Silverdale Primary Academy

Inspection of Silverdale Primary Academy Racecourse, Silverdale, Newcastle, Staffordshire ST5 6PB

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Inspection dates: 17 and 18 October 2023

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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

The headteacher of this school is Mrs Lindi Nejrup. This school is part of the United Learning Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Jon Coles, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Dame Reena Keeble. 17 and 18 October 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Silverdale Primary is a warm and caring school. Staff and pupils are kind and thoughtful towards each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school motto, ‘The best in everyone’, reflects its inclusive nature. Pupils say they enjoy coming to school. They say everyone is equal and everyone is welcome.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of how well all pupils behave and achieve. Pupils are well supported, both academically and emotionally. They enjoy their learning, work hard and are doing well across the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in and out of class, rarely disrupting learning or being unkind. The school helps them learn to improve their behaviour in a positive way if they fall short of expectations. Staff reinforce manners and respect at the earliest opportunities. This permeates throughout the school. Pupils say that bullying rarely happens, but when it does, staff deal with it effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a strong culture of safeguarding and well-being across the school. Staff and pupils talk about the school having a ‘family feel’. They feel supported and encouraged to be able to succeed. Parents and carers agree. They are very supportive of the school and its ethos.

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better?

Reading is a priority at this school. Children learn to enjoy playing with rhythm and rhyme in Nursery before moving on to understanding that letters make sounds. Pupils become familiar with the sounds letters make and how to blend these into words and sentences in Reception. Teachers routinely check the sounds that pupils know. They give extra support through ‘catch up’ and ‘keep up’ interventions where needed. Adults select books for children which only contain the sounds they know. This means they develop into fluent readers. In Year 2, the focus successfully shifts to fluency and comprehension.

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better?

There is a love of reading at this school. All pupils have access to a wide range of books to read and enjoy. The school helps pupils enjoy visits to both the school and local library. Class books develop pupils’ understanding of different styles and authors. This encourages all pupils to read regularly, both independently and with adults.

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better?

The school is ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils’ needs are identified accurately and this knowledge is used to put effective support in place.

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better?

A detailed, well-organised curriculum is in place. Learning builds over time from Nursery through to Year 6. Teachers know what to teach and in what order. The trust provides effective support that ensures that teachers know and understand the 17 and 18 October 2023

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content of their lessons. However, sometimes teacher input is not effective for all pupils. This means that some pupils struggle to remember key knowledge. They lose track of what it is they are learning. Despite this, pupils have positive attitudes to their learning.

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Experiences, trips and visits are in place and enhance the curriculum. For example, Year 2 visited a local mine as part of their study of local history. Pupils enjoy these opportunities and come to life as they talk about their experiences.

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In the early years, the children get off to a positive start. Teachers provide activities that are well matched to children’s need. Staff model effective communication, supporting children to develop language and independence. This results in high- quality interactions. For example, children making ice cream in the mud kitchen ask: ‘What flavour would you prefer?’ The classroom and the outdoor environment are engaging. Children are happy and thriving.

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The curriculum provides meaningful opportunities for pupils to be responsible citizens. There is a strong emphasis on relationships and character development. Pupils understand equality of opportunity and diversity, stating: ‘It’s about someone’s attitude, not their gender.’ This means that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Some pupils are less able to make connections between healthy eating, active lifestyles and keeping mentally healthy. Pupils also found it more difficult to talk about the opportunities to develop their own talents and interests.

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The school provides staff with effective support and training. The trust implements and coordinates this very well. Staff say their workload and well-being are considered. They welcome development opportunities and benefit from this support. As a result, staff feel valued and are proud to work here.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes teacher input in lessons does not meet the needs of all pupils. This means that some pupils struggle to remember key subject knowledge and do not achieve as much as they could. The school should ensure that teachers are able to deliver the specific content pupils need to know in a way that helps them remember it.  Connections to prior learning in some subjects are not always made explicit to pupils. In some subjects, in the wider curriculum, pupils do not always make connections to prior learning to help with new learning. The school should ensure 17 and 18 October 2023

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that teachers make clear and precise connections with prior learning in all areas of the curriculum to enable all pupils to make the intended progress..

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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.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 17 and 18 October 2023

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 28 and 29 June 2022, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This school is part of the United Learning Trust.  This school operates its own before- and after-school club.

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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

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, associate headteacher, special needs coordinator, subject leaders, teachers and support staff.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science and history. For the deep dives, inspectors spoke to subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke with pupils, looked at pupils’ workbooks and spoke 17 and 18 October 2023

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with teachers and support staff. The lead inspector also heard pupils read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors also looked at a range of pupils’ work from across the curriculum.  The lead inspector held meetings with the chair of trustees, the trust regional director and representatives of the local governing body.  The inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including the school’s own self-evaluation and academy improvement plan.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record, took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors considered the responses gathered through the online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. An inspector spoke to parents at the school gate. Inspectors considered responses to the staff

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Inspection team

Rachel King, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Allyson Brown Ofsted Inspector 17 and 18 October 2023

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