New Park Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

New Park Primary Academy continues to be a good school.

The headteacher of this school is Sasha Bune. This school is part of Northern Star Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Jenn Plews, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Helen Flynn.

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a welcoming and friendly school. A significant number of pupils join the school at different points in the school year. The school helps pupils new to the school get the support they need from the moment they start.

Pupils settle quickly into the life of the school. Pu...pil buddies help those who are new to learn the school's routines. They enjoy making friends.

Most pupils behave well around school and in classrooms. They know what is expected of them by following the 'New Park Principles'. Pupils feel safe in school.

They know that adults will help them if they are worried about something. Pupils benefit from the school's high expectations and nurturing ethos. Most pupils achieve well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Parents and carers value the school's approach to involving them in their child's education. This helps to create a positive learning culture.

Leadership roles, such as school councillors, enable pupils to contribute towards the further development of the school.

The school is in the process of redesigning the school grounds. This has provided pupils with opportunities to learn skills in leadership and team work through projects to enhance the school environment.

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

The school has developed an ambitious curriculum for all pupils.

In most subjects, the knowledge and skills that pupils must learn are clearly mapped out. The school has carefully considered how pupils' learning builds up overtime. This ensures that pupils do not miss out on important learning opportunities.

Pupils with SEND complete work that matches the ambition of the school's curriculum. The school ensures that teachers and support staff have a clear understanding of the steps required to support individual pupils' learning. Teachers make appropriate adaptations to their teaching, such as the use of visual aids and vocabulary prompts.

Such approaches help pupils with SEND to access the intended curriculum.

In early years, adults build positive relationships with children. The early years curriculum identifies the knowledge, skills and behaviours that children need to learn.

Adults promote children's language development well by asking pertinent questions and prompting discussion. Children enjoy exploring language through listening to stories and singing songs. They benefit from regular opportunities to build their confidence in early mathematics.

During the inspection, children in Nursery played with skittles as part of learning to count and recognise numbers to five. The indoor and outside spaces provide children with purposeful ways to explore and develop their learning. Adults support children well to help them to become confident and independent.

In recent years, the school has prioritised the teaching of phonics. Adults demonstrate strong subject knowledge. They confidently teach pupils the knowledge and skills required to read words with accuracy.

The school regularly checks that gaps in pupils' knowledge are quickly addressed. Pupils read books that match their phonics knowledge. On occasions, strategies do not enable younger pupils to develop fluency in their reading as quickly as they could.

Pupils read a variety of books by different authors. The school's curriculum enables pupils to develop the skills to read and discuss increasingly complex texts. Most pupils develop a love of reading.

The school does not consistently review older pupils' choice of books or guide them towards books that match their stage of reading.

Following a review of the curriculum, the school has implemented a new music curriculum. This enables pupils to develop their knowledge and skills in composing, listening and performing.

The school recognises that, at this early stage of implementation, further consideration needs to be given to address previous gaps in pupils' knowledge. In some subjects, the knowledge and skills that pupils must learn is not broken down as well as it is in others. Where this is the case, pupils do not learn as deeply as they could.

The school's personal, social and health education curriculum teaches pupils how to stay safe, including online. Pupils know, for example, that it is important to tell a trusted adult if they receive a text message from someone that they do not know. Visits to places in the community, as well as visitors to school, develop pupils' knowledge of the area in which they live.

Pupils who are part of the 'next generation board' work with pupils from other schools within the trust to help to improve the environment.

Leaders, and those with responsibility for governance, have managed the recent transition to new leadership well. New and established leaders are enthusiastic about their roles.

They are provided with appropriate opportunities to develop their skills. Leaders consider the impact of their decisions on staff workload and well-being. Staff morale is high.

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 parts of the curriculum, the knowledge and skills that pupils must learn is not broken as well as it is in others. Where this is the case, it is not clear what pupils must learn across a series of lessons and learning is less effective.

The school should ensure that the curriculum clearly identifies the important knowledge and skills that pupils must learn consistently well across all subjects. ? Some of the strategies used to help pupils to learn to read are less well developed than others. For example, strategies do not enable some younger pupils to develop fluency in their reading as well as they could.

In key stage 2, pupils are not guided towards books that match their stage of reading. The school should continue to refine aspects of its reading curriculum so that pupils get the most out of their reading experiences.

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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

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

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 2018.