Nelson Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are rightly proud of their school and describe it as kind and welcoming. They typically behave well, and bullying is rare. Pupils are safe here because adults take good care of them.

Leaders have high expectations of pupils. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), follow an ambitious curriculum that matches the scope of what is expected nationally. Pupils work hard and produce work of a good quality in different subjects.

Assessment is not used consistently to check what pupils know, and this limits the depth of some pupils' learning. Pupils are, however, typically well prepared for the next stage of their education....r/>
Pupils access a range of enrichment activities, such as cooking, sewing, golf, taekwondo, girls' football and tag rugby.

Pupils are encouraged to contribute to the wider school community through taking on roles such as school librarians and eco-representatives.

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

The curriculum is well designed. In each subject, leaders have set out precisely what they want pupils to learn and when.

This is sequenced so that pupils build their knowledge securely over time. For example, in physical education, children in early years begin developing their gross motor skills by practising hitting a ball. Pupils build on this knowledge as they move through the school, learning to strike different objects, such as shuttlecocks.

This supports older pupils to serve accurately in different sports. Similarly, in mathematics, younger pupils learn to add and subtract one-digit and two-digit numbers to 20. This helps them when they come to larger numbers later on and to apply their knowledge of the order of operations to carry out multi-step calculations accurately.

While assessment is used to check what pupils have understood, there are some inconsistencies in how effectively this is done. As a result, errors and misconceptions persist in some pupils' knowledge.

Reading is prioritised at the school.

All pupils read each day. This helps them to develop their confidence and fluency. Staff have been well trained to implement the agreed phonics programme with precision.

Pupils who are not keeping up with their peers are swiftly identified and supported to catch up. This helps pupils to read with increasing accuracy, fluency and confidence.

Pupils with SEND are well supported.

Leaders work effectively with external agencies to identify pupils who need further support. Advice and guidance are provided for staff to help them to adapt tasks, enabling pupils to access the same curriculum as their peers. The school's emotional well-being team provides important support for pupils, including during their transition into the school.

Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. Bullying is rare. Pupils know who to speak to if they have concerns and trust that adults will respond.

Pupils' attendance is high. This is because leaders have effective systems in place to ensure that pupils attend regularly and on time.

Pupils' wider personal development is carefully considered.

The curriculum is well designed to support pupils' understanding of important concepts such as democracy. The school helps pupils put this into practice with votes for 'Crew Captains' and school librarians. Pupils are encouraged to contribute to their wider community in Whitton.

For example, they serve through the 'food to market' project and the annual autumn food bank collection.

Staff are proud to work at the school. They feel well supported by leaders to manage their workload, and they feel that their well-being is prioritised.

Staff feel able to ask for support if they need it. Governors and trustees know the school well and have an accurate picture of the school's strengths and areas for further development. They have worked closely with leaders to introduce a number of new systems and processes.

Some of these are not fully embedded and are not consistently applied by staff or fully understood by pupils, parents and carers.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Assessment is not used consistently to check what pupils have learned.

As a result, errors and misconceptions persist in some pupils' work. This means they are not consistently secure in the concepts they need to tackle more complex ideas later on. The trust should ensure that pupils' understanding is routinely checked and any errors or misconceptions are acted upon.

• Some of the newly introduced policies and systems are not fully embedded. This means there are inconsistencies in practice and in some pupils' and parents' understanding of what is expected. The trust should ensure that these policies and systems are consistently implemented and communicated fully to pupils and parents.

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