Castle Park School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a strong sense of belonging at this caring school. They are happy to be part of a community where they all work together.

Pupils told inspectors that everyone who is kind and considerate is welcome at their school. They are highly respectful about differences between themselves and others.

Over recent years, the school has raised its expectations for pupils' achievement further, including for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Typically, pupils rise to meet these aspirations. They strive for recognition for their hard work, including by receiving house points, 'gold bar' treats and certificates.

Pupils behav...e well during lessons and at social times.

They have positive attitudes towards their learning. Pupils know the importance of following the school's values and 'golden rules', which include being resilient and responsible. They know that they will learn well if they keep on trying, especially if they encounter difficulties.

Pupils enjoy a variety of rich experiences, which broaden their horizons. For example, they relish visits to art galleries, theatres, the church and other cities. Pupils participate in local shows, carnivals and sports tournaments.

They attend clubs in sports, arts and sewing. Pupils can also learn how to play a musical instrument.

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

The school has recently focused on improving its educational offer.

It has adopted a broad and balanced curriculum, which identifies the important knowledge that pupils should learn and the order in which teachers should introduce it. This begins from the provision for two-year-old children, who make a flying start to their early education.

Most pupils achieve well across a range of subjects.

They can recall their learning well, including how it connects to their prior knowledge. However, the school has not focused sufficiently on helping pupils to develop their written and spoken communication skills. This hinders some pupils' accuracy in their speech and in their written work.

Teachers have benefited from training and coaching that have helped them to develop their subject knowledge. This empowers them to deliver the curriculum well, for example by choosing appropriate learning activities. Teachers use a range of strategies to shape future learning.

Nonetheless, in some lessons, they do not check closely enough how well pupils are learning. At times, this means that some pupils make errors and have misunderstandings that go unchecked. They repeat these mistakes in subsequent work.

The school is tenacious in identifying pupils with SEND as quickly as possible. Staff are determined to understand and remove any barriers to learning that may exist. They work with external professionals, parents and carers to help pupils with SEND to learn well alongside their classmates.

The school has prioritised reading. It has constructed the curriculum around well-chosen, high-quality texts. The school has invested heavily in new books.

Pupils spend time in inviting reading areas in classrooms. They spoke of visits to book fairs and a 'book bus'.

Much of children's learning in the early years begins with the sharing of plentiful rhymes, stories and songs.

Staff are trained to deliver the phonics programme with fidelity, from the beginning of the Reception Year. Pupils practise reading from books that contain the sounds that they already know. If they struggle with reading, staff provide targeted and effective support to help them to learn to read well.

Pupils read widely and often.

Staff build nurturing relationships with pupils. In the classroom for two-year-old children, they gently encourage children to have a go and to develop their self-confidence.

Pupils are courteous and well mannered. They learn to share and take turns with others. This adds to the calm atmosphere across the school.

Most pupils have high attendance, and the school works effectively to support some families where this is not the case.

The school supports pupils' personal development well. Pupils learn how to stay safe and how to look after their health.

They develop leadership skills by being house captains and school councillors. Some pupils are training to become 'young leaders'. Eco-councillors have helped to make compost to plant flower seeds in the school's grounds.

Pupils raise money for charities, and those in the choir visit the local home for older people.

The trust and the local governing body work closely with the school, with a focus on the school's quality of education. Staff appreciate a collegiate approach, which facilitates them in honing their practice.

This enables them to fulfil their roles well. Staff told inspectors that they are excited to contribute towards the school's continual improvement.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school has not focused enough on developing pupils' written and spoken communication skills. This limits how well some pupils develop fluency and accuracy in their speech and in their writing. The school should ensure that staff better support pupils in securing the building blocks of knowledge that they will need for their next stages of education.

• From time to time, staff do not check precisely enough that pupils have understood new learning. This means that some pupils make mistakes that go unaddressed. The school should support staff in identifying and addressing these errors as they arise to help pupils to learn as well as they could.