Astwood Bank Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Astwood Bank Primary School is an inclusive school. All pupils are welcomed by warm and friendly staff.

Pupils, parents and carers feel they are part of an extended family. There is a strong community spirit at this school.

Leaders pay serious attention to developing pupils' character.

All pupils have an extensive range of opportunities. This prepares them extremely well to become well-rounded citizens of the future. They actively support charities by raising awareness and money.

The extensive range of opportunities includes pupils running a café for parents. As part of this work, pupils learn skills such as budgeting. The curriculum for pupils' pers...onal development is exceptional.

The school has high expectations for pupils' behaviour. All pupils rise to these expectations and behave very well. They are proud to be part of the school.

Pupils wear the school badge with pride. They know the importance of representing their school positively.

Children's education begins with the strong foundations provided in the early years.

They are exceptionally supported from the very start. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are very well catered for. Their needs are identified early on.

Parents and the wider community speak positively of the school. They are highly supportive of leaders and staff. They feel great pride in their children attending Astwood Bank Primary School.

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

The curriculum is ambitious, including in the early years. It is well planned and carefully sequenced. This is particularly the case in mathematics.

Pupils learn key knowledge across all subjects in a logical way. Leaders place a strong emphasis on continually reviewing and developing the curriculum. In addition, staff present the content set out in the curriculum clearly most of the time.

However, in a minority of subjects, the work given to pupils does not consistently help them to achieve the aims of the ambitious curriculum. This means that pupils do not always learn the curriculum to the depth that leaders intend.

Teachers use effective strategies to check pupils' learning.

They use questions effectively, model clearly and demonstrate secure subject knowledge. In music, teachers model technical language and performance skills well. Consequently, pupils develop a secure understanding of a range of musical terms, such as octave, stave and clef.

They are able to perform confidently on tuned percussion instruments. In history, pupils talk in depth about cause and effect of key historical periods, such as the First and Second World Wars.

Systems to identify the needs of pupils with SEND are robust.

Needs are regularly reviewed and securely met. Staff have a strong knowledge for how to adapt the classroom environment and the curriculum to meet their needs.

Reading is celebrated and prioritised across the school.

The love and joy of reading are highly promoted. The curriculum is underpinned by the use of high-quality books and poetry. Pupils' love of reading is developed through a range of opportunities.

These include visits from authors and poets, poetry competitions and a '15 book challenge'. As part of this challenge, each year group experiences a new set of 15 books, which are diverse and thought provoking. All of this means that pupils talk about books and texts with great enthusiasm.

In addition, leaders prioritise the teaching of early reading. Phonics teaching starts as soon as children join in the early years. Adults quickly notice when pupils fall behind.

They then arrange extra support to help these pupils catch up. As a result, most pupils learn to read well. However, in some parts of the school, there is inconsistency in how the phonics programme is being delivered.

This slows down learning for some pupils.

Pupils behave exceptionally well at playtime and around school. A strong ethos of respect and kindness permeates the whole school.

Pupils are polite and articulate. Older pupils act as positive role models for younger pupils. Older pupils feel a deep sense of responsibility in showing younger pupils how to conduct themselves.

Relationships between staff and pupils across school are caring and extremely respectful. Pupils who need additional support to manage their emotions and behaviour are well supported. They receive targeted and nurturing care.

This support helps these pupils to improve their behaviour and to understand their emotions better.

Pupils have a strong understanding of the difference they can make in society. They are considerate to the needs of others.

They are kind and caring and treat everyone with respect. They know that showing these character traits will help to make the world a better place to live, both for themselves and others. Pupils have a wide range of extra-curricular clubs available to them.

These include nurture, origami and 'Quidditch'. Some clubs are also designed and led by older pupils at lunchtime.

Trust leaders and governors know the school well.

Staff say they are exceptionally well supported by the school and trust leaders. They feel that their professional development is taken seriously.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a minority of subjects, the work given to some pupils does not consistently enable them to achieve the aims of the curriculum. This means that pupils do not always secure a depth of knowledge and understanding across all topics. The school should ensure that the work that teachers give to pupils is closely matched to the ambitious aims of the intended curriculum.

• In some areas of the school, there is inconsistency in how the phonics curriculum is being delivered. This slows down pupils' learning. The school should support staff to develop their expertise in delivering the phonics curriculum effectively.

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