Delph Side Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Delph Side is a calm and happy place where pupils feel safe. Pupils live out the school values of 'enjoy, embrace and evolve'.

They know how these values guide and support them to make kind and respectful choices. Pupils behave consistently well.

The school is ambitious for all pupils.

Pupils do their best to live up to the school's high expectations for their achievement. They make the most of the learning opportunities that the school provides for them and are eager to learn. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), both in the mainstream and in the special educational needs (SEN) unit, enjoy their learning.
.../>They achieve well.

A rich range of wider opportunities enhance and support the curriculum. These opportunities are for all pupils, including those with SEND.

There is an impressive array of extra-curricular clubs and trips to support pupils' talents and interests. These are thoughtfully planned alongside the curriculum and mean that pupils not only broaden their horizons but also further their learning. Some clubs extend to parents, who can enjoy activities alongside their children, thus enhancing the sense of community within the school.

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

The school has designed a suitably broad and ambitious curriculum that meets the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND. It identifies the key knowledge, including vocabulary, and ensures that it is taught in the right order.

Staff use their subject knowledge well to design activities that help pupils to follow the curriculum successfully.

They provide opportunities for pupils to regularly recall their prior learning, and address any misconceptions swiftly. This helps pupils to know and remember more.

The school has highly effective processes to identify and support pupils with additional needs.

Staff ably adapt the content and delivery of the curriculum to meet these needs. Some pupils, for example those in the SEN unit, are taught a more individualised curriculum. As a result, pupils with SEND, across school and within the unit, achieve well.

From the moment children enter the early years they are supported to develop their speech and language through rhyme, story and song. Staff model the language and vocabulary they wish children to develop and use. However, across the school, not all pupils develop their spoken language as well as they could.

Some pupils struggle to talk about what they know and have difficulty using the vocabulary they have been taught to explain their thinking clearly and confidently.

Reading sits at the heart of the curriculum. Pupils benefit from access to carefully chosen high-quality books that expand their vocabulary and challenge their understanding.

They say they enjoy reading and know that it is an important skill for life.

Phonics begins as soon as children join the Reception class. Well-trained staff deliver the phonics programme effectively.

Pupils practise reading with books that are suitably matched to the sounds that they know. Pupils who struggle to keep up with the phonics programme are given the support they need. By the end of Year 3, most pupils are fluent readers.

The school has an extremely well-thought-through programme to support pupils' personal development. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe both online and offline. The wide range of clubs on offer, such as football, choir and forest school, reflect the interests and talents of pupils.

Pupils learn about different faiths and cultures. They are accepting of difference. Pupils enjoy a rich variety of trips aligned to the curriculum, as well as new experiences, like an aeroplane journey.

These experiences prepare pupils exceptionally well for life in modern Britain.

The school has high expectations for pupils' behaviour and conduct, both in the classroom and the playground. Pupils move around school in a calm and orderly manner.

Their considerate behaviour and their love of learning contribute strongly to their academic success.

The school does everything it can to ensure that pupils attend school regularly. It closely tracks attendance and punctuality, providing support to individual families when needed.

As a result, the attendance of pupils is improving.

Governors use their considerable knowledge and expertise to support the school. They fully evaluate the quality of education the pupils receive and challenge and support the school effectively.

Staff are extremely proud to work at this school. They value the consideration the school gives to their workload and well-being, especially in decisions about the curriculum.

The school engages positively with its community.

Parents appreciate the high-quality pastoral support it provides, not only to the pupils but their families as well. It is held in high regard by the community it serves.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some pupils struggle to use the vocabulary that they have been taught to confidently explain what they know. This means they find it difficult to explain their thinking as well as they should. The school should prioritise the development of oracy throughout the curriculum to enable pupils to talk more effectively about their learning and wider development.