Pinehurst Primary School Anfield

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at school and have positive attitudes towards learning. They enjoy strong relationships with the caring and welcoming staff.

The pupils who inspectors spoke with said that they trust staff to deal with any concerns that they may have. Pupils said that bullying is dealt with decisively by leaders. Pupils feel safe in school.

Pupils told inspectors that leaders have high expectations for their behaviour. This is evident in pupils' calm manner, both in lessons and in their conduct around school.

Pupils are enjoying the new curriculum that leaders have put in place.

They are aware that teachers are setting higher expectations for their l...earning. As a result, pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), build their knowledge well in subjects across the curriculum.

Pupils have opportunities to develop their leadership skills through roles as school councillors, reading ambassadors or as rainbow buddies who support new pupils to settle into school.

Pupils also visit places of interest in order to support their learning and to celebrate their local heritage.

The large majority of parents and carers who responded to the Ofsted Parent View survey were very positive about recent improvements at the school.

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

Leaders have put together an ambitious new curriculum to ensure that pupils achieve well across a range of subjects.

They have set out what they want pupils to learn in a logical order. In the early years, teachers know what they want children to learn at each stage of their education. For example, teachers have structured the curriculum to make sure that activities for two-year-old children set a firm ground for their future learning.

Teachers check carefully on what children in the early years and pupils in the rest of the school know and can do. They use this information to adapt their teaching to meet the needs of pupils, including those with SEND. As a result, pupils are achieving well.

However, in a small number of subjects in key stages 1 and 2, key knowledge is not defined clearly enough. Consequently, some pupils find it difficult to recall some of their learning in these subjects.

Leaders have prioritised the development of pupils' reading well.

Children in the Reception Year start their phonics programme straight away. By the time they are in Year 1, pupils are using their knowledge to read words of increasing complexity. Staff have received comprehensive training to ensure that the delivery of the phonics curriculum is effective across all year groups.

The extra support provided for pupils is helping to cover learning that was missed during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, for some disadvantaged pupils, this additional support is not helping them to catch up swiftly enough. As a result, some of these pupils are not able to read as confidently or as fluently as they should by the end of Year 2.

Pupils' positive attitudes towards their work means that they focus well on their learning. There is no disruption to lessons. This includes in the early years, for example in the Nursery Year where two-year-old children cooperate well when working together.

However, the attendance of a small group of pupils is too low. Although this was the case previously, it has been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although leaders have a wide range of strategies to help these pupils back into school, the rate of attendance for some pupils is not improving quickly enough.

Leaders have recently improved their procedures for identifying the needs of pupils with SEND. They have communicated well with parents to ensure that they are well informed about their child's education. As a result, pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as other pupils and achieve well.

These pupils fully participate in all aspects of school life.

The school provides a range of opportunities to develop pupils' cultural knowledge, such as in their study of different artists. Leaders also arrange visits to local places of interest, for example visiting local Cathedrals to develop their understanding of faith.

Pupils are taught to value the differences and opinions of other pupils. As a result, they are polite and respectful of one another. This starts at a young age.

For example, children in the early years take turns and listen to each other's ideas when learning.

All of the staff who completed Ofsted's staff's survey said that they are proud to work at the school. The staff who inspectors spoke with said that leaders and governors are considerate of their workload and well-being.

All staff are all on board with the direction that the school is taking and all feel that the school has improved greatly since the previous inspection.

Governors have an informed and detailed understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses. They make good use of external partners' assessments of the school in order to quality assure the work of leaders.

They ask relevant and probing questions in meetings and ensure that their statutory duties are carried out.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff have received comprehensive safeguarding training.

They are aware of the local risks to pupils and are vigilant for the signs of abuse.

Leaders work well with a range of external providers to offer pupils and their families early help if the need arises. The parents who inspectors spoke with were very positive about the support that they have received from the school.

Pupils have opportunities to learn about how to keep themselves safe, for example when discussing knife crime. Pupils have a good understanding of the dangers of social media and how to keep themselves safe when online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some of the disadvantaged pupils who missed phonics learning during the COVID-19 pandemic are not catching up quickly enough with the reading curriculum.

As a result, these pupils do not read fluently enough by the end of key stage 1. Leaders should ensure that these pupils are provided with intensive support to catch up quickly so that they can read with confidence and automaticity. ? In some subjects, leaders have not clearly identified what key knowledge they want pupils to learn.

As a result, some pupils do not remember some of the essential building blocks for future learning. Leaders should ensure that they more carefully define what they want pupils to know in these subjects so that pupils remember more of the taught curriculum. ? Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the attendance of some pupils was too low.

The pandemic has made this situation even worse. As a result, a small group of pupils are missing too much of their education. Leaders should ensure that they tackle the persistent absence of pupils with tenacity in order to bring about more rapid changes in attendance.