Northfold Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at school.

They follow the school's rules in everything that they do by being respectful, responsible and ready to learn. The school expects pupils to achieve their best. Pupils respond positively to these high expectations.

They engage confidently in learning and achieve well in a range of different subjects.

Pupils are well cared for. They form strong and trusting bonds with each other and with staff.

Pupils behave well. Their positive conduct helps to make the school a calm and purposeful place to learn.

Staff help pupils to become well-rounded, active and responsible individuals.

For instance, pupils participate... in a local carnival and sell their school-grown flowers and vegetables in the community. All pupils, including children in the early years, engage in an annual beach cleaning campaign. Pupils carry out their leadership duties as eco-team members, playleaders and mentors diligently.

Pupils have many opportunities to discover and develop new interests. They look forward to the school's end-of-year talent show, where they showcase their musical, acting and magician skills. Pupils enjoy different sports, including football and basketball.

Pupils value educational visits to many destinations, including museums, theatres and a farm. Children in the early years look forward to their regular 'welly walks' in the school grounds and woodland areas.

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

Since the school was last inspected, it has worked at pace to create a strong, ambitious and exciting curriculum that engages pupils and enables them to achieve well.

The logically ordered curriculum is structured carefully. It identifies the essential knowledge that pupils should learn and remember. Children in the early years make a positive start to school.

They develop their language and communication skills especially well.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge across a range of curriculum areas. In most subjects, they have a clear picture of how well pupils are learning.

Teachers use different methods to find out what pupils have committed to memory as well as where pupils' learning is less secure. However, in a small number of subjects, pupils' knowledge is not as strong as they should be. This is because, in these subjects, some teachers do not use assessment strategies consistently well to address pupils' misconceptions quickly.

The school has strengthened its reading culture. For example, it has reviewed and replenished the novels and reading materials available to pupils to include books written by a diverse range of authors. Pupils are responding positively to these new books.

They enjoy reading poems and novels by an increasing number of different writers.

Staff have now been well-trained to deliver the school's well-established phonics and early reading curriculums confidently. Pupils in key stage 1, and children in the early years, build their knowledge of sounds and letters well.

Pupils who find learning to read more difficult, and require extra support, have their needs met well. They develop their reading confidence and fluency well over time.

The school has well-established processes in place to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) quickly and accurately.

Staff work with different external specialists, and parents and carers, to ensure that pupils with SEND have their needs met well. For example, the school makes sure that, when necessary, curriculum materials are adapted to enable pupils to successfully access the same learning as their peers.

Pupils attend school regularly.

They are polite and welcoming. Typically, pupils behave conscientiously. For example, children in the early years listen carefully and follow instructions closely during lessons.

Pupils' positive attitudes to school mean that learning is rarely hindered by disruptive behaviour.

Pupils take advantage of the wide range of after-school clubs available to them. These include judo, fencing, archery, multi-skills and coding clubs.

Pupils are especially keen on dancing. They enjoy playing different musical instruments, including the flute, clarinet, guitar and drums. Pupils know that it is important to eat healthily.

They are supported to maintain their physical and mental well-being. For example, pupils experience yoga. They also access canine therapy, which is part of the school's pets as therapy programme.

Pupils know how to maintain safe and appropriate personal relationships. They are made aware of fundamental British values, including those of democracy and the rule of law. However, pupils have a limited understanding of cultural and religious diversity.

This means that they are not as well prepared for life in multicultural Britain as they could be.

Governors know which areas of provision are strong. They support and challenge the school to continually improve.

Staff feel that the school is considerate of their workload and well-being. They appreciate the training that they are given to design and deliver the curriculum.

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, some teachers do not use assessment strategies to address pupils' misconceptions quickly enough. This means that some pupils develop gaps in their learning. The school should ensure that teachers are fully equipped to check how well pupils are learning the curriculum in these areas.

• Pupils have a limited appreciation of cultural and religious diversity. This means that they are not sufficiently well prepared for life in modern Britain. The school should strengthen its programme to support pupils' learning about the modern world so that they can explore and celebrate the many differences and similarities that exist between people.