Lowfield Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Lowfield Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

This school is a happy, diverse community.

Pupils enjoy having friends with different languages, religions and cultures. They celebrate their differences.

Pupils are kind to each other.

They have a strong understanding of being respectful and a clear sense of right and wrong. Bullying is rare and is always dealt with quickly if it occurs. Lots of pupils join this school throughout the year and they find it friendly and welcoming.

Pupils enjoy the range of activities and clubs they can take part in, and like being able to choose between quieter or busier... spaces in their break times. They love the range of opportunities they have beyond the classroom, including trips to the Peak District. Pupils enjoyed their recent Jubilee Party and were proud to see their school featured on the news.

In lessons, pupils are focused and engaged. They enjoy their learning. Pupils say that teachers always help them and want what is best for them.

All staff in the school have high expectations for every child. They have a culture of 'no excuses' and work hard to make sure that every pupil succeeds.

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

Staff focus on making sure that every child can read confidently.

From the early years, teachers use a consistent approach to teaching children phonics. They give children lots of opportunities to practise. If any children have gaps in their knowledge, they are given targeted support to catch up quickly.

Pupils across the school value reading. They read, and are read to, often. A very high proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language, and many join the school without any knowledge of English.

These pupils are supported very well and quickly develop their language skills. All teachers and teaching assistants are skilled teachers of language and phonics. They make the most of every opportunity to develop the language of all pupils.

Teachers provide high-quality mathematics teaching. Leaders have carefully planned what pupils need to learn. These plans begin in the early years, and teachers make sure that children in every class have secured the important knowledge they need to progress.

Teachers explain new ideas clearly and check that all pupils have understood what they have learned. As a result, pupils in the school develop very secure knowledge in mathematics.

Pupils also study a broad range of subjects.

Teachers have good subject knowledge of the subjects they teach. They present new material clearly and often revisit what has been learned, which helps pupils to remember this in the long term. Assessment is used very effectively.

In all subjects, teachers and teaching assistants work together to identify what pupils know. They pick up any gaps and misconceptions. These are addressed very quickly.

Teachers adapt their plans to make sure that pupils catch up. In some subjects, curriculum plans are not as clear about what pupils need to know by particular stages as they are in mathematics and reading. As a result, assessment in these subjects is not always as precise as it could be.

Nonetheless, pupils develop secure knowledge across all of their subjects.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are very well supported. Staff have high ambitions for these pupils.

The quality of teaching and assessment helps pupils to learn new material quickly. This means that teachers are able to focus on addressing the most important knowledge gaps which these pupils have. When needed, pupils receive highly focused and effective further support from teachers, or from highly skilled teaching assistants.

The school checks that this support is working. Leaders do everything they can to ensure that pupils are making strong progress. All pupils, including those with SEND and those who speak English as an additional language, are fully included in all aspects of school life.

Leaders and governors act with a clear moral purpose and consistently high ambitions. There are challenges for this school, such as the high number of pupils who join the school throughout the school year, and the high number of pupils who speak English as an additional language. Governors described a 'no excuses' culture and this is evident in all aspects of the school's work.

Staff focus on ensuring the best for every child. The school has a strong relationship with parents and the local community which it represents. Pupils, parents and staff all recognise the work of the school and are proud to be a part of it.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff see themselves as responsible for keeping children safe. They are proactive in keeping children safe, and staff know how to look out for pupils who may be at risk.

Staff report any concerns immediately and these are acted upon.

Leaders ensure that pupils get the support they need. They work well with external agencies.

Leaders take a proactive approach, working with local groups to identify possible risks to children. They analyse trends and patterns regularly to see if there is anything more that they can do to keep children safe.

Pupils are taught how to stay safe and healthy.

They are very knowledgeable about what makes a healthy and an unhealthy relationship. Pupils trust the adults in the school and would report any concerns because they know that these would be dealt with.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the plans for what pupils need to know at different stages are not as precise as they could be.

As a result, assessment does not always identify the most important gaps in pupils' knowledge or skills. Leaders should ensure that curriculum plans clearly identify what pupils need to know or be able to do at particular stages in their learning.

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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2012.