Ryton Community Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Ryton Community Infant School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils talk with enthusiasm about the many school trips and exciting activities on offer in school.

Leaders have planned a range educational visits and experiences to enhance the curriculum. They are determined that all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), catch up and achieve well.

Staff and pupils model caring and positive relationships, which helps pupils to feel safe and confident.

Most pupils listen carefully in lessons, which are calm and purposeful. Pupils strive to achieve well in lessons. They enjoy receiving p...raise from staff.

This motivates them to work hard. Pupils are not worried about bullying because they know it rarely happens and staff always sort out any problems.

Pupils enjoy the many organised visits and activities, such as participating in a dance festival and visiting the theatre to see 'Room on a Broom'.

Staff make sure that pupils understand responsibility by providing experiences such as looking after the school's brood of hens. Children in the early years learn about healthy eating through planting and growing vegetables to make soup.

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

Leaders have identified the knowledge and skills that pupils must learn in each subject.

Curriculum plans show the important knowledge and vocabulary leaders want pupils to learn. Staff attend training to develop their subject knowledge in order to ensure that the curriculum is well taught. Leaders have identified gaps in pupils' learning as a result of the pandemic.

Extra sessions in reading, writing and mathematics ensure that pupils are catching up.

In mathematics, teachers plan activities that help pupils to remember the content they have been taught. This is enabling pupils to learn new ideas.

For example, in Nursery, children practise counting through a range of activities, such as blowing bubbles. Later, in Years 1 and Year 2, pupils count in multiples of two, five and 10 using coins. In mathematics and English, teachers make regular checks on pupils' understanding to make sure pupils are keeping up.

Extra help is provided for pupils who need it. On occasion, pupils' recall of content that they have covered in the past is not as strong as it could be. This results in some gaps in their long-term memory, making it harder to learn new topics.

Children learn to listen to and enjoy stories as soon as they start in Nursery. They copy sounds and rhythms in songs and rhymes. This helps to prepare them to learn to read using phonics when they start Reception.

Pupils in key stage 1 are grouped carefully so that they receive the support they need to help them succeed in reading. Staff listen to pupils read often. The books that pupils read match their phonics knowledge.

A few pupils join the school mid-year. Effective systems are in place to identify any gaps in pupils' phonics knowledge. Staff ensure that these pupils receive frequent catch-up sessions.

As a result, pupils develop fluency and confidence in reading.

Leaders identify pupils with SEND carefully. Staff work well with external agencies to ensure that these pupils are well supported.

This includes ensuring that staff receive regular training so that they know how best to support pupils with SEND. Pupils who need help to manage their emotions or mental health are well supported through interventions. As a result, children from Nursery to Year 2 learn to understand and manage their emotions well.

This helps pupils to engage in their learning and to form positive relationships with others.

Some pupils do not attend school as often as they should. Leaders promote the importance of attending school every day.

Staff work hard to help families understand the importance of regular attendance. Despite this, attendance is below where it needs to be.

Pupils show respect and cooperate well with others.

Leaders ensure that there are strong links with the local community police. Through assemblies and stories, pupils learn to tolerate difference. Older children learn values such as democracy by voting for their school councillors.

There are many clubs and activities on offer to develop pupils' talents. For example, older pupils participate in physical education festivals at the local secondary school. They enjoy singing at a Durham Cathedral competition for school choirs.

Leaders consider staff workload by ensuring that staff are given time to fulfil their responsibilities. Staff feel valued through the personal development opportunities available. Governors understand their roles well.

They monitor the use of funding to ensure that it is being used to benefit pupils well.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school.

Leaders ensure that all staff receive relevant training often to help them recognise potential risks of harm. Staff know pupils and their families well. They report concerns promptly.

Leaders follow up concerns thoroughly. They ensure that families benefit from the help of external agencies.

Pupils are taught about potential risks.

Leaders ensure that pupils participate in assemblies and projects to help them to understand positive relationships and to know how to report when they have any concerns about the way they are being treated.

Leaders and governors, check safeguarding processes, including the safer recruitment of adults who work in the school.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The attendance of a few pupils is not good.

As a result, some pupils miss too much learning. Leaders need to continue to support parents and carers to ensure that all pupils attend well and on time. ? Some pupils have gaps in their memory and learning.

This is because pupils do not revisit important learning often enough to help them to transfer knowledge to their long-term memory. Leaders should consider which knowledge needs to be revisited and revised to help pupils to remember what they have been taught.

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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2017.

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