St Silas Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St Silas Church of England Primary School continues to be an outstanding school.

The headteacher of this school is Richard Morris. This school is part of Rainbow Education Multi-Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Gina Donaldson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Dave Cadwallader.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thoroughly enjoy school from the time they enter the building to the point at which they leave at the end of the day. Pupils and their families benefit from an incredibly strong sense of belonging to the school community. Every...one is made to feel welcome, especially those who have arrived from different countries from around the world.

Pupils' conduct is exemplary. They follow the school rules and make sure that everyone is well cared for and safe. Pupils' manners are particularly notable.

They greet adults, visitors and other pupils with great courtesy and high levels of respect.

The school has exceptionally high expectations for pupils' achievement. Pupils respond to these aspirations with enthusiasm and a real desire to learn.

They come to lessons eager to build on what they have learned before. Pupils ask insightful questions and benefit from the skilful way in which staff help them to remember what they have learned. As a result, pupils are very well prepared to move to secondary school when they leave Year 6.

Pupils benefit from the wide range of clubs that are on offer. These activities enhance their talents and nurture their interests. They make a valuable contribution to school life.

For example, the school council was pivotal in the changes that have been made to lunchtime routines. Pupils also play a role within their community, by visiting residential homes and packing bags at the local supermarket.

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

The curriculum has been carefully crafted to meet pupils' interests, to capture the diverse nature of the school and to help pupils succeed.

Subject curriculums are ambitious. They set out the most important knowledge that pupils will learn in each unit of work and over time. This means that staff have all of the information that they need to build pupils' knowledge securely.

Staff are suitably trained and highly skilled in their delivery of the curriculum. They explain new learning clearly and adapt activities well to meet the needs of pupils who speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This enables pupils to excel in their learning.

Pupils achieve highly across the curriculum.

The school has a well-established approach to check on pupils' learning. This allows staff to intervene swiftly when they spot that pupils have made errors or developed misconceptions.

This approach also means that the additional needs of pupils with SEND are identified quickly so that these pupils get the support that they need.

Reading is at the heart of the school's curriculum. Pupils of all ages enjoy reading a broad range of texts by different authors.

Children in the early years, including those who access the provision for two-year-olds, are immersed in language. This sets them up well to recognise sounds and the letters that they represent when they begin the phonics programme in the Reception Year. The phonics programme is taught consistently well.

Pupils who find reading difficult receive the support that they need to keep pace with their classmates. As a result, by the end of Year 2, pupils are confident and fluent readers.

From the start of the early years, children, including those who access the provision for two-year-olds, develop positive attitudes to learning.

This continues as pupils move through each year group. Their desire to learn means that they concentrate fully and aim to do their very best. These attitudes ensure that learning time is unhindered by any disruption.

The school prioritises pupils' attendance. It takes effective action to ensure that pupils attend school regularly and on time. As a result, pupils' rates of attendance are high.

Pupils flourish as well-rounded youngsters. This is due to the high-quality provision that the school has in place to support pupils' personal development. Pupils take part in activities that enrich their life experience, for example going to the theatre, museums and galleries.

The school takes every opportunity to ensure that pupils recognise and celebrate the many nationalities represented across the school. Pupils are highly respectful of one another. They take great pride in their language and culture and that of their friends.

Trustees and members of the local academy committee body know the school very well. This enables those responsible for governance to provide appropriate support and challenge. The school is especially mindful of staff's workload.

For example, the school ensures that staff have the opportunity to work with colleagues in other trust schools to share their ideas and learn from the expertise of others.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Background

When we have judged a school to be outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding.

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 outstanding in November 2017.