Moorside Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and happy in school.

They enjoy a warm welcome from staff each morning. Pupils know that they can talk to staff if they have any worries. This helps them to feel cared for and valued.

The school has created a positive learning environment where pupils behave well. They are polite and courteous to staff and to their peers. Pupils show respect for the differences that exist between people from different backgrounds and cultures.

The school has high expectations for pupils' achievement, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils try hard to meet these aspirations. They display positive attitudes to learnin...g.

Pupils show perseverance and independence when completing classroom activities, even if they find this work challenging. They achieve well.

Pupils are keen to take part in the activities that are offered outside of lessons, such as the '105 Moorside Memories'.

This includes experiences such as watching chicks hatch and taking a tram journey. Pupils also relish the opportunities that they have to take on responsibilities within the school, for example acting as reading champions, school councillors, anti-bullying ambassadors and eco-warriors.

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

The school has reviewed and improved its curriculum in recent times to ensure that it is suitably ambitious.

The school has identified the important content that pupils should acquire from the early years to the end of Year 6. It has carefully broken down this key knowledge into small steps so that pupils can build their learning successfully over time.

The school, together with the trust, has devised a programme of training which supports teachers to implement the curriculum well.

Teachers use their subject knowledge to design effective lessons which help pupils, including those with SEND, to learn the content of subject curriculums.

Some older pupils have gaps in their learning. This is due to the weaknesses in the previous curriculum, which were compounded by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This means that in 2023, the proportion of Year 6 pupils who met the expected standard in mathematics was significantly below the national average. Pupils were not able to catch up quickly enough to achieve as well as they should in the national tests and assessments.

Typically, most pupils progress through the curriculum well.

They are achieving well. However, some gaps in learning continue to linger. This makes it difficult for pupils to build on what they know when new learning is introduced.

The school has implemented a new approach to assessing pupils' learning. In most subjects, teachers make careful checks to address pupils' misconceptions effectively. However, in some subjects, assessment information is not used well enough to help pupils to secure the key knowledge that they need to know and remember in the longer term.

The school prioritises reading. In the early years, children enjoy sharing books and stories. They are well prepared to begin learning the phonics curriculum from the start of the Reception Year.

Staff deliver the well-ordered phonics programme well. They select books for pupils to read in school, and to take home, which are carefully matched to the sounds they have learned.

The school ensures that the additional needs of pupils with SEND are identified quickly and accurately.

Staff adapt their delivery of the curriculum well so that pupils with SEND learn successfully alongside their classmates.

Most pupils understand and follow the well-established classroom routines. Typically, pupils are attentive during lessons.

They rarely disturb the learning of their peers. The school places a high priority on attendance. It carefully analyses the attendance and punctuality of pupils.

The school works closely with pupils and their families to support them with any attendance issues so that their absence rates reduce.

The school's programme to enhance pupils' personal development is woven into the whole curriculum and the life of the school. It supports pupils well to become respectful and caring young people.

For example, pupils learn about first aid and how to support their own and others' mental health. The school prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.

Trustees are well informed about the school.

They ensure that the school's work has a positive impact on pupils' learning and personal development.

Staff are highly positive about the support that they receive from the school. They appreciate that the school is mindful of their workload and well-being.

They value the support that they are given to further develop the curriculum.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the school does not use assessment information effectively enough to identify and address the gaps in pupils' knowledge.

This means that, on occasion, some pupils find it difficult to recall subject content from their earlier learning. The school should ensure that teachers are suitably equipped to use assessment information successfully in these subjects so that pupils know and remember more over time. ? In a small number of subjects, some older pupils have gaps in their knowledge due to the weaknesses in the previous curriculum.

This makes it difficult for them to build their knowledge when new concepts are introduced. This hinders these pupils' progress through the curriculum. The school should ensure that, in these subject curriculums, any gaps in pupils' learning are rapidly addressed.