Etruscan Primary School

Inspection of Etruscan Primary School Dundee Road, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST1 4BS

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Inspection dates: 24 and 25 September 2024

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good

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Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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The headteacher of this school is Christopher Crook. This school is part of Orchard Community Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Sean Thomson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Gillian Howell. 24 and 25 September 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Etruscan Primary school is a school that is at the heart of the community. It is a caring and inclusive school. The core values of the school, REACH (respectful, enjoyment, achievement, collaboration, and honesty) permeate throughout all aspects of school life. Pupils demonstrate these values through their highly positive attitudes to learning. They are polite, well mannered and welcoming. Pupils enjoy learning here.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from positive, caring relationships with the adults at the school. They know who they can talk to if they are worried about anything. As a result, pupils feel safe and happy in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has taken decisive action to strengthen the curriculum to improve outcomes for pupils. Some improvements are not fully realised because the curriculum is not consistently delivered as well as it could be. Some pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do not achieve as well as they should.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a sharp focus on supporting pupils’ wider well-being. The school provides highly effective pastoral support for pupils and families. Pupils benefit from taking part in ‘11 by 11’ activities to widen their horizons and enable them to make a positive contribution to their community.

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

The school has overhauled the curriculum to ensure that it is ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND. Pupils learn about their local heritage as well as celebrating global diversity. For each subject, it is clear what pupils will learn and how they will build their knowledge and skills over time. In some subjects, the school has not evaluated how well the curriculum is being implemented. Therefore, there are some inconsistencies in how well subject content is implemented. In some subject areas, checks on learning do not always identify whether pupils have remembered and understood what they have been taught. This prevents pupils from building knowledge securely.

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

Pupils with SEND rightly access the same curriculum as their peers. They benefit from regular carefully considered interventions to address any gaps in their learning. Some lessons are adapted successfully, for example, through the use of additional resources, to support pupils with SEND to learn well. However, this is not always the case. As a result, some pupils with SEND do not learn as well as they should.

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

Children in the early years settle in quickly. Staff’s sharp focus on vocabulary helps children to develop their language and communication skills. The learning environment has been revamped to support pupils to play, explore and be curious in their learning with greater success.

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

Reading is prioritised by the school and pupils develop a love of reading as soon as they join the school. Staff are trained to deliver the chosen phonics programme consistently well. Teachers design appropriate activities to enable pupils to practise the sounds they 24 and 25 September 2024

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have learned. Pupils who struggle with the phonics programme, receive extra help from staff when needed. This helps more pupils to read confidently and fluently.

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The school’s programme for the personal development of pupils is thorough and well planned. The school’s intention to shape well-rounded citizens as well as successful learners is realised. The school’s motto, ‘Reach for the stars’, fully embodies its ambition to raise aspirations through the career links that are made throughout the curriculum. Pupils understand the importance of respect and tolerance. Pupils learn about different faiths and cultures. They value diversity. Pupils enjoy the extra-curricular opportunities available to them. However, they would like further places to be available so that more pupils can attend. Pupils benefit from a wide range of trips and external visitors, which enrich the curriculum. Pupils develop their independence through eagerly taking on leadership roles in school, such as being a ‘prefect’ or a member of the school council.

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Strategies to improve pupils’ rates of attendance have been successful. The school communicates well with families, offering support, including from outside agencies, when required. This has led to the attendance of many pupils improving.

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The school works diligently to involve parents and carers with their children’s learning. For example, parents can attend workshops and coffee mornings. Furthermore, adult learning classes are soon to re-start following the creation of a community room over the summer break. Staff, pupils and parents say that they are united by the school’s current vision and leadership. They are highly complimentary about the culture of the school, which has been galvanised over the last year. Staff feel valued and are proud to work at the school.

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Local governors know the school’s strengths and areas for improvement well. They provide appropriate support and challenge to help the school to improve further.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum is not adapted well enough for some pupils with SEND. This means that some pupils with SEND do not learn as well as they could. The school should ensure that staff get the information and training they need to support all pupils with SEND well.  In some subjects, there is limited monitoring and evaluation of how well the curriculum is being implemented. Therefore, there are some inconsistencies in how well subject content is implemented. The school needs to provide subject leaders with the right training and opportunities to develop their confidence and expertise in monitoring and improving their subject, so that outcomes improve. 24 and 25 September 2024

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 In some subjects, the school has not developed successful systems to accurately check on how well pupils learn. This prevents pupils from building knowledge securely. The school should ensure that staff accurately check pupil’s learning, in all subjects, to help pupils to know and remember more.

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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 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). 24 and 25 September 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school joined the Orchard Community Trust in June 2020.  The headteacher of the school started his role in September 2023.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024, will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 24 and 25 September 2024

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the headteacher and senior leaders.  The lead inspector met with the trust’s chief executive officer, trustees and representatives from the local governing body.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at a sample of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also examined pupils’ work in art and talked to them about their learning in art and design, modern foreign languages and physical education.  The lead inspector listened to pupils read to a familiar adult.

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 Minutes of trustee and local governing body meetings were also scrutinised.  The inspectors looked at records of pupils’ attendance and behaviour. They observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school and talked to them about behaviour, bullying and welfare.  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 talked to parents at the start of the school day and considered the responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey and free-text comments. The inspectors also reviewed the responses to the staff survey and gathered the views of staff and pupils through discussion.

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Inspection team

Cathy Young, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sarahjane Cuncannon Edwards Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Emma Titchener Ofsted Inspector 24 and 25 September 2024

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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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