Springvale Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Springvale Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

The school's ethos, 'play together, learn together and achieve together', is at the heart of everything this school has to offer. Leaders and governors are determined that every child who attends Springvale has a well-rounded education.

Staff know the pupils well. There is a strong and caring ethos that makes Springvale a warm and welcoming school. Parents also value this.

One parent said, 'They are like a family and my child is valued, cared for and pushed to be the very best he can be.' This was typical of comments received.

Staff have high expectations of what pupils... can achieve.

This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils live up to these expectations and achieve well in many areas of the curriculum. Pupils work hard in lessons and focus well on their learning.

Pupils behave well in classes and around the school. Pupils know the school rules: 'be kind and gentle, be resilient and brave, be ready to learn'. They know that these rules help them to behave well.

Pupils feel safe in school. They trust adults to deal with their worries swiftly. Leaders deal with any cases of bullying quickly.

Pupils are polite, friendly and respectful. They are happy to engage in conversation with adults. Pupils have a good understanding of equality and difference and know it is wrong to bully someone who is different.

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

The curriculum is well sequenced. Leaders have identified the important knowledge that pupils must learn. This includes the knowledge that children should learn in the early years.

In lessons, teachers are careful to break learning down into small steps.Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They use their expertise to devise lesson activities that enable most pupils to learn well.

Teachers ensure that pupils have opportunities to recall and revisit previous learning. In most subjects, pupils can recall their learning. This enables pupils to build up a foundation of knowledge on which they can add new learning.

Teachers check for any gaps in pupils' knowledge and address these effectively. However, leaders have not currently identified how pupils will learn what it means to be an expert in their subjects.

Leaders have developed pupils' love of reading.

One pupil said, 'This school cherishes reading.' This can be seen in the reading corners in every classroom and the outside libraries. Pupils read a range of books and talk positively about their class texts.

Children begin to learn phonics in Nursery. This means that children in Reception get off to a strong start. There are clear and consistent routines for the teaching of phonics.

There is a strong focus on developing fluency. Staff are well trained in these routines. The books pupils read match the sounds that they know.

Staff check to see how well pupils learn new sounds. They quickly identify pupils who begin to fall behind and give them the support they need to catch up. However, some staff do not say the sounds correctly.

This means some pupils are not able to blend sounds accurately when reading.

Leaders have clear systems in place for identifying pupils with SEND. Staff support pupils with SEND well so that they can access the same curriculum as their peers.

Leaders ensure that pupils with SEND and their families are well supported. Parents of pupils with SEND are positive about the support that their children receive.

Pupils engage well with one another at playtimes.

The activities available include the trim trail, books and sports equipment. Sports leaders support pupils with their play. The behaviour system is well understood by pupils and staff.

Pupils understand that behaving well earns them certificates and prizes at the Friday celebration assembly. Pupils are proud to receive these and their friends are pleased for them. Staff are confident in managing behaviour and feel well supported by leaders.

Leaders have worked hard to develop strong relationships with parents. This partnership approach ensures that standards of behaviour and high expectations are maintained.

The wider development and pastoral support of pupils are exemplary.

Pupils are enthusiastic about their roles such as sports leaders and school councillors. Other pupils aspire to take on these responsibilities. Pupils who are tour guides show pride in their school when showing visitors around.

Visits are deliberately planned so pupils learn about different faiths and cultures. Other visits include residential trips, theatre visits and museum visits. Pupils enjoy the wealth of clubs on offer, including 'Jesus and me' club, running club, cricket club and cartoon club.

Leaders are passionate about providing sporting opportunities for all pupils. These range from competing in sports teams to experiencing new activities, for example crown green bowls.

Staff appreciate the support they get from leaders and governors with managing their workload.

They value the planned well-being events. Staff meetings and training opportunities are purposeful activities.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff and governors have completed safeguarding training, and this is updated regularly. Leaders are clear about the risks in the local area and the challenges that families face. The school provides a range of well-being activities to support vulnerable pupils and their families.

These include a breakfast club and a counsellor.

Staff know how to report concerns, and these are acted on by leaders. Attendance is managed well.

Leaders ensure pupils who do not attend school are safe by following daily procedures. All recruitment checks are completed, and the recruitment of staff is well managed.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, leaders have not thought about how disciplinary knowledge is set out in the curriculum.

This means that teachers do not know how and when this should be taught. Leaders should ensure that pupils are taught the disciplinary knowledge that they need, so that they understand what it means to be a subject expert. ? Although staff have received regular training, some staff do not model pure sounds precisely enough when teaching phonics.

As a result, some pupils do not pronounce sounds correctly, and this impacts on their ability to accurately blend sounds to make words. Leaders need to provide additional training to ensure that all staff use pure sounds accurately and consistently.

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 November 2013.