Newbottle Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Leaders have high expectations that are shared by pupils and staff. Their commitment to the development of teaching and learning has led to a vibrant learning culture that enables pupils to make good progress. Leaders have developed approaches to joint planning and well-resourced learning that encourage high levels of pupil engagement and concentration.

Leaders have developed strong systems to check on the quality of teaching and pupils' progress and, as a result, have an accurate view of standards. Governors are closely involved in the life of the school. They have the necessary expertise to hold leaders to account for key aspects of performance....

All teachers promote a positive culture of respect where pupils are consistently polite and courteous to one another and adults. Provision in the early years provides children with an effective foundation to their learning, especially in Nursery. The arrangements for safeguarding pupils are effective.

Teachers are committed to the welfare and well-being of their pupils. Although the progress of disadvantaged pupils dipped in 2016, these pupils are now making better progress as a result of close tracking and good teaching. Levels of absence and persistent absence are below those seen nationally.

Clear systems are in place to support attendance. Pupils are happy at school and value their education. The most able pupils do not make strong progress.

Teaching does not consistently challenge them to work at greater depth. In 2016, pupils' outcomes in reading were below those achieved nationally. Pupils' ability to effectively infer and deduce meaning from text and their understanding of vocabulary and word meanings are still developing.

New approaches to teaching help pupils to discuss and reflect upon their learning but are not yet consistently applied between subjects and classes.

Information about this school

The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish. The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

Newbottle Primary Academy converted to become an academy school on 1 February 2014. When its predecessor school, Newbottle Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted it was judged to be good overall. A new headteacher was appointed in September 2016.

At the same time, her predecessor became chief executive officer of the Aim High Academy Trust. Two new assistant headteachers also took up their posts in September 2016. Newbottle Primary Academy is larger than the average primary school.

The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is below average. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is slightly below average. Very few pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds and even fewer speak English as an additional language.

There is a breakfast club and an after-school club run by the school. The school's 2015 results met the government's floor standards for pupils' attainment and progress by the end of Year 6. Unvalidated results suggest that the school will also meet the government's floor standards in 2016.