Fellside Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Fellside Community Primary School is a safe and caring place to learn.

Pupils have exceptional attitudes to learning and are highly motivated. Leaders and teachers help pupils to understand what it means to be a good citizen in a diverse world. Pupils are respectful and value the views of their friends.

They have an excellent understanding of world faiths. The school has recently achieved the national Career Mark. Older pupils have a strong understanding of future career paths.

Leaders prioritise pupils' physical and emotional health. Staff support pupils to build resilience and manage their emotions extremely well. A 'friendship' programme helps pupils to bu...ild positive relationships.

An extensive extra-curricular programme is available for all pupils that includes little rugby, tennis, football, cricket and athletics. Pupils take part in a range of sporting fixtures and were proud to become Tyne and Wear hockey champions.

Pupils' behaviour is outstanding.

Relationships in class and on the playground are extremely positive. Pupils say that bullying is not part of their school 'because it would not fit with their character compass'. Pupils care for and support the well-being of other pupils.

The understand the importance of being 'a good egg'.

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

Leaders have implemented a well-sequenced and ambitious curriculum from Year 1 to Year 6. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), benefit from a broad range of learning experiences.

This includes a range of visits to local places of interest, such as Vindolanda Roman fort, which helps to bring learning to life. Leaders ensure that pupils learn about famous artists, scientists and historians. This helps pupils to understand how they can apply their learning in later life.

In some subjects, teachers do not use assessment effectively to identify what pupils know and can remember. Pupils confidently recall recent learning; however, they struggle to remember 'sticky knowledge' from previous topics.

The recently introduced programme for the teaching of phonics has brought greater structure and sequence to lessons.

Leaders have ensured that pupils in key stage 2 who had developed gaps in their learning during the COVID-19 pandemic also benefit from the programme. However, in some lessons, adults do not model learning consistently. This means that a small number of pupils struggle to keep up with the pace of whole-class teaching.

Some teachers do not use assessment accurately enough to ensure that pupils read books that match the sounds that they know. Therefore, some pupils who struggle to crack the phonics code do not have the consistency of support they need to catch up quickly.

In her role as special educational needs coordinator (SENCo), the headteacher has prioritised effective communication with parents and carers.

Working in partnership with external agencies, she has ensured that pupils are receiving the additional support that they need to do well. Parents speak positively of the partnership between school and home. All staff have high expectations for pupils with SEND.

Teachers, with the support of experienced teaching assistants, make sure that pupils have the resources they need to take part in the full curriculum. Pupils enjoy their lessons and contribute confidently.

Children in Nursery and Reception get off to a strong start.

Relationships between adults and children are positive and caring. This helps children to settle quickly. Knowledgeable adults model language well and help children to develop a love of learning.

Children develop a love of reading from an early stage. They enjoy listening to stories and their weekly trips to the school library. Songs and rhymes are a regular part of the daily provision.

The early years leader has begun to develop links between the early years and the key stage 1 curriculum. In some subjects, such as history and science, this is well established. However, further development is needed in other subject areas.

Leaders ensure that teachers have a range of professional development to support them to deliver the curriculum well. However, in phonics, some staff require additional training to ensure that there are no inconsistencies in delivery. Teachers speak positively about the support leaders provide for their well-being and workload.

Some subject leaders are newer to their roles and welcome the guidance they receive from senior leaders. Governors hold leaders to account effectively. They have high aspirations for all pupils and staff.

Governors understand their statutory responsibilities and monitor safeguarding procedures effectively.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The designated safeguarding lead (DSL) provides staff with the training they need to keep pupils safe.

All staff understand the steps they should follow if they have a concern about a child. The DSL receives regular supervision and guidance from the social services team. This means that she acts on all concerns quickly and effectively.

The curriculum teaches pupils how to recognise positive and negative relationships. Pupils say that they feel safe and know that they can approach any adult in school if they are worried. Pupils say that teachers tell them to 'try, try and try again' if they feel that adults are not listening or do not believe them.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The teaching of phonics is variable and lacks consistency. Some staff do not model learning effectively. The books that some pupils read do not match closely to the sounds that they know.

As a result, in some sessions, pupils do not receive the support they need to catch up quickly. Leaders should ensure that all staff have the subject knowledge necessary to deliver the phonics programme with consistency and that this is monitored effectively. ? In some subjects, teachers do not use assessment consistently to find out what pupils know and can remember.

Some assessments do not link directly with the taught curriculum. This means that learning moves on before some pupils have embedded essential subject knowledge. Leaders should ensure that there is a consistent approach to assessment, as part of the learning process, that links closely with the 'sticky knowledge' for each subject.

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