Byron Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils' learning and behaviour. Pupils are keen to do their best to meet these aims.

They behave well and they like the way the school celebrates their achievements. School routines are clear and well established. These support children in the early years to make a strong start to their time in school.

Overall, pupils achieve well, and they enjoy being at school.

Pupils value having the chance to contribute to their school community. They are proud that the school's food bank collections help those in need.

After working with environmental organisations, pupils have campaigned to reduce plastic waste in school. Th...ey feel that staff are always willing to listen and help them.

The school helps pupils to become more resilient, and to communicate well with one another.

In the early years, staff help children to learn new games and to play imaginatively. Adventurous expeditions help to foster older pupils' self-confidence. Pupils can take part in a wide range of musical opportunities.

As well as the choir and instrumental lessons, pupils are supported to take part in musical productions at the local theatre. Pupils, parents and carers appreciate these and other opportunities that the school provides.

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

The school has made vital improvements across many aspects of pupils' learning.

Reading is central among these. Phonics is taught well, and straight away from the start of the Reception Year. Pupils enjoy the stories and other texts that staff provide for them.

Books are matched carefully to the letters and sounds that pupils know. Weaker readers catch up quickly thanks to personalised support. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), become confident readers.

Many areas of the curriculum have been changed in the last two years. In almost all subjects, teachers are clear about the knowledge and skills pupils should develop. They provide helpful explanations, tasks and resources that enable pupils to learn well.

However, there are variations in how well teachers build pupils' knowledge and, in particular, vocabulary in some subjects. Where this is strong, such as in religious education, pupils can explain their ideas with precision. At other times, pupils' grasp of the specific language needed for their learning is not as secure.

This results in them being unclear in aspects of their understanding.

Pupils' learning in key stage 2 is stronger than published outcomes indicate, especially in mathematics. Teachers make sure that pupils revisit and strengthen their understanding of topics they have studied before.

This helps all pupils, and particularly those with SEND, to embed new learning effectively. Pupils gain confidence in using their number skills to solve problems. In English and mathematics, teachers build up a detailed picture of what pupils know and can do.

Staff use this information to steer and shape further learning for pupils. However, in some subjects, teachers are not consistent about checking for mistakes in pupils' work. This can lead to some errors and gaps in pupils' knowledge persisting over time.

When new pupils join the school, teachers help them to catch up with current learning swiftly. Teachers are alert to identifying potential learning needs. Leaders make sure that all staff understand how to meet the needs of pupils with SEND.

Staff set out clear routines for the classroom. This helps to ensure that lesson time is productive for all pupils. Children in the early years quickly adopt the habits that the school intends.

Pupils who find it harder to manage their behaviour receive individual help from staff. The school offers substantial support for pupils' well-being, and for their families as well. From uniform swaps to home visits, the school works closely with parents.

This contributes to the strength of the school's efforts to improve attendance.

The school helps pupils to understand their diverse community. Pupils enjoy visiting a range of local places of worship.

Assemblies and workshops help them to understand rights and responsibilities. Pupils learn about positive relationships and how to keep themselves safe. If they need some space in which to think and reflect, the school supports this through supervised calm spaces at lunchtime.

The school and the trust have responded directly to previous weaknesses in the school. Leaders have strengthened teachers' knowledge of the curriculum and teaching strategies. Staff feel well supported by this, and by leaders' approach to considering their workload.

Those responsible for governance take an active role in supporting and challenging leaders. This helps to establish a culture of continuous improvement in the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some pupils do not develop the depth of knowledge and, in particular, vocabulary that the curriculum intends and requires of them. As a result, their written and spoken language can lack precision, hampering their readiness for the next stage of learning. The school must extend and deepen pupils' vocabulary and the specific knowledge that goes along with this.

• Teachers do not always check for and correct errors in pupils' work. This can lead to mistakes persisting and not being addressed quickly enough. The school needs to ensure that teachers are more systematic about identifying gaps in pupils' understanding and correcting them swiftly.