North Wingfield Primary and Nursery Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this school. There is an inclusive ethos that celebrates diversity and promotes equality.

Pupils and staff are especially proud of this. One parent aptly summed up that this school provides 'a safe, welcoming, thriving environment for both children and parents to be part of'.

The school's motto encourages pupils to take 'PRIDE in learning together'.

Pupils have good attitudes to learning in lessons. They talk about how they 'persevere' with their work and show 'resilience' when it is challenging. They try hard to be 'independent' and ignore 'distractions'.

They 'explain' their learning with great enthusiasm. Pupils are proud to... complete pledges that demonstrate these values.

Clear and consistently high expectations support pupils to behave well.

Staff know pupils well and are supportive role models. They help pupils who find managing their behaviour difficult to regulate their emotions. This creates a calm and orderly environment for pupils to learn in.

Over the last few years, the school's curriculum has been reviewed. It is well designed and ambitious for pupils. It is taught effectively and pupils learn well.

Everyone has high expectations of what pupils can achieve. Pupils' overall achievement is improving considerably as a result.

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

Children get off to a good start with their education in the Nursery and Reception-age classes.

The engaging curriculum provides firm foundations for future learning. Children develop a real interest in learning through all the well-planned activities. Staff help children understand and use complex words, such as 'digit' or 'position'.

Staff encourage them to pursue their ideas in creative ways. Children soon learn all the school routines. They look after the toys and equipment.

Children talk confidently about their learning. They explain how to play safely on the big equipment outside.

Learning to read well is at the forefront of the curriculum.

Phonics is well taught. Pupils quickly learn all the sounds. They get extra help from expertly trained staff if they fall behind.

They develop fluency through regular practice of reading books at the right level of difficulty. Pupils love reading and listening to stories. Each class has enjoyed spending its allocated budget on developing attractive reading areas.

The school has invested in many lovely books that help to broaden pupils' knowledge of the world and of different cultures.

The school has worked hard on developing an ambitious curriculum. It has clearly defined the important knowledge that pupils need to learn.

The curriculum is carefully planned in all subjects. The school recognised that a few subjects were less well designed than others. It has recently introduced new plans for these subjects, and how they are taught.

The changes are already beginning to make a positive impact and pupils are remembering the new content well. However, the subject plans are still in the early stages of implementation. There are still some gaps in pupils' knowledge from previous learning.

Teachers deliver the curriculum through engaging lessons. They explain new content clearly, while building on what pupils learned before. In science, for example, lessons start with an exploratory question to check what pupils already know about the focus of the lesson.

Teachers question well and sensitively address any misconceptions. They provide interesting activities, along with helpful resources. Pupils' increasing knowledge is evident in their well-presented work.

They can explain what they have learned in some depth in most subjects.

The school identifies special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) early. Appropriate support plans are in place.

Staff adapt the curriculum well for pupils with SEND. Parents of these pupils are incredibly appreciative of this support. Many talked of their child thriving and progressing beyond their expectations.

One pupil said, 'We feel that we are achieving as well as everyone else in our classes.'

The school continually emphasises the importance of attending school regularly. The attendance leaderboard and class certificates show that this is widely understood.

However, there are still too many pupils who are persistently absent. The school works hard to help families and pupils, but this has not led to steady improvement.

Becoming valued members of society is the school's main ambition for pupils.

Staff make sure that pupils gain a firm understanding of fundamental British values. These underpin everything. Pupils explain how being tolerant and respectful, for example, makes their world a better place.

Determined school leaders continually drive improvements. Since joining the trust, they have the right challenge and support. Staff speak highly of the focus on their professional development.

The trust has empowered the school to make North Wingfield a great place to work and to learn in.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum has been recently reviewed for a small number of foundation subjects.

The new plans and sequences are at an early stage of implementation. While pupils can recall what they learned recently in these subjects, they struggle to remember what was taught before, and gaps remain in their knowledge. The school should ensure that the new subject curriculums are embedded effectively and the gaps in pupils' knowledge are addressed.

The school does not use information available to monitor the attendance of pupils well enough. This means the school does not accurately identify where the issues lie, and its work to improve attendance has had little impact overall. The school should ensure that it monitors and analyses attendance information more effectively to bring about sustained improvements.