Maltese Road Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Maltese Road Primary School continues to be a good school.

The headteacher of this school is Faye White. This school is part of The Everleigh LINK Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school.

The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Joseph Figg, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Sara Kightley.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils settle quickly and grow in confidence here. Whether pupils join straight away in the early years or later from a different setting, they can be sure of a warm welcome.

There is a friendly, 'family' feel around the school. Pupils know there will always ...be a listening ear for any worries they may have.

Pupils happily take on the responsibility of looking after their school and each other.

There are helpers in the dining hall and bronze ambassadors organising games in the playground.

Pupils like to challenge themselves and tackle the tasks set by their teachers with relish. Occasionally some of these tasks are a bit complicated for a few pupils.

However, most pupils achieve well with their learning over time and make strong progress.

Pupils behave well around the school and in lessons. They know the high standards of behaviour that teachers expect.

Clear routines are in place. Pupils respond quickly to signals from teachers to gain their attention, which include claps, jingles and even songs.

Pupils enjoy their lessons.

Breaktimes are energetic and fun. Most pupils attend regularly so they can keep up with their learning and friends. However, a few pupils miss too much school time.

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

Together, school leaders and trust provide a school that balances high expectations and standards of work with enjoyment and nurture. These principles apply as much to staff as to the pupils in their care. Following some recent changes, leaders provide the right support to staff who are newer in their roles to maintain the effectiveness of the school.

The school regularly reviews and adjusts the curriculum to make sure it is meeting pupils' needs effectively. For example, leaders have strengthened the teaching of vocabulary as a result of the impact of COVID-19 and increasing numbers of pupils who speak English as an additional language joining the school.

In most lessons, teachers introduce new ideas clearly, in small steps.

They check back to help pupils recall what they have learned previously and build on this. Teachers use a wide range of resources well to help pupils understand complex ideas. Most pupils get plenty of effective practice applying their new learning.

Occasionally, some pupils develop misconceptions that are not corrected quickly enough or do not have time to practise their skills. When this happens, these pupils do not learn the most important knowledge as well as they could. However, most pupils make strong progress from their starting points and achieve high standards in their learning.

Teachers work closely with the families of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to put the right support in place and check it is effective. There are extra interventions for pupils who need them. In lessons, adults have the training they need to provide carefully adjusted support for pupils with the highest levels of need.

As a result, pupils with SEND learn with their classmates and achieve well.

The school places a high priority on developing enthusiastic, fluent readers. Staff get the training they need to teach reading well.

This starts in the early years where children swiftly start to read. Teachers check progress in reading regularly. They spot the few pupils falling behind and put the right help in place straight away.

Pupils quickly develop their reading skills and enjoyment of books. Teachers regularly share high-quality stories and poems with their classes, so pupils encounter a range of authors and genres. 'Buddy reading' between classes enables pupils to share and enjoy books together.

Pupil librarians organise displays to promote their favourite authors.

Behaviour in lessons and around the school is good. Teachers are quick to spot and praise good behaviour, reminding pupils to 'make great choices'.

They encourage pupils to share their ideas and learn from their mistakes. Pupils are highly supportive of each other. For example, in a house poetry event, pupils are so respectful and encouraging that even the youngest children have the confidence to share their favourite poems aloud.

The school promotes regular attendance but, despite their efforts, a few pupils are still missing too much time in school.

Pupils enjoy trips such as to Colchester Castle which enrich the curriculum and help to make learning memorable. Other events such as house competitions develop confidence, resilience and teamwork skills.

Pupils raise funds for charities. They learn about different religious celebrations across the year. Parents come into school to explain their jobs.

This helps pupils to understand how what they learn in school will help them in the future.

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 lessons, some teachers do not provide all pupils with tasks that are appropriately adapted to meet the challenge of the curriculum.

This means some pupils do not achieve as well as they could in these lessons. The school should ensure that that all teachers are skilled at adapting lessons so that all pupils can build and secure their skills effectively. ? A small group of pupils are missing too much time in school.

This impacts the learning of these pupils, and they miss out on the opportunities for well-being provided by the school. The school should continue and further strengthen its efforts to secure the regular attendance of all pupils.

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 May 2018.

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