St Nicholas School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders, including governors and the staff team are taking action to adapt curricu-lum thinking and approaches to meet the needs of all pupils. These actions are am-bitious.

The quality of education is variable for all pupils because priorities for im-provement are at varying stages of being introduced and have not shown their full impact on securing improvements.This is a nurturing place to be. Adults build respectful and trusting professional relationships with pupils.

They get to know pupils well and typically understand what may cause pupils to become upset or emotional. In most cases, staff are quick to help pupils to calm themselves and use effective strategies ...to help pupils to manage their emotions and express themselves calmly.

Sometimes, pupils' personal development, independence and preparation for the next stage of learning is hindered when pupils' communication needs are not as effectively supported by all staff.

Pupils have opportunities to develop their confidence through participating in musical performances and competitions. Pupils take part in the local music festival, enthusiastically contribute to singing assemblies and learn dance routines with a dance company. Selected pupils have entered and won local pentathlon competitions.

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

The school's curriculum is under development. Some of the school's curriculum thinking is more developed than in other parts. Generally, the essential knowledge that pupils need to know and remember is not clearly and consistently defined in curriculum thinking.

This means that sometimes learning and teaching do not build pupils knowledge and skills cumulatively and securely.

The school is also developing systems to measure and check pupils' knowledge and understanding more precisely. In some subjects, such as English and mathematics, this helps staff to identify and address misunderstandings or gaps in pupils' knowledge.

However, in other areas of the curriculum, gaps in what pupils know, remember and can do are not routinely noticed or dealt with. Gaps in pupils' recall and understanding widen when future learning and next steps are not adapted to correct these.

The school has taken swift action to improve the teaching of phonics.

Leaders have recently introduced a new phonics curriculum and all staff have been trained to teach it. Staff have secure knowledge of the sounds letters make. Those pupils who read books, read books that are matched to the phonic sounds they know.

In some year groups, phonics teaching is adapted to help pupils to learn phonic sounds securely. However, where adaptations are not made, some pupils do not build up their phonics knowledge as securely.

Training from therapists on how staff can support the different communication needs of pupils is not routinely applied.

Generally, communication resources and aids support pupils effectively in and outside of classrooms. On occasions, when staff do not model or use communication resources as effectively, pupils' independence is reduced when they are not as well supported to make themselves understood, or do not understand as readily what staff are saying. Consequently, pupils sometimes withdraw from their learning and struggle to conduct themselves calmly.

The school is working to reduce the impact of workload on the well-being of some staff.Pupils are encouraged to take care of themselves and be respectful of each other. Pupils are taught about the faiths, beliefs and cultures of other people.

Through raising hatched chicks from eggs and observing caterpillars turning into butterflies and setting them free, pupils are taught to care for and respect the natural environ-ment and the world in which they live.The school works with parents and carers to ensure that pupils attend school regularly. If attendance rates fall, the school seeks to understand the reasons why.

Leaders work with parents to find solutions to improve attendance. This includes hosting coffee mornings and workshops on topics such as sleep and behaviour.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• On occasion, pupils are not given the support and guidance they need to com-municate their wants and needs, and to engage with their learning. This means that sometimes pupils behaviour declines, pupils become disengaged from learn-ing and the development of pupils' independence is hindered. The school should ensure that all staff have the resources and expertise needed to strengthen com-munication, support behaviour effectively and help pupils' engagement in learn-ing.

• The school has not made sure that the essential knowledge that pupils need to know is clearly and consistently defined in curriculum thinking in all subjects and phases. This means that sometimes learning and teaching do not build pupils knowledge and skills cumulatively and securely. The school should ensure that the breadth of curriculum thinking specifically sets out what they want all pupils to know and be able to do.

The measuring and checking of what pupils know and can do is variable across the curriculum. This means that sometimes gaps in pupils knowledge are not identified and addressed and next steps for pupils are sometimes lack precision. The school should ensure that gaps in pupils' component knowledge and skills are robustly identified and addressed.