Stanley Road Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to be part of Stanley Road Primary. Leaders' determination and work to improve behaviour has been very successful.

Pupils now play and learn alongside one another calmly and happily. Pupils respond positively to staff's encouragement and support. Leaders have created a culture where the whole-school community works together as a team and where everyone wants to 'reach for the stars'.

Leaders and staff have high expectations of all pupils. They are committed to helping pupils achieve their very best. The improvements they have made in some areas of the school, such as reading, to enable pupils to do this have been highly effective.

Pupils now ...love to 'read around the world' and are learning to do so very well. However, leaders know that there is much more work to be done to enable pupils to achieve very well across the whole curriculum.

Pupils learn how to respect one another right from the early years.

They celebrate and value the diverse community within the school. Pupils understand the importance of voting to appoint their peers to positions such as eco-councillors and prefects. Wider opportunities, such as residential visits, also widen pupils' understanding of how to take responsibility for themselves outside school.

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

The trust has been instrumental in stemming the decline in the school's performance. Leaders, governors and trustees work in partnership, with a strong focus on what is best for the pupils. Leaders have taken great care to consider the needs of staff when making the important changes needed.

Staff appreciate this highly. All staff work together as a cohesive and supportive group. This is helping to improve the school at pace.

High-quality training has enabled staff to become experts in the teaching of reading. Teachers ensure that pupils who need extra help to keep up are identified quickly. The extra support these pupils receive is highly effective and helps them to develop their reading fluency well.

Leaders have created a positive culture of reading. Pupils are eager to earn certificates for reading widely and often. Key stage 1 pupils get excited by 'choose it Tuesdays', where they vote for the class story time book.

Leaders have ensured that reading books reflect the school's diverse community and broaden pupils' understanding of the wider world. Pupils now achieve well in reading.

Leaders are ambitious for pupils.

They have focused on developing key elements of the curriculum, especially English and mathematics. Pupils are now achieving better in these subjects. However, while pupils do access a suitably broad and balanced curriculum, the key knowledge they need to learn and remember has not been set out precisely enough.

This means that teachers lack clarity about what to teach and when. The assessment systems in some subjects are very clear and help teachers to quickly spot where pupils have gaps in their learning. However, this is not the case across the curriculum.

Teachers do not identify and address misconceptions well enough, so gaps in pupils' knowledge persist.

Some subject leaders have not yet had the opportunity to check how well the curriculum in their subject is being delivered. They have not identified what is working well and what further developments are needed.

They do not have a clear enough overview of the staff training needed to help them to deliver the curriculum highly effectively. This means that, in some subjects, pupils are not achieving as well as they should.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are fully included in the life of the school.

Leaders identify their needs quickly and accurately. Leaders support staff to help them understand how to adapt learning. Where the curriculum is well developed, pupils with SEND achieve well and make progress in line with their peers.

Staff in the early years have crafted a curriculum that focuses on children's personal and language development. Positive relationships, alongside clear routines, help children to settle quickly. Staff understand children's needs well.

They use this knowledge wisely to develop learning activities that excite and engage children. Overall, children get off to a great start in the early years and are well prepared for the challenges of key stage 1.

Staff provide a wide range of experiences that support pupils' personal development.

Pupils appreciate the range of sporting opportunities, including tennis and frisbee. Additionally, trips and residential visits support pupils' learning well. Pupils learn about and respect the many different cultures and faiths within the school.

This has successfully developed an ethos of tolerance and respect. Leaders also consider pupils' mental health needs well. The school's counsellor is providing important support for those who need it.

Leaders' relentless focus on improving behaviour has been highly effective. Pupils are kind, respectful and want to learn and achieve. Staff provide sensitive support to help settle and re-engage with learning pupils who struggle to manage their behaviour.

Pupils benefit greatly from the calm and purposeful learning environment, as well as the fun and social playtimes.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff are quick to spot any potential signs that pupils may be at risk of harm.

Leaders address these concerns quickly and seek to find support to keep pupils safe. When leaders feel that the right support is not forthcoming, they continue to challenge agencies until they are satisfied that pupils are safe.

Leaders understand the needs of the community extremely well.

They use specialist agencies when specific concerns, such as gang and knife crime, arise to help pupils understand the dangers. Leaders make sure that pupils learn how to keep themselves safe in and out of school. Staff tackle any issues, such as cyber-bullying, and ensure that pupils understand how to protect themselves.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have not precisely set out the key knowledge and skills pupils need to learn and remember in all subjects. Where this is the case, teachers are unclear about what should be taught and when. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum in all subjects is carefully sequenced in a logical order so that teachers have a precise understanding of what to teach and when.

• Leaders have not developed an effective assessment system in all subjects. As a result, teachers do not identify and address gaps in pupils' learning well enough. Leaders should develop and refine the assessment systems to enable teachers to quickly identify and address any gaps in pupils' learning in all subjects.

• Subject leaders have not checked how well the curriculum is being delivered in their subjects or how well pupils are achieving. This means they do not have a clear understanding of how effective the curriculum is and what improvements need to be made. Senior leaders should support subject leaders to understand how well the curriculum is being delivered to identify any support and developments that need to be made.