Queen’s Drive Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a happy and welcoming school.

Pupils enjoy coming to school each day and attend regularly. Pupils feel safe because of the warm, positive relationships between pupils and staff. One parent, typifying the views of many, told inspectors that their child 'has flourished' since going to school.

Inspectors agree.

The school inspires pupils to 'dream', 'believe' and 'achieve' in their learning. This encourages pupils to be ambitious.

The school ensures that staff have high aspirations and expectations of pupils' learning. Pupils live up to these and most achieve well.

Pupils behave well.

They are polite and well mannered. Pupils a...re taught how to recognise and manage their own emotions, which helps them to behave well. As a result, lessons are calm and purposeful.

Pupils are proud of their school. They enjoy taking advantage of the range of opportunities that are on offer to deepen their learning. They develop their leadership skills as sports leaders, school councillors and subject ambassadors.

These roles ensure that pupils make a real difference to the school. For example, school councillors raise money so that they can buy books for pupils to enjoy from the playtime library.

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

In the main, the school has thought carefully about how to organise pupils' learning from the beginning of the early years to the end of Year 6.

It has designed an ambitious curriculum that meets pupils' needs and interests. In most subjects, the school has organised the curriculum so that pupils' learning builds securely over time. Staff are clear about what they want pupils to know and remember.

Pupils have regular opportunities to revisit prior learning. Consequently, pupils achieve well in these subjects.

In a few subjects and areas of learning in the early years, the school has not identified the important knowledge that pupils should learn and when this will be taught.

This means that staff are less certain about what to teach. This limits pupils' learning in these subjects and areas of learning.

Overall, the school has ensured that teachers are well supported.

This means that they have the appropriate subject knowledge to deliver the curriculum effectively. They use this knowledge to deliver content to pupils with clarity. Teachers select interesting resources to engage pupils.

They check what pupils remember and use this information to understand how well pupils are learning. For the most part, pupils can recall prior and current learning in most subjects.

In some subjects, the school gathers a range of information to check how well the curriculum supports pupils' learning.

This provides the school with a clear understanding of how well pupils are increasing their knowledge over time. However, in other subjects, this process is less well developed. This prevents the school from fully understanding the impact of the curriculum on pupils' learning.

The curriculum supports pupils' additional needs well, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This ensures that these pupils develop the essential skills that they need to access the same learning activities as their peers. Staff work hard to identify the individual needs of these pupils.

They make effective adaptations that enable pupils with SEND to achieve well.

Reading is central to the school's curriculum. The school has ensured that there is a variety of high-quality texts that enhance the wider curriculum.

Pupils enjoy choosing inspiring and interesting texts from the school's libraries and book areas. A focus on reading is evident in every corner of the school.

In the early years, children benefit from plentiful stories and songs.

Children begin learning to read as soon as they start school. Staff plan progressive early reading lessons using the school's phonics programme. They receive regular training in the teaching of phonics.

Staff check that pupils are on track with their reading. If pupils fall behind, they receive effective support to help them to catch up quickly.

Pupils play together happily at breaktimes.

Older pupils regularly act as strong role models helping younger children. The school has a strong focus on supporting positive attendance.

The provision to promote pupils' personal development is a strength of the school.

There is a well-planned and age-appropriate personal, social and health education programme. Pupils have a strong respect for, and appreciation of, different faiths and cultures. For example, pupils regularly visit and learn about local places of worship.

Pupils benefit from a broad range of experiences beyond their classrooms. For example, the school gives pupils the opportunity to support a range of charities. These experiences help pupils to develop a strong moral compass and develop their eagerness to be future citizens of the world.

The school is well led. Leaders, including governors, know the school well. Governors support and challenge the work of leaders in their drive for continuous improvement.

Staff are proud to work at the school. They appreciate the opportunities that they have to develop professionally and the efforts that the school makes to manage 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)

• In some subjects, and areas of learning in the early years, the school has not made clear the precise knowledge that pupils should learn and when this should happen. At times, this prevents some pupils from developing a deep and thorough understanding of the things that they have been taught. The school should refine its curriculum thinking in these subjects and areas of learning so that staff are clear about the precise knowledge that pupils should know and remember.

• In some subjects, the school's work to check on the impact of the curriculum is at an early stage. As a result, the school does not have a clear enough understanding of how well the curriculum is helping pupils to know and remember more. The school should ensure that in these subjects, it gains a stronger oversight of the curriculum so that it can make any necessary amendments to ensure that pupils build their knowledge securely over time.

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