Five Ways Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Five Ways Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like coming to Five Ways Primary School.

Staff and parents and carers work closely together to support them and this helps them to feel safe and happy. The school has a family ethos, which helps everyone to feel included. Pupils value the care and support they receive from their teachers.

Leaders and staff have high expectations of every pupil. They support pupils well and help them to achieve their best. Pupils take part in a wide range of visits and clubs related to sport, the arts, languages and technology.

Pupils appreciate the range of clubs and activities th...at are available. At the heart of the school is the belief that everyone should be included. This means that all pupils, and particularly pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), learn together and enjoy school together.

Pupils are polite and courteous. They are keen to learn and are well behaved. Pupils told us that bullying is rare, but that when it does happen, teachers deal with it well.

Parents are equally positive about the school. They told us that if they have any worries or concerns, they know that they would be dealt with straight away.

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

Leaders have maintained a good standard of education since the previous inspection.

The school is led by effective leaders, including governors, who know the school well and know what needs to be done to make the school even better.

The curriculum is broad and well planned. Leaders thought carefully about how they could improve the curriculum.

Topics are now sequenced in a way that help pupils to build on what they have learned before. Teachers consider what pupils already know when they plan. This helps pupils to build up their knowledge well.

As pupils move up through the school, they are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

Leaders ensure that teachers meet the needs of disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Pupils with SEND are supported well and learn effectively alongside their classmates.

These pupils are fully included in every aspect of school life.

Leaders make sure that all pupils learn to read well. Staff are well trained in how to teach phonics.

Children in Nursery Year are well prepared to learn letter sounds. By the end of Reception Year, almost all pupils achieve well, and can read and write basic sentences. By this point, they have also learned how they should behave in lessons.

Pupils take home books that match the sounds they have been learning in class. Any pupil who starts to fall behind is spotted swiftly and staff put support in place. Storytimes are pleasurable, as teachers read stories to pupils with enthusiasm.

Pupils concentrate well during these sessions. They enjoy listening to a rich variety of books. This helps pupils to speak confidently about the stories they have heard, and the plots and twists within them.

The school's positive approach to reading enables most pupils to achieve well as they progress through the years and by the end of key stages 1 and 2. However, some pupils do not achieve as well as they could by the end of Year 6 because they are not given books that will extend their knowledge and vocabulary sufficiently.

The teaching of mathematics is a strength and pupils achieve well.

Teachers are skilled in teaching this subject. They plan work that builds on what pupils already know. They are quick to identify any pupils who need more support to catch up.

Pupils enjoy mathematics because teachers make activities interesting and challenging. Sometimes, however, pupils do not move on to more complex reasoning problems as quickly as they could. Leaders ensure that there is a strong focus on the youngest children learning mathematics.

Children in the early years foundation stage (EYFS) thrive in mathematics because of well-planned activities.

The curriculum is broad, and this is a strength of the school. Staff ensure that there are many opportunities to learn outside the classroom.

Pupils go on visits and a forest school is used throughout the year. Pupils enjoy extra-curricular experiences that add to their learning. Leaders ensure that disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND join in all activities.

Leaders have identified the need to include more opportunities for pupils to develop their reading, writing and mathematical skills in other subjects such as science, history and geography.

Pupils behave well and this helps them to focus in lessons. They are attentive, ready to share what they know, and eager to help each other.

Pupils listen carefully to staff and respond well to teachers' high expectations.

Staff enjoy working at this school and they get help when they need it. Leaders understand the pressures the staff face and have reviewed the systems and procedures across the school to help manage teachers' workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff, and the leaders responsible for safeguarding, are trained well. This helps them to carry out their roles effectively.

Systems for staff to report concerns are straightforward and are understood. Leaders work effectively with the local authority and other agencies. They ensure that vulnerable pupils get the help that they need quickly.

Leaders make sure that pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. In personal, social, health and economic education, pupils learn well about online safety. Pupils said that they feel safe around the school and in the playground.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Leaders are ambitious for all the pupils in the school and want them to do well. There are times, however, when pupils are given books to read that are not sufficiently demanding. This is because teachers do not always challenge pupils with books that will develop higher order reading skills.

Leaders need to work with staff so that they use books that challenge pupils appropriately. . Leaders have taken effective steps to implement an ambitious and balanced curriculum.

The way that subjects are taught is well planned and well sequenced. Leaders should ensure that pupils are given more opportunities to practise reading, writing and mathematical skills through other subjects.

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 a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2015.

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