Keresley Newland Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy being at Keresley Newland, where they feel welcome, happy and safe.

This is because staff know them well and take good care of them. Pupils are kind to each other, and bullying does not happen often. If it does, staff deal with it.

Staff have high expectations of pupils' behaviour and learning. There are clear and simple rules about respect, which all pupils know and understand. This helps to ensure that pupils' behaviour in lessons and around the school is good.

Pupils listen attentively during lessons and work hard to produce work of an increasingly good standard. On the playground, pupils play well together, and the older pupils support the yo...unger ones.

Stories and books play a significant role in daily life at the school.

Pupils talk enthusiastically about their favourite authors and stories. They are proud of their class names, which are all associated with books.

Pupils have a wide range of experiences which help them to develop their character.

These include being on the school council and taking part in safe cycling training. Pupils also enjoy visits to local places of interest and further afield to enhance their knowledge.

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

Leaders, supported by the trust, have transformed the school in recent years.

Clear systems for regular monitoring by the trust and governors has helped leaders to drive improvements in every area of school life. At the heart of these improvements is an ambitious curriculum. It is designed to enrich pupils' lives through language and learning.

Staff plan careful transition to the school from the start of early years. Clear systems help to identify the needs of all children. This includes those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Throughout the school, staff use both formal and ongoing assessments to inform their teaching. They also plan collaboratively to share knowledge and expertise. This helps staff to make effective adaptations to the curriculum and ensures that all pupils can access learning that is most appropriate.

Many pupils, including those with SEND, achieve well.

Leaders want all pupils to learn to read and to love reading. In the early years, children have daily phonics lessons and daily story time.

This helps children to understand a wide range of vocabulary and to start learning to read. This focus on reading continues as pupils move through the school. They read books that are well matched to the sounds they know.

Extra lessons help pupils to catch up to where they need to be. For pupils who find reading more challenging, the extra lessons help them to decode words using their phonics knowledge. However, there are still some pupils in key stage 1 who lack the fluency they need to read for meaning.

As pupils move through key stage 2, their fluency and understanding improves. Focused reading lessons help pupils to develop a good understanding of what they read. A clear focus on language ensures that pupils understand the meaning of complex vocabulary.

The focus on language is across all areas of learning in early years and all subjects in the curriculum. Leaders have identified the key vocabulary they want children and pupils to know, understand and remember. Staff ensure that they explore the meaning of this vocabulary in all lessons so that children and pupils understand the key concepts of learning.

In history, for example, pupils learn about invasion. The clear explanations that teachers give are often supported with actions to help pupils remember the meaning of key vocabulary.

Teachers adopt a creative approach to lessons, which supports pupils to engage well in their learning.

For example, pupils enjoyed learning about the phases of the moon through eating biscuits. However, some of the work pupils complete does not help them to develop a deeper understanding of the key concepts. This means they find it more difficult to make links to prior learning.

Pupils are polite to each other, staff and visitors to the school. The school is calm and orderly, and pupils' learning in lessons is rarely disrupted. Most pupils attend school regularly.

There are some, however, who miss too much time from school.

Pupils' wider development is a high priority. Leaders have created a bespoke curriculum for personal, social, health and economic education.

It places respect and diversity at the centre and ensures that pupils learn about themselves and the wider world around them.

Staff are proud to work at the school. They say that leaders are considerate of their well-being and workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and staff are well trained in safeguarding. They know how to identify signs that a pupil might be at risk of harm.

There are systems to report any concerns, which all staff know and use. Leaders respond swiftly to any issues that arise. They liaise with external agencies when required.

Leaders follow up on any concerns until they know that pupils and their families are safe.

Through the curriculum, pupils learn about how to stay safe in a range of situations, including when they are online or near roads. Pupils know who to talk to in school if they are worried.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The additional support for some pupils at the early stages of reading is not having the intended impact. As a result, some pupils do not read with the fluency they need to read for meaning. Leaders should review the support these pupils receive so that they develop the level of fluency they need to read for meaning.

• In some lessons, the work given to pupils does not support them to know and remember what is most important. As a result, pupils sometimes struggle to make connections between their prior and current learning. Leaders should ensure that pupils' work supports them to retain the important knowledge they need to make links across the curriculum.

• There are some pupils who do not attend school often enough. This hinders their progress and their ability to reach their full potential. Leaders should continue to work with families to ensure that all pupils attend regularly.