Delta Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and are kept safe. Pupils said that bullying and unkind behaviour sometimes happens, but they know that it is dealt with effectively by teachers.

However, at breaktimes, staff do not consistently support pupils to play together in a considerate and sensible manner. Sometimes, pupils' behaviour disrupts learning in lessons. Some pupils expressed concerns about the behaviour of their peers in the classroom and playground.

While leaders have ensured there are appropriate behaviour policies and procedures are in place, these are not consistently implemented by staff.

Pupils talk with enthusiasm about the opportunities they have to support decisio...ns made in school. They are proud to run for the positions of 'MP' in the 'Delta Parliament'.

This experience is part of leaders' work to develop pupils' understanding of democracy and prepare them well for life in modern Britain.

Children in the early years benefit from a nurturing start and a well-considered curriculum. This provides them with a secure base to build from.

From Year 1 onwards, pupils generally follow an appropriate curriculum. However, teachers do not check carefully enough what pupils have learned. This means pupils' errors and misunderstandings are not identified and corrected, and so persist over time.

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

Leaders have prioritised pupils' reading. A love of reading is evident across the school. Pupils enjoy their daily story times.

Children begin learning phonics very soon after starting their Reception Year. Staff are well trained and deliver the phonics programme with precision. As a result, pupils are typically well supported to read with growing accuracy and confidence.

Those who are falling behind are swiftly identified. Appropriate extra help is put in place to help them catch up. However, some weaker readers do not get sufficient opportunities to practise the sounds that they are learning.

Books used to teach and practise reading are not always matched closely enough to these pupils' stage in the phonics programme. This limits their reading fluency and accuracy.

Leaders have ensured the curriculum in most subjects matches the scope and ambition of what is expected nationally.

Important ideas that pupils need to learn and remember have been identified. These have been logically sequenced so that pupils revisit and embed key concepts over time. This helps pupils to remember more.

For example, in mathematics, children in Reception practise counting, such as by threading cubes on a string to match to a given number. These opportunities help children to understand place value and number and increase their readiness to add larger numbers later on.

However, in Years 1 to 6, teachers do not routinely check what pupils have understood.

This means that errors and misconceptions are not spotted or corrected, so continue over time. As a result, pupils have gaps in their understanding in several subjects. This means that many struggle with more-complex learning as they have not secured the basic principles within these subjects.

Leaders have not checked well enough the impact of their curriculum on pupils' learning. They are not sufficiently aware of these weaknesses.

Until recently, pupils in Years 3 to 6 did not routinely learn a modern foreign language.

Although a curriculum for this subject is now in place, it is not sufficiently ambitious. This affects pupils' preparation for the next stage of their education.

The curriculum in the early years has been well considered.

The essential knowledge needed for children to be prepared for Year 1 has been identified. Teachers focus on this and check that children have learned it. Any gaps in children's knowledge are identified and addressed quickly.

As a result, children secure their understanding in all of the different areas of learning.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are accurately identified. Leaders work well with parents and carers, outside agencies and other schools to ensure the right support is secured.

As a result, these pupils typically access the same curriculum as their peers.

While many pupils behave well, there are classes in which learning is often disrupted by poorer behaviour. Although appropriate systems are in place to promote positive behaviour, these are not consistently implemented in classrooms or in the playground.

Leaders have effective systems for ensuring that pupils attend school regularly. This work has been a priority and has resulted in a significant improvement in attendance.

Pupils' personal development is well considered.

Leaders are committed to providing pupils with opportunities to understand more about the wider world they live in. This includes developing pupils' language, broadening vocabulary and learning how to discuss and debate more-complex ideas. This focus on spoken language begins in the early years.

Here, children are supported to construct simple sentences accurately. This builds as they move through the school and pupils are introduced to precise technical vocabulary. For example, older pupils talked about cartographers in relation to learning about mapping in geography.

Leaders and those responsible for governance do not have a fully accurate view of the school's effectiveness. As a result, the priorities for improvement they have identified are not sufficiently focused on improving the most significant areas of weakness.

Staff, including those at the start of their careers, enjoy working at the school.

They value the training they receive and the support from leaders in managing their workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have appropriate systems and procedures in place to keep pupils safe.

Staff are well trained and can identify pupils who may be at risk of harm. Any concerns are reported quickly. Governors understand their statutory safeguarding responsibilities and undertake their own regular training.

Leaders readily seek advice from outside agencies including the local authority. This means that pupils and their families get the assistance they need as quickly as possible.The curriculum has been designed to help pupils to stay safe and to make sensible decisions.

For example, pupils learn about the importance of healthy relationships and how to stay safe online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Behaviour in some classes and in the playground is not consistently well managed. This means that pupils' learning can be disrupted, and that sometimes the playground is not welcoming for pupils.

Leaders should ensure that all staff follow the behaviour policy so that behaviour is consistently positive in all classrooms and in different parts of the school. ? Teachers do not routinely check what pupils have learned and remembered. This means that errors and misconceptions are missed and persist over time.

Leaders must ensure that teachers check pupils' understanding and address any aspects that pupils are finding difficult. This will help pupils to secure the important things they need to learn and to tackle more-demanding learning. ? Until recently, pupils in key stage 2 have not learned a modern foreign language.

The curriculum that is now in place is not sufficiently ambitious for older pupils. This reduces their readiness for the next stage of their education in this subject. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum in modern foreign languages reflects the ambition of the national curriculum.

This will better support pupils to tackle more-complex learning over time. Most pupils are taught to read with increasing precision. However, some weaker readers do not get sufficient opportunities to practise reading words which match the sounds that they are learning.

This limits their fluency. Leaders should ensure that time for practising reading is maximised for these pupils. This will ensure they develop their reading confidence and accuracy.

• Leaders and those responsible for governance do not have a sufficiently detailed knowledge of the school's strengths and weaknesses. This means leaders' self-evaluation and future priorities for improvement are not accurate. Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that robust procedures are in place to check the effectiveness of their work and that priorities are focused on addressing the most significant weaknesses.