Myrtle Park Primary

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Myrtle Park Primary is a happy and caring school where most pupils behave well, attend well and have positive attitudes towards learning.

Pupils show respectful and tolerant attitudes towards each other.

Pupils experience a wider curriculum, beyond reading and mathematics, which is underdeveloped. Some subject leaders lack appropriate training to design and implement the curriculum well.

Pupils develop gaps in their knowledge over time due to these inconsistencies. The importance of pupils reading for pleasure is gaining a higher profile at the school. Pupils enjoy additional opportunities to read during the school day.

By the end of Year 6, pupils a...chieve well in reading. However, younger pupils, who are finding learning to read difficult, are not consistently receiving the additional support that they need.

Bullying is rare.

If it does happen, most pupils, parents and carers are confident that staff will sort out any issues. There is a strong focus on supporting pupils' emotional needs. Pupils can visit the school's nurture room.

Here, they are well supported by the school's nurture leader. There are structures in place for pupils to let staff know if they have any worries or concerns. This includes a peg system and 'worry monsters'.

Pupils enjoy the wide range of activities that the school offers. These include sporting competitions, forest school and musical opportunities. Many of these help pupils to develop their team-building skills.

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

The school's curriculum is more developed in some subjects compared with others. For instance, in mathematics, the curriculum is well sequenced. Staff have received subject-specific mathematics training.

Although there are still some inconsistencies in the implementation of the school's mathematics curriculum, pupils achieve well in mathematics by the end of Year 6.

In the foundation subjects, and science, the curriculum is not clear about the most important knowledge that pupils should know and remember. Subject leaders have not received the training they need to design the curriculum well.

The curriculum is inconsistently implemented. Staff do not sufficiently check that pupils can remember what they have been taught. Sometimes pupils are taught misconceptions.

Pupils find it difficult to remember what they have been taught. There are gaps in pupils' knowledge and skills as a result.

The school achieves lower than the national average outcomes in phonics.

As a result, the school has rightly prioritised the teaching of phonics. This is improving. Staff are well trained in the school's phonics programme.

Pupils read books that are closely matched to the sounds that they know. However, pupils who struggle to read are not receiving enough additional support to enable them to catch up quickly with their peers.

Children in Reception benefit from an ambitious curriculum.

Children demonstrate positive attention skills. There is an engaging and nurturing environment in the early years. Children are well prepared for Year 1.

The school is improving provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). In the early years, staff have a good understanding of the needs of pupils with SEND. The school is working to improve targets on pupils' SEND support plans.

Pupils understand the school's behaviour policy well. Pupils are polite and courteous, and most behave well. Pupils take pride in the presentation of their work.

In the early years, routines are well established. Children play cooperatively with each other. They are settled and happy.

Pupils attend well. Pupils' attendance is above the national average. The school works with families to address any issues around absence or punctuality.

Governors challenge leaders effectively to continually improve attendance.

The school has a comprehensive personal, social and health education programme. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe outside of school.

For instance, they learn about road safety, keeping safe online and the dangers of vaping. However, older pupils do not understand some of the other risks they may face outside of school. For example, they lack knowledge about the dangers of radicalisation, extremism and county lines gangs.

Some staff are also not clear about the risks that pupils may face outside of school.

Pupils have a strong understanding of the importance of fundamental British values. Older pupils enjoy being playground buddies for younger pupils.

They would like to take on more leadership responsibilities within school.

Many parents who responded to Ofsted's survey hold positive views about the school. However, some parents are unhappy with the quality of education and some aspects of the school's communication.

The school is aware of this. They are improving communication with parents.

After a period of instability, turbulence and a decline in standards, leadership has been strengthened.

The school is now stabilised and improving. Governors provide robust challenge and support to leaders. Staff morale has increased significantly.

Staff are proud to work at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Pupils who are not keeping up with the school's phonics programme are not consistently receiving the additional support they need.

This means they are not catching up with their peers quickly enough. The school should ensure that these pupils receive the timely and targeted support they need to catch up swiftly. ? In the foundation subjects, and in science, the school has not identified the precise knowledge and skills that pupils must learn.

Alongside this, teachers do not use assessment consistently well to check pupils' knowledge and understanding. Pupils have gaps in their knowledge as a result. The school should ensure that the curriculum, in every subject, identifies the essential disciplinary and subject knowledge that pupils need to learn and that teachers regularly check the knowledge that pupils remember over time.

• The school has not provided the foundation subject leaders with the training they need to lead their subjects consistently well. This means that some areas of the school's curriculum are in the early stages of development and other areas are not implemented as well as they could be. The school should ensure that foundation subject leaders receive the subject-specific training they need to develop the school's curriculum further and provide support and guidance to staff.

• Pupils, and some staff, do not understand all the risks that pupils may face outside of school. This means that pupils are not as well prepared as they should be to manage these risks. The school should ensure that pupils, and staff, understand all the potential risks that pupils may face in the local and wider communities.