Silverdale Primary Academy

Inspection of a good school: Silverdale Primary Academy Racecourse, Silverdale, Newcastle, Staffordshire ST5 6PB

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Outcome

Silverdale 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 the inspector were to carry out a section 5 inspection now. The school’s next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This school really brings out the best in everyone. Pupils are very proud to attend. Pupils, including those who have recently joined the school, understand and demonstrate their school values. As one said, ‘We are all different. We are caring, hardworking and unique.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is exceptional. Leaders have ensured that staff and pupils thoroughly understand the behaviour rules. Pupils appreciate this, and it means that they play and learn together very well. They say that bullying hardly ever happens. They are confident that teachers would soon sort out any problems if they were to occur. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders ensure that the curriculum is broad, well planned and organised. It supports all pupils to achieve well. Pupils can explain their learning and how it will help them in the future. Pupils are taught a wide range of knowledge and skills that help develop their characters.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff share leaders’ high expectations. They support pupils to take on important responsibilities, such as school councillors and treasurers. Pupils have raised funds to improve the school grounds for everyone to enjoy. They understand that they are part of the school family where everyone has a role to play.

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

Leaders at all levels share high expectations and work together to ensure that pupils have the very best experiences. ‘Family’ is a word used by pupils, staff and leaders to describe the mutually supportive approach within the school. This includes governors and multi- academy trust (MAT) leaders. 28 and 29 June 2022

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Leaders have carefully implemented an ambitious curriculum for pupils. Learning is well sequenced so that pupils learn important knowledge and vocabulary in the right order. Where appropriate, the knowledge is linked to their local area, for example their village or the local quarry. This means that they remember what they have learned in detail. Leaders ensure that teachers receive the training they need to deliver the curriculum well. Teachers check pupils’ learning regularly and provide the right support to pupils who struggle or extra challenges to those who need to move on. Leaders check how well pupils are learning. This helps them to plan staff training and adjust the support offered to pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils enjoy their learning. They are motivated and work hard.

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Leaders place a high priority on reading. They ensure that pupils get off to a swift start when they join the school. Staff have been well trained and supported to deliver the school’s phonics programme. They know how to help pupils to become accurate and fluent readers, including those pupils who need extra support. As a result, pupils make good progress in learning to read. Pupils say that they enjoy reading. Early readers enjoy books that are well matched to the sounds they know. Older pupils read regularly and have a broad knowledge of different authors and genres. Leaders ensure that the books pupils listen to and read help them to understand themes such as diversity and refugee evacuation.

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Pupils with SEND are supported well by staff. Leaders are quick to identify pupils’ individual needs. Staff are clear about how to provide appropriate support for these pupils. They use a range of effective strategies to help pupils with SEND learn well alongside their classmates.

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Leaders have ensured that a well-planned early years curriculum gets children ready for key stage 1. Staff have thought carefully about what children need to help them learn. They have designed well-resourced learning spaces inside and out. This means that children have well-planned opportunities to practise their early reading and number skills. They busily work together to mend bicycles, make dough and work out which numbers come next on a number line. Staff think carefully about their interests, and as a result, children learn well.

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Pupils are polite and well mannered. They are conscious about their behaviour and know that teachers will help them sort out any problems or disagreements they have. A small number of pupils do not attend school often enough. This means that they miss important learning.

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Pupils appreciate the trips they attend that help to broaden their learning. These include residential visits and trips to allotments. Visits to London and the Houses of Parliament support their work on democracy. Pupils enjoy taking part in competitive sports and particularly enjoyed the ramble with parents and staff to raise money for charity. Leaders value their relationship with parents. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive. As one stated about their child attending this school, ‘They are with their class families, safe, content and making progress.’ 28 and 29 June 2022

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have put robust procedures in place to help keep pupils safe. Staff receive regular safeguarding training and know what to do if they are worried about a pupil. Leaders act swiftly to follow up any concerns and work with external agencies if necessary.

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Safeguarding

Pupils feel safe and valued in this school. Leaders encourage them to speak out if they feel worried. They are taught to say ‘no’ using their big voices if they are asked to do anything that makes them feel unsafe. In lessons and assemblies, pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe, including when online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Attendance remains too low for a very small number of pupils. This means that gaps in their learning are not narrowed as quickly as they could be. Leaders should ensure that work continues with pupils and their families to improve their attendance so that these pupils make the best progress possible.

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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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 7 and 8 December 2016.

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How can I feed back my views?

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. 28 and 29 June 2022

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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. 28 and 29 June 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10205174 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection 7 and 8 December 2016, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school operates its own before- and after-school club.

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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.  The lead inspector met with the chair of the governing body remotely and three other governors, including the vice chair in person.  The lead inspector met with regional director for the MAT.  The lead inspector held meetings with the headteacher, who is a designated safeguarding leader, the school business manager, the deputy headteacher who is the special educational needs coordinator and the mathematics leader, and other leaders.  The lead inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography.  For each deep dive, the lead inspector met with subject leaders, discussed the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about

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Information about this inspection

their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 28 and 29 June 2022

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 The lead inspector made visits to classrooms. Most of these visits were with leaders, including the deputy headteacher and subject leaders.  The lead inspector observed pupils’ behaviour around the school, in classrooms and at breaktimes and lunchtimes.  The lead inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  The lead inspector spoke to pupils about their learning and experiences at school. She looked at pupils’ work to see how well staff implement the curriculum.  Safeguarding documents were checked, including the checks that leaders make on staff’s suitability to work with children. The lead inspector checked that staff implement safeguarding policies and procedures effectively across the school.  The lead inspector considered responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, and 24 free-text responses received during the inspection.  The lead inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and the pupil

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survey.  The lead inspector looked at a range of documentation provided by the school. This included the school’s self-evaluation, school improvement plan, school policies, curriculum documents, SEND records, published information about pupils’ performance and minutes of governing body meetings.  The lead inspector considered information published on the school’s website.

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Inspection team

Stephanie Moran, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 28 and 29 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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