Victoria Road Primary

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Victoria Road Primary is calm and purposeful.

Pupils focus on their learning without distraction. Expectations are high for behaviour and for pupils' achievement. During lessons pupils are polite and respectful of one another.

They listen to each other's contributions and respond positively to adults. Pupils achieve well.

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

In the bright, stimulating environment, they have plentiful opportunities to explore and experiment. This develops their curiosity for learning effectively. Staff support children well.

Children learn the routines and how to interact with one another. The Nursery and Re...ception classes are happy, friendly spaces where children play together confidently, sharing resources and ideas.Pupils have a voice and are listened to eagerly.

They participate in the school parliament which gives them meaningful opportunities to help improve the school, such as the request for changes at break times. Assemblies and the personal, social and health education curriculum ensure pupils have a good understanding of equalities and how to be fair to those who are different from themselves.

Recent changes at the school have been managed well.

The trust has ensured changes have not had a negative impact on pupils' learning and experiences at the school. As a result, the school has the confidence of staff, pupils and parents.

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

The school, supported by the trust, has established an effective curriculum.

In most subjects, the school has identified the knowledge pupils need to learn. The content of the curriculum is sequenced carefully. This helps pupils to build successfully on what they already know and can do.

Staff are skilful at including vocabulary that pupils have learned previously when introducing new content. Pupils rise to teachers' expectations of them. This is evident in pupils' work that shows they learn the curriculum well.

However, in some subjects the curriculum is not designed and taught in a logical way. Where this is the case, pupils' learning is hampered because they find it more difficult to build on what they already know in these subjects.

The school has ensured that a love of reading is visible across its work.

In the Nursery, children read happily with staff in specially developed spaces. They retell familiar tales or books about different cultures or backgrounds with gusto. Across the early years, children enjoy lots of opportunities to listen to adults reading rhymes and stories.

Props and books help children to role play characters and stories with one another. This love of books continues throughout the school. The 'super six' books, selected for each year group, helps pupils to build a love of reading successfully.

The school has ensured that reading is taught well. The teaching of phonics is effective. Staff demonstrate secure subject knowledge.

Pupils learn the right sounds at the right time and read books that match these sounds. At key stage 2, the reading curriculum is newer. Although published outcomes in the past have been low, current pupils now learn a far more ambitious reading curriculum.

This is having a positive impact on pupils' ability to use a wide range of reading skills.Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn with equal success. The school identifies pupils' needs accurately and quickly.

Staff provide the support pupils need. Where necessary, teachers adapt the work given to pupils successfully to help pupils learn the intended curriculum. The school ensures that pupils who need additional support to manage their own feelings and behaviour, receive the help they need.

The school is resolute in its work to improve pupils' attendance. Leaders have ensured they know the barriers to better attendance for their community. They have utilised the positive relationships they have with parents to raise expectations through a shared understanding of why every day in school matters.

As a result, pupils' attendance is improving, and significantly so for some.

The school has considered carefully the needs of its community when planning for pupils' personal development. It seeks and uses every opportunity to give pupils experiences that broaden their social, moral, spiritual and cultural understanding.

For example, visits to the theatre, joining the mini-police and singing at the local supermarket give pupils an understanding of citizenship.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few subjects, the curriculum is not sequenced well.

As a result, teaching does not help pupils to build securely on what they already know and can do. Pupils do not learn as well in these subjects. The trust should make sure all subjects are equally well designed, so that pupils know more and remember more across the curriculum.