Colegate Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Colegate Community Primary is a happy school where children enjoy learning and spending time with their friends. Pupils know that their school values, 'respectful, enjoy, achieve, cooperate and honesty', help them to make the right choices.

Leaders have created a calm and caring environment where pupils feel safe and say that they are kept safe from bullying. Pupils trust that their teachers will sort out any problems. Right from the start, in the early years, adults' high expectations of children's behaviour ensure children behave well.

They are polite and show respect towards each other and the adults who care for them.

Pupils enjoy being praised by teacher...s which motivates them to try hard and strive to live up to leaders' high expectations. The headteacher and school leaders recently changed the curriculum design so that new plans will help pupils learn and remember the important knowledge they need.

However, there are some subjects, including mathematics, where teachers do not design learning that helps pupils to remember the intended curriculum. Leaders' new system to check on this is not fully developed.

All pupils enjoy opportunities to take part in additional experiences such as the annual Dance Festival at The Sage.

They participate in the wide range of after-school clubs, visits, and visitors. For example, visits to a Hindu Temple and mosque and visits from a Paralympian and author. Through these visits and visitors, pupils develop important personal qualities, such as respect and resilience.

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

Since the previous inspection, the school has been through a significant period of disruption, with many staffing and leadership changes. The headteacher has brought about stability in staff, who say they enjoy working at the school. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive.

Many leaders are new to their roles. Senior leaders have revised most curriculum subjects this academic year. In some subjects, for example, physical education (PE), this is fully implemented.

Leaders have not fully established all curriculum changes. This means that in several subjects, pupils are not able to remember the core pieces of knowledge that they need. Some leaders have begun to make the necessary checks to ensure the new curriculum is helping pupils to know more and remember more.

Although staff have recently accessed relevant training, leaders have not checked the impact of this training on teachers' subject knowledge.

In mathematics, teachers use resources from two different curriculum plans which do not always match the activities pupils are doing. As a result, sometimes, teachers' activity choices do not help pupils focus on the key learning that they need to be successful in the next activity.

The teaching of phonics and early reading is carefully planned, delivered and assessed. This helps pupils to learn to read accurately. Pupils who struggle to learn to read are quickly identified and given the support they need.

As a result, most pupils in key stage 2 have strategies to work out how to read unfamiliar words. Pupils enjoy reading and are confident about reading in subjects across the whole curriculum. Staff encourage pupils to develop a love of reading.

Pupils enjoy visits from authors, which they say encourages them to read regularly.

Apart from phonics, leaders have only recently introduced assessment for other subjects including reading, writing and mathematics. As a result, they do not know if teachers are using assessment effectively to check that pupils' earlier learning is secure or to inform what pupils need to learn next.

Leaders are skilled at identifying pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) provides teachers and teaching assistants with clear guidance to support pupils to access the curriculum. The SENCo and appropriate external agencies support staff to identify pupils' needs.

For example, staff with previous speech and language training, work alongside speech and language therapists to deliver additional sessions that accurately match pupils' needs. Pupils who speak English as an additional language (EAL) are supported well. They access the full range of national curriculum subjects.

Pupils' individual support plan targets are written in manageable small steps.

Leaders ensure that pupils develop their independence and understanding of the world. For example, pupils enjoy a range of roles and responsibilities such as school councillors or junior librarians.

Leaders promote the diversity of different communities, faiths and cultures.

Governors are supportive of the school. They have maintained a clear vision and strategy throughout the pandemic.

They recognise the need for further development of the curriculum. However, governors are too accepting of leaders' evaluations of the school's performance. Governors have not developed their approach as to how they will thoroughly challenge leaders more, about pupils achieving well in all subjects.

In early years, staff help children to develop supportive relationships and clear routines. Leaders have ensured that developing children's communication and language is a priority. Children access language-rich learning, through songs, stories and conversations with adults.

Curriculum plans for subjects other than early reading do not include strong links to children's starting points in the early years. The foundations of knowledge for subjects such as history are not established in the early years.

Pupils play independently and harmoniously at breaktimes.

They know strategies to resolve disputes and that adults are always on hand to help. Pupils know how to be healthy physically and mentally. Leaders work well with parents to support them with issues that may prevent pupils from attending school regularly and on time.

Staff say that leaders are considerate of their well-being and workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that staff receive regular training so they know the signs that might indicate that a pupil is at risk from harm.

Staff know how to report their concerns.

Leaders have ensured policies and procedures are thorough. Leaders and staff know the children and families well.

They act quickly to seek additional support from outside agencies when it is needed.

The school makes pupils aware of safeguarding risks, including when they are working or playing online. Pupils know where to get help if they have concerns.

Older pupils understand the characteristics of healthy relationships.

Recruitment checks are thorough. Leaders ensure these checks are accurately recorded.

Governors understand their responsibilities with regards to safeguarding.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Curriculum design for some core and foundation subjects, including history and mathematics, are in the very early stages of being implemented across key stages 1 and 2. As a result, some pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

Subject leaders do not ensure that their subjects closely link with the early years curriculum to inform what pupils learn in key stage 1. Leaders should ensure that they continue to roll out their new curriculums in the foundation subjects, and that they are well delivered by teachers, so that pupils learn more of the intended curriculum. They should ensure that firm foundations for each curriculum subject are established in early years and consistently built upon across the school.

• Assessment has been recently introduced. This means that leaders do not have a clear enough view of how well pupils are remembering the intended curriculum. Leaders should ensure that all teachers know how to implement the curriculum plans and check on the impact of these.

Leaders should also make sure that assessment helps teachers check what pupils know and can do, to identify what pupils need to learn next. ? In most subjects, the curriculum design is new. Staff have recently accessed relevant training on the curriculum subjects.

Subject leaders have not had sufficient time to check that teachers are consistently teaching the intended curriculum. This means that leaders do not know enough about the quality of pupils' learning. They should find efficient ways to check whether teaching is enabling pupils to know and remember the content of the recently designed curriculum.

Governors rely too much on leaders' evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the school rather than checking it for themselves. Governors do not have rigorous systems for evaluating the school's systems. They need to ensure their expertise is used to rigorously monitor and check progress towards key priorities to secure further school improvement.