Riverside Primary School and Nursery

Inspection of Riverside Primary School and Nursery Cookham Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 7JA

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good 12–13 November 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teaching is not consistently strong enough. Not all teachers have high enough expectations. Some teachers give pupils work that is too easy or too difficult. As a result, sometimes pupils lose focus in lessons. Over time, pupils have not achieved highly enough.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Following a period of low results and a change in leadership, the new headteacher has stabilised the school. He has gained the support, trust and respect of the school community. Leaders have started to strengthen the way that subjects are planned and taught. However, many changes are very new and yet to be fully established.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Riverside brim with enthusiasm about their school. This is a happy school where pupils get on well together. Pupils meet the school’s high expectations for behaviour and work with positive attitudes. They follow the school’s code of conduct, ‘Be ready, respectful and safe.’ Values such as kindness, respect and tolerance are strongly promoted. Pupils value that they are all different.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate the improvements that the new headteacher is making. They enjoy learning and feel safe and supported by their teachers. They say that bullying hardly ever happens and that any concerns are dealt with swiftly by their teachers.

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better?

Following the previous inspection, there have been significant changes in the governing body and standards have not improved as much as could be expected. Since his arrival, the headteacher has set about improving the school. He leads the school with integrity and wants the best for all pupils. Staff are fully behind the headteacher’s plans for improvement. They feel well supported and value the training they have received.

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better?

Many changes are very recent. Governance arrangements are also new. Until recently, governors have not held leaders to account for the quality of education. Some aspects of the school have not received enough attention. This includes governors’ plans for the spending of extra funding for disadvantaged pupils. Governors have wisely enlisted support to help them fulfil their roles more effectively.

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better?

Leaders have made reading a priority. They have revamped the school’s approach to phonics and reading. Leaders have made sure that teachers regularly read to pupils. Story times for younger children are enjoyable occasions. Adults read with enthusiasm and expression, igniting children’s interest.

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better?

However, early reading is not taught consistently well. Gaps in pupils’ learning are not picked up or tackled soon enough to help pupils catch up quickly. Pupils’ early reading books include too many words that pupils cannot read. This means that 12–13 November 2019

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pupils often guess at words. Extra support is not focused enough on specific reading skills.

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Leaders’ planning for mathematics clearly maps out the knowledge that leaders want pupils to learn. This is helping to raise teachers’ expectations. In this subject, teachers understand what pupils need to learn. They also know the order in which pupils need to learn new knowledge. Teachers are quick to spot and provide extra help if pupils have not understood something.

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However, this is not the same for all subjects. The knowledge and skills that pupils learn are not mapped out well enough in subjects such as science, geography and religious education. Pupils’ learning of scientific skills is hit-and-miss. The learning goals that pupils are working towards are not clear. Content and knowledge are not sequenced or revisited to help pupils know and remember more. The leadership of some subjects is not yet well developed. Over time, pupils have not achieved well enough.

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The support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is variable. In some classes, support is not effective or focused enough on pupils’ barriers to learning. In contrast, pupils in the resource base benefit from effective, skilled teaching and guidance. Teachers identify the precise barriers to pupils’ learning and plan tightly structured lessons to help pupils learn well.

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Children get off to a happy, successful start in the early years. Relationships are nurturing and supportive. Teaching is effective, and expectations are high. Staff give appropriate attention to developing children’s speech and communication skills. They model language well by rephrasing and repeating sentences.

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Leaders are rightly proud of pupils’ good behaviour and the school’s work to support pupils’ personal development. Nevertheless, although improving, some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. The school strives to help pupils to become responsible citizens. As one pupil explained, ‘The school wants us to be good people.’ The school provides an impressive range of extra sporting activities. These enhance the school’s strong programme for physical education, help to keep pupils active and support pupils’ social development.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils know that staff care about them and that there is always someone to talk to if they have any worries. Regular training helps to keep staff well informed. Staff are confident in recognising any signs that pupils may be at risk and what do to if they are concerned.

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Safeguarding

The school’s records of minor concerns are not well organised. This means that leaders do not have a clear enough oversight of concerns over time. Leaders have recognised this shortcoming and are strengthening these systems. Leaders make 12–13 November 2019

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sure that pupils learn about how to keep safe including when online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum is not sequenced well in all subjects. Leaders need to continue to develop the curriculum. Senior leaders need to ensure that all subjects sequence pupils’ knowledge and skills towards ambitious end points. In doing so, leaders need to take account of and consider teachers’ workload and well-being.  The curriculum is not yet taught well across the school so that over time pupils know and remember more. Some teachers require training to improve their skills and their subject knowledge. Leaders need to ensure that teachers have higher expectations of what pupils can achieve.  The leadership of some subjects is not strong enough. Leaders need to provide training to enable all subject leaders to have the necessary skills and expertise to manage and monitor their subjects to ensure consistency.  The reading programme is not effective for all pupils. Leaders need to ensure that the teaching of reading is consistently effective. They need to make sure that

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

reading books are well matched to pupils’ early reading skills. Pupils who are falling behind need to be identified promptly and helped to catch up quickly. Leaders need to ensure that pupils’ reading comprehension and fluency are developed more effectively.  Sometimes pupils with SEND are not supported or guided well enough when they are working in class. Leaders should make sure that teaching more consistently meets the needs and abilities of all groups of pupils including those with SEND.  Many governors are new to their roles and are inexperienced. Leaders need to establish their new governance arrangements and implement their planned training to strengthen governors’ skills and knowledge. Governors need to hold leaders to account for all aspects of the school’s work.  Leaders’ records of minor safeguarding concerns are not systematic enough. Leaders need to swiftly implement their plans to strengthen these.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Despite recent improvements, attendance is not yet good enough and too many pupils are persistently absent, particularly disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. Leaders should continue their focus on improving pupils’ attendance and keep more careful oversight of this aspect of their work.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection. 12–13 November 2019

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The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 12–13 November 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10111224 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.riversideprimaryschool.org.uk/

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School details

Date of previous inspection 15–16 March 2016

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, there have been many changes of staff and leadership. In the last five years, there have been five different headteachers. The current headteacher was appointed to the school in April 2019.  The number of pupils on roll has increased from 302 to 418 since the last inspection.  The school’s nursery has provision for two- and three-year-old children.  The school runs a breakfast club for pupils.  The school has additional resourced provision for pupils who have speech, language and communication difficulties. The resource base caters for up to 14 pupils. Currently, 11 pupils attend this provision.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 We met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, other leaders and teachers.  We met with four members of the governing body including the chair and vice- 12–13 November 2019

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chair of governors.  We met with two representatives from the local authority.  During this inspection, we did deep dives in these subjects: reading, writing, mathematics, science and physical education. We met with subject leads, visited lessons, talked with pupils about their learning and looked at pupils’ work in books.  We observed pupils’ behaviour at different times of the day, including during morning break and lunchtime. We also held two separate meetings with pupils.  We reviewed the school’s safeguarding records including referrals to the local authority. We also reviewed the school’s record of recruitment checks for staff.  We considered the 68 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and parents’ free-text written responses. We spoke with parents on the first day of the inspection.  We considered the views of staff during meetings with them and took into account the 51 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Sue Cox, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Paul Shaughnessy Ofsted Inspector 12–13 November 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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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