Springfield Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Springfield Primary Academy continues to be a good school.

The principal of this school is Tina Storr. This school is part of The Enquire Learning Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Darren Holmes, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Delyse Turrell.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at Springfield Primary Academy. They are proud to attend school. Pupils value the opportunities that they have to contribute their own ideas during learning discussions.

Pupils have positive attitudes towards their learning. They enjoy learning in all subj...ects of the curriculum. Pupils know that the school has high expectations of their achievement.

Typically, they meet these expectations. Pupils are eager to receive rewards when they try their best. For example, they earn certificates, stickers and class points.

Most pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well. They are ready for the next stage in their education.

Pupils are polite and respectful.

They have an age-appropriate understanding of equality and diversity. Pupils told the inspector that 'no one is better than anyone else'. Pupils have a strong understanding of the school's values of care, collaboration and challenge.

They spoke confidently about how these morals are central to their lives in school and beyond.

Pupils benefit from a variety of opportunities to learn outside the classroom. They have a range of residential trips and visits to the local area and further afield.

Pupils enjoy clubs and activities, such as sports, gymnastics, art and cookery.

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

Pupils benefit from a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum. The school has thought carefully about the small steps of knowledge that pupils should learn and when this should happen.

The curriculum includes rich opportunities for pupils to find out about the history and characteristics of their local area. Most pupils, including children in early years, learn well.

The school and the trust provide staff with an effective programme of training.

This helps them to develop their curriculum knowledge and expertise. Teachers select appropriate activities in lessons and regularly check how well pupils acquire new content. They recognise if pupils fall behind and adapt future lessons to address any gaps in pupils' knowledge.

Typically, teachers deliver the curriculum well. However, in some subjects, teachers do not make their explanations clear enough. In these lessons, pupils find it difficult to explain what they have learned.

The school identifies pupils with SEND quickly. Staff support pupils with SEND to access the same curriculum as their peers. The school works closely with parents and carers, and with specialist professionals, to identify and address pupils' individual needs.

As a result, pupils with SEND typically achieve well.

Reading is prioritised throughout the school. Staff immerse pupils in a range of high-quality and carefully chosen texts.

They help to foster pupils' love of reading from the moment that children start in Nursery. Pupils enjoy choosing books to read at home. The school offers curriculum workshops for parents to boost their confidence in supporting their children's reading at home.

Children begin to learn phonics from the beginning of Reception. The school has equipped staff with the knowledge and skills to deliver the phonics programme well. Staff follow the agreed approaches to teaching reading with fidelity.

They provide pupils with extra support if they struggle or fall behind in their reading. Most pupils learn to be fluent and accurate readers.

Typically, pupils behave well across the school.

Children quickly settle into school life when they start in early years. They learn the expectations and the routines to follow. This helps children to have a strong sense of belonging and to engage in purposeful learning.

During lessons, most pupils focus well. Incidents of low-level disruption to learning are rare.

The school supports pupils' wider development well.

Pupils carry out leadership roles with pride. For example, they take on the roles of school councillors, digital leaders and eco-council members. Pupils appreciate the importance of caring for people in the school and in the community.

They sing at the local care home and collect food to help others who are less fortunate than themselves. Pupils have aspirations for their future lives, such as to be solicitors, footballers and teachers.

Trustees and members of the academy improvement committee work extremely closely with the school.

There is a sharp and unrelenting focus on supporting and challenging the school to continue to improve the quality of education that pupils receive. The trust and the school support staff to fulfil their roles well, including by reducing their workload and providing rich opportunities for staff to collaborate across the trust. Staff work in a long-serving and positive team.

They are committed to contributing to the school's continual improvement journey.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• At times, in a small number of subjects, teachers do not make their explanations in lessons clear enough.

This means that some pupils do not learn as much as they could and find it difficult to explain what they have learned. The school should support all staff to help pupils fully embed knowledge so that they know and remember more.

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 July 2018.