Oake, Bradford and Nynehead VC Primary

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school's motto, 'let your light shine', encapsulates its ambition for all pupils to achieve well across the curriculum and through their wider development.

However, this ambition is not evident in how well pupils learn the curriculum. Although some pupils achieve well the curriculum does not support all pupils to learn as well as they should.

The school is generally calm and orderly.

Most pupils are polite and respectful. They show kindness and consideration to others. Many pupils listen well to adults and their peers.

However, some pupils' behaviour disrupts the learning of others. While the school has high expectations for behaviour, some staff... do not consistently address issues when they happen so that disruption to learning persists.

The school rules 'be ready, be respectful, be kind, be the best you can be' help pupils to learn how to treat others.

Pupils understand what bullying is. Pupils are confident that if it occurs, adults deal with it well. This helps pupils to feel safe.

Pupils learn to become responsible and active citizens in the community. For example, they recently supported a local homeless charity. Older pupils enjoy a range of leadership opportunities, such as house captains and playground leaders.

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

The school has rightly identified that the curriculum needs to develop further. It has started to make the necessary changes with the support of the local authority. Nonetheless, this work is ongoing.

The curriculum does not identify the important knowledge for pupils to learn in all subjects.

The reading curriculum is ordered well and builds pupils' knowledge and understanding. This starts in early years, where pupils enjoy a wide range of stories and rhymes.

Most pupils read books that match the sounds that they know. This helps them to develop their confidence and fluency. Most pupils learn to read well.

If pupils fall behind, they receive the support they need to catch up quickly.

However, in some subjects, pupils do not learn as well as they should, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This is because staff do not have the precise information they need to adapt learning effectively.

This means that the way learning activities are adapted does not help some pupils to understand what they are learning.

In subjects, such as reading, where staff are well trained most teachers help pupils to learn new content effectively. For example, staff help pupils to learn the strategies they need to read new and tricky words.

In other subjects, some teachers have clear expectations and use effective questioning to help pupils to understand what they are learning. However, this is not consistent across all year groups and all subjects. For instance, in the early years, at times, expectations are not high enough.

Adult interactions do not support children's learning as well as they should. Some activities do not help pupils, including children in the early years, to learn new content and to build their understanding well.

Often, teachers check what pupils know and can do.

This helps to identify and address any gaps or misconceptions in pupils' knowledge and understanding. In some subjects, pupils revisit what they have learned previously and build their knowledge progressively. This helps them to remember what they have learned over time.

However, this is not secure in all subjects. As a result, some pupils struggle to recall earlier learning. This is more evident in subjects where the curriculum does not clearly set out how learning builds over time.

Many pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning. Nonetheless, at times, pupils do not engage well in their learning, including in the early years. Most pupils enjoy school and attend regularly and on time.

Many parents and carers are positive about the school. However, some parents raise concerns about behaviour, communication and how well the school responds to their concerns.

The school supports pupils' wider development and learning beyond the academic curriculum well.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including in school, in the community and when online. They learn about keeping healthy, including their mental health. The school offers a wide range of trips, visits and after-school clubs to enrich and extend pupils' learning.

Governors recognise that the school is on a journey of improvement. However, the support and challenge that governors have provided has lacked the necessary rigour. Recent changes are having a more positive impact.

Staff value the school's consideration for their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school has not defined the precise knowledge it wants pupils to know and remember in all subjects.

Staff do not have the training they need to deliver the curriculum well. Consequently, some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, do not build their knowledge well. The school should make sure that the curriculum in all subjects is well defined and that staff have the expertise to deliver it effectively so that pupils develop a secure understanding of the subjects they study.

• Incidents of low-level disruption continue to happen and are not always addressed swiftly. This causes disruption to the learning in classrooms. The school should make sure that the high expectations for behaviour are consistently implemented so that any low-level disruption is addressed effectively by all staff and does not impact on pupils' learning.

• The early years curriculum is not fully developed and does not support with building children's knowledge progressively. Some activities and adult interactions do not address gaps in children's language and communication or embed their learning well enough. The school should ensure that the curriculum in all areas of learning is organised precisely and implemented effectively so that children become confident and independent learners.

• A number of parents have a less favourable view of the school. This is because they do not understand well enough the improvements and developments in the school. The school should make sure that communication between the school and parents is productive, positive and purposeful so that parents have greater confidence in the school's work.