Pinfold Street Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Pinfold Street Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at Pinfold Street Primary. They enjoy school, and they work and play well together.

Pupils show respect and care for each other. This is a school where nurture is at the centre of learning.

Pupils behave well in classes and on the playground.

They are polite and wait for adults to pass as they move through corridors. Pupils are proud of their school and all that it offers to them.

Pupils say bullying does not happen very often because bullying is not allowed.

Pupils learn how to manage their feelings. They work together to resolve ...differences. Pupils trust adults in school to help them sort things out.

Leaders prioritise the development of communication skills. Staff encourage pupils to express how they are feeling and why they are feeling that way. Pupils show respect for each other.

Leaders have high expectations of all pupils. The curriculum provides pupils with high-quality education and develops their aspirations for the future.Enrichment is provided within and beyond the school day.

Pupils are enthusiastic about the school farm, art, forest school, woodlands school, music and the range of sports on offer to them. Pupils eagerly anticipate residential visits in Years 4, 5 and 6.

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

The curriculum is ambitious in its breadth and scope for all pupils.

Staff work well together to teach it effectively. For example, in mathematics and reading, staff teams have planned how knowledge builds incrementally over time. Leaders ensure that teachers and support staff are trained to deliver the school's curriculum well.

Teachers make sure that pupils have time to consolidate what they have learned. Pupils revisit their learning and practise to become confident.In Reception, children get off to a flying start in reading.

Before they join the school, leaders share the school's approach to teaching reading with parents and carers. Staff are well trained to teach phonics. Therefore, they teach it well.

Pupils enjoy reading. Reading achievements are celebrated through regular contact with parents via the school's reading app. The teaching of reading is helping pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to become confident and fluent readers.

Pupils benefit from the consistent whole-school approach to the teaching of mathematics. They thrive on the challenge in mathematics lessons. Pupils learn from an early age to explain in words their mathematical thinking.

Staff have high expectations of presentation in pupils' books. Teachers check for gaps in knowledge in both mathematics and reading, and quickly address them. Assessment in some of the other subjects is less well developed.

This means that teachers do not always identify where pupils need extra help or have gaps in their learning.

Leaders are keen to strengthen the curriculum further. They know that some teachers with curriculum responsibilities have a lack of knowledge about the early years curriculum and how this relates to their subject.

Leaders' aim is to help ensure a seamless curriculum for all pupils from the early years to Year 6.

Pinfold Street is an inclusive school. Staff use information about pupils to provide for their individual needs.

Trained teams of staff lead interventions and personalised support for individuals and groups. Pupils with SEND are supported very well in school.

Pupils behave very well.

At lunchtimes, the breadth of play experiences on offer to pupils is wide. Pupils wait politely for a sports bib to become available so they can join in games such as handball, hockey and football. Year 6 pupils enjoy the privilege of playing football on the field.

Pupils take care of their environment. For example, they take responsibility for picking up litter at lunchtime.Leaders think carefully about how to equip pupils for their future to ensure, as the school motto says, that they are 'Prepared for Life'.

Leaders ensure that pupils have a wide range of experiences within and beyond the school day. For example, pupils pet and feed animals on the school's farm, including the goats, chickens and rabbits. These types of experiences help to promote pupils' personal development.

In addition, leaders prioritise the mental health of pupils and staff in the school community. One member of staff said, 'We are all part of the Pinfold family.' Leaders think about workload and carefully consider the impact their decisions may have on staff.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Systems to monitor vulnerable pupils are robust. Leaders act quickly to keep pupils safe.

Leaders know the pupils' families well. The pastoral team is highly visible on the playgrounds each day. Leaders promote a culture of being vigilant.

Staff and governors receive regular safeguarding training and updates. Leaders ensure systems to check visitors and new staff are rigorous.Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe online and offline.

Pupils learn about legal and illegal drugs. Older pupils are proud of their first-aid skills.Pupils say they have trusted adults they can talk to.

Pupils say they feel very safe in school. Parents and staff agree.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some foundation subjects, not all subject leaders have a secure knowledge of how their subject relates to learning in the early years.

This means that pupils do not build on their learning as effectively as they should. Leaders should take further action to ensure the curriculum is seamless from the early years to Year 6 in all subjects so that pupils use their prior learning well to make good progress. ? Teachers' assessment in some subjects is not always providing them with helpful information about pupils' next steps.

Therefore, gaps in pupils' learning are not always identified and addressed. Leaders should ensure that assessment in all subjects is helpful in addressing any gaps in pupils' understanding and precisely planning the next steps in learning.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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in June 2017.