The Devonshire Hill Nursery & Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

The Devonshire Hill Nursery & Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love to talk about why their school is such a great place to be. They jump at the chance to discuss their learning. Pupils behave really well and thrive in the school's friendly and inclusive environment.

Leaders' high expectations are shared by all, including the pupils themselves. Staff make it their priority to ensure that all pupils, no matter what their starting points, achieve well and get the best from their time in school. As a result, pupils leave this school well prepared for the move to secondary school.

Pupils clearly enjoy all that Devonshi...re Hill has to offer. The school's forest area, March Wood, has made a real difference to pupils' learning experiences. Pupils also like the newly refurbished libraries.

Leaders arrange workshops and clubs with the aim of developing pupils' confidence. Pupils particularly enjoy dance, chess and boxing.

Staff sort out bullying and any other problems very well.

Pupils said there is always someone to turn to. They know that staff take good care of them and keep them safe.

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

Children in the early years, including the two-year-olds, settle quickly and well.

Staff work closely with parents and carers to find out about children's development and their likes and dislikes. Staff also work well with other professionals, such as therapists and specialist teachers. In the early years and throughout the school, pupils' special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified and supported effectively.

Reading has a high profile and pupils achieve well. In the Nursery, teachers help children to listen carefully and remember songs, rhymes and stories. The school's phonics programme enables pupils to gain the knowledge they need to read and spell accurately.

Pupils read often. They enjoy the extra chances to show off their confident reading too.For example, pupils in Year 3 love reading to Snowy, the school's chicken, and pupils in Year 2 read with Camilla, the toy camel, when they take her home for the weekend.

Leaders have planned carefully what pupils need to learn in each subject. These plans help pupils to build their knowledge in a logical order. Pupils use what they have learned previously to understand new things.

For example, Year 6 used their knowledge of multiplication to help them find the 'nth term' in a sequence of numbers. In English, mathematics and physical education (PE), it is clear to see how children's learning in the early years feeds into the subject plans for Year 1 and beyond. But in some subjects, plans do not identify the knowledge children need to know by the end of Reception and how this is built upon in later years.

Teachers check pupils' learning carefully. They work closely with leaders to identify any gaps in pupils' knowledge. Leaders and teachers work together well to support pupils with SEND and those who join the school part way through the year.

This is because they want all pupils to learn the same things in each subject, even if they need more time or support to do so. In lessons, teachers adapt tasks skilfully to meet pupils' specific needs.

Staff are very positive about working at this school.

Leaders take staff's workload seriously. There is a strong focus on empowering staff to progress further in their careers. Leaders invest in training for staff to develop their expertise.

This has been particularly effective in reading, phonics and mathematics. Some teachers' subject knowledge is less secure in subjects such as PE.

Leaders provide many opportunities to support pupils' wider development.'

Work Week', for example, helps pupils to learn about different careers. Children in Reception learn about people who help them, while pupils in Year 6 have the chance to visit a real-life workplace. In assemblies and during lessons, pupils learn about the world around them.

They learn the importance of respect and kindness.

Pupils work hard and behave well in lessons. There is no low-level disruption and learning time is not wasted.

They try their best. They enjoy demonstrating what they have learned. For example, in history, pupils in Year 5 spoke confidently about how the lives of women during the First World War changed things for women in the future.

Pupils in Year 3 enjoyed sharing their knowledge of Stone Age tools and how these influenced the machines we use today.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders know pupils and their families very well.

Leaders meet regularly to discuss pupils' well-being. They bring together all the information that they have about each pupil. This means that no time is wasted in identifying those who need help.

Leaders have established partnerships with a range of professionals to support pupils and families. Leaders make sure that all staff understand any local or contextual risks to pupils. They make sure that staff have an up-to-date knowledge of different social media apps and the risks these may pose to pupils.

Leaders use computing lessons, assemblies and displays around the school to remind pupils how to keep themselves safe.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Teachers' subject knowledge is not consistently strong across all subjects. In some subjects, such as PE, it is less secure.

Leaders should use the well-established programme of professional development to ensure that teachers develop their subject knowledge and expertise across the full curriculum. ? Leaders have started to look at how what children learn in the early years forms the basis of their learning in Year 1 and beyond. In mathematics, reading and writing, this is well understood and firmly embedded.

But foundation subjects in Years 1 to 6 do not always take into account what children learn in the early years. Leaders should identify the knowledge children are learning in the early years and how this knowledge is built upon in Year 1 and beyond.

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 January 2012.