Carr Hill Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Carr Hill Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Carr Hill Primary is a happy and caring school where pupils love to learn.

Their positive attitudes towards fellow pupils and staff create a typically calm and purposeful learning environment.

Pupils feel safe. They value the high levels of pastoral and academic support that staff give them.

Pupils' positive behaviours are an absolute strength of this school. Pupils are polite and courteous to all members of the school community. Bullying is rare at this school.

When it does occur, staff sort it out quickly and effectively.

Leaders are ambitio...us for all pupils in school, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders ensure that the curriculum is taught well and meets the needs of all pupils.

Pupils enjoy the learning that their teachers provide. They are keen to answer questions and to take part in educational activities.

Pupils receive a very good diet of wider personal development.

Leaders are highly committed to offering many varied and rich experiences for pupils. Pupils value the different opportunities they have to extend their learning beyond the classroom. This includes, for example, educational visits to London, the Scottish borders and the Houses of Parliament, an art club run by a nationally known gallery, football, dance, singing and multi-sports clubs.

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

Leaders have established a well-ordered and well-designed curriculum, from the early years to key stage 2, that meets pupils' needs, including those with SEND. Leaders have thought carefully about what pupils need to learn in each area of the curriculum. They have broken down the planned learning into small steps.

These steps help pupils to build the planned body of knowledge and skills over time. Leaders have also identified the vocabulary associated with each subject area. For example, Year 3 pupils in mathematics use numerator and denominator confidently.

Pupils make strong progress across a range of subjects over time.

Staff ensure that pupils with SEND access the full curriculum. Teachers adapt plans and provide additional resources to support this.

As a result, pupils with SEND learn a great deal.

Teachers regularly check how well pupils have learned and remembered essential knowledge. However, on some occasions, teachers do not identify or address gaps in pupils' learning sufficiently well.

Consequently, a few pupils develop misunderstandings and misconceptions.Leaders are determined that all pupils learn to read well. All staff deliver the phonics curriculum very well.

They make sure that pupils practise their reading by using books that closely match the sounds they know. Staff support pupils with gaps in their reading knowledge to catch up quickly. Across school, pupils talk positively about the opportunities, and the range of books, they have to read in school.

For example, at breaktime, pupils sit together to enjoy reading independently or listening to an adult reading.

Children in early years settle into routines quickly. They learn to take turns, and they share equipment well.

They learn to read, write and understand mathematics very well. For example, children are confident in talking about different shapes, including identifying how many sides or corners they have and where they can see them around their classroom. Children enjoy reading and listening to a wide variety of books, rhymes and songs.

This helps them to develop their phonic skills. Staff work with parents and carers to identify any children with particular needs. Support for these children is then quickly put in place.

Pupils show very positive attitudes in their lessons. They behave extremely well, and there are no disturbances to their learning. There is a calm atmosphere across the school, which enables pupils to learn.

Pastoral development is a strength of the school. Leaders have designed and implemented an extensive personal development curriculum. Pupils have their learning brought to life through carefully planned visits and experiences.

For example, the school choir performed at the ceremony in Gateshead for people who are taking on British nationality. Pupils are highly supportive of each other. They are very conscious of the challenges some pupils may have experienced before coming to this country and to their school.

Pupils develop a strong understanding of fundamental British values. Pupils recognise that everyone is different and that difference should be celebrated. As one pupil said, 'We might be different on the outside, but we're all the same inside.'



Governors understand the school and the community it serves very well. The expertise of governors contributes successfully to improvements in the quality of education. Staff appreciate the support they receive from leaders.

They feel valued and appreciated. Staff welcome the strong sense of family and teamwork they experience.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Pupils' safety is of the utmost importance at this school. Leaders provide thorough training and regular safeguarding updates for staff. Staff know precisely what to do if they are concerned about the safety or welfare of a pupil.

They follow the school's robust reporting procedures. When necessary, leaders work with external organisations to ensure that pupils promptly get the specialist support they need.

The governor with responsibility for safeguarding provides highly effective support and challenge to leaders.

Leaders adapt the curriculum skilfully to ensure that pupils are taught to keep themselves safe. Pupils say that they feel safe in school.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• On some occasions, teachers do not consistently check if pupils have learned and remembered the essential knowledge contained within the curriculum.

Consequently, some pupils develop misconceptions and misunderstandings. Leaders should ensure that teachers identify and address any deficits in pupils' knowledge as a matter of course and remedy any misunderstandings well.

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

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

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 2013.