Darley Dene Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an inadequate school Weaknesses in senior and middle leadership have limited the headteacher's capacity to improve the school.

The headteacher carries the full responsibility for nearly everything in the school. Safeguarding is not effective. Leaders and governors have not ensured that the school's site is safe and secure.

Frequent changes of staff have hampered the pace of improvement in the school. Standards are too low. By the end of key stage 2, too few pupils are working within the standards expected for their age.

In 2018, only half of the pupils in Year 6 achieved the expected standard in their combined results for reading, writing and ...mathematics. Teaching over time is inadequate. The curriculum is not well developed.

Teachers do not have high enough expectations of pupils' attainment and the progress that pupils can make. Over time, the systems to measure pupils' progress, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), have proved inadequate. Since joining the school in September 2018, the headteacher has introduced a new approach and is establishing an accurate view of pupils' starting points.

Pupils make inadequate progress, including the most able and pupils in key stage 2 with SEND. Additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils is not used effectively because pupils' needs are not understood well enough. As a result, their progress is weak.

Leaders' oversight of pupils' behaviour is not good enough. For example, instances of poor behaviour and bullying are not recorded effectively. As a result, leaders do not have the information they need to be able to evaluate the impact of their actions to improve behaviour.

The school has the following strengths Pupils are confident and self-assured. The school offers a friendly and welcoming environment. Leaders are receiving helpful support from the local authority and a national leader for education (NLE).

Information about this school

The school is a smaller-than-average-sized primary school. Most pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is above average.

The proportion of pupils with SEND is broadly average. The school incorporates Owls Class, a specially resourced provision for up to 12 pupils in Reception and key stage 1 who have communication and language difficulties. There is a breakfast club that is managed by the school.

The school includes a Nursery class. An NLE is currently supporting the school. The headteacher was not in post at the time of the previous inspection.

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