Moorfield Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning at Moorfield Primary School. They build strong relationships with each other.

Pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are kind and considerate towards their peers. They try hard to demonstrate the school's values of responsibility, thankfulness, compassion and perseverance in their actions each day.

Pupils, including children in the early years, benefit from the encouragement and support that staff provide.

Pupils know that staff care about them and will help them if they have any worries. This helps pupils to feel safe in school.

The school has high expectations of pupils' behaviour.<...br/>
Pupils, including those who attend the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision) are eager to rise to these expectations. Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning, and they take pride in their work.

The school has raised its expectations of pupils' achievement.

To this end, the school has made several improvements to the quality of education for pupils. Pupils have started to benefit from the recently improved curriculum and the school's higher expectations of what they can achieve. However, in subjects that have not been revised, there are weaknesses in the design and the delivery of the curriculum.

As a result, pupils do not achieve as well as they should in those areas.

Pupils enjoy the leadership opportunities that they are afforded. For example, members of the primary leadership team are proud to have redesigned the school badge so that it reflects the school's values.

All pupils, including pupils with SEND, can participate in a range of activities that extend beyond the academic curriculum.

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

The school has a clear and unambiguous vision for addressing the weaknesses in the quality of education that pupils receive.

In most subjects, the school has developed a new coherent curriculum from the early years to the end of Year 6.

It has thoughtfully ordered the essential knowledge that pupils need to learn. This means that, when teachers introduce new ideas, they build securely on pupils' previous learning. However, the school's recent work to strengthen the curriculum is ongoing in some subjects.

In those subjects, the school is in the process of finalising the essential knowledge that teachers should deliver. Consequently, pupils do not develop detailed knowledge and skills in some areas of the curriculum.

In the main, the school has made sure that staff have the appropriate expertise to lead subjects with confidence.

This means that, in many subjects, teachers are given clear guidance and direction in how best to deliver subject curriculums. Typically, teachers have strong subject knowledge. They use this to design appropriate learning for pupils.

For example, they routinely check that pupils' prior knowledge is secure before introducing new concepts. However, in those subjects where the curriculum is still being developed, some staff do not receive the guidance that they need to design and deliver learning consistently well. This means that some pupils develop gaps in their knowledge that remain unaddressed.

The school has carefully considered the curriculum design in the early years. Staff know children well, and they have strong knowledge of how best to deliver learning. As a result, children engage fully in their learning and they progress well through the curriculum.

At the end of the Reception Year, they are well prepared for the demands of Year 1.

The school identifies any additional needs that pupils may have quickly. Pupils with SEND, including those in the specially resourced provision, learn the same curriculum as their classmates.

However, the school does not provide staff with the information that they need to adapt their delivery of the curriculum to meet the needs of some pupils with SEND in mainstream classes. This means that some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they should.

The school promotes a love of reading among pupils.

For example, pupils and members of staff enjoy creating 'reading rivers'. These help staff and pupils to inspire each other to read a diverse range of texts.

The school has ensured that a clearly structured phonics programme is in place.

Staff are equipped with the expertise to deliver the phonics programme consistently well. For instance, staff make certain that pupils read books that are matched well to the sounds that they know. However, the school has not ensured that some pupils who struggle with reading receive the effective support that they need to catch up quickly.

Pupils are polite, friendly and caring towards each other. The atmosphere throughout the school is calm and purposeful. This means that pupils can concentrate on their learning without interruption.

The school has worked closely with parents and carers to improve pupils' rates of attendance. As a result, pupils attend school regularly. Parents praised the school's approaches to communication.

For instance, many parents were positive about how well informed they are about what their children have been learning in the early years. This means that parents can better support their children's learning at home.

Through the curriculum, pupils develop an age-appropriate understanding of the differences and similarities between people.

For example, they learn about other faiths, cultures or family structures that are different to their own. Pupils learn what constitutes a healthy relationship and how to consider the views of others. These experiences help to prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain.

In recent years, members of the governing body have increased the level of the challenge that they provide to the school.

Most staff spoke positively about how the school considers their well-being. For example, when making improvements to the curriculum, leaders took appropriate steps to minimise the impact of these changes on staff workload.

Staff also said that they feel involved in aspects of leaders' decision-making. This makes them feel valued.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school has not ensured that the additional support for those pupils who need to catch up with their reading is sharply focused on addressing the gaps in their phonics knowledge. This means that these pupils do not improve their reading fluency as quickly as they could. The school should ensure that staff are equipped well to identify and address the gaps in pupils' reading knowledge quickly.

• In a small number of subjects, the school has not ensured that staff are sufficiently clear about the important knowledge that pupils should learn and when this content should be delivered. This prevents some pupils from gaining the depth of knowledge that they should. The school should ensure that the curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced in all subjects, so that it provides clear guidance for teachers and enables pupils to know and remember more over time.

• Staff's knowledge of how to sufficiently adapt their teaching to meet the needs of some pupils with SEND is underdeveloped. This hinders how well these pupils access the full curriculum. The school should make sure that it provides teachers with the necessary training and guidance to enable them to adapt their teaching to meet the needs of pupils with SEND, so that these pupils achieve the best possible outcomes.

• The checks that the school makes on some pupils' learning do not identify the gaps in pupils' knowledge sufficiently well. This means that some pupils move through the curriculum with ongoing gaps and misconceptions in their learning. The school should ensure that staff are supported to use assessment strategies well to check that pupils' learning is secure before introducing new concepts.

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