Rosh Pinah Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Rosh Pinah Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Rosh Pinah Primary School is a happy, safe place for pupils to learn. Staff know pupils well and want the best for them.

Pupils think equally highly of staff. They know that staff are there to help them keep safe and achieve well. Key values underpin the family feel of the school.

The school's close ties with the local community also help to achieve this.

Staff have high expectations of pupils. They work hard to support pupils well.

Relationships are strong, and everyone values each other's contribution. A number of parents and carers commented in glowing terms... about the school. One expressed the thoughts of many: 'The school does its best to make every child special and known.'



Pupils behave well. They are courteous and polite and demonstrate care for one another. Pupils are confident.

They are proud of their achievements and their school. They enjoy the rich variety of activities that leaders and staff provide. Pupils said that behaviour across the school is a strength.

They acknowledged that while bullying is rare, they have confidence that staff will deal with it should it occur.

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

Leaders have secured improvements as a result of their work. The headteacher has a strong and committed group of staff to support her vision for the school.

Together, staff form a caring and cohesive team, with pupils' best interests at heart. The highly effective governing body shares the same ethos. Governors have close ties with the community the school serves.

They know the school well, check on school leaders' actions to bring about improvements, and provide support and challenge appropriately.

Pupils' wider development is promoted well. Pupils learn about how to lead a healthy and safe lifestyle, and they have increasing knowledge of other cultures and faiths.

Pupils also learn about the difference between right and wrong. They behave and concentrate well in lessons, with no disruption to learning.

Leaders' approach to teaching phonics and early reading is consistent across all classes.

Children in the Reception class get off to a flying start with learning how to read. From their first day, they experience high-quality phonics teaching from suitably trained staff. This momentum continues into Years 1 and 2, where pupils apply their knowledge of the sounds they have learned when reading.

The books that pupils read contain the sounds that they know. They read these books several times, which helps them to become more fluent. Staff keep a close eye on how well pupils learn sounds.

This helps them to identify pupils who may need more help. Staff provide these pupils with appropriate support in a timely manner. Leaders' actions over time have improved how well pupils learn to read.

The rich writing curriculum is well established. Pupils' pride in their work is evident. They told the inspector that staff let them know how well they are getting on, and that this helps.

Pupils learn to write across a range of genres. In the Reception class, children apply their phonic knowledge when writing with increasing accuracy. Here too, staff help children to practise their writing, which children enjoy.

However, knowledge of the key features of different types of writing is not fully secure for some pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Staff make the curriculum enjoyable, engaging and meaningful so that pupils sustain positive attitudes towards learning. Staff teach most of the foundation subjects using a themed approach.

Pupils develop their knowledge securely. However, at times, teaching does not sequence lessons to build step by step on what pupils already know. Leaders and staff are refining their subject plans.

They are making clear the need for pupils to develop a deeper understanding of the subject content studied. This is especially true for pupils with SEND.

The headteacher has skilfully built a team of dedicated staff.

They learn from each other and from other schools. Staff feel respected and appreciated by school leaders. Leaders take full account of staff welfare when making decisions.

The governing body is a real asset to the school. While governors fully acknowledge the school's many strengths, they do not shy away from talking about how it could be even better. Through their own experiences, governors have valuable expertise to support and challenge school leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong and vigilant culture of safeguarding in the school. Leaders ensure that pupils know how to keep themselves safe.

They make certain that pupils have access to a wealth of information on keeping out of harm's way. Pupils know who to talk to if they are worried about anything.

Staff are well trained to make sure that pupils are safe and protected.

They are alert to any signs that a pupil may be in danger. They report any concerns to the right people straight away. The safeguarding team works well with outside agencies and follows up any concerns thoroughly and with speed.

The team makes sure that these pupils receive the support they need.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have established detailed plans for all subjects, including the foundation subjects. On occasion, plans do not provide teachers with precise guidance on ways to adapt the curriculum for pupils with SEND.

Leaders should strengthen planning and also support teachers to sequence lessons, particularly in the foundation subjects. This will help to deepen pupils' knowledge so that pupils, including those with SEND, know more and remember more.

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 a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that a good school could now be better than good, or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 28 and 29 June 2016.