Robert Shaw Primary and Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school that celebrates diversity and is proud to serve the community. Pupils talk confidently about the school's vision of 'The 3Rs – respectful, responsible, resilient'.

Leaders want pupils to leave Robert Shaw well prepared to be citizens of Nottingham, the United Kingdom and the wider world. Pupils learn about a range of religions, beliefs and cultures. Pupils told inspectors, 'It doesn't matter what colour your skin is, or what your beliefs are.

What matters is your personality – who you are'.

Leaders and staff want all pupils to achieve well. Even at this early stage of the school year, teachers have already established routines, high expectati...ons and relationships with pupils.

If pupils need extra support, they get it quickly.

Adults expect pupils to behave well. Pupils live up to these expectations.

They pay attention in class and walk down the stairs, or into assembly after playtime, sensibly and quietly.

Pupils told inspectors that they are happy and feel safe in school because the adults listen to them. They told us that bullying hardly ever happens and that if they have any worries, they can tell a trusted adult who will help them.

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

As soon as children join the school, teachers begin to teach them to read. Throughout the school, teachers read to pupils every day. Pupils talk enthusiastically about their favourite types of books and their favourite authors and poets.

The books that pupils are given to read are carefully chosen so that pupils who are at the early stages of learning to read can use the sounds that they know to read accurately.

Mathematics is taught well. This includes in the early years.

Leaders have reviewed the approach to teaching mathematics to make sure it suits the needs of the pupils at Robert Shaw.

Leaders have reviewed the school's curriculum. Some subject plans set out the most important knowledge that pupils must learn and remember precisely for every year group.

Some subject plans are not as precise. In these subjects, teachers cannot check whether pupils remember the most important concepts and vocabulary because the plans do not set out clearly enough what they are. Leaders have set out clearly how, with the support of Transform multi-academy trust, they will make sure that all subject plans will be fully detailed in the coming months.

Staff expect all pupils to do well. Teachers check what pupils can remember from previous lessons. If pupils have any gaps in their knowledge due to the disruption of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, teachers adapt their teaching to fill these gaps.

In the early years, even though children have only been in school for two weeks, they already know what to do because staff have set clear routines and established strong relationships with them. Every day, staff in the early years talk about what children know and can do. They adapt their teaching to meet the needs of the children.

Staff throughout the school provide support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) so that they can learn alongside their classmates. Some pupils with SEND have bespoke support so that they can learn at the level that is just right for them. Most of the pupils at Robert Shaw speak English as an additional language.

Leaders make sure that those pupils who join school unable to speak English are taught to do so.

A range of opportunities are on offer. The choir sing for the residents of a local care home.

Pupils raise money for charities, both national and international. Pupils are looking forward to voting for their classmates in the school council elections. The restrictions caused by the pandemic mean that some activities have not been able to take place recently.

This includes residential visits, extra-curricular clubs and music lessons. Leaders plan for such activities to start again as soon as possible.

In lessons and around school, pupils behave well.

They listen to their teachers and join in with lessons. Lessons are not disrupted by poor behaviour.

Leaders, including those responsible for governance, understand what is working well at the school and what they need to improve.

They have clear plans in place to bring about improvements. Leaders at all levels are considerate of staff's workload and well-being.

Leaders actively seek out the views of pupils, staff and parents when changes are being made.

Staff and pupils appreciate that their views are listened to.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There are well-established systems in place to make sure that all staff know how to identify and raise concerns about a pupil's welfare.

Leaders provide staff with weekly updates about local and national safeguarding issues. This keeps safeguarding at the forefront of everyone's mind.

Leaders work closely with a range of external agencies to provide support for pupils, and their families, should this be needed.

Support is also available in school for pupils and families from the learning mentor or other leaders.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. They learn, for example, about the potential dangers of using modern technology.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school's curriculum is not yet sufficiently well planned and sequenced in some subjects. However, it is clear that leaders have already taken action to plan the whole curriculum and to train staff in how to deliver it. For this reason, the transition arrangements have been applied.

• In some subjects, the curriculum plans set out precisely what pupils must learn and the order in which they must learn it. The detailed sequence of what must be learned is not as precise in all subjects. In these subjects, leaders do not have sufficient oversight of what is being taught to know for certain that pupils' knowledge and understanding are building up step by step.

Leaders must ensure that all subject plans set out the sequence of learning in full detail from the early years through to Year 6. ? Because the most important concepts and vocabulary that pupils must remember in the long term have not been identified precisely in some subjects, staff cannot make best use of assessment to check that pupils remember what they need to know. Leaders must make sure that assessment is used well to check what pupils know and remember so that they can recall the most important concepts fluently and in the long term.