Rockland St Mary Primary School

Inspection of Rockland St Mary Primary School 21 School Lane, Norwich NR14 7EU

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 1 and 2 February 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They get on well with each other, and older pupils look out for younger pupils. They enjoy each other’s company, especially at playtimes. One pupil summed this up when they said, ‘We’re pretty much all friends here.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils rise to meet the expectations adults set for them. Pupils behave well in school and in the playground. Some pupils need extra help with their behaviour, and they get this from adults. The school is a calm and orderly place to be. Pupils feel safe because adults keep them safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils and adults get on well. There is a culture of mutual respect. Pupils know that if they have a problem there is always an adult who will listen to them and help them. Although pupils say that bullying doesn’t really happen, they know what it is and what to do if it ever does.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Although Rockland St Mary is a small school, pupils get big opportunities. They love taking part in sporting events and singing in public and, more recently, enjoyed a trip to the circus. Pupils, and their parents, appreciate the opportunities leaders provide.

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better?

The values of ‘respect’, ‘resilience’, ‘resourcefulness’ and ‘reach’ flow through the whole school. Leaders model these values. They expect staff and pupils to do the same. The headteacher’s recent show of resilience when learning to juggle has inspired pupils to show the same determination when learning British sign language.

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better?

Leaders have made significant improvements to the curriculum over the past two years. They have thought hard about the important knowledge they want pupils to know, and by when. They have designed a curriculum that helps pupils remember this knowledge well.

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better?

Teachers have a good knowledge of the subjects they teach. This means they can help pupils understand difficult concepts. For example, pupils in Years 5 and 6 are able to design and write programs in computing because they have been taught the specific knowledge they need to be able to do this.

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better?

Despite leaders’ best efforts to ensure the redesigned curriculum plans in all subjects are consistently well taught, the COVID-19 pandemic has got in the way. This means that in a small number of subjects, pupils’ knowledge is not as strong as in others. This is because they have not had the chance to learn the well-planned curriculum for long enough.

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better?

Children in Nursery and Reception learn and practise the important things they need to help prepare them for future learning. For example, adults provide many 1 and 2 February 2022

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opportunities for children to develop their spoken language effectively. The nurturing early years environment allows children to learn well, grow in confidence and thrive. Their parents agree.

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Pupils start to learn to read as soon as they join the school. Adults teach phonics well because they have had effective training to help them do so. Pupils have the chance to read books that help them practise the new sounds they are learning in class. This means most pupils learn to read quickly and go on to be fluent and confident readers. If any pupils find learning to read tricky, adults quickly see they are struggling, and give them more help to catch up.

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Leaders want pupils to love reading. Adults regularly read books to pupils. These books are high quality and excite pupils’ imaginations. Many of these books also help pupils understand what life is like for people from different cultural backgrounds.

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Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive effective help. They have access to the full curriculum. This is because teachers know their pupils well and skilfully support pupils to make sure pupils with SEND can succeed.

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In the past, there were too many pupils who did not attend school regularly, especially disadvantaged pupils. Leaders have worked hard with these pupils, and with their families. As a result, these pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, now come to school more regularly.

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Pupils have many opportunities to learn about the wider world. Younger pupils can talk about the differences and similarities between themselves and others. Older pupils know about hate crime and the effect this has on individuals and society. Leaders develop pupils’ personal development extremely well.

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Members of the local governing body work closely with trust leaders. They know they have a strategic role and allow leaders to run the school. However, they do not shy away from challenging leaders to make the school the best it can be.

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Parents are rightly happy with the care and education their children receive. Staff are also proud of their school. They regularly receive high-quality training through the multi-academy trust to help them continually improve their practice.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Adults are well trained to spot the signs that something may not be right with a pupil. Leaders, including the designated safeguarding lead (DSL), make sure adults know the risks faced by pupils in the local area. This has created a culture where all staff are vigilant. 1 and 2 February 2022

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Where concerns are brought to leaders, they follow these up quickly and efficiently. Leaders make sure pupils, and their families, get the support they need. Pupils are taught how to stay safe, including when using the internet.

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Governors and multi-academy trust leaders make regular checks on safeguarding to assure themselves that leaders continue to do all they can to keep pupils safe.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum and have identified the key knowledge that pupils will learn and the order in which they will learn it. In a small number of subjects, the implementation of the plans has been delayed due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, pupils do not currently learn as much in some subjects as leaders intend. Leaders must ensure curriculum plans are implemented in all subjects across the school, which will allow pupils to deepen their knowledge in all areas of the curriculum.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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.

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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. 1 and 2 February 2022

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School details

Website www.rockland-surlingham-schools.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The headteacher joined the school in September 2021 and is also the headteacher of another local primary school. Both schools are part of the Sapientia Education Trust.  The headteacher is the special educational needs coordinator and the DSL.  The school opened an on-site nursery class in September 2021, taking children from the age of two.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors met with the headteacher and other leaders, the director of primary education and the chief executive of the multi-academy trust. 1 and 2 February 2022

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, computing and geography.  For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also spoke to leaders about the curriculum in some other subjects.  Inspectors looked at school documentation and spoke with leaders, teachers, support staff, members of the local governing body, parents, pupils and representatives from the multi-academy trust to find out the effectiveness of the school’s safeguarding procedures.  The lead inspector met with the chair and the vice-chair of the local governing body.  Inspectors also spent time observing and talking with pupils in the dinner hall and in the playground at lunchtimes.  The inspectors considered 21 responses made by parents to Ofsted Parent View,

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including 13 free-text responses.  The inspectors considered the views in the four responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Nathan Lowe, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Heather Hann Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 February 2022

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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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