Drighlington Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Drighlington Primary School is an inclusive school where staff care about the pupils.

Pupils are confident and happy and attend well. They are polite and courteous to adults and one another. They treat their friends and adults with respect.

Pupils walk calmly and sensibly around school. They behave well in lessons. Pupils listen attentively to adults and each other when learning.

Pupils are safe in school, although some pupils do not always feel safe. The school has raised its expectations of how well pupils should behave and has reduced incidents of misbehaviour. Sometimes pupils are unkind to each other.

This is not tolerated. Although some bullyin...g does occur, the school deals with it quickly and effectively.

The school expects pupils to work hard, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

However, due to historic weaknesses in some areas of the curriculum, some pupils have gaps in their learning that have not been fully addressed. This means that these pupils do not achieve as well as they should in some subjects, including mathematics.

Pupils appreciate the wide range of clubs on offer.

They enjoy trips, such as the visit to Jorvik Viking Centre and sporting events. They enjoy learning from visitors. A recent author visit and access to interesting books help pupils develop a strong love of reading.

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

Since the previous inspection, the school has had several changes to leadership. Governors have acted quickly and worked with the local authority to build a strong school leadership team. The school has made changes to subject leadership.

The school is developing a revised curriculum. The school is monitoring the impact of these recent changes robustly.

The curriculum is ambitious for all learners.

Leaders have prioritised the development of reading and mathematics. In these subjects, the curriculum is well planned and sequenced. Pupils can confidently recall what they learn in these subjects.

In other subjects, and in the early years, the planning and sequencing are less effective. Where this is the case, pupils do not remember important subject content as well as they need to. The school is aware of this and has clear improvement plans in place.

Pupils learn to read with confidence and fluency. The school has developed a strong phonics and reading curriculum. Children's love of reading is well supported from the early years onwards.

Children read a wide range of high-quality books. Pupils enjoy reading and listening to adults read every day. Older pupils value choosing from a wide selection of fiction and non-fiction books that match their interests.

The school promptly identifies the needs of all children and communicates these to staff and parents and carers. The school recognises the importance of ensuring adults know what strategies work with individual pupils. Staff receive regular training to support pupils with additional needs.

Pupils learn how to understand and manage their behaviour. They develop strategies to help them learn alongside their peers. Pupils with SEND are well supported with reading.

They take a full and active part in the wider life of the school, such as sporting activities and clubs.Children in the early years learn routines and expectations well. Children enjoy their learning in Nursery and Reception.

Adults support children to develop skills such as communication and language. Some gaps in the curriculum mean that other areas of development are less secure.

Behaviour around the school is calm.

Pupils listen attentively in class and have positive attitudes to learning. Behaviour during unstructured times can be boisterous. The school has taken prompt action to reduce the number of incidents, which have decreased.

Pupils benefit from a range of enrichment activities both in and outside of the curriculum. The school ensures all pupils have access to these experiences, including disadvantaged pupils.

The school has a strong personal, social and health education programme.

Pupils learn how to stay healthy and safe. Pupils know how to treat others with respect. They learn about different religions and cultures.

Pupils understand what bullying means and say it happens less now. Pupils learn about the world of work and different types of careers.

Most staff feel well supported.

They appreciate leaders' consideration of their workload and well-being. The school has introduced coffee mornings to improve communication with parents of pupils with SEND. Leaders, including governors, have an accurate understanding of what the school needs to do to improve the quality of education.

They have planned appropriate actions to ensure that this happens rapidly.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• On occasion, the behaviour of a small number of pupils with complex needs is challenging and disruptive to the school environment.

This leads to some pupils not feeling safe. The school needs to continue to review and revise its strategies for managing complex behaviours and provide robust support and reassurance for all pupils and parents. ? The school has not developed its curriculum, including in the early years, in full.

The important knowledge in some subject curriculums is not sequenced or assessed well enough. This means pupils do not remember some essential concepts. The school needs to ensure important content is well sequenced across all subjects and support new leaders to make sure the curriculum is implemented effectively.