Rothwell Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Rothwell Primary School are happy and safe. Pupils are cared for and supported well by all staff.

They trust staff to help them if they have any worries. Bullying is very rare and dealt with if it occurs.

Pupils behave well in lessons and around school.

They enjoy their learning. Teachers have clear and consistent expectations for pupils, both academically and behaviourally. Teachers focus on the positives and celebrate pupils' successes.

Teachers challenge pupils when their behaviour does not meet expectations while also supporting them to get better at managing their own behaviour. From Reception, children are taught clearly how to regula...te their own behaviour and how to build positive relationships with others.

Pupils enjoy happy relationships with each other and with all staff.

Staff help pupils to develop an understanding of their feeling and behaviours. Pupils are very kind and respectful. They are aware of the different experiences and challenges that others might face.

Pupils think deeply about how their words and actions could affect others. The school's principle of 'no outsiders' is taken seriously by everyone at Rothwell Primary School and is evident in the behaviour of staff and pupils. This is an inclusive school.

Parents and carers are closely involved in the life of the school. They are proud of the school and grateful for the support and care that their children receive. The school, rightfully, enjoys high levels of trust from the wider school community.

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

From Reception, children are quickly and effectively taught to read. Teachers are experts in the teaching of early reading. They benefit from high-quality training from leaders.

Teachers introduce new sounds clearly and regularly revisit what pupils have learned. They identify any gaps in pupils' knowledge quickly and use well-targeted interventions to help all pupils to keep up. As a result, children make good progress towards fluent reading.

Staff promote a love of reading throughout school. Pupils enjoy reading and understand its importance. They have lots of opportunities to read during the school day.

These opportunities are purposeful and help pupils to develop their fluency further. Staff also work closely with parents and carers to support them in reading with their children.

The teaching of mathematics is also highly effective from Reception to Year 6.

Pupils develop secure mathematical knowledge quickly. Teachers break learning down into small steps and check that all pupils are secure in their knowledge before moving on. If pupils have gaps in their knowledge, these are consistently addressed.

Teachers receive effective training and support to develop their practice over time.

In other subjects, pupils benefit from an ambitious curriculum. Leaders have identified the important knowledge and skills that pupils need in order to make progress.

Teachers explain new content clearly and check pupils' understanding. In some lessons, teachers do not focus their teaching clearly enough on the most important content that pupils need to learn. For example, when teaching writing, teachers sometimes focus on broad aims such as 'writing a diary entry' but do not ensure that all pupils are secure in their knowledge of the language, grammar and topic knowledge that they are expected to use in their writing.

The support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) ensures that these pupils achieve highly and have a positive experience of school. Staff consider how best to remove any barriers to learning or inclusion for individual pupils with SEND. Staff adapt their teaching sensibly to ensure that all pupils can access the same curriculum.

Staff also ensure that all pupils enjoy the same experiences and opportunities during their time at the school.

Leaders take the personal development of pupils seriously. They have planned clearly for how to develop pupils' social skills and their understanding of emotional well-being across their time in school.

Pupils are mature and thoughtful in their relationships with each other. Older pupils are well prepared for secondary school. Pupils make the most of opportunities to demonstrate and develop their leadership skills and to contribute to the life of the school.

For example, older pupils support younger children with their reading and some pupils act as well-being ambassadors.

Pupils have a detailed understanding of fundamental British values and of protected characteristics such as race, gender and sexuality. Pupils celebrate differences.

They encounter a range of beliefs, traditions and cultures, for example through visits to places of worship. In some cases, pupils lack the wider knowledge necessary to make sense of these experiences. For example, pupils do not consistently know enough about the beliefs and practices of different religious traditions and world views to understand the importance of what they experience during visits to places of worship.

The school is very well led. Leaders, including governors, and staff work together closely to continue to improve the school. The support for staff is excellent.

Staff feel valued, trusted and cared for. Teachers are proud to work in this school and with this leadership team. Leaders set out to create an inclusive school and, with the support of all staff, have succeeded.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff take their responsibilities for keeping pupils safe seriously. Leaders are vigilant and know pupils well.

They are quick to identify and act on any risks or concerns. Leaders maintain their care of vulnerable pupils throughout their time in school.

Staff have excellent knowledge of how to keep children safe.

They benefit from high-quality training and regular updates.

Pupils are knowledgeable about how to keep themselves safe. They know how to stay healthy and how to make positive choices.

They are very well informed about healthy relationships and what they can do to maintain these. Pupils report their concerns and worries to staff. Staff deal with these quickly.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, teachers do not focus their teaching on the most important content and concepts that pupils need to know in order to access the school's ambitious curriculum. This means that some pupils are not as well prepared as others for what they are going on to learn. Leaders should ensure that teachers have a clear understanding, across the range of subjects, of what pupils need to know and be able to do to access later learning.

• When pupils encounter different beliefs, traditions and cultures in the curriculum or through visits or events, they sometimes lack the wider knowledge they need to make the most of these experiences. This means that some pupils are not able to develop their understanding of beliefs, traditions and cultures further through these experiences. Leaders should ensure that teachers develop pupils' depth and breadth of knowledge about religions, worldviews and citizenship to enable them to connect these encounters to their deeper knowledge and understanding.