Sir Alexander Fleming Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Sir Alexander Fleming Primary School is a warm and welcoming school. The school's motto of 'Belong, Being, Becoming' shines through.

Staff want the best for pupils and pupils want to do their best to please staff. Pupils show they enjoy learning through their excellent attitudes in lessons. Their behaviour in and out of lessons is exemplary.

The youngest children in the school's Nursery get off to a flying start. They make rapid progress in their communication and social skills. Many children join the school after their early years.

Whenever they start, all pupils go on to learn, remember and do more over time. Pupils with special educational needs and/or dis...abilities (SEND) flourish.

The school has sensibly thought hard about what experiences it wants all pupils to have.

This includes learning about life in modern Britain and teaching them how to keep themselves safe online. Pupils enjoy visiting local places of interest. These visits bring pupils' learning to life.

Many can recall with a sense of pride new things they have experienced for the first time. Reading is a priority in this school. Visits from local poets have become a highlight of the school year.

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

Parents rightly have confidence in the school. Relationships are built quickly from the time a child joins the school. The vast majority of children attend regularly.

The school works effectively with parents who need support. As a result, these pupils quickly improve their attendance.

The school quickly identifies any SEND that pupils may have.

Following this early identification, the school puts appropriate and personalised help in place. Pupils with SEND achieve well from their individual starting points.

Pupils show high levels of engagement in their learning, including in the early years.

Children in the early years follow established routines. This helps them to learn about the expectations of behaviour in the classroom. Books, stories and nursery rhymes have been chosen carefully.

These are helping children to develop their understanding of the wider world. This includes about diverse places and people.

The school has established a broad and ambitious curriculum from the early years to the end of Year 6.

Leaders have recently changed their mathematics curriculum. There is also a new personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) scheme of work. Leaders have trained teachers to be able to teach these new curriculums effectively.

Staff have been trained to teach early reading effectively. They have the subject knowledge needed to deliver the reading curriculum well. A love for reading is promoted successfully through regular opportunities to read for pleasure.

As a result, pupils become proficient readers, although this is not consistently reflected in published results.

The school has sensibly changed its approach to the teaching of writing in the last year. The implementation of the writing curriculum, however, is inconsistent.

Pupils' work is often presented poorly. For example, their letter formation is not of a consistently high standard across the school. This hinders many pupils' fluency and stamina in writing.

At times, teachers do not identify when pupils make common writing errors, which are not addressed quickly enough. This means that the errors persist over time. Similarly, pupils' number formation and the presentation of numerical information is inconsistent.

This means that some pupils cannot write their calculations fluently and so their learning is slowed.

The school's PSHE programme ensures teachers cover a wide range of important topics effectively. This includes physical and emotional health, technology safety and forming strong, healthy relationships.

Pupils get to explore their talents and interests through a growing number of clubs.

The school has taken action to address historical concerns about behaviour. The school is now calm and orderly.

Pupils know the school's expectations of behaviour and they follow them. They are respectful of staff and each other and prefer to focus on their learning. As a result, pupils' behaviour is excellent.

Governors are committed to working with the school to continue to improve the quality of education that it provides. Governors use external partners to support them with their evaluation of the school. This is helping them to support and challenge leaders robustly.

Pupils achieve well in their time at the school, reflected in their ability to read, write and do mathematics in lessons. However, this is not always evident in published outcomes.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school's expectations of pupils' presentational skills are not as high as when teaching them to read or learn mathematics. This means that pupils do not acquire the handwriting, letter and number formation or accuracy when recording calculations with the fluency needed to be ready for the next stage of their education. The school should raise its expectations of pupils' presentational skills so that pupils can write and complete written calculations with greater fluency to enable them to learn and remember more of the curriculum.

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