Arksey Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Arksey Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

All members of this community show that they are 'Arksey proud.' This pride comes from a strong sense of belonging and togetherness. The school is an extremely happy place to be.

Leaders have high expectations for what they want pupils to achieve and for the way they want pupils to treat each other.

Pupils enjoy school because of the exciting curriculum they are taught. They achieve particularly well in English and mathematics and are gaining a broadening knowledge across all subjects.

Pupils feel respected by staff and this means they treat others with respect. They show t...his in the way they help each other in lessons and how they speak to each other with kindness. Pupils talk about how safe they feel in school and say that bullying does not happen.

As one pupil said, 'Everybody here has kind hands, kind hearts, kind eyes, and kind words'. Pupils thrive from being within an environment of trust, respect and care.

Pupils are polite, considerate of others and hard-working.

Staff make sure that any pupils who need help or reminders about making positive behaviour choices receive this in a caring and considerate way.

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

Leaders have created an exciting curriculum which pupils are enthusiastic to participate in. Leaders at all levels are very clear in their desire to give pupils a broad and ambitious set of skills and knowledge across all subjects.

Careful thought has been given to what pupils are taught and the order in which this is delivered. For example, pupils are taught about bridge structures in design and technology after they have explored London Bridge as part of their history topic. Pupils use high-quality vocabulary to explain their learning and understanding in different subjects.

Teachers skilfully use activities at the beginning of units of work to find out what pupils already know. 'Presentation pieces' at the end of units of work are delivered by the pupils, who talk with excitement and pride about what they have learned and the improvements they have made. Within lessons, teachers use information about what pupils already know to plan future learning.

In the wider curriculum subjects, the assessment strategies in place do not always give leaders precise enough detail about the impact of the curriculum.

Leaders have made the teaching of reading both a priority and a strength. A phonics curriculum is taught on a daily basis with high levels of consistency and passion.

Staff are dedicated to getting pupils to read. Phonics teaching starts in Reception and every teacher of reading is an expert in giving pupils the help they need to be fluent and confident readers. Older pupils who need help with reading are well supported.

One pupil enthusiastically shared that, 'I know I am a better reader because I am a free reader now!' This love of reading is used to give pupils access to carefully chosen texts which teach them about different types of families, different types of relationships and issues they need understanding of as they go into the wider world.

Leaders have made sure that there are clear systems in place for the early identification and support of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. This support helps pupils to access the ambitious curriculum and to receive targeted support for the areas they find more challenging.

Pupils develop a well-developed sense of right and wrong. They develop strong character because of the positive atmosphere in which they learn and the way they are spoken to by staff. Leaders have thought about how to teach pupils about intolerance and discrimination and how to challenge this.

Leaders have also considered the long-term careers and aspirations of pupils by working with local secondary schools to make sure that what pupils are taught links to what they will be taught when they move to the next stage of their education.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There are clear systems in place to help leaders identify any pupils and families who may need additional support.

Staff have strong relationships with families, which helps them to quickly see when more help may be needed. Leaders have created a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. Staff know how to support pupils to be safe, for example when teaching them about being online.

Staff know what to do if they have concerns. Leaders show a determination and tenacity to make sure that external support is received by families and pupils when it is required.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders do not have a clear enough picture of the impact of the curriculum in some of the wider subjects.

As a result, leaders are not able to precisely identify where they need to place their greatest attention to further develop individual subjects. Leaders should ensure that the assessment systems and strategies in place are coherently and strategically used to support them to focus their future school improvement activities in the wider curriculum.

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

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged Arksey Primary School to be good in February 2017.

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