Mellor Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Mellor Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils arrive each morning with smiles on their faces and a great enthusiasm for learning.

They are extremely happy and develop excellent attitudes to learning in this close-knit school community. They are safe and well looked after.

Pupils are respectful towards each other and the adults who teach them.

They behave well. Pupils told the inspector that their lessons are rarely disrupted by poor behaviour. They also said that they trust staff to sort out any incidents of bullying quickly and effectively.

Leaders have high expectations for all pupils. Leaders are amb...itious and work with staff to ensure that pupils of all abilities become happy, successful learners. Staff inspire pupils to work hard so that they achieve their best.

By the time they leave Year 6, pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

After-school clubs are restarting following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Pupils also compete with other schools in sports such as cross-country and lacrosse.

Educational visits are also taking place once again and older pupils are looking forward to the residential visits that have been planned for the summer term.

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

Senior leaders have designed a broad and well-structured curriculum. They have set out the knowledge that pupils need to acquire in each subject and the order of learning over time.

Pupils develop positive attitudes to learning from their very first days in the early years. They work hard. By the time they leave Year 6, pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

Leaders have made the teaching of reading a priority across the school. Children in the nursery are introduced to a wide range of books and stories. In the Reception Year they follow a structured programme that introduces them to letters and their associated sounds.

As pupils move through key stage 1, staff ensure that the books pupils read closely match the sounds that they know. Staff make regular checks on the progress that pupils are making. They ensure that effective support is put in place so that pupils keep up with this key aspect of their learning.

Many older pupils read widely and often. They understand the importance of reading in helping them to learn across subjects.

Leaders have put effective systems in place to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The early identification of learning difficulties helps staff to provide support that is specific to each pupil's needs. As a result, pupils with SEND are able to access the same curriculum as other pupils.

Subject leaders are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their curriculum areas.

In most subjects, they have a good understanding of the strengths and the areas that need to be improved. However, in some subjects, leaders are at an early stage of checking how well the curriculum is helping pupils to gain the knowledge that they need. This is also the case with the curriculum in the early years.

Leaders are, therefore, unsure if the curriculum is being delivered as it should be, or if children and pupils are achieving as well as they can.

Leaders provide many opportunities for pupils to develop their interests and talents. Many pupils are learning a musical instrument and the school choir is performing once again, following the easing of the COVID-19 restrictions.

Staff use the extensive grounds to plan activities that build pupils' resilience. Pupils learn about risk-taking and enjoy the unique challenges that learning in the outdoor environment provides.

Trustees bring relevant experience and a wide range of expertise to their role.

They are actively involved in school life, and are effective in holding leaders to account. They ask questions of leaders that help them to understand the school's strengths and the areas that require further improvement.

Staff are overwhelmingly positive about working at the school.

They said that leaders are supportive and provide them with good training and development opportunities. Every member of staff who responded to the staff survey said that they are proud to work at the school.

Parents and carers are highly supportive of the school.

Many of those who responded to Ofsted Parent View described the school as warm and welcoming.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff receive regular safeguarding training.

They know the pupils and their families extremely well. Staff know what to do and who to turn to if they have any concerns about a pupil's well-being. Pupils are taught how to stay safe online.

They told the inspector that they could talk to any member of staff about a problem or worry.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, leaders have not checked how well the curriculum is being implemented. As a result, they do not have a full understanding of what is going well and what needs to be improved.

This also stops them from knowing if the curriculum is helping children in the early years and pupils from Year 1 to Year 6 to learn all that they should. Leaders should ensure that effective systems are in place to check the quality of education in all key stages, so that children in the early years and pupils across the school acquire the knowledge that they need in order to achieve as well as they can.

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 a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in April 2013.