Tidemill Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy here. They enjoy playing in the busy playground at breaktimes.

This is where they engage in a range of activities, including playing with the hula hoops and balls or dancing to music played through the speakers. School staff nurture positive professional relationships with pupils. Pupils speak to school staff if they are worried about anything.

Leaders and school staff ensure pupils are safe.

Pupils typically behave well. Older pupils act as role models to younger ones.

They play and read together during the school day. Pupils are taught about different types of bullying, including incidents that occur online. Leaders deal with any i...ncidents of bullying effectively.

Leaders think carefully about pupils' wider opportunities. Leaders use their knowledge of the school's community to help them to determine the wider experiences they provide for pupils. For example, pupils in various year groups took part in a project about careers and worked with a local community group to build a stage in the local market square.

Leaders are ambitious for pupils' achievement. In recent time, leaders have identified and introduced carefully thought-through improvements to curriculum thinking across all subjects. Pupils achieve well.

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

Leaders place importance on reading throughout the school. They have recently changed the approach to teaching phonics. Phonics teaching starts when pupils join the school in the Nursery.

Pupils are taught phonics every day, including in the specially resourced provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Routinely, teachers check the letters and sounds pupils know and remember. Teachers ensure pupils read books matched to the sounds they learn.

Pupils who need extra help receive timely support. Pupils gain confidence, knowledge and skills quickly and build reading fluency. This is because of the school's effective and consistent approach.

The recently introduced curriculum is ambitious and meets the expectations of the national curriculum. Subject leaders have strong subject knowledge. They decide the most important knowledge that pupils must know and remember in different subjects.

Typically, they sequence this knowledge effectively from the early years to Year 6. Leaders provide effective training and support for teachers. As a result, teachers teach subjects well.

Leaders and teachers use assessment information well to decide what happens next in learning. This includes spotting whether pupils need additional support, including for pupils with SEND. Teachers check that pupils remember knowledge before moving on.

For example, they check that pupils know important mathematical knowledge of number, before moving on to more complex problems. Occasionally, older pupils have gaps in their prior knowledge. This makes it sometimes difficult for them to connect new learning to what they have learned before.

Leaders' recent changes to the curriculum from Nursery to Year 6 have been introduced to address this.

Teachers and teaching assistants are trained to adapt the curriculum appropriately for pupils with SEND. Some school staff have received specialised training to provide tailored support.

This includes training in speech and language therapy.

Leaders adopt a consistent approach to behaviour from the early years to Year 6. Children settle quickly in the Nursery.

They learn the school's rules and expectations rapidly. This is because teachers and teaching assistants in the early years reinforce behaviour in a supportive way. Teachers address any low-level disruption effectively.

As a result, learning is not interrupted. Pupils are attentive in class. Children in the early years concentrate for long periods of time.

Pupils have opportunities to take on additional responsibilities. These include taking up roles as leaders for art, Spanish and in the school council. Some pupils use their role to help others.

For instance, the pupil-mindfulness leaders make weekly mindful announcements to the whole school to support pupils' mental well-being. Pupils are taught about healthy relationships in an age-appropriate way from the early years onwards. Pupils are taught what to do if they come across any inappropriate content online.

Pupils enjoy taking part in educational visits. Leaders think carefully about what visits will have the most benefit for pupils. For example, pupils in the additionally resourced provision recently took part in a theatre workshop which focused on fluent speaking.

Leaders of the trust work closely with the school's leaders and provide appropriate support and challenge. Generally, school staff feel that their workload is manageable. They appreciate recent changes that leaders have made to support their well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have a thorough approach to safeguarding. They work with a range of safeguarding partners, including social services and the police.

Leaders refer concerns to the appropriate agencies correctly. They follow up and escalate concerns where appropriate. Leaders are alert to the safeguarding concerns in the local area and think carefully about measures they can adopt to mitigate these.

Leaders provide regular training for school staff. This is to ensure that all school staff are attentive to safeguarding. All school staff know how to recognise that a pupil may need help or support.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Occasionally, older pupils have gaps in their prior knowledge. Sometimes, this makes it difficult for them to connect new learning to what they have learned before. Leaders should continue their work to review and develop the curriculum and make explicit connections to prior learning, especially for older pupils.

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