Whitefield Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to Whitefield Primary. They live and breathe the school values of 'inspire, dream, achieve'. Pupils have lots of friends.

They show great respect for one another. Parents and carers appreciate the family environment that leaders have fostered.

Staff and pupils enjoy warm relationships.

Pupils feel cared for and listened to. This helps them feel safe in school. They said that bullying and name-calling are extremely rare.

Pupils are confident that staff would sort out any issues straight away.

Leaders have high expectations of pupils' behaviour and achievements. Pupils work hard and display positive attitudes.

They ...understand that these are qualities that will help them succeed in school, and in later life.

Leaders make sure that pupils can access a range of trips and visits. This helps to widen pupils' experiences.

Pupils' future ambitions are being promoted well through trips to the theatre and links with Manchester University.

Leaders want pupils to be 'active citizens'. They enable pupils to take on responsibilities such as litter-picking in the local area and fundraising for charity.

The 'animal club' enjoys looking after Derek the duck and his family. Pupils can also access a wealth of additional activities and clubs. Leaders make sure that the clubs are wide ranging in choice, to appeal to as many pupils as possible.

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

Leaders, including governors, have brought about many positive changes since the previous inspection. Their work means that pupils enjoy a much better quality of education than they did in the past.

Leaders have ensured that the curriculum is ambitious for all pupils.

This includes pupils who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The curriculum is planned so that learning takes place in a logical order. This helps pupils to build on what they have already learned.

As a result, pupils achieve well in most subjects.

Pupils enjoy many additional activities that further develop their understanding of a topic. For example, pupils have recently visited York to learn more about their current history topic.

Pupils could talk in detail about how and why the Viking and Anglo-Saxon communities settled in different parts of Britain.

In a small number of subjects, pupils are not able to recall their previous learning. This is because they are not given the opportunity to recap on what they have been taught, to help them to remember it.

Children settle quickly into the early years. They learn from a range of purposeful activities inside and outside the classroom. These activities stimulate children's interests.

Staff encourage children to persevere with tasks. As a result, children in the early years understand how to be resilient learners.

Leaders have ensured that reading is prioritised across the school.

Staff have recently accessed more training to help them support younger pupils with their reading. Children learn words and sounds as soon as they enter the Nursery class. Staff in the Reception and key stage 1 classes provide activities that help pupils practise and build their phonics knowledge.

They select reading books that match the sounds that pupils know. Pupils are provided with extra support whenever required. This is helping them to build on their reading skills.

Pupils said that they enjoy reading. Leaders have invested in an attractive school library where pupils are able to choose from a vast range of books. Older pupils build their comprehension skills through carefully chosen high-quality texts.

Teachers read regularly to pupils. Pupils explained that this helps them understand how to read to an audience in an interesting way.

Pupils behave well across the school and in class.

Consequently, there is little disruption to pupils' learning. At playtimes, pupils enjoy a range of activities. They like talking to and playing with their friends.

Pupils understand the importance of equality and fairness. They explained that everybody should have the same chances in life and be free from discrimination.

Leaders have ensured this is a school where everybody is welcome, regardless of their differences.

They identify pupils with SEND swiftly. Staff are trained to adapt learning activities so that pupils with SEND can access the full curriculum. As a result, pupils with SEND achieve well.

Staff enjoy working at the school. They are supported well by leaders who they believe value their contributions to the school's success. Governors share school leaders' ambitions for all pupils.

Staff are appreciative of the checks that leaders and governors make on their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders arrange for regular safeguarding training to take place for staff and governors.

This helps them identify any pupils who may be at risk of harm. Staff are encouraged to report any concerns they may have about pupils. These actions are promoting a culture of safeguarding.

Pupils learn about how to stay safe online. A range of visitors, including the police and fire service, help pupils understand the dangers they may face outside school.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, pupils are not able to recall the key knowledge that they need to access future learning.

This is because teachers do not provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to recap on their previous learning. Leaders should ensure that time is given for pupils to review content that they have previously covered. This will enable them to build more effectively on what they know and remember.