Fallings Park Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Fallings Park Primary School is a large and lively school at the heart of the local community. Many pupils attend the school's breakfast club each morning.

Leaders offer this provision free of charge. Thus, from very early in the day, the school is busy and purposeful.

Leaders have a clear vision for the school: 'learning today for tomorrow's success'.

They have placed emphasis on developing the school's curriculum, ensuring that pupils learn a broad range of subjects.

Pupils behave well most of the time. They are proud of their school and display positive attitudes to learning.

Pupils in Years 5 and 6 are particularly proud to wear a distin...ct upper-school uniform. As one pupil in Year 6 said, 'It makes me look ready for business.'

Occasionally, there are incidents of bullying.

The vast majority of pupils say that these incidents are rare. They trust adults to sort matters out. This helps pupils to feel safe.

Pupils take part in many activities that enrich their education. For example, pupils in Year 2, Year 4 and Year 6 have swimming lessons. Pupils also engage in regular charity projects.

They recently raised over £12,000 to help families in the community.

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

The headteacher and deputy headteacher, supported by governors and the local authority, have high ambitions for the school. They ensure that the school meets its statutory obligations.

They promote staff well-being. The vast majority of staff feel valued and enjoy working at the school. This ensures that pupils learn in a safe, happy and positive environment.

Leaders have set out the knowledge, vocabulary and skills they expect pupils to learn each year, in almost all subjects. They are still developing and refining the curriculum in a few subjects. Pupils learn key information in a logical order.

This helps them to build secure knowledge over time. For example, in science, children in early years learn about the seasons. Pupils build on this knowledge in Year 1 when they learn about how seasons affect the length of days.

Pupils remember this information and use it when they study light and shadows in Year 3.

Leaders place serious emphasis on developing teachers' expertise. Each year group is overseen by a non-class-based middle leader.

These eight middle leaders coach, train and develop staff within their year-group team. The approach is working well. In addition, leaders have provided whole-school training in subjects such as mathematics, science, reading and physical education (PE).

However, teachers are not yet expert in all the subjects that they teach. For example, staff have not yet had opportunities to develop their subject knowledge in history or geography.

Teachers provide clear explanations and examples when teaching new ideas and concepts.

They ensure that pupils have sufficient time to practise and apply their learning. This helps pupils to build their confidence, speed and fluency. It also ensures that pupils remember the key information they have learned.

Leaders launched a new approach to teaching phonics from January 2022. They have ensured that adults know how to teach this new approach well. Pupils regularly practise reading books that are well matched to their abilities.

This boosts pupils' confidence. Some pupils are behind where leaders expect them to be in learning to read. This is partly because of the disruption to learning caused by the pandemic.

Leaders ensure that these pupils, including some in key stage 2, benefit from extra phonics sessions and additional support. Consequently, all pupils are becoming better readers over time.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are expected and supported to access the full curriculum.

Staff make appropriate adaptions and provide additional resources to support learning for these pupils. As a consequence, pupils with SEND are confident and make good progress through the curriculum. Most parents and carers of pupils with SEND are positive about the support their child receives.

Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. They listen carefully to teachers and focus on their work in lessons. However, some pupils do not attend school regularly enough.

Leaders proved successful in improving the rate of attendance after the previous inspection, but some of this success has been set back by the disruption of the pandemic.

Pupils learn about healthy relationships and friendships. They understand the importance of respect for and tolerance of others.

The school's values of 'Ready–Respectful–Safe' are promoted well. Pupils have opportunities to display these values when working individually, and in classes and as house teams.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders make safeguarding everyone's priority. All staff receive regular and ongoing safeguarding training and know what to do if they have concerns about a pupil. Leaders take swift and appropriate action to protect any pupils who need help.

They work well with families and involve external agencies when necessary.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. Leaders arrange lessons, assemblies and workshops to raise pupils' awareness of potential risks.

For example, police community support officers hold workshops with each year group. Pupils learn about potential risks when using the internet as part of these sessions.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, the exact knowledge that pupils are expected to learn is not yet set out clearly enough.

This makes it hard for teachers to check what pupils know and remember. Leaders should continue their work to develop the curriculum intent in all subjects. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied.

• Staff have not yet benefited from training to develop their subject knowledge in all areas of the curriculum that they teach. This means that teaching in a small number of subjects is not as expert as it might be. Leaders should ensure that staff know how to teach all subjects well.

• Leaders' work to reduce pupil absence has been hindered by the pandemic. Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. Leaders should ensure that all pupils attend school regularly.

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