Ravenor Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Ravenor Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are rightly proud to attend Ravenor Primary School. They value and respect each other's faiths, beliefs and cultures.

Staff have consistently high expectations of pupils. Behaviour is calm across the school. Pupils understand what bullying is and state it does not happen often.

Pupils are confident to report any concerns that they may have. Staff manage any incidents or concerns that do arise effectively. As a result, pupils feel safe and are kept safe at school.

A range of extra-curricular activities are offered with the aim of developing pupils' talents and intere...sts. Examples of these include football, debating and the school choir. Pupils are also given opportunities to take on additional responsibilities and represent the school, for example, as reading ambassadors, travel ambassadors, or cyber mentors.

A range of educational visits are planned to enrich pupils' learning of the academic curriculum. For example, pupils go on educational outings to the Imperial War Museum, Hampton Court Palace and local places of worship.

The curriculum is ambitious and well designed, overall.

Pupils work hard, enjoy their lessons and take pride in their work. They are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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

Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum that matches the scope of what is expected nationally.

In most subjects, the knowledge that pupils need to learn and remember the intended curriculum is broken down into small steps. Typically, this is well sequenced, so that pupils practise what they need before tackling more difficult ideas. For example, in dance, pupils begin by learning and practising simple movements in isolation.

Once mastered, pupils link these movements into more complex and sequenced dances. Similarly, in mathematics, children in the early years practise counting and making small numbers using real objects. This knowledge supports them when they move into Year 1 and learn about and calculate larger numbers.

However, in some subjects, leaders' curriculum design has not broken the curriculum down into the small steps that pupils need to take to achieve the defined curriculum end points. In these instances, teachers do not check that pupils have secured the component knowledge that they need before moving on to more complex ideas. Sometimes, pupils' misconceptions are not swiftly identified or addressed.

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are not sufficiently deepening their understanding in these subjects.

Reading is prioritised from the early years onwards. Leaders have ensured that staff have received training to deliver the agreed phonics programme with accuracy and precision.

Pupils have ample opportunity to practise reading with books that are closely matched to the sounds that they know. Those who struggle with reading are swiftly identified and supported to catch up. As a result, pupils become fluent and confident readers.

Leaders have developed a culture of reading across the school. There are frequent opportunities for pupils to meet authors and talk about the books that they are reading. Pupils are motivated to read widely and often, and enjoy being read to.

Pupils with SEND are quickly identified. Leaders work effectively with external agencies and specialist services to ensure that these pupils receive the right support. This, and the nurturing environment within the school, ensures that pupils access the same curriculum as their peers wherever possible.

Behaviour in lessons and around the school is calm and purposeful. Learning is not interrupted. Records show that incidents of misbehaviour are rare and that they are tackled effectively when they do occur.

The curriculum is designed to support pupils' wider development. They are taught a range of information about the wider world, including what they can do to stay safe and healthy. For example, pupils learn about how to stay safe when online and how to report inappropriate content.

Pupils are also taught about the importance of safe and respectful relationships.

Staff, including those at the start of their careers, enjoy working at the school and are positive about the support that they receive. Leaders take steps to ensure that workload is manageable.

Staff feel able to raise concerns in the knowledge that they will be listened to by leaders.

Those responsible for governance understand the school's strengths and have identified appropriate priorities for further improvement.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders prioritise pupils' safety and well-being. Staff have received training to help them in understanding the signs that may indicate a pupil is at risk of harm. Staff understand the procedures that they need to follow when reporting a concern about a pupil.

Leaders work closely with external agencies to keep pupils safe, and they are aware of the main risks, which may affect pupils and their families locally.

Pupils said that they feel safe in school because of the care given to them by adults. Pupils feel able to speak with adults if there was something that they were worried about.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, leaders have not identified how the curriculum should build pupils' knowledge cumulatively over time. In these instances, teachers do not routinely focus on or check pupils have secured the foundational knowledge that they need in order to progress through the curriculum. This means that, sometimes, misconceptions are not swiftly identified or addressed in these subjects.

Leaders should ensure that the component knowledge that pupils need to learn is identified and sequenced. They should check that curriculum thinking and delivery focus on helping all pupils, including those with SEND, to practise and embed important ideas before moving on to new 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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 2012.