Rathfern Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school The headteacher ensures that her high expectations for equality of opportunity and achievement are shared and upheld by all.

Senior and middle leaders are effective in ensuring that the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding. As a result, outcomes for pupils have improved since the last inspection so that they are now outstanding. Teachers use very accurate assessments to plan effective, interesting lessons.

They make sure pupils receive precise guidance to help them make progress. Teachers and support staff use questioning very effectively to help deepen pupils' understanding and correct misconceptions. Pupil...s are taught how to ask searching questions for themselves.

Teachers and support staff demonstrate excellent subject knowledge across the rich curriculum. They also understand how children learn and use this to ensure that all pupils have an equal chance to succeed. Leaders and governors have used additional funding for disadvantaged pupils very well.

As a result, their attainment by the end of Year 6 is better than that of other pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils' behaviour is outstanding. They understand how to behave well and why it is important to do so.

Pupils continue to uphold high standards of behaviour even when they are less closely supervised by adults. The outstanding provision for their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development makes an excellent contribution to pupils' personal development. It prepares them exceptionally well for their future lives as British citizens.

Leaders and governors ensure that the arrangements for safeguarding are effective and consistently well implemented by all staff. Parents are very supportive of the work of the school and express confidence in its leadership. Governors use a deep and thorough understanding of the work of the school to challenge leaders effectively.

The early years leader ensures that parents are involved with pupils' learning from the outset. She has taken effective action to improve the quality of teaching and outcomes for children so that they are very well prepared for Year 1, whatever their starting points. Ofsted_Logo_Black_RGB

Information about this school

Rathfern Primary School is a larger-than-average-sized primary school.

It has two classes in most year groups and three classes in Years 3 and 4. Pupils attend the nursery on a part-time basis. The Reception classes are full-time.

Just under half of pupils speak English as an additional language. Most pupils are of a minority ethnic heritage. The largest group is that represented by pupils of a Black or Black British African or Caribbean heritage.

The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is above average. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in English and mathematics at the end of Year 6. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported through the pupil premium is roughly double the national average.

The pupil premium is additional government funding which supports pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals or children who are looked after by the local authority. One pupil attends another school in the control of the local authority which offers specialist support. The governing body controls a breakfast club and an after-school care club.

Ofsted_Logo_Black_RGB

Also at this postcode