Castle Hill Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Castle Hill enjoy coming to school to see their friends and are enthusiastic about their learning. They maintain positive relationships with peers and adults in the school community.

Pupils benefit from the wide range of opportunities on offer to support their well-being. In turn, this helps them in becoming confident and resilient learners.

Staff have high expectations for pupils' behaviour and learning.

Pupils rise to these expectations. They typically achieve well and make positive progress through the curriculum from their individual starting points.

Pupils behave extremely well in class and around the school.

They embody the s...chool values of aspiration and respect, demonstrating a deep understanding of the school's code of conduct. Pupils readily support each other to consistently be 'safe, respectful, and ready'. Staff readily support any pupils who become distracted to refocus on their work and meet teachers' expectations.

Pupils relish the opportunities offered to them to take on responsibilities, such as being a prefect or 'well-being ambassador'. They understand how these roles help to prepare them for the future.

Pupils feel safe in this highly inclusive, caring and nurturing school.

They are taught how to keep themselves safe online and in the community.

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

The school offers an ambitious curriculum that reflects the breadth and depth of what is expected nationally. Subjects have been sequenced in a way that enables pupils to embed knowledge over time from the early years onwards.

For example, in mathematics, children in the Nursery learn to count and recognise numbers represented in different ways. This prepares them well for learning larger numbers and measurements later. Reading is made a high priority.

Pupils learn to read with fluency and accuracy. This is because they are taught by highly trained staff who follow the school's chosen reading programme consistently. The school checks how well children are learning to read.

This helps staff to quickly identify and support those who fall behind to catch up with their peers.

Teachers have secure subject knowledge and explain new learning clearly. Assessment is typically used well to check that pupils have understood what they are learning.

Teachers use this information to make effective adaptations to support pupils who may have misconceptions. Tasks and activities are well chosen and enable pupils to discuss, recap, rehearse and apply their learning. This helps pupils to know and remember more over time.

Support for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is a real strength. Staff ensure that these pupils benefit from familiar routines that help them to be ready to learn. Staff are skilled at adapting learning to meet a range of different needs.

Consequently, pupils with SEND access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers and achieve well.

Leaders are ambitious for outcomes at the end of key stage 2 to be stronger. For example, they have taken swift action to improve handwriting and spelling.

This is starting to have a positive impact on pupils' writing in English. However, the quality of pupils' writing in other subjects is not as strong. This is because technical errors are not identified and addressed as swiftly.

This limits the fluency and quality of work pupils produce.

Pupils' behaviour is exceptional. They conduct themselves with extremely high levels of maturity and integrity.

They are calm and orderly in lessons and at breaktimes. Pupils treat each other, staff and visitors with respect and are very kind to one another. Staff have high expectations for how pupils behave.

Pupils who struggle to remain calm are very well supported to identify and manage negative feelings. The school manages attendance well by working closely with families and other agencies.

The school ensures pupils are thoroughly prepared for life beyond school.

For example, pupils are taught to cook healthy meals and learn about why it is important to exercise. Pupils are taught to respect difference. They learn about and celebrate a range of religions, cultures, relationships and family structures through lessons, school events and assemblies.

Pupils benefit from a very broad range of opportunities to develop their talents and interests through clubs such as origami, arts and crafts, choir, yoga and boxing. From as early as Year 3, pupils develop independence through overnight stays and residential visits. Pupils are encouraged to be active citizens who raise money for charities and debate current affairs and issues.

School leaders, including trustees, make decisions in the best interests of pupils. They take effective action to make improvements to the school and support all pupils to achieve their best. Staff are appreciative of how leaders consider their well-being, professional development and workload.

Parents and carers are very positive about the work of the school and are grateful for the high-quality communication and support they receive from school staff.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Errors and misconceptions in pupils' writing across the curriculum are not identified and addressed in a timely way.

As a result, the quality of pupils' written work beyond English is not of a consistent fluency or quality. The school should ensure that pupils are given opportunity to develop their writing in different subjects. The school should also ensure that assessment is used consistently to identify and correct errors and misconceptions.

Also at this postcode