Darite Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school and the opportunities it offers them. They like taking on responsibilities.

Many take part in the eco-council and school council. Others take pride in their reading ambassador roles, enthusing younger children to read. Such activities help pupils to gain a sense of purpose and grow in confidence.

Pupils trust adults to keep them safe, and adults do. Staff help pupils to understand the importance of sharing their worries. Pupils know right from wrong.

Incidents of poor behaviour have reduced dramatically. Pupils gain a strong sense of respect and justice. Pupils say that bullying rarely happens.

Yet they do say that sometimes pupil...s tease each other. When this happens, pupils have faith that staff will sort out friendship issues quickly.

Overall, most pupils achieve well.

Pupils say that they enjoy their learning. New school leaders have raised teachers' expectations of pupils. Pupils have become avid readers.

Teaching makes pupils think hard and inspires their curiosity. Typically, pupils concentrate well in lessons. However, when teachers do not insist on high standards, pupils do not try as hard as they might to complete activities or to present their work neatly.

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

The school is well led and managed. As a result, it has recovered from a dip in standards. Trust leaders and the governing body are effective.

Their decisions have brought about much improvement in the school's work. The new head of school has made clear his high expectations. He leads by example.

Teaching staff value the advice he provides. They appreciate leaders' work to ensure that staff workload is manageable.

The school's curriculum supports pupils understanding of what it is to be a good citizen.

Pupils are keen to raise funds for charities. Eco-leaders speak passionately about their recycling initiative in conjunction with the local council. Pupils have a good understanding of democracy, other cultures and religions.

Pupils told me, 'We are taught to treat others as we wish to be treated ourselves.'

The school ensures that teaching covers all national curriculum subjects. In most subjects, content is taught in a logical order.

Teaching is particularly strong in reading, mathematics and history. The school has recently revised what teachers should teach and when. Because the changes are recent, pupils have not yet been taught the underpinning knowledge they need in all subjects.

However, teachers have strong subject knowledge. This helps them to identify and resolve where pupils have gaps in their understanding.

In some subjects, including art and music, leaders have only recently set out what pupils should know and when.

So, pupils' knowledge and skills are less developed in these subjects compared to others. For example, teachers have not thought closely enough about the small steps pupils need to understand perspective. Consequently, pupils have not secured the necessary knowledge and skills to draw perspective accurately.

In the past pupils have not achieved well in reading. Now they do. Leaders have made sure that reading is valued.

It is given a lot of attention and time. The teaching of early reading is well structured. Teaching in the early years helps children to get off to a flying start with their reading.

The staff's subject knowledge is strong. Children quickly gain the phonic knowledge they need to read and write accurately. Staff make story times exciting.

Hardly any pupils fall behind with their reading. This is because staff put in precise and intensive support. Any barriers to becoming a fluent reader are overcome quickly.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils do well. Leaders make sure that teachers know what support needs to be in place for these pupils. If pupils are not doing as well as they should, leaders know this.

They then act quickly to advise teachers about what to do next.

Leaders have put in place a new behaviour code. They had identified that too many children were not trying their best in lessons.

Teachers apply this code well. Pupils now try hard in lessons. They listen and do as they are asked.

However, sometimes teachers do not make their expectations clear. As a result, some pupils do not take pride in their work. They do not take care to spell the words they know or to punctuate sentences correctly.

Work is left incomplete or poorly presented.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff and governors understand their safeguarding responsibilities.

There is a clear process for recording and sharing any safeguarding concerns as they arise.Leaders make sure that staff are confident in identifying and reporting signs of possible threats to pupils' welfare.

Pupils say that they are well looked after.

Most parents who responded to Parent View agree. The school's curriculum helps pupils to know how to keep themselves safe in their everyday lives. It helps them to understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

In areas where curriculum organisation is developing, such as art and music, not enough has been done to plan for the smaller steps of knowledge and skills needed for pupils to achieve well. Pupils do not have the necessary knowledge or skills to achieve well in these subjects. Leaders need to ensure that pupils are taught and understand the basic concepts first, before they are asked to consider or perform more complex tasks.

. The school's new behaviour code has led to much-improved behaviour. Incidents of poor behaviour in lessons are now rare.

However, teachers do not make their expectations for the quality of pupils' work explicit. As a result, pupils sometimes do not pay enough attention to their work. Leaders must ensure that teachers have equally high expectations of pupils' work and must not settle for anything less than a pupil's best.