Northwood Community Primary School (With Designated Special Provision)

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Northwood Community Primary School (With Designated Special Provision) continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have created a warm, nurturing, happy and friendly school. Leaders and staff are determined that all pupils will succeed.

Pupils achieve well. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils, parents and carers are full of praise for the school.

One parent summed up these views by saying, 'the school has adopted an ethos of no child being left behind'.

Pupils describe the school as 'like a family'. They are greeted by smiling staff each morning.

Pupils are offered a health...y snack as they arrive. The caring staff make sure that pupils are ready for the day ahead.

Teachers put in place a wide range of support to help pupils achieve their best.

Pupils know that the school's pastoral team are available to support them at any time. Staff help pupils and their families when they have worries or concerns.

Pupils enjoy the wide range of experiences that staff plan for them.

Pupils talked with enthusiasm about extra-curricular clubs such as musical theatre. Pupils, including pupils with SEND, enjoy residential trips. Through these experiences pupils develop their confidence and independence.

Pupils behave well. They told us that bullying is very rare. Anti-bullying pupil ambassadors described how they help their classmates to sort out disagreements.

Pupils feel safe in school.

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

Leaders have planned a broad and interesting curriculum which develops pupils' knowledge and skills. Staff plan trips which widen pupils' experiences and deepen their learning.

For example, all pupils regularly visit museums and theatres. Pupils in the designated special provision talked enthusiastically about their visit to a local ski centre. This helped inspire their writing and develop their vocabulary.

Staff ensure that pupils revisit and build on their previous learning. A wide range of carefully planned support is delivered by skilled adults. This helps pupils, including pupils with SEND, build on what they know and can do so that they make good progress.

Reading is at the centre of the school's curriculum. In the early years, children enjoy listening to stories and rhymes. Staff introduce puppets to encourage children to recite familiar words and phrases.

Across the school, teachers share a wide range of books and novels with their classes. Pupils develop as enthusiastic readers.

Staff receive regular training and are experts in teaching reading.

They help parents to support their children with reading at home. All staff use the same approach when teaching phonics. Pupils' reading books match the sounds that they are learning.

This helps pupils to remember the sounds more readily. From low starting points, pupils develop as confident and fluent readers, including pupils with SEND. Last year, the proportion of pupils who met the expected standard in the phonics screening check was below the national average.

A wide range of effective support is in place to help pupils who are falling behind. Pupils start key stage 2 with the skills to read unknown words. By the end of Year 6, pupils' attainment in reading is in line with other pupils nationally.

Last year, pupils' outcomes in writing were lower than those nationally. Staff have had effective training to improve pupils' writing. Teachers plan sequences of lessons which build pupils' knowledge and skills.

In Reception, children practise writing the sounds that they have learned. During our visit, children were writing letters to Father Christmas. They used their phonics skills to write.

Across the school, pupils have regular activities to deepen their knowledge of grammar and punctuation. Pupils apply this knowledge accurately in their writing. Teachers develop pupils' vocabulary.

For example, in the designated special provision, teachers discuss pictures and books with pupils. This helps pupils use well-chosen vocabulary in their writing.

Across the wider curriculum, leaders have improved the curriculum plans.

In history, the revised plans make sure pupils revisit and build on their previous learning. Pupils are building a more secure understanding of the chronology of the historical events they study. Leaders are developing the checks that teachers make on pupils' learning.

This is so that they can check that pupils remember more details about what they have learned.

Pupils develop as responsible and thoughtful citizens. Pupils learn to follow the school's six learning behaviour characters.

These include 'reflective Rita' and 'resilient Rob'. Pupils organise food bank collections. The school's eco council help with recycling.

Pupils learn about religions, including Hinduism and Judaism. Through philosophy lessons, pupils discuss challenging questions and ideas.

Across the school, pupils are polite and well behaved.

They listen to adults and work well together. Leaders provide a wide range of effective support for any pupils with challenging behaviour.Pupils enjoy school and most attend regularly.

Despite the considerable efforts of staff, a small number of pupils miss school often. This slows their learning.

Staff feel valued and supported by leaders.

Teachers appreciate the many opportunities they have to work closely together and watch each other teach. These opportunities help staff develop their expertise across the curriculum.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders provide staff with regular training and updates. This means that staff are alert to dangers that pupils may face. Leaders and the school's pastoral team work closely with a wide range of agencies and professionals.

This ensures that pupils and their families get the support that they need. Leaders check the staff recruited to work in school to ensure they pose no threat to pupils.

Staff and visitors to school teach pupils about the risks they might face in their everyday lives, such as knife crime.

Pupils learn how to stay safe including when using technology. Pupils know that they can speak to a trusted adult in school if they have any concerns.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Subject leaders have taken steps to improve plans and ensure that learning is sequenced so that pupils know more and remember more over time.

For example, in history leaders have revised plans to develop pupils' understanding of the chronology of events. Leaders need to ensure that the recent improvements to planning and teaching across the wider curriculum are having the intended impact. .

Leaders are taking steps to improve assessment activities to check teaching and learning in subjects other than mathematics and English. Leaders need to ensure that these checks are used to support teachers in deepening pupils' learning. .

Pupils enjoy school. Most pupils attend school very regularly and whole-school attendance has improved. However, a small number of pupils miss school too often and this affects their learning.

This is despite a range of measures put in place by staff to improve persistent absence. Leaders need to continue their efforts to improve the attendance of pupils who are absent very regularly.

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 a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 14–15 July 2015.

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