Old Moat Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils flourish at this school.

They leave at the end of Year 6 as well-rounded and thoughtful individuals. Pupils relish the many opportunities that they have to bring about the changes that they want to see. For example, pupils who act as 'green heroes' raise money to buy saplings and seeds to grow fruit and vegetables.

They play a pivotal role in educating others about healthy eating and active lifestyles.

Children in the early years settle seamlessly into the school's highly effective routines for learning. Pupils who find it more challenging to manage their own behaviour are supported with sensitivity and understanding.

A calm and purposeful atm...osphere pervades the school.

Some pupils join the school at different times in the year. They receive a warm welcome and quickly feel part of this vibrant school community.

Pupils celebrate diversity. Their respectful attitudes help to make the school a happy and exciting place to learn.

The school is unswervingly ambitious for pupils' academic achievement.

It removes pupils' barriers to learning carefully and skilfully. Pupils achieve exceptionally well, despite their differing starting points. This is particularly true for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), who blossom as a result of the expert support that they receive from staff who know them exceptionally well.

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

The school has worked hand in hand with leaders from the trust to design a rich and engaging curriculum from the early years to Year 6. It has meticulously identified the key knowledge that it wants pupils to know in each subject. Pupils develop a rich body of subject knowledge as a result.

The trust's motto, 'together we make the difference', sits at the heart of all that the school does. Staff's professional development is a top priority. Subject leaders engage with up-to-date educational research and display considerable subject expertise.

They use their knowledge to provide staff with curriculum materials of an exceptional quality. Staff value joining forces with colleagues from other schools in the trust to hone their practice. They are overwhelmingly proud to work at the school.

Staff are experts in delivering the curriculum. They design activities with great care to ensure that pupils' learning builds firmly on what they already know. Staff regularly check that pupils remember what they have learned.

They quickly and accurately pinpoint any misconceptions that pupils may have. Staff make sure that these are addressed before pupils begin to learn something new. Pupils experience success in their learning and are motivated to want to find out more.

Staff know how to identify the signs that pupils might need additional help, including those with SEND. Staff adapt their delivery of the curriculum for these pupils skilfully. This includes the small number of children in the early years and pupils in key stage one with SEND who benefit from more intensive support in the 'Beehive'.

It also includes some older pupils who spend part of their day in the 'Hive' so that they are ready and eager to learn alongside their classmates.

The school's reading curriculum is highly effective. It places a strong focus on developing children's vocabulary as soon as they enter the Nursery Year.

Children in the early years benefit from purposeful interactions with staff. Older pupils access high-quality texts that enrich their understanding of language and provide strong models for their written work. This means that current pupils attain better in writing than last year's published data would suggest.

Staff deliver the school's phonics programme exceptionally well. Any pupils who struggle to keep up with the pace of this programme are quickly identified. These pupils receive effective support to help them to catch up.

Some older pupils who speak English as an additional language also benefit from extra phonics support. This helps them to build their phonics knowledge securely. These pupils, like others in the school, become confident and fluent readers.

The school's approach to supporting pupils' personal development is exceptional. Pupils benefit from carefully selected cultural trips and visits that enhance and deepen their learning. Visitors from the world of work help to broaden their horizons.

Staff encourage even the youngest children to be brave and adventurous. This contributes well to pupils becoming resilient learners and stands them in good stead for later life.

Pupils relish all the opportunities that each day brings.

They demonstrate extremely positive attitudes to learning and to school. They are rarely absent and arrive on time knowing that a healthy bagel awaits them.

The school benefits from strong and highly effective leadership.

Trustees and members of the local governing committee know the school remarkably well. They deploy their wide-ranging expertise with great determination to ensure that pupils at this school make a strong and successful start to their education.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.