High Green Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

High Green primary school is a welcoming place. Pupils feel safe, happy and supported. They enjoy outdoor learning and the benefits it brings to their well-being.

Spaces like the 'woodland', 'secret garden' and 'allotment' are well used. Playtimes are active and fun. Pupils join games or take part in adult-led activities.

Older pupils help younger ones, creating a caring community.The school has set high expectations for behaviour and learning. Pupils rise to meet these expectations.

When they need reminders about how to behave, they respond well. This creates calm and focused classrooms. Pupils trust staff to help them when needed.

Staff check in wi...th all pupils regularly. Well-being is a priority.The school teaches respect and kindness.

For example, pupils learn about diversity and discuss important issues in class. Older pupils lead life-skills assemblies. They understand individual rights and healthy relationships.

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe in a digital world.Pupils are encouraged to do their best. This includes those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to learning.After previous low outcomes in Year 6, leaders have made effective changes to the curriculum. These changes have resulted in significant improvement to pupils' achievements.

The school is working towards a more proactive approach by regularly checking how well the curriculum is helping pupils learn.

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

The school has a broad curriculum. The sequenced curriculum begins in early years.

Fundamental skills, such as number fluency in mathematics, are prioritised. Children sing number rhymes and use mathematical vocabulary when learning about one more and one less. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 work with focus on subtraction across tens boundaries.

They use apparatus well to explain their thinking and support their understanding. Support for pupils with SEND is a strength of the school. The adaptations made to the curriculum are well integrated.

This allows all pupils to engage fully with their learning and peers. As a result, pupils achieve well from their starting points.The school has recently reviewed the curriculum in some subjects.

These subjects are well sequenced. Subjects including music and art provide rich opportunities for creativity and self-expression. However, in some subjects, staff are unsure which knowledge is most important for pupils to know and remember.

This makes it hard for pupils to build a strong foundation for future learning.Pupils learn to read well. The school makes reading a priority from the start.

Pupils begin by learning sounds to help them read words. Staff are experts at delivering phonics. They check progress regularly to address any gaps quickly.

Pupils learn to read using the books that contain the sounds they know. They build confidence and fluency through regular reading practice. Older pupils continue daily reading to deepen their fluency and understanding.

Pupils enjoy developing their reading expression.The school goes beyond teaching reading skills to build a culture of reading. Pupils bring books from home and select books from the library.

They read these books regularly for the weekly 'Reading Miles' challenge. The book vending machine acts as a fun reward system. Visits to Chapeltown Library in early years further enhance children's reading experience.

Special events like World Book Day workshops bring books to life through music and drama. Pupils improve their reading abilities and develop a lasting enjoyment of books.Early years is a growing strength of the school.

Clear routines help children focus and work together in a calm environment. The school takes a step-by-step approach to help children develop important physical skills. This helps with their independence.

Children, including those with SEND, engage confidently in activities for extended periods. Daily sensory circuits help children learn to exercise self-control. Along with the well-established routines, these circuit activities nurture secure, confident learners.

The school offers a wide range of diverse experiences to broaden pupils' wider development. Sports activities include dragon ball, horse riding and fencing. Music programmes allow pupils to learn instruments like the piano, violin and brass.

There are also whole group drumming sessions. These experiences help pupils to build an appreciation for the arts. The school teaches pupils to help others, such as through community projects and supporting charitable causes.

The 'allotment project' helps pupils to learn about environmental issues, such as sustainability.Leadership opportunities, such as well-being ambassadors, help pupils develop responsibility and teamwork. The school develops pupils' understanding of different cultures and faiths.

This helps them appreciate and engage with a broad range of perspectives.The governing body has been through a period of transition as new governors join. With help from the local authority, governors bring effective challenge and support.

Governors have expertise in safeguarding and SEND. New governors are improving their knowledge of the 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 has not clearly identified the key knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn in some foundation subjects. This limits how pupils' learning can build up step by step over time. The school should ensure that the specific knowledge and skills that pupils need has been consistently identified in all foundation subjects, so that pupils know and remember more over time.

• While the school carries out checks across the curriculum, some subjects have not been monitored recently. This makes it hard for leaders to quickly assess how well the curriculum is working and whether pupils are making progress. The school should ensure that these checks are carried out in a clear and focused way, so that the information gathered can both celebrate what is working well and help identify areas for improvement in a timely manner.