South Bank Community Primary School

Inspection of South Bank Community Primary School Poplar Grove, South Bank, Middlesbrough TS6 6SY

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 18 and 19 June 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a highly inclusive and welcoming primary school. Pupils enjoy coming to school each day. They know they have a range of adults that care for them when they are in school. Pupils treat each other and the adults that support them with respect. Pupils know the school’s values, such as curiosity and compassion, well. They demonstrate these values across the school day.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of what pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), can achieve during their time here. The school is making changes to its curriculum to ensure all pupils fulfil their potential. Some of these changes are not yet fully realised or are still in development.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is calm and orderly. Pupils behave well. There is minimal disruption to learning. From early years onwards, the school has clear routines and expectations for behaviour. Pupils know they are treated fairly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school ensures pupils benefit from a wide range of experiences. Careers and aspiration opportunities help pupils understand different careers and jobs. The school has a specialist social, emotional and mental health team who support the school community, including with parents and carers. Parents and carers are very positive about the whole school offer. They value how well the school knows the pupils who attend here.

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better?

The school continues to develop its curriculum so that pupils are ready for their next stages in learning. Subjects are at different points of development. For example, leaders have made sure that the teaching of mathematics is more consistent. This is beginning to help pupils connect their learning together. Pupils talk with confidence about the skills they have improved in physical education (PE). In some subjects, pupils cannot recall their most recent learning. The school routinely checks what pupils know and can do. However, in many subjects these checks do not match the intended learning as closely as they need to. This limits the schools understanding of what pupils know and remember over time.

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better?

The school prioritises reading in the early years. Children make a prompt start to learning to read. They enjoy books, rhymes and stories within their setting. Reception-age children and those in key stage 1 benefit from a consistent and accurate approach to the teaching of phonics. They read with fluency when practising the sounds, they know. As pupils move through school the reading curriculum is less well defined. The school does not identify the key knowledge and skills that pupils need to become independent readers. The school raises the profile of reading in different ways. For example, the school recommends five different books that are essential reading for every year group. The school also has a new, 18 and 19 June 2024

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well-stocked library. Pupils enjoy reading. However, most pupils struggle to recall favourite books or authors.

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Pupils with SEND are well supported across the school. Some pupils attend the on- site, specially resourced, provision. These pupils follow a bespoke curriculum. This helps them work towards personal targets alongside curriculum learning. Pupils move between the resourced provision and mainstream classes seamlessly. Staff have a detailed understanding of individual pupils’ needs. This enables adults to make purposeful adaptations to support pupils’ learning.

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The school encourages pupils to play an active role in school life. Pupils take on a range of school roles such as well-being ambassadors and sports leaders. Pupils are proud to represent the school. For example, the well-being ambassadors work with the catering team to change the school lunch offer. Other pupils raise awareness of environmental issues. Pupils learn how to be active citizens in the school community. However, the school does not extend pupils’ knowledge of British values as securely as it could. The school is not preparing some pupils for life in modern Britain as well as it needs to.

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Leaders have nurtured a strong sense of community across the school. In early years, warm relationships between children and adults help children play together harmoniously. Some pupils find it hard to manage their emotions. Pupils know that they have adults in school who support them effectively when this happens. This helps them get back to their learning as quickly as possible. Clear systems to improve attendance help pupils attend more regularly. The number of pupils who are persistently absent is reducing.

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Those responsible for governance are actively involved with school. However, they do not gather sufficient information from the school on the effectiveness of the curriculum. This means that governors do not hold leaders to account as well as they could. Dedicated staff support pupils, parents and each other in this welcoming school. Staff are very proud to be part of the school’s family.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some curriculum areas are less well-developed than others. In these areas, including the reading curriculum, the school has not identified sufficiently the essential learning pupils need. This means pupils do not make sufficient progress over time or demonstrate they are remembering the key knowledge that the school intends them to. The school should ensure the key knoweldge and skills 18 and 19 June 2024

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pupils need to be ready for their next stage in learning, are identified equally well in all curriculum areas, including the reading curriculum.  The use of assessment is inconsistent. The school does not fully understand what pupils are remembering over time or the impact of the planned curriculum. The school must ensure that checks on learning inform them of the impact of the curriculum and whether pupils are knowing and remembering more.  Those responsible for governance do not have a thorough or precise understanding of the quality of education pupils receive. This means they do not hold leaders to account sufficiently well and ensure that pupils receive an education offer that helps them be ready for their next stages in learning. Thos responsible for governance must ensure that they provide appropriate challenge to the school to ensure that the quality of education improves.  The school does not teach British values as effectively as it needs to. This is

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limiting how well some pupils recognise or understand the importance of British values. The school should review its teaching of British values and ensure all pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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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). 18 and 19 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date(s) of previous inspection 12 June 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has an additionally resourced provision, funded by the local authority, for pupils with an education, health and care plan. Most pupils who access the provision have moderate learning difficulties and/or social emotional and mental health needs and/or speech, communication and language needs. This provision is for pupils aged between 4 and 11. There are currently 46 pupils in the provision All pupils who attend the provision are on the roll of South Bank Community Primary School. These pupils access pathways of learning and integrate into mainstream education where appropriate.  The school provides nursery education for two- and three-year-old children.  The school offers a free breakfast club.  The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged is significantly above the national average.  The school does not use any alternative education providers. 18 and 19 June 2024

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Information about this inspection

The inspector(s) 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.  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.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, music and PE. Inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons and spoke to teachers and teaching assistants. They spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors listened to pupils reading with a familiar adult. Inspectors met with leaders to discuss history and science.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and

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Information about this inspection

considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors gathered views of parents informally in person and formally through responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and free-text responses. The views of staff were considered through the staff survey and through meetings with them. Pupils’ views were considered through pupil meetings.  Inspectors spoke with representatives from the governing body and the local authority.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in classes, at breakfast club and during breaks and at lunchtime.

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Inspection team

Emily Stevens, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Lisa Ponter 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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