Anglesey Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

There has been no change to this school's overall judgement of good as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now.

Inspectors are recommending the next inspection to be a graded inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

There is a strong sense of community at Anglesey Primary. Pupils, parents and staff are proud to be part of this community and work together in positive partnerships.

Pupils of all ages develop independence and resilience. Pupils work hard and show positive attitudes to learning. Leaders want pupils t...o aim high.

However, in some subjects, pupils find it hard to remember what they have learned and have gaps in their knowledge. Staff support pupils in the resource base well and this helps them to make progress. However, the support for some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) does not help them to learn well enough.

Leaders' have high expectations of pupils' behaviour. Pupils behave well both inside and outside school. They know the importance of the school rules and the consequences of not following them.

If bullying happens, staff deal with it quickly. Pupils feel safe and enjoy coming to school. Staff encourage them to be kind and respect one another.

Pupils enjoy the range of activities offered to them. They particularly enjoy trips and visits to places such as Cadbury World. Leaders encourage all pupils to attend the activities offered to them, including keyboard, embroidery and bench ball clubs.

Many pupils take advantage of these opportunities.

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

Leaders place a high emphasis on reading. Recent training has enabled staff to teach phonics well.

Support for pupils who struggle to read is helping them to catch up. Leaders use assessment well to adapt what pupils need to learn. This helps pupils to develop into confident and fluent readers.

Pupils enjoy reading. They talk positively about the range of books they read. Teachers choose books linked to topics being studied to read to pupils.

In some subjects, leaders have clearly identified and set out the knowledge and skills pupils need to learn. However, this is not the same for all subjects. In some subjects, while leaders have considered what key skills and knowledge should be included in the curriculum, they have not set it out precisely enough.

Teachers understand the key knowledge that should be taught. They plan activities which pupils remember, but pupils are not clear about what they are learning as a result of these tasks. For example, pupils know that they are making structures such as stone age roundhouses, but do not recall what they learned about how to make the structure strong and stable.

In some subjects, teachers use assessment well to check what pupils know. For example, teachers check how much pupils remember at the start of mathematics and phonics lessons. This enables teachers to identify and re-teach any gaps in pupils' knowledge.

However, this is not the case in all subjects. In some subjects, teachers do not regularly check what pupils know and remember. This means that pupils have gaps in their knowledge, which makes it harder for them to learn new things.

Staff identify pupils with SEND more precisely than in the past. Leaders ensure that training and support help staff to correctly identify pupils' needs. Most pupils with SEND receive effective support to help them access their learning.

This helps them to make progress through the curriculum. Pupils attending the speech and language resource base also make good progress. However, leaders have not monitored all of the support for pupils with SEND to check how effective it is.

They have not identified that some support for pupils with SEND is not as effective as it could be. This means that some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they should.

Children in the early years benefit from well-planned activities to support the development of independence.

For example, the learning environment features many real-life examples to support learning, such as old cameras and typewriters to show how objects have changed from the past.

Behaviour is positive. Pupils are polite with each other and with adults.

Lessons are rarely disrupted. Leaders respond quickly to incidents of behaviour that are below their expectations. They track incidents of poor behaviours and use this information to put in further support for pupils who need it.

Leaders use different strategies to support more challenging behaviour well.

Leaders place a high emphasis on giving pupils a wide range of experiences. Pupils learn through real-life opportunities such as enterprise week.

Their understanding of democracy develops through activities such as standing for election for the school council. Experiences, such as visits from the police, membership of children's rights groups and activities such as designing wheelchair ramps in Reception all support pupils to be ready for life in modern Britain.

Staff enjoy working here.

Leaders consider their well-being and staff value this. Leaders' actions to manage staff workload are appreciated. Governors challenge leaders by asking questions to check leaders' actions.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff understand the importance of safeguarding. Leaders make sure that staff know the risks that may face pupils.

Staff training helps to ensure that all staff report concerns promptly. Leaders act on these concerns quickly. They offer a wide range of support, including 'Anglesey Early Help', to those who may need it.

Leaders have designed a curriculum which supports pupils well in knowing how to keep themselves safe in a variety of situations. Pupils learn about how to keep themselves safe online and have a range of adults in school to share worries with.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have not set out key knowledge and skills precisely enough in some subjects.

Consequently, teachers plan learning based on activities rather than the key knowledge that pupils need to know and remember. Leaders need to ensure that key knowledge and skills are clearly defined and sequenced in all subjects and that teachers make the knowledge more explicit when teaching. ? In some subjects, teachers do not check what pupils know and remember precisely enough.

This means that they do not identify gaps in pupils' learning. Leaders should ensure that teachers check carefully what pupils know and remember so that they can close any gaps in their learning. ? Leaders have not monitored the effectiveness of the provision for some pupils with SEND.

This means that they have not identified that some support is not effective. Leaders should monitor provision for pupils with SEND and use what they learn to provide further support and training for staff, to enable them to support pupils with SEND effectively.

Background

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

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 may 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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2012.