Roundswell Community Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Roundswell Community Primary Academy are happy, confident learners.

They benefit from a deep sense of care, warmth and nurture from the dedicated staff team. Parents report that 'staff really care'. Pupils use their 'learning power puppets' to develop resilience and curiosity.

For example, 'persevering Pete' supports pupils to work hard and try again if they make a mistake.

Pupils understand how to behave well. They learn about the importance of respect and making good choices.

As soon as children start school, staff ably support them in the early years to play well with others. Pupils understand that it is important to be kind. For the mos...t part, pupils listen well in lessons, and disruption to learning is very rare.

Pupils enjoy learning and talk positively about the subjects they study. They learn about the community in which they live. This is carefully planned into the curriculum.

More recently, pupils have joined in with the newly established extra-curricular clubs, which includes art and football.

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

Leaders have planned carefully to address the gaps in pupils' learning caused as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the heart of this work has been support for pupils in the early stages of reading.

Staff follow a carefully sequenced phonics curriculum. As soon as children start school, they begin to learn the sounds that letters make. Staff make regular checks to see what sounds pupils can read.

More recently, additional support for pupils who need extra help has been effective. This means that pupils learn to read well. Pupils enjoy reading, particularly some of the high-quality texts that leaders have introduced into the curriculum.

Leaders have begun work to strengthen the wider curriculum. In subjects where this is further developed, they have considered what pupils need to know and by when. For example, in art and design, pupils talk confidently about William Morris and his style of design.

Children in the Reception Year learn about Aboriginal art and use different tools to recreate this style. However, in some subjects, leaders have not identified the important knowledge that pupils need to know to prepare them for what comes next. Moreover, subject leaders do not know how well pupils learn the planned curriculum.

Therefore, while pupils learn well in some subjects, this is not the case across the curriculum.

The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) provides staff with appropriate professional development and checks on the impact of this work. As a result, staff identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well.

They provide effective support, which means that pupils follow the curriculum successfully. Pupils with emotional needs flourish because they are well supported to manage their feelings.Children in the Nursery Year quickly develop strong bonds with the adults who help them.

Staff use questioning to extend children's learning so that they are ready for their next steps. In the Reception Year, children become independent in their self-care and learning. For example, during a word treasure hunt, children accurately wrote words and sentences from the sounds they know.

Pupils' personal development is central to leaders' work. They consider how the curriculum contributes to pupils' understanding of life in modern Britain. Pupils understand the importance of respect and equality.

They talk knowledgeably about what makes a good friend and understand that there are different types of families. Sometimes, learning from other subjects enhances this work. For example, in design and technology, pupils designed, made and evaluated fruit kebabs.

This work allowed them to understand the importance of healthy eating.

Parents are wholeheartedly positive about the staff team and the school community. They feel welcomed into the school for different occasions and events.

The staff team echoes this positivity. Staff feel very well supported and cared for. They say that leaders consider their workload and well-being thoughtfully.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders promote the importance of safeguarding in all that they do. They carefully consider the checks they make when new staff or volunteers join the school.

Staff receive regular and high-quality safeguarding training. This enables them to be vigilant and report concerns swiftly. Leaders act on any concerns appropriately and with determination to get the help that pupils may need.

As a result of this work, pupils feel safe.

Leaders invite visitors and charities into school to help pupils understand how to stay safe. For example, pupils learn about the importance of water and sea safety in the context of the coastal community where they live.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the important knowledge that pupils need to learn has not been fully identified. This means that pupils do not prepare for the learning to come with sufficient depth. Leaders should ensure that key knowledge is clearly identified and sequenced so that pupils learn well over time in all subjects.

• In some subjects, leaders do not know the difference the curriculum is making to the development of pupils' learning. Therefore, they are not able to adapt curriculum planning in response. Leaders at all levels should ensure that they check on the impact of the curriculum so that they can use this insight to inform future planning and support the consistent implementation of the curriculum.