Victoria Park Primary

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils describe the school as their 'second home'. They say it plays an important part in their everyday lives.

Pupils are rarely absent. They value the level of care and support they get from the staff. Parents and carers appreciate this too.

Leaders and staff work as a team with a clear focus on doing what is best for the pupils. The school's vision is to provide pupils with the best possible education to prepare them for future opportunities. Leaders have constructed an ambitious, well-rounded curriculum and they continually look at ways to improve it even further.

The multi-academy trust (MAT) is right behind the school and support them in their efforts t...o drive improvements.

Pupils are polite and very well-mannered. They greet visitors with a smile, and rush to hold doors open for staff and other adults.

Pupils get along with each other. In most instances, they listen well, focus on their learning, and complete their work. On the playground, pupils enjoy playing and chatting with their friends.

However, pupils say they would like more structured activities at breaktimes.

Parents are assured that their children are kept safe. They value the level of communication with the school.

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

The school has thought carefully about the knowledge, skills and vocabulary that pupils will learn within and across year groups. There is a relentless focus on developing pupils' language skills. This starts on a child's first day in the early years and continues up to the time they leave in Year 6.

The curriculum makes clear links and connections to what pupils have learned in the past. This supports teachers to plan lessons that build on what pupils already know. In turn, this helps pupils to connect new learning to what they have studied in the past.

Learning in some subjects is revisited and extended in other areas of the curriculum, which helps pupils to deepen their learning in different contexts.

Teachers have secure subject knowledge in a wide range of curriculum areas. They explain new learning in a logical manner.

Staff model subject-specific language accurately to support pupils' language development. As a result, pupils use this subject-specific vocabulary confidently when explaining their own ideas. However, some staff do not routinely check on pupils' learning.

This means that adults do not always identify misconceptions and spot gaps in pupils' learning. As a result, some pupils continue to make the same mistakes.

Reading has a high priority in the school and threads through the entire curriculum.

Staff consistently follow a structured approach to delivering phonics sessions from Reception onwards. Pupils are familiar with the structure of the phonics sessions, which supports their learning. In addition, the school is working hard to promote a love of reading through the curriculum.

This work includes opportunities for regular story times and special reading events.

The school identifies the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) accurately. Pupils with SEND are fully included in lessons and all aspects of school life.

Teachers, supported by skilled teaching assistants, plan activities and provide appropriate support. Staff are at hand to step in and provide help if required, but they are careful not to do the work for the pupils. This all means that pupils with SEND can learn the same content as their classmates.

There is a strong sense of pastoral care that permeates through the school. Positive relationships exist between staff and pupils. Pupils trust the staff and know that they are always there to help them.

They understand the importance of a healthy diet, regular exercise, and the importance of sleep. They know about the potential dangers of the internet and how to keep themselves safe when working online. Pupils have a growing knowledge of other faiths and cultures that are different to their own.

However, their knowledge of the different types of families that exist in the local area is less developed.

School leaders, the academy council and the MAT work well together. They share a common goal of improving the future life chances of the pupils in their care.

However, in some subjects, the checks that the school makes on how well the curriculum is being delivered are not always effective. They are not, for instance, routinely picking up the areas that need to be improved.

Staff value the training they receive linked to safeguarding, SEND and the curriculum.

This equips them to do their job better. Teachers say that leaders are always available to listen. They value this, as well as the support they receive from each other.

A comment made by a teacher sums up the feelings of many, 'Everyone is on the same page, and everyone is valued.'

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the school is not making effective checks on how well the curriculum is taught.

In these instances, inconsistencies relating to the implementation of the curriculum remain and pupils do not achieve as well as they could. The school should make effective checks on how well the curriculum is being delivered in all subjects, so that inconsistencies can be identified and appropriate support put in place. ? The school is not using formative assessment consistently well to identify pupils' misconceptions.

As a result, misconceptions are not being routinely identified and addressed. This means that pupils continue to make the same mistakes. The school should ensure that staff use formative assessment consistently well to identify pupils' misconceptions so that they can be addressed.

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