South Bank Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a highly inclusive and welcoming primary school. Pupils enjoy coming to school each day. They know they have a range of adults that care for them when they are in school.

Pupils treat each other and the adults that support them with respect. Pupils know the school's values, such as curiosity and compassion, well. They demonstrate these values across the school day.

The school has high expectations of what pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), can achieve during their time here. The school is making changes to its curriculum to ensure all pupils fulfil their potential. Some of these changes are not yet fully realise...d or are still in development.

The school is calm and orderly. Pupils behave well. There is minimal disruption to learning.

From early years onwards, the school has clear routines and expectations for behaviour. Pupils know they are treated fairly.

The school ensures pupils benefit from a wide range of experiences.

Careers and aspiration opportunities help pupils understand different careers and jobs. The school has a specialist social, emotional and mental health team who support the school community, including with parents and carers. Parents and carers are very positive about the whole school offer.

They value how well the school knows the pupils who attend here.

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

The school continues to develop its curriculum so that pupils are ready for their next stages in learning. Subjects are at different points of development.

For example, leaders have made sure that the teaching of mathematics is more consistent. This is beginning to help pupils connect their learning together. Pupils talk with confidence about the skills they have improved in physical education (PE).

In some subjects, pupils cannot recall their most recent learning. The school routinely checks what pupils know and can do. However, in many subjects these checks do not match the intended learning as closely as they need to.

This limits the schools understanding of what pupils know and remember over time.

The school prioritises reading in the early years. Children make a prompt start to learning to read.

They enjoy books, rhymes and stories within their setting. Reception-age children and those in key stage 1 benefit from a consistent and accurate approach to the teaching of phonics. They read with fluency when practising the sounds, they know.

As pupils move through school the reading curriculum is less well defined. The school does not identify the key knowledge and skills that pupils need to become independent readers. The school raises the profile of reading in different ways.

For example, the school recommends five different books that are essential reading for every year group. The school also has a new, well-stocked library. Pupils enjoy reading.

However, most pupils struggle to recall favourite books or authors.

Pupils with SEND are well supported across the school. Some pupils attend the on-site, specially resourced, provision.

These pupils follow a bespoke curriculum. This helps them work towards personal targets alongside curriculum learning. Pupils move between the resourced provision and mainstream classes seamlessly.

Staff have a detailed understanding of individual pupils' needs. This enables adults to make purposeful adaptations to support pupils' learning.

The school encourages pupils to play an active role in school life.

Pupils take on a range of school roles such as well-being ambassadors and sports leaders. Pupils are proud to represent the school. For example, the well-being ambassadors work with the catering team to change the school lunch offer.

Other pupils raise awareness of environmental issues. Pupils learn how to be active citizens in the school community. However, the school does not extend pupils' knowledge of British values as securely as it could.

The school is not preparing some pupils for life in modern Britain as well as it needs to.

Leaders have nurtured a strong sense of community across the school. In early years, warm relationships between children and adults help children play together harmoniously.

Some pupils find it hard to manage their emotions. Pupils know that they have adults in school who support them effectively when this happens. This helps them get back to their learning as quickly as possible.

Clear systems to improve attendance help pupils attend more regularly. The number of pupils who are persistently absent is reducing.

Those responsible for governance are actively involved with school.

However, they do not gather sufficient information from the school on the effectiveness of the curriculum. This means that governors do not hold leaders to account as well as they could. Dedicated staff support pupils, parents and each other in this welcoming school.

Staff are very proud to be part of the school's family.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some curriculum areas are less well-developed than others.

In these areas, including the reading curriculum, the school has not identified sufficiently the essential learning pupils need. This means pupils do not make sufficient progress over time or demonstrate they are remembering the key knowledge that the school intends them to. The school should ensure the key knoweldge and skills pupils need to be ready for their next stage in learning, are identified equally well in all curriculum areas, including the reading curriculum.

• The use of assessment is inconsistent. The school does not fully understand what pupils are remembering over time or the impact of the planned curriculum. The school must ensure that checks on learning inform them of the impact of the curriculum and whether pupils are knowing and remembering more.

• Those responsible for governance do not have a thorough or precise understanding of the quality of education pupils receive. This means they do not hold leaders to account sufficiently well and ensure that pupils receive an education offer that helps them be ready for their next stages in learning. Thos responsible for governance must ensure that they provide appropriate challenge to the school to ensure that the quality of education improves.

• The school does not teach British values as effectively as it needs to. This is limiting how well some pupils recognise or understand the importance of British values. The school should review its teaching of British values and ensure all pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.