Outwood Primary Academy Bell Lane

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders in this school have high expectations for every pupil.

This is clear from the ambition of curriculum thinking. It is also evident in the atmosphere pupils learn in. There is calmness and consistency throughout the school.

This is because all staff understand and follow the same rules and routines. Staff use 'silent signals' to help pupils move safely and purposefully around classrooms and the school. These routines help pupils to feel safe and secure.

Pupils who need more support with their behaviour receive it. These pupils talk with enthusiasm about how this helps them to make positive choices and how it supports them to learn.

Pupils make ...a positive contribution to the life of the school.

They have opportunities to apply for a variety of roles in school. For example, mental health ambassadors talk about introducing worry jars into classrooms. Pupils are very positive about how this has helped them.

Pupils know that adults are there to help them. There is a positive and respectful culture between pupils and adults throughout school. Pupils understand how to recognise bullying and report it.

On the rare occasions that bullying happens, adults deal with it effectively.

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

Leaders and staff are committed to providing the best education possible. Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum for all pupils.

They have thought carefully about what pupils will be taught and when. Staff are committed to ensuring that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. There is a shared 'language of learning' in this school.

Teachers and pupils talk with enthusiasm about learning and knowledge. Teachers help pupils to see how what they are learning builds on what they have been taught before. All staff receive high-quality training on a regular basis.

This training means that staff continue to become highly skilled. In some subjects, the way information and activities are presented to pupils is not consistently clear enough to help them learn precisely what is intended in the lesson.

Leaders have made sure that the teaching of reading is a priority.

Phonics is taught from the beginning of Reception. Pupils who are learning to read are very quickly taught the sounds they need. Adults teach the skills of reading in a consistent way.

This helps pupils learn to read effectively. Pupils who need help to read are identified and supported effectively. This support is very carefully matched to the parts of reading pupils are finding difficult.

Reading is valued across school. Inviting and well-stocked book corners are regularly used by pupils. Teachers read high-quality stories to pupils every day.

Pupils are taught about important issues, such as how to stay safe online and how to stay physically and mentally healthy. Pupils have the chance to take part in a range of clubs and activities. They make good use of these.

The personal development offer for all pupils is wide-ranging and varied. Pupils have opportunities to develop their moral compass through acts of service to others in school by taking leadership roles, such as reading ambassadors and mental health champions. Within the personal development offer, some pupils remember the experiences and activities they get rather than the knowledge and values leaders want them to have.

There are clear systems in place to identify and support pupils with SEND. Teachers are provided with clear targets and strategies to support them. Leaders are focused on making sure that these pupils develop their independence.

There is effective targeted support for pupils who need extra help with managing their own behaviour.

Leaders at all levels have a clear understanding of the strengths and areas for development in the school. They speak consistently about the mission of the school and their dedication to giving pupils the best possible experience.

These ambitions are matched by the systems they have introduced to regularly check on how well pupils are achieving.

Children in the early years get a strong start to their education. Leaders have high expectations for what children can achieve.

There is a clear focus on reading. Staff ensure that children have strong routines. Staff begin to develop children's independence as early as possible.

Children develop their understanding of number and are well prepared for when they leave Reception and enter into Year 1. Governors and trustees have a clear understanding of the strengths of the school and the areas for focus. They are well informed about the quality of education on offer to pupils.

They offer support and challenge to leaders that helps to move the school forward.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There are robust systems in place to identify pupils and families who need help.

Adults understand these systems well and use them when needed. Adults understand that safeguarding is the responsibility of everybody. There is regular training for staff so that they know what to look out for and be alert to.

Leaders work closely with external agencies to ensure that vulnerable pupils and families get the support they need. Leaders have also made sure that pupils are taught what they need to know to keep themselves safe. For example, pupils know how to recognise what a healthy or unhealthy relationship is.

There is a strong culture of safeguarding throughout school.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Through the personal development offer, pupils remember their activities and experiences more readily than the knowledge, understanding and values that leaders intended. Leaders should ensure that the personal development curriculum is further refined and adapted to ensure that all pupils have the knowledge they need be citizens of modern Britain and the world.

• In some subjects, some activities chosen by teachers do not allow pupils to focus clearly on the most important knowledge leaders have identified in the curriculum. As a result, there are missed opportunities for establishing exactly which part of learning pupils have understood or they need more help with. Leaders should ensure that teachers continue to receive highly focused professional development which supports them to make pedagogical choices which provide the best opportunities for pupils to achieve the learning set out in the curriculum.