Mead Vale Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Mead Vale Community Primary School describe their school as a 'family'. They model their school's core values of 'courage, curiosity and community'. Pupils know that it is important to respect and be kind to others.

They value the help they get from trusted adults and this helps them to feel safe. They attend school regularly.

Leaders are ambitious for what pupils should learn.

Pupils have positive attitudes towards learning. The large majority of pupils are calm in lessons and disruption to learning is rare. However, the teaching of the curriculum in some subjects is not yet consistent.

Therefore, many pupils do not know and remember what ...they could, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Leaders support pupils to meet high expectations for behaviour. Pupils, by and large, meet these expectations and enjoy a range of school rewards.

Pupils say bullying does not happen often. They know that adults always deal with concerns quickly.

Leaders provide opportunities for pupils to develop responsibilities and share their talents.

For example, pupils enjoyed a recent 'Mead Vale has talent' show. Pupils can become anti-bullying ambassadors, sports ambassadors or members of the school council. Pupils take pride in how these roles help and support their peers.

Parents, carers and pupils welcome the extra-curricular clubs and visits that are beginning to return. Leaders have plans to widen these opportunities further, after being hampered by COVID-19.

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

Leaders have driven recent school improvement and have a clear understanding of how to improve the quality of education further.

They have introduced a new curriculum in many subjects which is suitably ambitious. Leaders have considered carefully how to introduce important vocabulary and how learning is broken down into smaller steps. However, the key knowledge that pupils need to remember is not planned well enough in all subjects.

This is because staff do not always have the relevant subject knowledge or have not received sufficient training to ensure that the implementation of the curriculum is effective and consistent. Therefore, pupils remember some isolated facts and activities but do not make connections between different parts of their learning. Some of this has been the result of COVID-19.

Staff do not yet use assessment effectively to identify gaps in pupils' learning to help inform future planning.

Children in the early years foundation stage get off to a strong start. Staff develop children's language and communication skills well.

They use children's interests to help them to practise what they have learned. This supports children's vocabulary development successfully. For example, children share information about oceans using words, such as 'tides'.

Leaders ensure that children learn the phonics curriculum as soon as they start school. Teaching is sequenced carefully. Pupils read books that match the sounds they have learned.

Staff complete regular assessments which they use to provide additional support to pupils who need it. Beyond phonics, leaders help pupils to develop a love of reading. Pupils have access to high-quality texts, from a range of authors and cultures.

They read regularly which helps them to become confident readers. However, sometimes misconceptions are not noticed or addressed. This can hamper pupils' learning.

Pupils with an education, health and care plan, or complex needs, have carefully planned support. Leaders have considered carefully how they can use communication aids to support such pupils to learn. They have ensured that staff have high-quality training to support pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs.

Therefore, support for some pupils with SEND is targeted and precise. However, for others, staff do not always use what they know about pupils well enough. This means that some pupils do not have enough opportunity or support to practise and consolidate their learning before moving on.

Pupils learn a well-considered curriculum to support their broader development. Older pupils visit 'Professor Fluffy' at a local college to learn about different careers. Consequently, they develop ambitious aspirations for adulthood.

Pupils learn about differences in families, religions and cultures and respect these differences. They understand how to keep physically healthy and safe. This includes when using online technologies.

Leaders teach pupils about British values regularly.

Staff value the support that leaders give to them. They say that their workload and wellbeing is well considered.

One member of staff, who reflected the view of many, said 'positive messages and a thank you go a long way.'

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have taken effective action to strengthen safeguarding.

Governors understand their statutory responsibilities. They make regular checks on the work of leaders. As a result, the reporting of concerns is robust.

Staff receive regular safeguarding training. Leaders share a regular safeguarding update with staff to provide further information, including on county lines and child exploitation.

Leaders use what they know to take appropriate actions to ensure pupils are safe.

They work with external agencies effectively to provide timely support to families. Leaders understand the importance of making the right checks when new staff join the school. They are now strengthening the robustness of these checks.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, staff do not have the subject knowledge or the training they need to implement the planned curriculum effectively. This means that the curriculum is not taught consistently well. Leaders need to ensure that staff have the expertise they need to implement the curriculum as intended.

• The use of assessment is not yet consistent. Therefore, gaps in pupils' understanding are not always identified precisely and misconceptions go unaddressed. Leaders need to ensure that assessment in all subjects is effective in identifying what pupils have learned and remembered.

• Some pupils with SEND do not consistently benefit from targeted support that meets their identified needs. Consequently, some pupils with SEND are not supported well enough to practise and consolidate their learning. Leaders should ensure that support is exact so that all pupils with SEND learn as well as they could.

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