Roman Road Primary School

Inspection of Roman Road Primary School Leam Lane Estate, Felling, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear NE10 8SA

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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 Inadequate 13 and 14 March 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Roman Road is a good school. It has improved since the previous inspection in July 2022. Pupils enjoy a well-balanced curriculum. Staff ensure that strong emotional and mental health support for pupils underpins their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and are clear that behaviour has improved since the last inspection. Leaders have strengthened their work with families, pupils and the community. This has helped staff to address worries and issues that pupils may face. A calm, purposeful atmosphere that is tolerant of individual needs permeates the school. Staff listen to pupils’ views and include them in changes they make, such as the recent changes to all subject curriculums.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The new structured lessons on personal, social and health education (PSHE) inform pupils about a range of relevant issues. These include healthy relationships and staying safe. Pupils are confident and call out inappropriate behaviour. While bullying is rare, pupils are clear that it is unacceptable, and staff deal with it if it arises.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the wider opportunities they have at school. For example, they enjoy the various sports clubs, visits to a local place of worship and the educational visit to the open-air Beamish Museum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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better?

Leaders and governors have been successful in addressing the shortcomings highlighted at the last inspection. A full review of all curriculum areas, safeguarding and behaviour has taken place. This has enabled leaders to address areas of weakness with speed.

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better?

The early years is a vibrant and exciting area of the school. The introduction of a new approach to teaching mathematics is already seeing improvements in children’s mathematical fluency and accuracy. Staff in the early years engage in meaningful conversation with the children. Pupils communicate with confidence. In Nursery, staff support children well. The children communicate, explore and discover learning opportunities.

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better?

Staff and pupils understand the importance of reading. Leaders provide staff with training in reading. This ensures that the chosen approach to teaching phonics is of the highest standard. Staff have considered the books that are class texts and the books pupils read individually. These include different genres, authors and a mix of fiction and non-fiction. Pupils enjoy the variety of texts and can talk about what they enjoy reading and their favourite books. 13 and 14 March 2023

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All subject leaders have recently reviewed their curriculum. They have made adjustments to where topics are in the sequence of learning. Staff have refined the way they teach pupils, ensuring that important ideas and concepts are clearly highlighted to pupils. At all times, staff consider the needs of pupils with SEND. Pupils with SEND follow the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. Subject leaders have collaborated effectively with other schools and the local authority to refine and develop curriculum thinking. Leaders acknowledge that assessment of pupils’ learning, while in place, is not as effective as they would like it to be. Leaders collaborate with staff and provide supportive, subject-specific training. Curriculum planning focuses on building pupils’ knowledge over time. However, the connection of new knowledge to that already covered in other topic areas is not always clear to the pupils. This contributes, in part, to weaknesses in pupils’ ability to recall their

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previous learning. Pupils in Year 6 who left the school in 2022 did not benefit fully from the changes.

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The provision for PSHE is carefully mapped out. Content is cross-referenced with other subjects and linked to educational visits. Staff and pupils have positively embraced the renewed focus on this aspect of school life. Consultation with staff and support through regular PSHE training is in place. A curriculum that continually supports pupils’ development is also in place. Safeguarding has a high profile in PSHE lessons. Staff are flexible and adjust content to meet local needs, when required. For example, recently, leaders changed assembly and lesson themes to cover knife crime following information from external agencies. Pupils have an awareness of different faiths, values and beliefs.

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Leaders’ dedication to improving pupils’ behaviour and the systems used to record the incidence of poor behaviour is reaping benefits. Pupils and staff understand the system well. Staff submit concise and accurate incident reports. This helps leaders and governors with their effective oversight of behaviour. Leaders review pupils’ patterns of behaviour to determine the support individual pupils may need. The number of behaviour incidents has reduced for the whole school since the last inspection. The pastoral care offered in school and the small group session are improving postive behaviour. Pupils love the ‘Frogetts’ reward programme. Leaders are working with families to improve attendance. The termly family reward is a focal point. This recognises efforts at home to support their child in achieving 100% attendance.

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Governors are supportive and equipped to offer challenge to leaders. Staff feel supported and cared for at Roman Road.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have diligently reviewed and strengthened the safeguarding systems and processes since the last inspection. The engagement with the local authority and other external agencies has provided the necessary challenge and support. Staff 13 and 14 March 2023

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attend regular safeguarding training. They are acutely aware of the risks that pupils face in the local community. Safeguarding records are accurate and include follow- up actions that are checked and reviewed.

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Leaders have developed their working relationships with children’s social care and use their knowledge of each pupil and their families or carers to secure appropriate support. Governors have enhanced their understanding of safeguarding through training. The chair of the governing body has recently completed designated safeguarding leader training.

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Pupils are taught appropriate behaviours and the importance of keeping safe as part of the new PSHE curriculum.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Staff do not use checks on pupils’ learning as well as they should. Teaching is not always addressing gaps in pupils’ knowledge. As a result, developing and embedding knowledge over time is not secure for some pupils. Leaders need to strengthen the use of assessment information and provide teachers with support so they have the expertise to use assessment effectively.  Teaching does not always help pupils to connect new learning to the content they have already been taught. As a result, some pupils struggle to recall knowledge and make important links across different subject areas. Leaders should ensure that when new knowledge is taught, staff integrate it effectively into the larger curriculum ideas that are set out.

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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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school. 13 and 14 March 2023

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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. 13 and 14 March 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10267197 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Ashleigh Pilkington

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 and 7 July 2022, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.  The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is well above the national average.  The number of pupils with SEND is well above the national average.  There is a new chair of the governing body since the last inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, science and history. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with 13 and 14 March 2023

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subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils, and looked at pupils’ work.  During the inspection, the inspectors met with the headteacher, subject leaders and members of the governing body.  The lead inspector met with a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors reviewed a range of safeguarding documentation, including the single central record of checks on staff’s suitability to work with pupils. They met with the designated safeguarding leader and checked how leaders record and respond to any safeguarding concerns.  Inspectors discussed the school’s records on attendance and behaviour with leaders.  The inspectors observed pupils reading to a familiar adult and spoke to pupils informally.  The inspectors spoke with staff about their workload and well-being.  Inspectors considered a range of information and documentation provided by the school, including curriculum planning for a wide range of subjects, the school’s

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self-evaluation documents and plans for improvement.

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Inspection team

Richard Jones, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Janet Madden Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 March 2023

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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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