Carfield Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Following the school's last inspection, leaders have continued to work hard to improve the school in the absence of the acting headteacher.

They are currently making multiple changes to the whole-school curriculum, including the wider personal development offer. These changes demonstrate that leaders have high expectations for every child. However, these expectations are not yet being realised in practice.

Leaders do not consistently check that the changes they are making are having a positive impact on pupil achievement.

Pupils are happy and confident. Leaders' improvements to safeguarding arrangements and practices in the school mean that pupils feel safe a...nd are safe.

The learning environment is generally calm and purposeful. Many pupils behave well, but there are some pupils who display challenging behaviour. This sometimes causes disruption to learning.

Leaders have implemented a new behaviour policy. Pupils and staff show an understanding of this, but it is not yet adhered to or applied consistently across the school. Bullying is not a problem here.

Pupils are confident that bullying would be sorted out quickly if it happened.

Leaders plan a range of opportunities to enrich pupils' experience at school and to develop their talents and interests. Pupils can take part in sports clubs, learn to play an instrument or be part of initiatives such as the 'eco squad'.

Educational visits and visitors to school enhance learning across the curriculum.

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

Leaders have reviewed the whole-school curriculum, including the curriculum in early years. As a result, the curriculums in many subjects are new.

Leaders have identified the key knowledge that they want pupils to learn. However, sometimes, for example in history, teachers do not make appropriate choices about the resources and teaching materials to use so that pupils acquire this knowledge. As a result, pupils' attitudes to learning vary and they find it difficult to talk about their learning.

Leaders are working to further develop the way that teachers check what pupils know and remember.

The curriculum in the early years is logically organised and sequenced. Teachers are not fully aware of how to personalise the curriculum to meet the needs of the children in their class.

The interactions that take place between adults and children are not sharply focused on extending children's language and learning. The purpose of some activities within the provision is not clear and, as a result, children do not always engage with activities in the way that adults intend. There are several opportunities within the provision for children to develop early mathematical skills.

Reading, however, does not have a high profile within the setting, despite leaders understanding that reading needs to be a priority.

The programme for teaching phonics is embedded across the school. All adults teach phonics consistently.

Pupils' reading books match the sounds that they know. Sometimes, pupils find the 'tricky words' in their books hard to read. Adults quickly identify any pupils who are struggling to learn to read.

They support pupils to catch up by using small-group interventions. Most of these interventions are taught by skilled staff. Leaders are developing the culture of reading for pleasure in the school.

Pupils' attitudes towards reading are mixed. The texts that teachers choose to use in some reading lessons do not engage and inspire pupils in the same way that some of the other texts used in school do.

Leaders have focused on the early and accurate identification of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Teachers, with the support of the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator (SENDCo), use effective strategies to support these pupils to access the curriculum alongside their peers. Support plans are generally detailed. However, some plans for pupils with more complex needs lack precision.

Interventions are used to support some pupils with SEND, but the adults who deliver these have not always had the required training.

Leaders have carefully considered how to promote the positive personal development of pupils. However, this is not yet embedded.

Pupils' knowledge and understanding of several aspects within the personal development curriculum are limited. Pupils know that they are taught about equality and diversity, but they do not demonstrate respect and tolerance for others consistently. Their knowledge of different faiths is sometimes jumbled.

Pupils can talk about how to stay physically and mentally healthy. They also know some ways to keep themselves safe online and offline.

Leaders are determined to bring about some stability and reassurance for staff and pupils during what is currently an unsettled period for the school.

Governors are supporting them effectively to do this and are fulfilling their statutory duties. Results from the parent survey show that some parents and carers have concerns about the communication they receive from the school. Leaders are taking action to address this.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Since the last inspection, leaders have further improved the safeguarding arrangements in the school. Appropriate procedures are in place to ensure that the right staff are recruited.

Staff and governors receive regular safeguarding training and updates. They speak confidently about the action they would take if they had concerns about a pupil or a member of staff. Safeguarding records are detailed and demonstrate that staff take timely and appropriate action, including enlisting the support of external agencies when necessary.

Leaders are adapting the curriculum so that there is a sharper focus on how pupils learn to keep themselves safe.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculums for many subjects, including in the early years, are not yet implemented as intended by leaders. This means that pupils are not learning and remembering the key knowledge that has been identified on curriculum plans.

Leaders should ensure that their expectations for the delivery of the curriculum are clear to teachers so that the quality of teaching becomes consistent across the school. Leaders should also ensure that clear systems are in place for checking what pupils know and remember. ? Support plans for some pupils with more complex SEND are not sufficiently detailed.

Targets are often too broad in nature. This means that those pupils do not receive the precise support that they need. Leaders should ensure that staff are adequately trained in both how to support these pupils and how to write more-specific targets so that pupils can achieve their full potential.

• The new behaviour policy is not yet embedded. It is not adhered to or applied consistently across the school. As a result, some pupils do not behave in line with the high expectations of leaders.

Pupils do not consistently show respect and tolerance for others. Leaders should ensure that the behaviour policy is used consistently by all staff and that high expectations are reinforced so that pupils' behaviour improves. ? Leaders, including subject leaders, do not always have an accurate oversight of their area of responsibility.

They do not consistently check that the changes that have been made are having an impact. This means that there is some variability in terms of the impact that some improvement strategies are having. Leaders should ensure that strong systems are put in place to check that their ambitious vision for the school is being realised in practice.