Peases West Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Peases West Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy their learning and work hard at Peases West Primary School.

They are proud of their school and make every effort to do well. Staff work hard to provide a broad and inspiring curriculum that pupils visibly enjoy. Pupils pay close attention in class and relish the opportunities that they experience.

Pupils are focused in lessons. They are friendly at social times, where they treat each other with kindness and respect. Pupils told the inspectors that when bullying occasionally happens, adults quickly deal with it.

Pupils know that they can talk to an adult if... anything is worrying them. They feel happy and safe at school.

Leaders ensure that there is a wide range of opportunities that broaden pupils' experiences.

Pupils enjoy a range of clubs, predominantly in the sphere of sports. There are opportunities for pupils to have a say in what happens at school, such as being school ambassadors or contributing to governor monitoring activity.

Staff take great care to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The school makes sure that it includes all pupils in everything that it does. It is highly inclusive.

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

Leaders ensure that reading has high priority throughout the school.

This begins in the early years, where staff skilfully use their expertise to develop children's language and communication skills. The recently implemented phonics programme is enabling all pupils to experience success. Well-trained staff support any pupils who find reading more difficult to catch up quickly with their peers.

Leaders have ensured that pupils experience a vast and well-curated selection of literature and texts. These represent a trove of the best in children's classic and contemporary books. Pupils throughout the school spoke passionately about the books that they read and the wide range of texts that their teachers read to them.

Pupils become fluent and confident readers by the end of key stage 2.

Leaders have put in place a well-structured mathematics curriculum which has strong foundations from the early years. Staff model mathematical vocabulary well.

This means that children recognise and talk confidently about numbers. Older pupils build on this good start. Leaders have ensured that any gaps in older pupils' knowledge are filled.

Newly introduced strategies and a more challenging curriculum are benefiting these older pupils.

Leaders are in the process of revising the wider curriculum so that it is even more ambitious. They are intent on developing units of learning that support pupils to build their knowledge steadily and logically from what they already know.

This starts firmly in the early years and progresses clearly to Year 6. Leaders know that continued success in this development depends on the skills of middle leaders. They are considering ways in which they can invest in these staff to continue this successful curriculum journey.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They present information clearly and select suitable activities to help pupils to learn effectively. Teachers use a wide range of assessment methods to check that pupils have learned and remembered the information that they are taught.

Pupils value the extra support that they receive from their teachers. Pupils are confident that if they struggle with their work, staff will recognise this and help them to improve.

Leaders have designed systems to identify and support pupils with SEND effectively.

Leaders are determined that these pupils, including those accessing school on part-time timetables, experience the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. Staff are knowledgeable about the additional needs of these pupils. Teachers make appropriate adaptations to the delivery of the curriculum to help these pupils to succeed.

Teachers create warm and supportive environments within their classrooms. This is facilitated by early entry in the morning for pupils to engage in productive activity. Staff in the early years help children to settle in quickly.

They establish routines that help children to understand the high expectations of school life. Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes in their lessons and during social times. Disruption to learning is rare.

Leaders ensure that pupils who need more help in managing their behaviour get the support that they need.

Leaders prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain. For instance, pupils are able to talk with confidence about fundamental British values, giving real-life examples.

The curriculum is designed so that pupils learn about diversity and the different life experiences of others. They learn how to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy. Leaders provide opportunities, through the personal, social and health education (PSHE) programme, for pupils to learn about a range of careers.

Leaders have developed close links with Durham University, which affords pupils with ambitious opportunities to develop aspirations for their future lives.

Staff value the training and support that they receive from leaders. This is well considered, focusing on leaders' agreed priorities.

Staff feel that leaders are mindful of their workload and well-being.

Governors know the school in great detail. They use their expertise to support leaders and hold them to account fully for the quality of education that pupils receive.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that staff know how to keep pupils safe. Staff are alert and respond quickly when they notice that pupils might be at risk.

They report concerns about pupils to leaders responsible for safeguarding in a timely manner.

Leaders are advocates for vulnerable pupils. Leaders liaise with a wide range of external agencies to provide effective support for pupils and their families when needed.

Pupils feel safe. They understand how to keep themselves safe through what they learn in lessons and assemblies. For example, in PSHE, pupils learn how to stay safe and learn about the possible consequences of unsafe decisions.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some subjects in the wider curriculum are being revised. Similarly, some subject leaders are new to their roles. There has not currently been the opportunity to check how well teachers are delivering the planned curriculum and how well pupils remember the intended learning.

As a result, they cannot identify where improvement or adjustments to the curriculum are needed. Leaders should ensure that these leaders receive the support that they need to develop their skills to complete these checks with confidence.

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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

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

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 2013.