Teesville Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy their time at this friendly school. They enjoy lessons as well as many of the ways the school extends the curriculum. They particularly enjoy lessons that bring the outside world into school.

They also enjoy educational visits to support their learning on areas, such as rainforests. The school gives pupils a confidence that is apparent in the day-to-day life of the school.

The school wants the best for all pupils.

Staff set high expectations for behaviour and learning. These expectations are reflected in the improving outcomes that pupils are achieving by the time they leave school.

Pupils' behaviour is good.

Pupils have positiv...e attitudes to learning and show respectful behaviour in lessons and when moving around the school. They talk enthusiastically about the experiences the school provides and their learning. They are welcoming towards visitors.

Pupils feel safe in school. They say that bullying rarely happens. They know that if they need help, they can go to a trusted adult who will help them resolve any issues.

They have strong relationships with the adults in school.

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

Senior leaders, with support from the multi-academy trust, have focused on improving pupils' outcomes in English and mathematics. This is paying off.

Pupils are increasingly ready for the next stages of their education as a result.Clear lesson structures in these subjects are well understood and consistently applied by teachers. This, in turn, gives pupils growing confidence.

Pupils achieve well.

The school has designed a wider curriculum that matches the scope and expectations of the national curriculum. Curriculum documents show what pupils are expected to learn during the different terms of the year.

However, in some wider curriculum subjects, the curriculum is not yet fully embedded or taught effectively. This is because checks of what pupils already know and can do are not used consistently well to identify whether pupils have learned. This impacts on the school's ability to accurately plan pupils' future learning.

Early reading, and reading in general, is a clear school priority. From the moment they start in early years, children are encouraged to develop a love of reading and to read regularly at home. Pupils are aware of these expectations and respond well.

Pupils are proud of the reading culture that exists. Books are everywhere. They are visible in school entrances, corridors, displays, and in inviting areas in classrooms.

The school has invested heavily in new reading books. Across school, the books pupils read are well matched to their individual needs. Effective strategies are in place to support less-skilled readers to help them catch up.

The school's chosen phonics programme is delivered consistently well. Staff are well trained. In key stage 1, pupils receive phonics lessons at least twice a day, with additional bespoke sessions for those who need it most.

Pupils make good progress in reading.

The school has established a clear curriculum for teaching mathematics across school that is delivered consistently. Pupils are clear about expectations and are supported well.

Teachers are confident and demonstrate good subject knowledge. This helps them to use assessment well to check pupils' understanding and plan future learning. Pupils' books show that the mathematics curriculum is being implemented as intended.

This is also the case in other subjects, such as science, history and geography.

The school is ambitious for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Support plans, for example, are precise and identify the appropriate support required.

Some staff use this to make appropriate adaptations to the curriculum and to how it is taught to help these pupils to make good progress. However, this approach is inconsistent across the school. Not all staff have received appropriate training.

This means that some pupils with SEND do not receive the appropriate adaptations they need to achieve well.

In early years, a carefully constructed curriculum ensures that key knowledge is taught progressively, alongside the skills and language development that children need. Information from checks of what children know and can do is used well by all staff to identify when children need more practice.

Parents are involved in their children's learning. Relationships among children, and with staff, are very strong. Children play and learn happily together.

They are well prepared for learning in key stage 1.

The school provides a range of opportunities to support pupils' personal development. Pupils are consulted on the range of after-school clubs on offer.

They apply to take on roles with additional responsibility. Pupils are taught about different communities, cultures and individuals beyond the local area. Pupils' mental health is a focus.

A well-being practitioner is on hand to support pupils when needed. Pupils enjoy taking part in activities that enable them to stay safe in school, throughout the local community and online.

Leaders are well supported by the multi-academy trust and governance.

Trustees and governors have a good understanding of the school's strengths. They work in tandem to ensure any necessary improvements are carried out and carefully evaluated. They use their skills and expertise to hold leaders to account.

They are passionate about their role, visiting the school regularly. One governor told inspectors, 'From the moment you walk through the gates you see things which bring joy.' The trust uses central staff well to support the school with key priorities.

However, some subject leaders do not have a clear understanding of how the curriculum in key stage 1 builds on children's learning in early years.

Most parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school. They welcome its inclusive nature, and the nurturing experiences their children receive.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There is a lack of cohesiveness between the curriculum taught in early years with that in key stage 1. Some subject leaders are not sufficiently aware of what children already know and can do when they leave Reception.

The school should ensure the curriculum in key stage 1 builds well on what pupils have been taught and remember from the early years. ? Some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could. Tasks are not modified well enough to meet their particular needs.

The school should ensure all staff know how to make appropriate adaptations to teaching so that pupils with SEND receive the support they need to make consistently good progress. ? In some wider curriculum subjects, assessment is not used consistently well to identify whether pupils have learned what was intended. The school, with support from the trust, should ensure that it better checks pupils' understanding in wider subjects to inform future planning for pupils' learning.