Ford Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Ford Primary is a safe and nurturing school. Pupils, and their parents and carers, value this amidst the recent challenges that the community have faced.

Pupils are happy. They form warm, respectful relationships with staff. Pupils are enthusiastic about their learning, and they focus well on their work in lessons.

Children in the early years concentrate intensely when engaging in different activities. The school has established a positive climate for learning.

The school has high expectations for pupils' achievements.

Although published outcomes at key stage 2 are below national average, current pupils successfully build their knowledge over time. T...hey produce high quality work and talk confidently about their learning.

Pupils can attend clubs that include running, choir, chess, and Gamelan.

Pupils appreciate these and make good use of them. At lunch times, pupils access a range of well-planned activities. For example, arts and gardening.

Pupil 'buddies' organise equipment for pupils to play with.

Pupils contribute positively to the school environment. An ethos of shared responsibility is demonstrated through a variety of 'pupil councils' such as safeguarding, play, maths, and reading.

Some older pupils are training to be 'learning coaches'. Pupils understand that teaching and supporting their peers is an important life skill.

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

School leaders, with the support of the trust, share a relentless ambition for the pupils at this school.

Staff benefit from a comprehensive professional development programme. They feel valued by leaders. Staff work alongside colleagues from another trust school to enhance the curriculum.

This helps to reduce their workload. At this time of considerable change, staff support leaders' actions. They recognise the significant improvements that have taken place at the school.

Pupils learn a broad range of subjects with reading placed at the heart of the curriculum. Pupils have regular opportunities to read and be read to. Across each year, pupils read a 'Super 6' range of rich and diverse texts with their teachers.

From the early years, children are introduced to rhymes, poems and stories. They vote for the story that they will enjoy together each day. Some pupils attend the morning 'rock up and read sessions' where they enjoy reading with a member of staff.

As well as encouraging a love of reading, the school supports pupils to become fluent and confident readers themselves. Children in the Reception Year start learning phonics in their first week of school. Staff carefully monitor that pupils are learning and remembering the taught sounds.

If any pupils struggle, they receive additional support so that they catch up quickly.

Staff consider what they want pupils to learn and why it is important. For example, children in the early years engage in mark making, painting, drawing, printing, and sculpture.

They use this knowledge to create constructions such as castles. This helps to develop children's fine motor skills so that they can use a range of tools safely and confidently. They also learn new words such as 'turret' and 'drawbridge'.

The school and trust prioritise the early identification of pupils' special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff make purposeful adaptations to classroom resources for pupils with SEND. They thoughtfully plan the level of adult support that these pupils may need.

This enables pupils with SEND to access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers and to be successful in their learning.

Staff recognise that pupils join the school at different starting points and with varied experiences. They skilfully check pupils' understanding of what they have learned and identify any gaps in their knowledge.

Future teaching focuses on what pupils have forgotten or misunderstood. This means that pupils make good progress through the curriculum. They are well prepared for their next steps.

Pupils show positive attitudes towards their learning. If any low-level disruption does occur, staff act quickly so that it stops and does not disturb others. At lunch times, pupils enjoy eating their meal alongside their teachers.

They play sensibly in the outdoor space and are well supervised by staff.

The school prepares pupils for life in modern Britain effectively. Pupils develop a good understanding of the fundamental British values.

They understand, appreciate and respect difference in the world. Through religious education they discuss and debate different points of view about important topics. Pupils enjoy going on trips and visits.

However, the school does not have a carefully planned programme of enrichment to support pupils' wider development. Some pupils do not benefit from a range of experiences beyond the academic curriculum.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school does not have a carefully planned programme of enrichment. Therefore, opportunities for pupils to pursue their interests and increase their range of experiences are limited. The trust should ensure that opportunities for pupils to develop and stretch their talents and interests are carefully planned across, and beyond, the curriculum.