Denton West End Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Denton West End Primary School continues to be a good school.

The headteacher of this school is Sharron White.

This school is part of a trust called Denton West End Primary School trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is a single academy trust overseen by a board of directors, chaired by Suzanne Mountain.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school.

They learn the 'golden rule' of treating each other as they want to be treated; for example, they are kind to each other. Pupils are happy and well cared for. They know that they can put their name in the 'worry box' if they want... to talk to an adult about anything.

The school helps pupils to understand their feelings and how they impact on their conduct. They learn practical strategies to help them adjust their behaviour, such as breathing exercises. Around the school, pupils behave positively.

They are polite to adults and to each other.

Pupils are encouraged to be independent. This starts in the early years, where children learn how to look after themselves, such as by putting on their own coats before they go outside.

As they get older, pupils take on wider responsibilities. For example, 'language leaders' help their peers to learn about Spanish culture and language and 'peer mediators' support pupils with minor friendship issues.

The school's high expectations for pupils' achievement are met.

By the end of key stage 2, pupils achieve highly in national tests. They benefit from opportunities to enrich their learning through trips and workshops which are linked to the topics that they study.

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

In the recent past, the school has redesigned the curriculum.

The ambition for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), has increased. Careful thought has been given to what pupils should learn. Staff understand how the curriculum is organised from the early years to Year 6.

This means that they can design learning activities that build on what pupils already know.

Across the curriculum, staff have secure knowledge of the subjects that they teach. They are alert to any misconceptions that pupils might have and address these as they arise.

In lessons, staff focus on the key knowledge that pupils should learn. In some subjects, pupils have regular opportunities to revisit that important learning so that staff can check that they remember it. However, in other subjects the school has not thought as carefully about the essential knowledge that pupils should remember over time.

This includes the children in the early years. When pupils revisit their learning, staff sometimes do not emphasise the most important information that pupils should know. This means that some pupils develop gaps in their learning which are not swiftly identified.

Recently, the number of pupils with SEND at the school has increased. Secure processes are in place to identify the needs of these pupils. Staff receive detailed information about how to support them to access the curriculum.

Pupils with SEND contribute confidently to lessons alongside their peers. Typically, they learn the curriculum well.

The school promotes a love of reading among pupils.

This begins in the Nursery class, where children are immersed in a wide range of rhymes, songs and stories. Parents and carers are encouraged to support their children with reading. For example, parents of children in the Reception class are invited into school for 'reading parties', where they share stories with their child.

Children in the Nursery class enjoy activities that promote recognition of sounds and letters. This helps to prepare them to learn phonics. Staff receive specialist training to deliver the phonics programme effectively.

Where pupils are struggling with their phonic knowledge, staff identify whether they need to keep up or catch up and tailor the support accordingly. Pupils in all year groups read to adults frequently. This helps pupils across the school to learn to read accurately and fluently.

Pupils are attentive in lessons. They enjoy discussions with their 'learning partners', then quickly refocus on staff when they are asked to. Lessons are rarely disrupted by poor behaviour.

The school provides opportunities for pupils to learn about life in modern Britain. For example, pupils learn about democracy before casting their votes in a ballot box to decide which charity the school will support. They learn about diversity.

Pupils spoke very positively about the ways in which the school encourages them to treat everybody equally.

The school engages with parents to ensure that they can support their child's learning at home. For example, parents are invited to workshops, where they can find out about the curriculum.

Trustees have a broad range of expertise. They work closely with the school to continue to improve the quality of education that it provides. Staff said that their workload has reduced in recent years thanks to changes that the school has made.

For instance, they appreciate the time that they are given to devote to curriculum design.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the school has not thought as deeply as it should about the essential knowledge that pupils need to know and remember over time.

This means that in these subjects some pupils do not build on their prior learning as well as they should. The school should ensure that it has effective processes in place for pupils to revisit and consolidate their prior knowledge before moving on to new learning.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in July 2018.

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