Newfield School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Newfield School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school and of their many academic and personal achievements.

Before joining this school, pupils have often experienced a turbulent and disrupted education. However, in this school, pupils know that staff genuinely care for them and want them to succeed. They know that staff have high expectations of them.

Pupils respond positively and achieve well.

Pupils have positive and trusting relationships with adults in the school. Pupils and staff enjoy eating lunch together.

They chat and laugh together. There is a warm, friendly and happy atmosphere in... school, which helps pupils to feel valued and accepted for who they are.

Sometimes, pupils need support to manage their emotions and behaviour.

When this happens, staff respond quietly with respect and kindness. Some pupils may need a sensory break. Others benefit from quiet time or a change of environment.

Over time, pupils learn to manage their own behaviour well. This ensures that pupils learn in a calm and positive environment.

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

The school's curriculum is ambitious, and pupils study a wide range of national curriculum subjects.

The school has considered the special educational needs and/or disabilities of pupils in its curriculum design. In most subjects, the curriculum is ordered well to allow pupils to build secure knowledge over time. In a small number of subjects, however, it is not clear what knowledge pupils should acquire and when this should happen.

Pupils do not learn as well as they could in these subjects.

Staff use assessment strategies well to check pupils' understanding and to identify gaps in their knowledge. They revisit learning and give pupils opportunities to practise and apply their learning in different contexts.

This ensures that pupils gain in confidence and are successful in their learning. However, in the small number of subjects where it is unclear what pupils should learn, teachers find it difficult to check on pupils' learning.

The school considers carefully how to bring the curriculum to life for pupils.

For example, a number of external experts visit the school to share their expertise with pupils. These include a local author who reads with pupils and supports their creative writing. Local artists, musicians and illustrators enhance collaborative projects in school and in the community.

These opportunities help pupils to feel ambitious about their futures.

Reading is a priority in school. Pupils have many opportunities to read throughout the day.

For example, they read to staff, with their classmates and independently. Staff receive appropriate training to support children in the early years and pupils who are at the early stages of reading. This helps these pupils to become confident and fluent readers.

Teachers carefully select class books that engage pupils and foster their love of reading. Pupils also enjoy reading books that deepen their knowledge of different topics or subjects. Staff discuss unfamiliar vocabulary in all subjects.

This helps pupils to expand their own vocabulary in their writing and when speaking.

Pupils achieve a broad range of nationally accredited qualifications. They also develop the skills that they will need for work, further education or training.

For example, they learn to listen to others, work efficiently in a team and solve problems. Older pupils have opportunities to undertake work experience and vocational options. This work has enabled previous pupils to secure employment in professions such as the civil service and in construction industries.

Pupils also have ample opportunities to learn about different cultures and religions. They visit local places of worship, attend festivals and enjoy learning about the culture, religion, food, music, geography and history of different countries.

The school works together with parents, carers and external partners to support pupils' attendance.

The school continuously strives to try different options and ideas to encourage pupils to attend well. This has had a positive impact in removing barriers to attendance and has dramatically improved some pupils' attitude to and attendance at school.

Staff appreciate their well-being clinic.

They know that leaders will listen to them. There is a strong culture of support and teamwork among the staff. A collaborative approach gives staff opportunities to share good practice, to solve any problems and to manage their workload.

Governors have a wide range of expertise. They hold leaders to account but also support staff's professional development. For example, governors share and develop staff's knowledge about safeguarding and about local community research on education.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, it is not clear to teachers what pupils need to know. This means that teachers do not have the information that they need to prepare effective learning or to check that pupils' knowledge is secure.

Consequently, pupils do not learn as well as they could in these subjects. The school should ensure that all subjects are well designed and ordered so that pupils can acquire the intended knowledge that they need for future learning.

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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2014.