Southwick Community Primary School

Inspection of Southwick Community Primary School Shakespeare Street, Southwick, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear SR5 2JX

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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 Previous inspection grade Good 22 and 23 June 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Southwick Community Primary School is a happy place where pupils feel safe and thrive. Leaders have created a welcoming environment that promotes a sense of community. Parents and carers describe the school as, ‘the beating heart of the community’. Pupils and parents enjoy school events such as the lantern festival and family art.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that adults help them to feel calm and relaxed. They appreciate the strong relationships they have with adults who take the time to understand their needs. Some pupils say, ‘everyone has an adult in school they can trust.’ Pupils, including children in the early years, get on well together. They say that bullying does not happen. Pupils know that adults would help them if it did.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils know what is expected of them and enjoy living up to the challenge. Classrooms are calm places where learning takes place with little interruption.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that by, ‘being kind, you can make the world a better place’. They enjoy the opportunities to meet new people and dancing at the Sunderland Empire. Leaders help pupils to learn to become leaders themselves, for example, through Young Leaders Club and by becoming reading ambassadors.

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better?

Since the last inspection, leaders have redesigned the curriculum and improved many aspects of subject leadership. Most subject leaders are now more able to support teachers in implementing the revised curriculum. Developments in the curriculum are more advanced in some subject areas than others, especially in mathematics and science. For instance, the mathematics curriculum is well sequenced. New learning builds on what pupils already know. Teachers have identified pupils’ missing knowledge and skills because of COVID-19. Teachers plan opportunities for pupils to learn about mathematics in other subjects. For example, in science, pupils learn to take measurements and record data. This is making sure pupils have the knowledge and skills they need for the next stage in learning.

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better?

Leaders have ensured that the wider curriculum is ambitious. For example, in the early years, children go on walks in the local area and make their own maps. In upper key stage 2, in geography, pupils create ordnance maps. The music curriculum enables pupils to develop their expertise in music. Pupils learn to play percussion instruments and learn musical terms to describe what they hear. They listen to music from different cultures, places and times. This helps develop pupils’ cultural capital. Pupils also get the chance to perform what they have been learning. They enjoy this very much. 22 and 23 June 2022

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However, in a small number of subjects in the foundation curriculum, such as history, leaders have not been precise enough in identifying the knowledge and skills they want pupils to learn over time. As a result, pupils do not always build their knowledge of important historical concepts, such as empire, well enough. In addition, some subject leaders do not monitor how well pupils are learning the revised curriculum.

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Leaders have ensured that teaching staff have expertise in all aspects of early reading, including early language development. As a result, pupils learn to read well across the school. In Reception, the reading programme is preparing children well for learning the sounds that they need in order to read whole words. Books are accurately matched to the phonics knowledge of pupils. This helps pupils to practise and apply their phonics skills. Teachers use assessment to identify pupils who need support. They make sure targeted pupils receive additional help so that they catch up.

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The implementation of the curriculum is strong throughout the school. Teachers use effective questioning to check pupils’ understanding. Questioning and assessment enable teachers to identify pupils with SEND quickly. Many pupils with SEND access the curriculum in smaller groups. This helps teachers to plan the right support for each pupil, so that pupils with SEND access the same ambitious curriculum as everyone else. As a result, pupils’ needs are well met.

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Leaders ensure that pupils have positive experiences of their local community, for example, taking part in activities with the local fire and police services. Leaders engage these services to give pupils an early understanding of the work they do. The personal development curriculum focuses on the importance of pupils respecting the beliefs and opinions of others. The election of school councillors helps pupils to understand democracy. Pupils learn about equality and difference. They understand that everyone deserves respect. This helps prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.

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Governors care about the school. They are mindful of staff well-being. As a result, staff feel supported. Staff enjoy working in the school and are proud to be part of the staff team. However, the level of scrutiny governors provide has not focused sharply on how well leaders’ actions improve the quality of education in the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make sure that staff attend training so that they have the knowledge to identify pupils who may be at risk. Systems for reporting concerns are known and used by all staff. Staff bring the slightest concerns to the attention of leaders and they are followed up quickly. Leaders work well with other agencies to ensure that pupils and their families get the early help that they sometimes need. Leaders ensure that safeguarding arrangements, including recruitment processes, are 22 and 23 June 2022

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thorough. Leaders know the local community well. They use their knowledge to identify contextual safeguarding risks.

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Pupils are taught about safeguarding risks. They know who to speak to and how to get help when they are worried.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation curriculum subjects, such as history, the curriculum is not precise enough. Curriculum end points are too far apart. In addition, expectations of what pupils will learn in each year are not always clear. Leaders should make clear the curriculum expectations for what pupils will learn and when.  Leaders’ monitoring activities do not place enough focus on the effect of their work and that of staff on what pupils have learned. Leaders need to improve their monitoring so it includes checks on whether pupils are taught subject-specific knowledge in a suitable sequence so that they understand better the impact this is having on pupils’ knowledge and skills.  Governors checks on leaders’ work and the effect it has on pupils’ learning are not strong enough. This means that leaders are not thoroughly challenged for the decisions they make. Governors should ensure that they sharpen the way in

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

which they hold leaders to account for the quality of education in the school.

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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. 22 and 23 June 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10227199 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 21 March 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school runs a breakfast club and after-school club for pupils who attend the school.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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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.  Inspectors met with senior leaders and subject leaders. An inspector met with the special educational needs coordinator and with teaching and support staff.  The lead inspector held a meeting with two governors, including the chair of the governing body. The meeting was online. She also had a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority. 22 and 23 June 2022

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, geography, history and music. 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. The lead inspector also listened to a sample of pupils read to a familiar adult.  The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding leader to review a range of documents, including the school’s single central record and the school’s log of safeguarding incidents. Inspectors also spoke to staff about how they keep pupils safe.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of other documentation, including records of pupils’ behaviour and leaders’ evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke informally to pupils to gather their views on school life. They also talked to parents at the start of the school day.

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 To gather parents’ views, inspectors took account of the views of parents from Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, including free-text comments. There were no responses to the staff or pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Kathryn McDonald, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

David Milligan Her Majesty’s Inspector 22 and 23 June 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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