Springfield Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Springfield Primary School Springfield Primary School, West Road, Spondon, Derby, Derbyshire DE21 7AB

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Outcome

Springfield Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Springfield Primary are proud of their school. They are happy and feel safe here.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for pupils. They want pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to thrive and enjoy their education. Pupils are keen to do well and work hard. A typical pupil comment about the school was: ‘It’s incredible!’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff expect pupils to behave well. Pupils’ conduct around the school and in lessons is calm and orderly. If low-level disruption does occur, it is dealt with quickly and does not impact the learning of others. Pupils are respectful and polite to each other and all adults. Pupils said that they feel safe and know that there are adults they can talk to if they have any worries. They trust adults to deal with any issues they may have if they arise.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the many wider opportunities and experiences that leaders provide. Pupils can be a school councillor or a prefect. ‘I-vengers’ support younger pupils with online safety. Pupils also attend a range of extra-curricular clubs and enjoy going on educational outings, which enrich what they have been taught in class.

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

Pupils behave well in lessons and play cooperatively at well-supervised playtimes. Staff use a fair and consistent approach to dealing with pupils’ behaviour if it falls short of leaders’ high expectations. A restorative approach helps pupils develop skills to make the right choices. Effective pastoral support is in place when this is needed.

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

Leaders have robust systems in place to monitor and improve attendance. Despite their work, some pupils are absent too often. 27 and 28 June 2023

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Pupils with SEND are fully included in all aspects of school life. Staff receive appropriate training. Pupils are accurately and quickly identified if they need additional help with their learning. Teachers support pupils well in classrooms. They provide adapted resources. They deploy adults to work with pupils in small groups or on an individual basis. Leaders work effectively with external agencies. The curriculum in the enhanced resource facility is ambitious and tailored to the pupils’ needs. Staff provide expert emotional and pastoral support. This helps pupils to access the curriculum and achieve well.

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Leaders have recently introduced a new approach to the teaching of early reading and phonics. Children in early years learn phonics as soon as they start school. Staff have received appropriate training and use the new scheme effectively. Teachers check pupils’ knowledge regularly. Those pupils who need additional help benefit from additional support. Pupils read books that match the sounds they are learning. Teachers encourage pupils to read frequently both at home and at school. There is a good selection of books from which pupils can choose. Older and more confident readers say that they find these books sufficiently challenging. They enjoy talking about the books they have read.

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Pupils are positive about mathematics. The curriculum is sequenced in a logical order. The key vocabulary and the content that pupils will learn are clear, as is when these aspects of the mathematics curriculum will be learned. There is a progression of different calculation methods as pupils move through the year groups.

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Some subject leaders are new and have not yet fully implemented the guidance and mentoring given to them from leaders in order to effectively lead and monitor their subject. For some subjects, new curriculum thinking has not been in place for very long. In some subjects, the knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn and remember have not been broken down explicitly. Because of this, pupils are not able to build up their knowledge progressively.

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Leaders have ensured that children in the early years benefit from a stimulating learning environment. The wide range of activities provided, both indoors and outdoors, support learning. Teachers ensure that there are daily opportunities that encourage the children to be curious and link their play to learning in meaningful ways. Children know the routines and treat each other with respect.

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Pupils show respectful and tolerant attitudes. They learn about different religions and cultures. Pupils understand the importance of fundamental British values. They know about democracy and justice. They are clear about the difference between right and wrong.

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Governors and trustees know the school well. They provide an appropriate level of support and challenge to leaders. Staff, including those new to teaching, feel valued. They say that leaders are considerate of their workload. They are proud to work at the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 27 and 28 June 2023

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The headteacher and staff have received appropriate safeguarding training. They know the potential signs of abuse and neglect to be alert to. Appropriate records of safeguarding concerns are kept. Outside agencies, such as the early help team, are contacted where necessary. Pupils are taught to stay safe when online.

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The single central record meets requirements. Recruitment procedures follow national guidance.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some subject leadership is at a relatively early stage. A small number of subject leaders are not yet taking responsibility for the implementation and impact of their curriculum. Leaders should ensure that subject leaders gain the necessary knowledge and understanding to measure the implementation and impact of the curriculum effectively, therefore ensuring that all pupils achieve well.  Levels of absence and persistent absence remain too high for a minority of pupils. Some pupils miss too much learning and do not achieve as well as they should. Leaders should fully implement and embed their policies and procedures in order to improve attendance.

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Springfield Primary School, to be good in May 2018.

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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. 27 and 28 June 2023

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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. 27 and 28 June 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10269250 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

 Leaders do not make use of alternative provision.  The school joined the Odyssey Collaborative Trust in March 2019. When its predecessor school, Springfield Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  There is an enhanced resource facility on the school site.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  Prior to the inspection, the lead inspector reviewed documents on the school’s website as well as published information about the school’s performance and previous Ofsted inspections.  The lead inspector held various meetings with the headteacher and other staff. The lead inspector met with four members of the governing body, including the chair of governors, and the chair of trustees. 27 and 28 June 2023

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and physical education. For each deep dive, the inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector looked at curriculum plans and spoke with leaders about some other subjects. The lead inspector listened to pupils from key stage 1 and key stage 2 read.  The lead inspector met with the SEND coordinator, spoke to pupils with SEND, reviewed plans to support these pupils and visited lessons to see how they are supported to learn.  To inspect safeguarding, the lead inspector checked the single central record, met with the designated safeguarding leader and reviewed a range of documentation, including safeguarding records and policies, to ensure that appropriate actions are being taken to keep children safe.  The lead inspector considered the views of pupils, parents and staff through Ofsted

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surveys, as well as additional communication from parents during the inspection.  The lead inspector met leaders to discuss pupils’ behaviour and reviewed the school’s records for suspensions.  The lead inspector met with representatives from the multi-academy trust.  The lead inspector scrutinised records relating to attendance and pupil movement.

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Inspection team

Liz Moore, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 27 and 28 June 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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