Mount Nod Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Mount Nod Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a happy, welcoming school.

Pupils said, 'Everyone smiles a lot here!' Staff know pupils well. Leaders have high expectations of all their pupils. Pupils respond to this.

Pupils are mature, articulate and confident. Pupils say that they feel safe in school and trust the adults to keep them safe. They know what bullying is but say it happens rarely and staff deal with it quickly.

Pupils' behaviour in lessons and at playtimes is good. Pupils live out the behaviour code: 'Use kind words, kind hands and kind feet, make sure your fun is fun for everyone.'

Pup...ils across key stage 2 can apply for special roles across the school including lunchtime helper jobs.

Year 6 pupils are buddies to children in Reception. They love reading to, helping and playing with their buddies.

Pupils are very enthusiastic about learning in school.

They like their teachers, who make learning fun and interesting. They know it is important to do their best. They also know learning can be hard and that's okay: 'When you get stuck it's good too because that's when you learn more.'

Some pupils would like the work to be harder sometimes. The inspector agrees.

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

Leaders plan a curriculum that is broad and interesting.

They have reviewed English, mathematics and history as a priority. Senior leaders provide effective support and training for subject leaders. This has helped these subject leaders plan effective cross-curricular links between learning.

For example, pupils in Years 5 and 6 learn about the Tudors. They learn Tudor dancing, make Tudor purses, visit Stratford-upon-Avon and work with a theatre group. This helps pupils deepen their understanding of life in Tudor times.

Reading is high priority in school. The love of reading is everywhere. Children in Reception make a secure start to learning about letters and the sounds they make.

Teachers and teaching assistants make phonic sessions fun and memorable. Children read books matched to the sounds they know. This helps children, including those who find reading more difficult, achieve in phonics and early reading.

Children listen to carefully chosen stories. They hear the same story often. They act it out with puppets and toys in the book corners and in the well-designed early years outdoor spaces.

This helps children know the story well and understand how stories develop.Older pupils also enjoy reading. They read well.

However, texts are not challenging enough for some pupils. Leaders are addressing this by reviewing and widening the range of texts that pupils can choose.

Leaders identified that mathematics in school did not give pupils opportunities to develop key skills, for example, fluency in times tables.

Effective leadership has ensured that learning is now more rigorous and well planned. Staff consistently provide opportunities for pupils to explain their learning. They quickly identify and address any gaps in pupils' learning.

This ensures that learning is secure. Pupils use mathematical vocabulary correctly and apply previous learning to new problems.

The school is inclusive.

Leaders work hard to ensure that pupils achieve fully. The special educational needs coordinator and learning mentor consider the needs of pupils with special educational needs or/and disabilities (SEND) well. They plan the curriculum, the use of resources, including online learning, and the learning environment effectively.

This, together with appropriate support from external agencies, helps pupils with SEND to settle quickly to learning and achieve their potential. Leaders have the same high expectations of these pupils, academically and behaviourally, as they have for all pupils.

Pastoral care is of high quality.

Relationships across the school are strong. Some parents expressed concerns about communication. The school website provides a wide range of information.

Parents agreed that their children were safe and happy in school and the vast majority would recommend the school to another parent.

Pupils and parents like the wide range of experiences and clubs on offer. Pupils enjoy sport, yoga, a nature or games club, among many more.

The choir is very popular, and it regularly sings at the Myton hospice or old people's home. Pupils experience a wide range of trips, including a Year 6 residential to Wales. They enjoy the overnight camps which are a special feature of the school.

The school is well led. The headteacher cares about all her pupils and staff. Staff are proud to work at the school.

They know leaders consider their well-being and workload. Governors know the school well. They frequently visit to check how well pupils are doing.

They have high aspirations for the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff take safeguarding seriously.

They have been well trained, including in an awareness of local issues. Leaders ensure that staff know the latest guidance. Leaders work well with external agencies to support vulnerable pupils and families.

The designated safeguarding lead and learning mentor are proactive in ensuring that pupils and families get the support they need. All staff know what to do if they have a concern about a pupil. Leaders keep appropriate records.

Leaders carry out all the required pre-employment checks.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Leaders have effectively provided high-quality training and development to ensure that the leadership of reading, mathematics and history is strong. This means that the curriculum in these areas is rich and pupils know and remember more over time.

Leaders should now give subject leaders in other subjects the same opportunities, to ensure that all subject leaders design, plan and sequence their subject area to the same high standards. . Teachers do not always plan work that is sufficiently challenging for more-able pupils in subjects such as reading or mathematics.

This means that pupils do not regularly achieve at the higher standards. Leaders should ensure that they quickly realise their plans to promote challenge in all subjects.

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 a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged Mount Nod Primary School to be good on 17–18 November 2010.