Moorside Community Primary Academy School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils work hard and achieve well at Moorside Primary. They are friendly, confident and well mannered. They develop good attitudes to learning and try their best.

Staff ensure that the school is an exciting place for pupils to learn and grow. Pupils do their best to live up to the high expectations that staff have of them. This is evident in the quality of the work that pupils produce and their good behaviour.

The pupils that we met with told us that they feel safe, happy and well looked after. Many enjoy having breakfast each morning in school with their friends. They also appreciate the wide range of clubs that are available after the school day ends.

Pupil...s said that behaviour is always good, during lessons and at breaktimes. They said that bullying does not happen at Moorside. They said that staff are good at resolving any problems quickly.

Parents and carers are proud to be associated with the school. They value the many trips and special events that the school organises. They are highly supportive of school leaders and appreciative of the care and support that staff provide for their children each day.

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

Leaders prioritise reading from the children's first days at the school. The reading curriculum is well structured. Children are introduced to a wide range of books and stories in the early years.

They gain a good understanding of phonics and grasp the knowledge that they need to develop their early reading skills. Staff match reading books to the sounds that children and pupils are learning. Staff are quick to identify anyone falling behind and put effective support in place to help pupils to keep up.

Pupils of all ages make excellent use of the school's well-stocked library. It provides a wide range of reading material to support pupils of all ages and abilities.Leaders have made recent improvements to the mathematics curriculum.

They have also provided staff with training and support. In the early years, opportunities for learning about number are skilfully woven into each day through songs and games. Children also learn about other aspects of mathematics.

In the Reception class, children were able to talk to inspectors in detail about square-based pyramids and triangular prisms. Many older pupils told us that mathematics is their favourite subject. Pupils are increasingly confident at applying their understanding of number to solve problems and explain their thinking.

This helps them to build their knowledge securely on what they already know.The well-designed curriculum in the early years makes learning meaningful and fun.Children settle quickly into school life.

They learn the daily routines and develop good attitudes to learning.All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), study the full range of national curriculum subjects. They achieve well in many subjects, especially reading, writing and mathematics.

However, in some subjects their achievement is limited due to weaknesses in the way the curriculum is planned. This results in the quality of pupils' learning varying too much between subjects and year groups.Pupils' personal development is a significant strength at Moorside.

Leaders provide a rich set of experiences for pupils outside of the school day. Staff also ensure that pupils develop an understanding of the importance of good mental and physical health. Staff provide excellent support for pupils in helping them develop resilience and positive attitudes.

They also provide highly effective support for pupils who experience difficulties in their lives.There is a positive and respectful culture at the school. Pupils respond well to the high expectations that staff have regarding their behaviour and conduct.

However, the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent from school is too high. This has a negative impact on their achievement.Staff are highly supportive of the school's leadership team.

Those who met with us said that leaders take full account of well-being issues, including workload. Parents hold the school in high regard. All of those who responded to Parent View would recommend the school to others.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Safeguarding is given the highest priority by leaders. Leaders ensure that appropriate checks are made on any adults who work with pupils at the school.

They have developed clear and concise policies and procedures for dealing with any safeguarding incidents. They ensure that staff receive regular training on safeguarding matters. As a result, staff understand what to do if they have any concerns about a pupil's welfare or well-being.

Concerns are dealt with swiftly and effectively.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

The school's curriculum plans do not provide enough information about what teachers should teach during each unit of work. This stops pupils from building on their learning in a systematic way.

Leaders should ensure that the plans for each subject identify exactly what pupils should learn during each topic in each year group. Ofsted's transition arrangements were used on this inspection to confirm that pupils benefit from a good quality of education. .

Although leaders have improved overall attendance there are still too many pupils who are persistently absent from school. This means that some pupils are not learning as well as they should. Leaders need to work closely with parents to ensure that all pupils attend school regularly.