Arkwright Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are looked after well at this school. They are nurtured and get the emotional support they need. As one pupil said, 'There's always someone to talk to.

If we've got any worries, staff listen to us.' Staff know pupils well.

Behaviour is positive.

Pupils understand the behaviour management system. They say that this helps everyone to behave and to work hard. Pupils who need help to follow the school's rules are supported equally well by staff and their peers.

Pupils do their best to live up to leaders' expectations to 'be the best that you can be'.

Pupils take their roles of playground leaders and librarians seriously. The work of the s...chool council is important to pupils.

They are proud of their fundraising work for charity. Pupils are looking forward to the arrival of the new friendship bench that the school council has recently purchased.

Pupils say that they feel safe and that bullying is rare.

If bullying occurs, staff deal with it swiftly and effectively.

Pupils work hard in lessons. However, parts of the curriculum are not yet well planned and sequenced.

This means that pupils do not receive a good quality of education.

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

Reading is taught effectively. The school's phonics programme is well planned and sequenced.

Staff have been trained to deliver the programme effectively and it is taught consistently well. Pupils enjoy phonics lessons and remember the sounds that they have being taught. Beyond phonics, the reading curriculum makes clear what pupils should know and be able to do at each stage of their education.

Pupils enjoy reading. They read a wide range of texts during their time at the school. They are motivated by the rewards that they can earn, including use of the school's book-vending machine.

Parts of the curriculum, including mathematics and personal, social and health education (PSHE), are well planned and sequenced. However, some subjects are not. In too many subjects, the curriculum does not make clear how pupils will build their knowledge incrementally over time.

As a result, pupils' acquisition of the knowledge they are expected to learn across the curriculum is inconsistent. This means that pupils are able to recall the intended learning in some subjects better than in others.

Children in early years enjoy their learning.

They make the most of the activities that are on offer, both in the classroom and outdoors. However, the curriculum in early years is not well planned or sequenced. It does not set out what children are expected to learn in the different areas of learning across early years.

In lessons, there is an inconsistent expectation of how children should pay attention and respond to adults. As a result, the help that children get to develop their communication and language skills is inconsistent. This means that children are not doing as well as they could in early years.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are catered for well. The special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator (SENCo) has ensured that the needs of these pupils have been identified. The help that they need is set out clearly in education plans.

All staff understand their role in developing the plans and delivering the curriculum for these pupils.

Pupils' personal development is underpinned by a well-planned and sequenced curriculum for PSHE. Pupils describe the school as being inclusive.

They understand that families can be made up of a range of different relationships. They know that everyone should be treated equally. Older pupils know about forced marriage and why this is wrong.

Pupils make good use of the range of clubs and activities that are available to them, including sporting activities, computing and the high-school musical club.

Senior leaders have ensured that the school sits at the heart of the community it serves. Pupils and parents and carers hold the school in high regard and know that they can go there for support and advice if they need these.

However, other aspects of leadership are not as strong. For instance, the quality of education provided is not yet good. Also, leaders do not have a detailed enough understanding of trends in pupils' behaviour and exclusions.

While these are recorded, incidents are not routinely evaluated for patterns over time as a means to identify and prevent triggers of poor behaviour.

Governors are committed to the school. They are ambitious.

However, they rely too much on what senior leaders tell them. They do not use a wide enough range of evidence to check independently on how things are getting on in the school. Consequently, they do not provide sufficient challenge around the use of alternative provision, the use of exclusion or the effectiveness of spending of additional funding.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff know pupils well. They are alert to any signs or indicators that pupils need help.

Concerns are recorded so that detailed information is built up over time. Leaders act quickly to ensure that pupils get appropriate help or support if needed. The school's pastoral support leader offers a wide range of support to pupils and their families.

Pupils feel safe in school. They know that they can turn to any member of staff if they are unhappy or have a concern. Pupils know that they can get help by putting a message in one of the many worry boxes around the school.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum for pupils in key stages 1 and 2 is not fully planned and sequenced. This means that pupils do not consistently acquire knowledge and develop skills cumulatively, across all subjects. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is fully planned and clearly sequenced, and makes clear what pupils should know and remember at each stage of their education.

• The early years curriculum is not well planned and sequenced. It does not set out what children should achieve during their time in early years across each of the areas of learning. This means that children do not learn the curriculum in a well-sequenced manner.

Leaders should ensure that the early years curriculum is well planned and sequenced across all areas of learning, so that children are able to be well prepared for Year 1. ? There is an inconsistent expectation of how children should pay attention and communicate with adults during their time in early years. As a result, some children do not receive the help they need to develop their communication and language skills.

Leaders should ensure that adults consistently expect children in early years to develop and use communication and language skills that are appropriate for their age and stage of development. ? Senior leaders do not evaluate patterns in behaviour and exclusions closely enough. This means that they are unable to see trends or make comparisons over time.

Leaders should ensure that they regularly check and evaluate incidents of behaviour and exclusions over time. This will help them to identify how they can support the behaviour of individual pupils who are at risk of misbehaving. ? Governors do not use a wide enough range of evidence to check independently on how effectively and quickly senior leaders are improving the school.

This means that governors do not provide sufficient challenge to school leaders for the curriculum, use of alternative provision, rates of exclusion or the effectiveness of additional funding. Governors should ensure that they use a wide range of evidence to hold leaders to account for all aspects of provision. This is to accelerate the rate of improvement.