River View Primary and Nursery School

Inspection of a good school: River View Primary and Nursery School Suffolk Road, Stapenhill, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire DE15 9HR

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Outcome

River View Primary and Nursery School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

At Riverview pupils are encouraged to be ‘RICHER’. The values of respect, independence, caring, helpfulness, equality and resilience are promoted widely. Pupils say these values ‘helps us to have a brighter future and make our community richer’. Pupils take pride in belonging to this nurturing and caring school. New arrivals, many of whom are new to the country, are welcomed warmly. They settle quickly and become valued members of the school community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has worked hard to ensure that pupils have all they need to achieve well. This is beginning to pay dividends. Many more pupils are now working at the standard that they should be.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All around the school pupils behave well. Pupils walk around sensibly and greet staff and visitors politely. Staff model to pupils how they want them to behave. They support pupils well at playtime. Pupils play cooperatively with a range of carefully selected equipment. This work has ensured that pupils live up to the staff’s high expectations for their behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy ‘Richer Rainbow Fridays’, where they can work with different adults and pupils of different ages on activities such as sports, art and drama.

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

The school has constructed a curriculum which engages pupils in their learning. Staff deliver this curriculum as the school intends. In many subjects, pupils’ learning builds well on what they already know. For example, in mathematics, children in the early years learn about and work with numbers in a variety of ways, helping them to understand and use this knowledge practically. This prepares pupils well and enables them to solve more complex mathematical problems in key stages 1 and 2. However, some subjects are not 18 and 19 June 2024

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as well sequenced, and pupils’ learning does not always build on what they already know. This slows pupils’ learning and means they do not remember as much as they could.

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Children make a very good start to their time in school in early years. Staff know the children well. They focus on teaching important knowledge across all areas of learning. Children then practise these in well-planned activities both indoors and outdoors.

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The school gives the teaching of reading a high priority. Well-trained staff skilfully teach pupils to read. Pupils who struggle to keep up with the phonics programme receive effective and timely support to catch up. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), read books that are closely matched to the words and sounds they know. This helps build their confidence and fluency well. The school promotes pupils’ reading at home. Children enjoy earning ‘rainbow reading certificates’ when they read books at home. In addition, pupils benefit from the school’s investment in high-quality fiction and non-fiction books.

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In most subjects, staff check that pupils know and remember their learning. Staff act promptly to provide pupils with the extra teaching and support that they need if they have misconceptions. This is especially effective in phonics.

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The school has robust processes in place to identify any additional needs that pupils have. The school has high aspirations for pupils with SEND. They ensure these pupils learn the same curriculum as their peers. Staff are well supported to understand how to adapt the curriculum for pupils with SEND.

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The school’s approach to improving pupils’ attendance has led to an improvement in overall attendance. However, there is still a significant number of pupils who miss too much time off school. As a result, these pupils miss valuable learning time in school.

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Pupils benefit from a wide range of activities which support their learning. Regular ‘wow days’ engage pupils in the curriculum. One pupil reflected on how the use of a virtual reality headset had helped them learn about volcanoes in geography. Pupils benefit from a range of opportunities to contribute to school life, including school council, eco monitors and happy mind heroes. They say ‘we make our school better’.

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Governors are passionate about the school and its place in the local community. They have worked hard to broaden and strengthen their skills. However, governors do not always have sufficient information to hold leaders to account for all aspects of the school’s work. This includes the quality of education that the school provides.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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 Some pupils miss too much time off school. This means that they miss important learning. The school should continue to build on its work to ensure that all children attend school and learn well.  In some subjects, learning is not organised in a way which systematically builds pupils’ prior learning. This slows pupils’ learning in these subjects. The school should ensure that all curriculum subjects are planned logically to ensure pupils’ learning is built on effectively and that they then learn well.  Governors do not always carry out their work in a systematic way. As a result, the governing body does not have a secure understanding of some aspects of the school’s work. Governors should continue to develop their role so that they hold leaders fully to account for all aspects of the school’s performance.

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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 school to be good in February 2019.

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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.

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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 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). 18 and 19 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 13 and 14 February 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses one unregistered alternative provider.  The school operates a before-school provision.

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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

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, the inspector held meetings with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. He also met three members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. The inspector held a phone conversation with a representative of the local authority.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the 18 and 19 June 2024

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extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and geography. He met with subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke with teachers and pupils and viewed examples of pupils’ work. The inspector also spoke to pupils about science, languages and physical education. He looked at pupils’ science work.  The inspector observed children in the early years and pupils in key stages 1 and 2 read to a trusted adult.  The inspector spoke with members of staff about their workload and well-being.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school.  The inspector considered the responses, including the free-text comments, to Ofsted Parent View. He also considered the responses to the staff and pupil surveys. The inspectors spoke to parents at the start of the school day.

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 The inspector looked at a range of documentation provided by the school. This included the school’s self-evaluation, school improvement priorities, school policies, curriculum documents, SEND records, behaviour records, attendance records and minutes of meetings held by the governing body.

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Inspection team

Barry Yeardsley, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 18 and 19 June 2024

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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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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