Castleside Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that they enjoy school because it is welcoming and fun. They make sure new pupils feel at home. Behaviour is good and bullying is rare in the extreme.

Pupils' manners are impeccable. Pupils know the school rules and respond to the high expectations teachers have of them. If pupils do fall out with each other, they say that teachers expect them to resolve the issue themselves.

Pupils know that there will come a time when teachers will not be there to do it. Pupils love earning house points and trying to win the weekly competition.

Pupils appreciate the 'zones of regulation' in each class.

They record how they feel every morning. Pupils know... that if they use the 'worry box', someone will talk to them and help. Mental health and well-being are very important in school.

Pupils know how to stay safe.

Music is part of the school's DNA. Pupils speak proudly of the musical instruments they play.

These include trumpet, violin, piano and keyboard. Many take part in the choir that performs to a high standard in venues across the region.

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

Leaders have worked hard to make sure that pupils kept learning and reading during the periods when schools were only open to some pupils due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Recently, leaders introduced a new approach to teaching phonics. Phonics lessons take place each day. In Reception, children recap sounds they know and learn a new sound daily.

They learn common words by sight that are more difficult to read, such as 'like'. Pupils take a book home each week to read on their own. Teachers choose books carefully so pupils can read every word.

This builds their confidence. By the end of Year 2, pupils are reading fluently and with expression. Pupils love reading and books.

They speak with enthusiasm about the 'little library' in the hall and the revamped school library. Pupils know their favourite authors and different types of book.

The curriculum structure in some subjects is of good quality.

Key ideas are identified, and the essential knowledge that pupils need at the end of each unit of work is listed. Checks are made by teachers to find out what pupils have remembered. Strong and skilled leadership in music has resulted in a highly effective curriculum.

Pupils learn how music is created. They build knowledge progressively. This includes learning to play tuned and untuned instruments.

This develops pupils' confidence, pride and self-belief. All pupils are involved, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The design of the music curriculum has developed a 'love of music' culture in school.

It helps raise pupils' aspirations.

The careful sequencing of learning in mathematics has sorted out issues caused by mixed-age classes. The cyclical design of the curriculum structure helps pupils build understanding.

Units of work are carefully planned. Pupils take small steps to build knowledge progressively and reach challenging end-points in units of work. Teachers check daily whether key knowledge has been learned.

More formal assessments are made each term. In other subjects, such as geography and design technology, curriculum thinking is not well developed. Leaders know that there is work to do in identifying key threads that run through learning.

They must decide the essential knowledge that pupils should know and remember. Teachers return to embed key mathematical ideas and knowledge over time. This is not the case for every subject.

Pupils have positive attitudes towards learning. They challenge themselves and do not give up. Rather than saying, 'this is too hard', they change their thinking to, 'this may take some time and effort'.

The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) secures the best support for pupils with SEND that she can. Teachers spot pupils' needs early. Alongside parents and carers, teachers plan extra support as 'short note targets'.

All pupils learn about health, well-being and relationships. Pupils play an important part in the life of the community. They take part in the Castleside Carnival, the lighting of the village Christmas tree, and 'A Street Near You', a project tracing casualties of the First World War.

One pupil designed a plaque for each house where a soldier had lived. Leaders use local landmarks, country walks, museums and other places of interest to bring learning to life.

Staff are uniformly positive about the school, especially about pupils' behaviour and school leaders.

They explain how leaders lead by example. They know that leaders provide personal support for them. Leaders make sure that staff feel valued and appreciated.

Governors know the school very well. Visits to school have resumed, which gives governors the information to ask questions of leaders. The precise planning from the headteacher and deputy headteacher has been pivotal to the school's recent improvement.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Detailed safeguarding training for all staff is up to date. Everyone knows how to spot even the tiniest concern.

Staff log these concerns in the online record-keeping system. Leaders can then connect different incidents or issues. Staff know pupils and their families very well.

Staff know when anything seems out of the ordinary. Leaders seek the support of specialist external partners when needed. The secretary runs a tight ship, with regular checks made on staff safeguarding documents.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe in and out of school. They know the steps to take if they have an issue online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the essential knowledge that pupils need is not specified.

Key ideas that thread through a subject to link intended learning are unclear. As a result, pupils do not build a secure knowledge of these subjects. Pupils are unable to connect new knowledge with what they have already learned.

A consistent approach to curriculum structure is not yet in place across all subjects. It is clear from leaders' actions that they are in the process of bringing this about. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied.