Khalsa Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Khalsa Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils achieve well in this warm and caring school. They are kind and support each other.

Pupils and staff are proud of their school.

The school's 'golden rules' are modelled by pupils. This is because leaders have high expectations of all, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils learn well. They receive a curriculum that prepares them successfully for the next stage of their education.

Pupils are exceptionally polite and kind to each other.

Staff emphasise the importance of good manners in all aspects of school li...fe. Across the school, pupils and staff treat each other with respect.

Leaders and staff actively encourage pupils to take on responsibilities across the school.

For example, pupils vote for their school council representatives and mindfulness leaders. Staff encourage pupils to develop their confidence and awareness of the wider community. For instance, pupils represented the school in a national competition for keeping their community tidy and clean.

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school. For example, one parent said that the school provides 'my children with a fantastic, broad and balanced learning environment'. This view was typical of many shared by parents.

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

The school has designed a broad and ambitious curriculum. Starting from the early years, leaders have thought carefully about the key knowledge, skills and vocabulary that they want pupils to learn and remember. The school has made developing pupils' vocabulary and spoken language a priority across the curriculum.

Pupils are encouraged to articulate their learning and express their thinking with confidence and in full sentences. For example, children in early years receive plenty of opportunity to practise talking about mathematics, including recognising and saying numbers. This is consolidated further in Year 1, where pupils use full sentences to discuss whether different numbers are larger than, smaller than or equal to each other.

By Year 6, pupils are working with fractions and decimals and are able to confidently talk through their mathematical thinking, using subject-specific vocabulary correctly.

The school uses a variety of ways to help pupils to revise and recall prior knowledge. This helps pupils to learn well and remember ideas in the long term.

However, in a few subjects, some of the checks on pupils' learning are not as precise as they should be in ensuring that teaching identifies and addresses gaps in learning or any misunderstandings.

The school prioritises the teaching of reading. Leaders have embedded a well-sequenced phonics programme.

All staff across the school have the expertise to deliver it effectively. Children start to learn phonics straight away in Reception. Staff know how to help pupils to read fluently and with confidence.

They identify any pupils who are falling behind in their phonics knowledge at the earliest opportunity. These pupils receive timely and effective support through extra phonics sessions. Pupils enjoy their visits to the school library and listening to stories in the classroom.

Pupils with SEND are identified quickly. Their needs are communicated clearly to staff. This enables teachers to adapt tasks and resources to support pupils to access the same curriculum as their peers wherever possible.

A calm and purposeful atmosphere permeates the school. Behaviour in classrooms and around the school is very positive. This is because staff have consistently high expectations and communicate these clearly.

Pupils understand what is expected of them and act accordingly. The curriculum has been designed to develop pupils' understanding of acceptable behaviour. For example, in Reception, pupils learn to sit attentively, listen to adults and each other and play well together.

Pupils are kind and courteous towards each other. They demonstrate confidence and positive attitudes to their learning. The school's collaborative efforts with parents and the local authority are leading to clear improvements in attendance.

The school has put in place a varied programme of experiences to support pupils' wider development. Leaders and staff make use of the school's proximity to areas of historical and geographical interest to enrich pupils' learning. Pupils also go on regular educational outings to places further afield.

The school provides pupils with opportunities to understand the world beyond their local community. Through assemblies, pupils meet people from different professions, such as law and art. A carefully planned curriculum ensures that pupils learn about democracy, as well as the significance of celebrating diversity.

Learning about the importance of healthy choices and lifestyles is threaded through the curriculum. Every opportunity is taken to reinforce what pupils learn in the classroom. For example, pupils are encouraged to eat fruit and vegetables at lunchtime.

They receive tokens if they do so and are very proud of them. At playtimes, pupils are encouraged to be active through the variety of sporting activities on offer.

Staff value the opportunities that they have to develop professionally and work with colleagues from other settings.

The school helps them to manage their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few subjects, some of the checks on pupils' learning are not as precise as they should be in identifying and addressing any gaps.

This means that gaps in pupils' learning, as well as any misconceptions, are missed and can therefore continue. The school needs to ensure that approaches to checking learning are well established and purposeful in all subjects to enable teaching to rectify pupils' gaps in knowledge and understanding.

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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in June 2018.

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