Newdale Primary School & Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Newdale Primary School & Nursery continues to be an outstanding school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Newdale Primary is an aspirational school.

Leaders want the very best for every pupil. Pupils enjoy coming to school and love learning. They live by the school's 'BeSMART' code and behave extremely well.

Bullying is not tolerated at this school. Teachers act swiftly to resolve any issues or concerns so there is no disruption to learning. Leaders make sure that pupils who need to improve their behaviour do so.

Pupils' voice is powerful at this school. The school parliament is prominent and listened to. It meets regularly with pupils, leaders and governors ...and discusses issues of importance.

For example, pupils made a decision to collect bottle tops to raise money for a water safety charity. One pupil said, 'we are improving our whole world, not just our school'.

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), respond exceptionally well to the high expectations of leaders and staff for their academic achievement.

They have a thirst for knowledge.

The curriculum is extremely well planned and is delivered consistently. Pupils remember important information because teachers make sure they regularly practise and recall it.

Pupils' learning is made interesting through the use of engaging resources and educational visits and visitors. Pupils flourish as inquisitive and knowledgeable learners.

Pupils feel safe in school.

They say that there is always a trusted adult to speak to. They said that they are heard and that their opinions count.

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

Leaders have carefully structured the curriculum to build up pupils' knowledge and vocabulary over time.

Staff have strong subject knowledge to deliver the curriculum really well across all subjects. Leaders have established effective teaching routines that allow pupils to know and remember more. Teachers have high expectations of all pupils.

They check on pupils' learning and provide strong additional support to those pupils who need it. Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are well supported to access the same curriculum as other pupils. As a result, pupils achieve highly.

Parents are happy with the school. One comment was typical of many, stating, 'This is an exceptional school that really values children's learning and improvement, creating an enjoyable place for them to do their best.'

Children get off to a strong start in the early years.

Staff quickly form positive and productive relationships with them. Staff know children well and understand their individual needs. They make sure that children's early language skills are prioritised.

Children are very well prepared for learning in key stage 1.

Leaders focus on reading as a gateway to learning. They have made sure that Newdale is a community where staff and pupils share a love of reading.

Leaders regularly update staff to ensure that staff are experts in the teaching of reading. Pupils read books that match the sounds they know. Leaders make sure that readers who need extra help are quickly identified and get effective support so that they can quickly catch up with their peers.

Pupils with SEND are identified early. Teachers make adaptations so these pupils can learn in every subject and sometimes excel. The SEND coordinator regularly checks that pupils complete work which helps them to learn well.

Leaders have high aspirations for pupils' wider development. They make sure that all pupils can attend clubs such as football, dance, drama and forest school. The curriculum is enriched through carefully planned trips, visitors and the use of virtual reality headsets.

One pupil recalled how he had learned about Mayan civilisation through the use of virtual reality. He felt that it had helped him to deepen his understanding of that period of time in a way he would not have experienced in a classroom.

Governance is a strength of the school.

Governors bring a wealth of experience and skill. They share leaders' high ambitions and regularly visit school to talk to staff, pupils and parents to make sure these ambitions are realised. When needed, they make good use of support from outside of school.

Governors work with leaders to make sure that staff's workload is manageable. Staff appreciate this, with one member of staff commenting, 'Newdale is a great place to work and I enjoy being part of the team.'

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that safeguarding is a high priority. They know the pupils, their families and the community very well. The 'life learning' curriculum helps pupils to know how to stay safe in and outside of school.

This includes online safety. Pupil safeguarding champions play an active role in making sure all pupils are safe. They talk to pupils, leaders and governors regularly about safeguarding issues.

There are robust procedures in place for reporting concerns. All staff, including lunchtime supervisors, are equally well trained and vigilant. They use the agreed systems to report concerns, which leaders swiftly follow up.

Leaders engage external support, when needed. They challenge decisions made externally, when necessary, to ensure that pupils are safe.

Background

When we have judged a school to be outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding.

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

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

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding in June 2017.