Rowlatts Mead Primary Academy

Inspection of a good school: Rowlatts Mead Primary Academy Balderstone Close, Off Ambassador Road, Leicester, Leicestershire LE5 4ES

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Outcome

Rowlatts Mead Primary Academy continues to be a good school. There is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a section 5 inspection now.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a friendly and very caring school. Pupils are polite, confident and welcoming. They have a positive ‘have a go’ attitude to their learning and are proud of their school. They know what makes it special and celebrate pupils’ different backgrounds.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff expect all pupils to achieve their very best. They make learning exciting. Pupils’ imaginations are stimulated by the Roman courtyard or rainforest corridor, for example. Pupils enjoy learning and know why it is important. They learn about heroes from history because ‘they are an inspiration so when we grow up we can act like them’. Staff help pupils to have high aspirations.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are well looked after. They say bullying is very rare. They are taught to be responsible for themselves. The pupil-led ‘mediation’ meetings help pupils make friends if anyone has a falling out. Pupils behave extremely well at playtimes and in classrooms. They listen to, and respect, each other and their teachers.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the wide range of clubs they can go to and the roles of responsibility they can take on. These include being school councillors, house captains and digital leaders. Such opportunities enrich the school’s exciting curriculum.

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

Leaders and staff work as a team to make the school a highly positive place to learn. All share the same goal: they want to prepare pupils as well as they can for the next stages of their education and for their lives in modern Britain. The school does this very well. Pupils are taught to have high aspirations. They learn about different religions and visit different places of worship. They learn about important historical figures such as Albert Einstein, Rosa Parks or Anne Frank. Pupils achieve very well personally and academically. Initiatives such as the ‘Dragon’s Den’ and enterprise projects help pupils learn about 29–30 January 2020

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working as a team. Relationships are a strength. Leaders and other staff ensure that pupils’ personal development is exceptional. Leaders make sure that staff receive training to develop their knowledge of how to teach different subjects. Staff make learning interesting and engaging. For example, pupils in key stage 2 learned about historical evidence from ancient Egypt. They visited a class ‘museum’ of artefacts which included a life-sized mummy. Staff make sure that the curriculum is planned so that pupils’ learning builds on what they have already learned. The ‘tickets’ at the beginning and end of topics help pupils remember what they have learned. In all subjects, staff expect pupils to explain their thinking and give reasons for their ideas. Pupils are keen to answer questions. Pupils in key stage 2 were able to explain the difference between learning facts and using facts to understand things. For example, in

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mathematics, teachers help pupils practise and remember times tables and then use them to solve problems. Pupils say things like, ‘we need to analyse the problem and figure it out’. Leaders and staff make reading a high priority. They make sure pupils gain language and reading skills as quickly as possible, starting in the early years. They ensure the phonics programme is organised well. Staff are skilled in teaching phonics. Classrooms and other places in the school are rich in language. Staff promote pupils’ enthusiasm for reading. They expect pupils to read with confidence, understanding and expression. Staff are determined that pupils learn and remember new vocabulary in all year groups. Leaders ensure that the curriculum meets the needs of the pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils in all year groups achieve well in different subjects. Their achievement is reflected in their results from national tests,

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which are often well above those seen nationally. Leaders check the impact of their work to improve the curriculum. Sometimes, they are not quite as sharp as they could be in identifying the specific things that could make the provision even better. Children get off to a very strong start in the early years. Leaders have focused carefully on developing children’s language and reading skills. They ensure that routines are securely in place. Children show concentration and perseverance in their learning. In common with the rest of the school, children’s behaviour is excellent. Staff manage behaviour consistently well. Staff are proud to work in the school. They say that leaders are considerate of their well-being and workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. There is a strong culture of safeguarding. Leaders ensure that all recruitment checks are carried out. Staff receive up-to-date training and know the signs that might indicate a concern. Leaders follow up any concerns, including working with external agencies. They carefully record the actions they take. Pupils learn how to be safe, including when online. The school council made a leaflet about keeping safe, which is available in the school. Pupils are very confident that staff will sort out any problems. Nearly all pupils and parents say the school keeps pupils safe. 29–30 January 2020

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders are sometimes not quite as sharp as they could be in their analysis of how the school could improve further. They do not make clear enough the specific changes they wish to see. Sometimes staff do not have a precise understanding of the school’s priorities. All staff should know and understand the improvements leaders wish to bring about to the provision.  Subject leaders are sometimes not quite as sharp as they could be in their understanding of how the curriculum is planned so that pupils’ learning builds as effectively as possible over time. Leaders should ensure that subject leaders have the necessary expertise to plan and refine further the sequencing of the curriculum in all subjects.

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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 school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, 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 convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Rowlatts Hill Primary School, to be good on 29–30 January 2013.

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How can I feed back my views?

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.

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How can I feed back my views?

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

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are 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. 29–30 January 2020

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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. 29–30 January 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10121242 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Rowlatts Mead Primary Academy opened on 1 April 2017. The school is part of The Mead Educational Trust.

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Information about this inspection

 I met with senior leaders, other leaders, members of the board of trustees and local governing body, and spoke with the chief executive officer of The Mead Educational Trust.  I looked in detail at reading, mathematics and history to consider the quality of education. I talked to subject leaders, staff and pupils, visited lessons and looked at pupils’ work.  I reviewed the arrangements for safeguarding by scrutinising safeguarding records and speaking to leaders, staff and pupils. I considered the views of parents, staff and pupils. 29–30 January 2020

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Inspection team

John Lawson, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 29–30 January 2020

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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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