Shrubland Street Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Shrubland Street Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school? '

All different, learning together' sums up what it is like at this inclusive and nurturing school.

Pupils know that the staff care about them. They say that the teachers are kind and help them to learn. Pupils are happy at school and proudly talk about how everyone is welcome here.

Pupils behave exceptionally well. They are polite to visitors and respectful towards staff and each other. At breaktimes, the playground is a lively space where pupils play with each other happily.

The youngest children in Nursery and Reception settle quickly into school becau...se adults build warm, caring relationships with them.

Pupils have opportunities to take on responsibilities, including as members of the school council and as librarians. These roles make a real difference.

Pupils say that adults listen to their ideas. For example, the eco-council has changed the way the school collects waste. It also organises clothing swap-shops to recycle clothing.

Pupils are clear that this is a school where difference is celebrated. They know everyone is treated fairly. Pupils say that 'we all have the opportunity to shine'.

The school has high expectations for pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils are eager to learn and they achieve well.

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

The school ensures that the ambitious curriculum is carefully planned.

The information that pupils learn is ordered so that pupils can build new learning on what they already know. For example, in Nursery children make simple self-portraits matching their own skin tone carefully. In Reception, children develop these skills by creating self-portraits in the style of Picasso.

Painting skills develop further as the pupils learn about colour wheels and techniques in key stage 1. By Year 6, pupils can confidently use colour and paint in representations of work by artists such as Yayoi Kusama.Teachers have good subject knowledge and present information clearly.

They break down the learning into small steps. Activities are successfully adapted so that all pupils can achieve. In mathematics, pupils use resources such as number blocks and number lines to deepen their understanding.

This helps them to practise new skills. Adults check what pupils know in order to pick up any misconceptions. However, occasionally staff miss opportunities to correct errors or spot gaps that pupils may have in their knowledge.

There are some inconsistencies in how well staff deliver the curriculum, including in the early years.

The school supports pupils with SEND very well. Staff adapt the curriculum and use extra resources so that these pupils get the support they need to learn alongside their peers.

Pupils with SEND say they are happy here.

The whole school is a book rich environment and reading sits at the heart of the curriculum. This starts in early years, where children have many opportunities to listen to and join in with stories and rhymes.

Children begin to learn to read as soon as they start school. Pupils who struggle with reading get the extra help they need to catch up. The school has ensured that the books that pupils listen to and read reflect their own cultures and those of the wider world.

Leaders want pupils to be able to see themselves in the stories they hear and read.

Pupils have positive attitudes to their learning. The school encourages them to be independent and resilient.

Pupils know that if they need help with their work they should try first before asking for help. They say that 'it's OK not to know, but it's not OK not to try'. Classrooms are calm and purposeful places where pupils can concentrate on their learning.

In the early years, children settle into the daily routines quickly and develop their social skills. Staff act swiftly on the very rare occasion that a pupil behaves unkindly.

The school supports pupils' personal development well.

This work is underpinned by the school's values, which pupils know and understand. They are the golden thread running through everything staff and pupils do. Pupils enjoy opportunities to attend clubs, including football and cookery.

Pupils in both key stages go on residential trips at which they work as a team to complete adventurous activities. Older pupils learn about entrepreneurship by raising money to help pay for these experiences. Through the curriculum, pupils learn to manage risk and keep safe.

They have an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships and of growing up. Pupils understand about different faiths and cultures. The school makes sure that pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education and for life in modern Britain.

Staff are overwhelmingly positive about working at this well-led school and morale is high. They value the training opportunities they receive that help them to continually improve in their roles. They know that leaders consider their workload and well-being.

Governors know the school well and fulfil their role effectively.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum is not always delivered as consistently as the school intends, including in the early years.

This means that some pupils miss opportunities to learn. The school should develop a consistent pedagogical framework to eliminate inconsistencies in teaching and ensure that no opportunity for learning is 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 June 2014.