New Silksworth Academy Junior

New Silksworth Academy Junior Blind Lane, New Silksworth, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear SR3 1AS

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 As a result of the determination and vision of the headteacher, ably supported by senior leaders and the governing body, the school has improved a great deal since becoming an academy. Together with continuously improving middle leadership, leaders ensure that pupils achieve well.  Teachers meet pupils’ needs well by regularly checking their understanding and learning. They use a range of assessment information to plan appropriate learning activities. They swiftly address misconceptions to enable pupils to achieve well.  The majority of pupils make good progress from their starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders recognise that the most able pupils could receive more challenge to make better progress.  Pupils’ conduct around school is good. They are well cared for by staff and report that they feel safe in school and that staff keep them safe.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders’ effective monitoring of pupils’ outcomes in English and mathematics is ensuring that pupils make good progress. This is because leaders take swift action to support pupils who fall behind. Monitoring is not as rigorous in other curriculum areas.  Governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. They are very committed to providing a high- quality learning resource for the local community.  Thoughtful, high-quality care contributes well to the happy and harmonious school atmosphere. As a result, pupils feel safe and secure.  Staff promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development well through the wide and varied range of curriculum experiences, both in and out of school.  Pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare are good. Pupils are polite and courteous to each other and to adults and have positive attitudes to learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching still further so that pupils reach the highest standards of which they are capable by: – ensuring that pupils are consistently set challenging tasks to extend their learning and progress, especially the most able pupils – further developing the monitoring of pupils’ outcomes in subjects beyond English and mathematics so that all subjects are monitored well.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The headteacher has been unwavering in her determination to secure an excellent standard of education for pupils in the school. The senior team and governing body have worked successfully to eliminate underperformance, improve the quality of teaching and accelerate the pace of progress pupils make in their learning.  Senior leaders have an accurate view of what the school does well because of ongoing, detailed evaluation of the school’s performance. Leaders have clear priorities for areas that require further improvement. They are relentless in their pursuit of excellence, communicating a sense of drive and urgency to continue to move forward quickly.  The good communication that exists between all staff helps to maintain a positive culture of accountability and a willingness to develop professionally. Leaders monitor teachers’ performance carefully. Teachers are set challenging targets linked to school

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

improvement priorities and to improving aspects of their teaching, where needed.  Leaders base plans for further improvements on a clear view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses, which they detail in the school development plan. Leaders monitor actions carefully so that they waste no time in further improving the school. Planned actions clearly align with the measurable rates of progress pupils make in their learning. Leaders have rightly identified that the effective monitoring of pupils’ progress in English and mathematics needs to be implemented across all subjects.  The school works closely with other schools in the Extol Academy Trust. This provides effective training and enables the sharing of good practice, which has contributed to improvements in the quality of teaching.  The great priority given to pupils’ welfare and personal development helps pupils’ learning. For example, high-quality provision for those with barriers to their learning

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

helps these pupils relate well to others, enjoy their learning and aim to do their best. As a result, they achieve well in school.  Leaders use the additional pupil premium funding for disadvantaged pupils well to secure pupils’ progress and to develop their emotional welfare. These groups of pupils are closely monitored so that additional support can be provided when necessary. Well- trained teaching assistants work closely under the direction of teachers. They provide additional and specialised support in lessons to individuals and groups of pupils. Through this carefully targeted support, differences in achievement are diminishing effectively.  Pupils with SEND receive appropriate support. Teachers identify pupils’ needs early and accurately track their progress, which is mainly good. Consequently, additional funding for pupils with SEND is used effectively.  The physical education (PE) and sport premium is used well to increase staff expertise

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

in the teaching of PE. Specialist coaches work alongside school staff and the school has provided many additional opportunities to develop sporting skills.  Links with parents and carers are very positive. Parents appreciate that the school gives all children an equal opportunity to succeed and does not tolerate discrimination of any kind. Nearly all parents who completed the online questionnaire would recommend the school to another parent and considered that their child was happy in the school.

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Governance of the school

 Governors provide both challenge and support to the school. They are rigorous in their examination of the school’s performance data, and regularly ask questions regarding the progress of different groups of pupils in different classes. Governors are adept at helping to set priorities for the school and holding senior leaders to account for the quality of teaching and learning.  Governors also effectively monitor pupils’ personal development and check that pupils are safe. They ensure that child protection and safeguarding are a high priority for staff and that procedures fully meet requirements. They also ensure that they keep policies and practices up to date.  The governing body ensures that additional funds are well spent. Governors are knowledgeable about the effect that additional funds have on pupils’ progress and well- being, including funding to support disadvantaged pupils or those with SEND.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. A strong culture of safeguarding exists throughout the school. The governing body and staff take their responsibilities seriously. Robust procedures are in place to ensure that staff effectively and urgently address any safeguarding concerns.  Safeguarding training and records are up to date and are carefully managed.  The long-established culture of keeping pupils safe remains clearly evident. Those with specific responsibilities for safeguarding ensure that they and others carry out their roles effectively.  Leaders provide regular training and updates so that members of staff are well equipped with the knowledge and skills to ensure pupils’ safety.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 There is much strength evident in teaching, which is securing rapid improvement for pupils. Pupils’ learning during the inspection, their work in books and the school’s own records provide evidence that teaching is good. This has led to standards of attainment rising in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils who were previously underachieving are now catching up, and differences in attainment are diminishing between different groups of pupils across classes.  In lessons, pupils are enthusiastic about their learning, and expectations for both achievement and behaviour are usually high. Teachers and support staff expect pupils to work hard. Workbooks show that pupils are productive and waste very little time. In lessons, pupils interact with each other to share ideas and improve their knowledge and skills.  Teachers have good subject knowledge. They devise imaginative activities that capture pupils’ interests and give their learning relevance and purpose. Pupils enjoy their

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

learning and want to succeed.  Guidance for learning is good. Teachers make it clear to pupils exactly where they should focus their efforts in lessons. Pupils often receive clear criteria to help them assess their own work and to see how to improve it. This helps them make good progress in their learning.  Teachers share good practice and learn from one another. They assess pupils’ work carefully and identify appropriate next steps in their learning. However, at times, teachers do not challenge the most able pupils sufficiently to enable them to make the rapid progress they should.  Reading skills are extended as pupils move through the school. Teachers make sure that pupils have a good understanding of what they read. Pupils are encouraged to explore different texts that often link to the topic they are studying. This helps to develop a love of reading.  Teaching assistants are well trained and effectively deployed. They have the strongest

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

impact on learning of those who find learning more difficult. Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils receive frequent additional support in class or in additional sessions outside the classroom.  Teachers’ regular checks on pupils’ understanding are also helping to quickly identify misconceptions. This means that the issues pupils have are addressed quickly so that they do not persist.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils are safe. Those spoken with reported that they feel safe and can explain why they feel safe. They believe that they are well cared for and that there are always adults to help them in the classroom or around the school. Parents also agree with this and believe that their children are happy and safe.  Pupils say that bullying is rare. They are aware of the different types of bullying that they may encounter, including cyber bullying. They are confident that, should any minor instances of misbehaviour occur, staff will resolve them quietly and effectively.  Pupils show respect and care for each other. They value their classmates’ opinions and work happily and cooperatively in lessons. Pupils’ skills in speaking and listening in paired and group discussions are good.  Pupils told inspectors that the school looks after them well and that they feel safe at

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Personal development and welfare

school. They make good progress in their SMSC development. Their social development is a strength. Pupils relate well to one another, staff and visitors. They demonstrate secure knowledge and experience of other ways of life and are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Clear routines mean that pupils move between activities in class quickly and calmly. Pupils walk around school, to assemblies and to the dining hall calmly and purposefully. This means that learning time is not wasted by a slow response to teachers’ instructions or expectations.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are considerate to each other and polite in corridors and lessons. They arrive to lessons in a timely manner, ready to learn, and settle quickly, with positive attitudes to their learning.  Pupils are attentive in lessons. They willingly answer questions and are keen to help and support one another. Pupils cooperate when working in groups and are mature enough to work independently and show initiative. Their good attitudes to learning are an important factor behind their improving rates of progress.  The vast majority of pupils attend regularly and arrive punctually at school. Rates of attendance for all groups of pupils have improved. The school is working effectively to reduce persistent absence further and has appropriate procedures to do this. Pupils have responded well to the school’s rewards for regular attendance and value the recognition and treats they receive when they attend well.

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Behaviour

 The school runs a busy breakfast club which encourages pupils to be punctual and to attend more regularly. This gives the pupils a chance to start their day in a calm and relaxed manner, which ensures that they are ready to learn when they start the day’s lessons.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Improvements in teaching are leading to pupils making better progress throughout the school. The school’s own information shows that current pupils are making good progress, including in reading, writing and mathematics. Good and rapid progress seen in pupils’ books, and in observations of learning across the school, confirms this.  Leaders are committed to ensuring that the progress of disadvantaged pupils is in line with that of their peers nationally. The school’s current assessment information and pupils’ work seen during the inspection indicate that disadvantaged pupils are making good progress from their different starting points. Records indicate that the difference between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally is also diminishing effectively.  The most able pupils make similarly good progress to their classmates, although, sometimes, opportunities are missed to add further to the level of challenge and to

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Outcomes for pupils Good

stretch pupils’ thinking. This means that they do not consistently reach the higher standards they are capable of.  Pupils with SEND make good progress. Staff quickly identify their needs and they are supported effectively in their learning. Some parents told inspectors that they were very pleased with the way that the school helps their children.  Teachers are quick to identify any pupils who start to fall behind. When this happens, teachers make effective provision for them, either within the class, in small groups or individually. As a result, they catch up quickly.

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Email address office@newsilksworthacademy.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is an averaged-sized junior school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium is above average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is similar to the national average.  Most pupils are of White British background. The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic groups and those who speak English as an additional language are well below average.  The headteacher is also headteacher of New Silksworth Academy Infant.  The school became part of the Extol Academy Trust in September 2016.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes. Some lessons were observed jointly with senior leaders. In addition, shorter visits to classrooms were carried out to see particular aspects of the school’s work, such as the teaching of reading or the provision for pupils with SEND.  Meetings and discussions were held with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders, members of the governing body, the school’s improvement adviser and the chief executive officer of the trust.  Inspectors met with a group of pupils, observed playtime and lunchtime and talked with pupils and staff around the school.  Inspectors analysed documents, including the school’s plans for improvement and reports showing the school’s view of its own performance. The school’s website was evaluated. Safeguarding documents and policies and records relating to pupils’ personal development, behaviour, welfare, safety and attendance were inspected.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors analysed information on the performance of the school in comparison with other schools nationally and the school’s own records of pupils’ attainment and progress.  Inspectors took account of the 36 responses received from parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. In addition, inspectors spoke with parents in the playground at the start of the school day.

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Inspection team

Geoffrey Seagrove, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Nick Capron Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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Inspection team

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open- government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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