Northop Hall C.P. School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Northop Hall Primary School is a happy and nurturing learning community. The headteacher and staff take great care of their pupils.

Most pupils behave well, are well mannered and respectful of others. From a young age, pupils are outgoing and very much enjoy chatting with adults. Most talk happily about their learning and the activities that motivate and challenge them in school, particularly in mathematics, where many make rapid progress.

Because of the way the school has developed its approach to teaching and learning, by the time pupils reach Year 6, they recognise the value of working independently and persevering to achieve. They are proud of their ability to solve problems, support one another and take responsibility... for their learning. Most pupils, including those with additional learning needs, achieve well.

The headteacher and governing body provide strong leadership for the school. They work together effectively, providing support and guidance to staff and parents through a time of great change and challenge in schools. There is a strong culture of trust within the school community.

Staff know that leaders and governors make decisions in the best interests of pupils and parents have confidence in what the school is trying to achieve. Everyone is encouraged to try new ideas, but also expected to reflect on their progress. This means that the school keeps a clear focus on how well pupils are doing and whether the changes they are making are the right ones.

The current leadership team is fairly new, but has already identified important areas of the school's work that it wants to improve, including provision to develop pupils' skills in Welsh and English, how pupils apply their numeracy skills in their topic work, and ensuring that all pupils know their next steps in learning. The inspection team identified one issue relating to the security of the school site. Leaders and governors are working with the local authority to address this.

Recommendations R1 Improve provision for the development of pupils' Welsh language skills and numeracy across the curriculum R2 Ensure that all teachers provide high-quality verbal feedback to pupils to support them to understand their next steps in learning R3 Address the site security issue raised during the inspection What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection