Rudston Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Rudston Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including children who attend the nursery, enjoy coming to this friendly and caring school.

They play together energetically and engage positively with their learning.

Pupils know that teachers and staff want the best for them. They understand the high expectations that staff have of them.

This helps pupils to try their hardest in lessons. They are proud of themselves when their teachers reward them for demonstrating resilience or being respectful to their peers.

Pupils feel listened to by staff.

This helps them to feel safe. Pupils say that teach...ers will 'drop everything to help you if you are struggling'. If bullying should happen, teachers and leaders act quickly to tackle it.

Many parents and carers, including parents of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), have positive views of the care and support that their children receive.

Pupils build many memories of the different opportunities they have in school. For example, they spoke excitedly about the sports tournaments and residential trips they had taken part in.

Pupils in the popular school choir look forward to performing on stage at a local high school. Leaders ensure that these experiences are accessible to all.

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

Leaders have carefully considered what pupils should know and be able to do by the time they leave school.

In most subjects, they have organised the curriculum well. Subject leaders have thought clearly about how pupils build their knowledge from the Nursery Year up to Year 6. This clarity equips teachers to deliver the curriculum well.

Pupils learn and remember more in these subjects than they did in the past.

In a few other subjects, leaders are improving the curriculum. These subject leaders are still finalising the exact knowledge that they want pupils to learn.

In these subjects, teachers sometimes lack clarity. This makes it harder for teachers to design learning activities which help pupils to remember what they need to know. Added to this, in subjects other than reading and mathematics, the strategies that teachers use to check what pupils have learned are still developing.

As a result, on occasion, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge that teachers are unaware of.

Leaders have a thorough understanding of the needs of pupils with SEND. They use rigorous systems to identify these needs accurately.

Staff in the nursery are experts in spotting the early signs that children may need additional support. Leaders ensure that teachers in all key stages understand how to adapt their teaching so that pupils with SEND can succeed alongside their classmates. A small number of pupils need more specialist help.

They benefit from expert support which helps them to achieve well from their starting points.

Leaders understand the important role that reading plays throughout the curriculum. They have prioritised the teaching of phonics.

Staff have the expertise that they need to deliver the phonics programme effectively. This programme begins in the early years, where children encounter a rich variety of words and stories. In the Reception Year and key stage 1, teachers ensure that the books that pupils read are closely matched to the sounds that they have learned.

This helps pupils to read accurately and with increasing fluency. Skilled support from staff ensures that pupils who find reading difficult, including pupils in key stage 2, can catch up quickly. Many pupils enjoy choosing books from the library and reading for pleasure at home.

In lessons, and at social times, pupils typically behave well. They follow classroom routines with enthusiasm. Leaders deal swiftly with any incidents of poor behaviour so that learning is not disrupted.

Children in the early years listen attentively and follow adults' instructions.

Leaders provide pupils with a range of opportunities to support their personal development. Pupils learn about different cultures, faiths and types of families.

This helps them to respect each other's differences. Pupils look after their physical health by taking part in a wide variety of sports. By the end of Year 6, many pupils have represented their school in competitions.

Pupils take on positions of responsibility, such as being peer mentors or digital leaders. These experiences help pupils to grow in confidence and contribute positively to the school community.

Leaders and governors know the school well.

Governors provide leaders with appropriate support and challenge. They help leaders to focus their actions on improving the standard of education that pupils receive.

Many staff told inspectors that leaders support them well.

They value the changes that leaders have made to reduce their workload and improve their well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have successfully created a culture of vigilance.

They have ensured that staff are well trained and alert to signs that pupils may be at risk of harm. Every worry is carefully checked and there is no complacency.

Staff follow clear procedures for reporting any concerns.

This helps leaders to take swift and appropriate action. When needed, leaders work effectively with external agencies to ensure that pupils get the timely help that they need.

Leaders ensure that pupils learn about how to keep themselves safe.

For example, they learn about how to stay safe online. They also learn about positive ways to stay mentally healthy.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few of the foundation subjects, leaders have not precisely identified the crucial knowledge that they want pupils to acquire as they move through the curriculum.

This hinders teachers in designing appropriate learning activities, and makes it more difficult for pupils to build on their prior knowledge as they progress through the school. Leaders should provide teachers with greater clarity about what pupils need to learn and remember in these subjects. ? In subjects other than reading and mathematics, assessment strategies do not give leaders and teachers enough understanding of how well pupils are learning the curriculum.

Gaps can open in some pupils' knowledge without teachers knowing. Leaders should ensure that assessment strategies are well matched to the knowledge in the curriculum, so that teachers can accurately identify any learning that pupils have missed.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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2014.