New York Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school? '

Respect' is a very important word at New York.

However, it is much more than a word. The headteacher describes it as, 'the one golden rule that combines them all'. Pupils know they must treat others as they wish to be treated themselves.

As well as giving respect, they know they should expect it in return. This culture makes pupils feel valued, safe and secure.

Pupils behave well.

Staff manage behaviour consistently. They help pupils who join the school learn what is expected of them, so they quickly feel part of this close-knit community. Pupils enjoy earning house points for following the rules and showing the school's values.

Sport occup...ies a very special place at New York. Staff and pupils are passionate about it. Every pupil gets to represent the school in competitions.

They really enjoy these opportunities. Staff use sport to teach life lessons, about how to win and lose with good grace.

Leaders have high expectations of everyone.

Pupils told inspectors, 'The adults here really encourage us to be the best that we can be.' However, the quality of education in several areas of the curriculum is not currently good enough for these ambitions to be realised.

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

Leaders are in the process of redesigning many areas of the curriculum.

In mathematics, this work is complete, and it is having an impact on what pupils know, what they can do and what they remember. The curriculum for mathematics has been set out in a logical, progressive order. It is clear what pupils need to know and when they need to know it.

Teachers follow these plans closely. They make checks on pupils' progress. They make sure that pupils have a secure understanding of important mathematical concepts before they move on.

Teachers help pupils to recall prior learning and link it to what they already know and can do.

However, in several foundation subjects, and some areas of learning in the early years, the curriculum is not yet well sequenced. Some curriculum thinking lacks precision.

Where this is the case, it is not clear what knowledge pupils will be taught to develop their skills or to deepen their understanding of key concepts.

Leaders have recently adopted a new phonics programme. They have ensured that the books pupils take home are matched to the letter sounds they know.

This helps pupils develop their confidence, fluency and enjoyment. However, not all staff teach the school's phonics programme in the way it should be taught. For instance, they do not explain how to sound out and blend letter sounds in a common way.

Pupils sometimes mispronounce letter sounds. Staff do not always address this when it happens, which means pupils continue to say letter sounds incorrectly. The curriculum for reading in key stage 2 lacks clarity.

It is not clear what pupils are expected to know and do at each stage of their education to make progress with reading comprehension. Leaders have not given enough thought to the texts that pupils will read to develop their understanding of increasingly complex fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

The leader for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) ensures that their needs are fully understood and met.

Support plans are precise. They are regularly reviewed. Staff receive the training they need to support pupils' individual needs.

Pupils enjoy going to school. They have positive attitudes to learning. Pupils concentrate well in lessons.

They listen respectfully to their teachers and to each other. Pupils have a good understanding of their school rules. They try to be role models for each other.

Pupils' personal development is a strength. Leaders ensure that pupils have a good understanding of the school's values. For example, pupils told inspectors that gratitude is about thankfulness and appreciating who you are and what you have.

Pupils learn about their rights and responsibilities. They understand why equality and inclusion are important. As one pupil explained, 'We respect people's differences here.'

Pupils make the most of the extra-curricular clubs they can go to at lunchtimes and after school.

Some subject leaders do not have accurate understanding of how well their subject is being taught. Governors know they need to widen the checks they carry out to ensure that the quality of education is high across the curriculum.

Staff feel well supported. They say that workload and well-being are taken note of by leaders when decisions are being made.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders with responsibility for safeguarding make sure that staff know what they must do if they have concerns about a pupil's welfare. Staff know the school's safeguarding procedures well. They report any concerns straight away.

Leaders act on concerns promptly. Governors carry out checks to ensure that the safeguarding policy is being followed.

In their personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) lessons, pupils learn how to stay safe.

They know ways to protect themselves when they are online, for example. Pupils feel comfortable reporting any worries to members staff. They know they will always be listened to and get the help they need.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some staff do not deliver the school's new phonics programme in the way it should be taught. They do not always correct pupils when they mispronounce letter sounds. Leaders have not given enough thought to the texts that older pupils will read or how they will deepen their understanding of what they read over time.

These issues affect the rate at which pupils learn to read and they hinder the development of pupils' reading comprehension. Leaders must ensure that all staff have the training they need, so they can teach the school's phonics programme as it should be implemented. Leaders must ensure that the reading curriculum in key stage 2 systematically develops pupils' ability to understand increasingly complex texts.

• The school's curriculum is not yet sufficiently well sequenced in several foundation subjects and some areas of learning in the early years. Where this is the case, pupils do not gain the knowledge they need to fully develop their skills or to deepen their understanding of key concepts. Leaders must precisely set out what pupils need to know and when in all areas of the curriculum.

Teachers must then ensure that pupils know and remember what they should by checking closely on their progress and helping them to build on what they have been taught before. ? Subject leadership is not effective in some areas of the curriculum. Some leaders do not routinely check on the quality of teaching and learning in their subject.

This means they have a limited understanding of how well their subject is being taught. Senior leaders must ensure that subject leaders have the expertise and time they require to evaluate and develop the implementation of their curriculum. Governors must hold leaders to account for the quality of education in all subjects.