Riverside Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Riverside Primary School continues to be a good school.

The headteacher of this school is Sarah Kinnaird. This school is part of the Partnership Learning Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Roger Leighton, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Saadat Mubashar.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and are kept safe at Riverside. They say this is because there are always teachers and friends around to help them should they need it. The school's RESPECT values of resilience, empathy, self-belief, perseverance, effort, courage and tolerance are woven t...hroughout the curriculum.

This means pupils have high expectations of their own behaviour and that of their peers. As a result, there is a calm, purposeful atmosphere in the school. Pupils behave well in the classroom, when moving around the school and outside in the playground.

The school is ambitious that all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well. The curriculum is broad and ambitious and, in most subjects, is well designed. This supports pupils to deepen their knowledge and understanding and typically prepares them well for the next stage of their learning.

Pupils enjoy the wide range of extra activities on offer, including art, fashion, gardening, cooking and multi-sports. Pupils know that leaders value their opinions and contributions, and they appreciate the opportunities to take on extra responsibility. This includes in roles on the school council, eco-committee or as corridor monitors.

The process of election for these positions supports pupils' understanding of democracy and prepares them well for life in modern Britain.

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

Reading is given high priority. All staff are well trained and deliver the agreed phonics programme consistently.

This is closely monitored to make sure high expectations are maintained. Children start learning letter sounds as soon as they start school. They practise their phonics regularly, using books that are carefully matched to the sounds they know.

This helps them to become fluent readers quickly. Assessment is used effectively to identify those at risk of falling behind. Appropriate support is provided through carefully designed additional daily reading opportunities to help pupils catch up.

A love of reading is evident across the school. For example, pupils and parents worked together during a poetry day to create a class poem. Similarly, staff share their own favourite books during assemblies.

In almost all subjects, the curriculum is well designed. The important knowledge for pupils to learn has been identified. This is sequenced logically, with time made for pupils to revisit and recap previous learning.

Assessment is used well. Any misunderstandings or gaps in knowledge are addressed swiftly. This enables pupils to build on their prior learning and tackle more complex ideas.

For example, in history, younger pupils learn about monarchy through stories. This knowledge helps them understand hierarchy related to the Shang Dynasty later on. Similarly, in mathematics, children in Reception practise counting and matching objects to numerals to help them deepen their understanding of early number.

This ensures they are well-prepared to tackle addition and subtraction in Year 1.

A few subjects, however, are at an earlier stage of development. In these areas, the key knowledge for pupils to learn has not been sequenced as systematically.

As a result, learning is more fragmented, and pupils do not build their knowledge cumulatively. This means some pupils struggle to make connections and develop a deeper understanding. Leaders are aware of this issue.

They are working with specialists to ensure these subjects are further developed to match the strength of the rest of the curriculum.

Pupils with SEND are accurately identified. The school works well with outside agencies and the on-site trust special school to ensure the right adaptations are in place.

As a result, pupils are well supported to access the same curriculum as their peers. Those who need a more bespoke offer benefit from tailored support from their individual starting points.

Behaviour in lessons is strong.

This is because routines for learning are embedded. Pupils are eager to learn. They settle quickly and there is no disruption to learning.

Most pupils attend school regularly and on time. Effective systems are in place to ensure this continues.

Pupils' broader development is well considered.

The school is committed to providing pupils with opportunities to understand more about the wider world they live in, including developing language, broadening vocabulary and learning how to discuss and debate more complex ideas. Pupils enjoy these opportunities and the chance to share their views. However, adults do not consistently model language using formal English.

This can have a detrimental effect on pupils' understanding and use of formal spoken and written English.

Staff enjoy working at the school and are overwhelmingly positive about the consideration given to their workload and well-being. Staff describe the school as a 'respectful, friendly place' where they are all committed to supporting each other.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• A few subjects are still at an earlier stage of development. In these subjects, the key knowledge that leaders expect pupils to learn has not been well sequenced.

As a result, some pupils do not build a sufficiently deep understanding because the foundation knowledge needed has not been secured. The school must ensure the key knowledge in each subject is clearly sequenced so that pupils build their understanding cumulatively. ? There are occasions when standard spoken language is not modelled consistently to pupils.

As a result, they are not always hearing the language structures they need to speak, read and write accurately. The school should ensure standard formal English is consistently modelled.

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 July 2018.

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