods over time.

The curriculum is well constructed. Children in early years benefit from well-considered opportunities to develop their understanding of number. In mathematics, older pupils enjoy opportunities to reason and problem solve, which improves their fluency.

They remember the important knowledge they need over time. The school has effective approaches in place to check what pupils know and can remember. Teachers adapt what is taught to help pupils fill any gaps in their knowledge.

As a result, pupils achieve well across the curriculum. In some subjects, the curriculum has recently been refined, with the aim of strengthening pupils' achievement further. In some instances, these changes are still embedding.

As a result, there are times where curriculum delivery does not reflect the school's expectations. This means that, at present, some pupils do not know and remember as much as the school intends.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported throughout the school.

Their needs are identified early. Precise plans are put in place so that staff know how to help them. Pupils with SEND are fully included in lessons and receive the support they need to succeed.

The school has prioritised training for staff so that they know how to support pupils with SEND effectively.

Pupils access a variety of clubs, competitions and leadership opportunities, which are planned to develop their character. Pupils are excited by the awards presented during celebration assemblies.

Pupils talk about how much they enjoy celebrating the cultural diversity and inclusivity of their school. Well-trained staff teach age-appropriate personal, social and health education (PSHE). Like many other aspects of the school, the PSHE curriculum is rooted in helping pupils to understand their rights and responsibilities, with a different theme considered each month.

Teachers set clear expectations for pupils' behaviour, and pupils adhere to these expectations well. This means that classroom areas are calm. The school works closely with families to ensure that pupils with additional social and emotional needs receive effective support.

This enables these pupils to participate fully in all aspects of school life. Pupils enjoy school and attend regularly. They arrive on time and ready to learn.

They rarely miss a day.

Leaders and governors know the school well. Governors understand their statutory duties.

They maintain an accurate picture of the school through regular visits. Leaders have prioritised the well-being of staff. Staff are well supported by the senior leadership team.

They are proud to work in this school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, curriculum thinking has been recently refined, and the school is working on embedding these changes into classroom practice.

It is too early to see the impact of these changes in full. Leaders should check that these changes have the desired impact so that pupils achieve as well in these subjects as in others.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in June 2014.