Plover Primary School

Inspection of Plover Primary School Coniston Road, Intake, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN2 6JL

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The quality of education Good 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 Jayne Ogle. This school is part of XP School Trust Limited which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Gwyn ap Harri, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Stephen Cooper Bielby. 5 and 6 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

This school has high ambitions for pupils’ academic achievement and their personal development. A significant proportion of pupils join the school at non-standard points in the school year. The school gets to know pupils as soon as they join the school. They are supported well to achieve their best. The school’s established routines and well-structured curriculum enable pupils to settle quickly. Pupils who have been at the school the longest, and who attend regularly, achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils become ‘crew’ as soon as they join the school. They value participating in daily crew sessions. These help them to reflect on their feelings and how they can support others. The school provides frequent and purposeful opportunities for pupils to engage in activities within the community. Through this, pupils learn how to become responsible citizens.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Habits of work and learning (HOWLS) form the basis of the school’s expectations. Pupils know the importance of, and demonstrate, the school’s values in their conduct. They recognise how HOWLS help them to achieve success in their studies and become responsible individuals. Pupils’ behaviour in class and around school is calm and orderly. Pupils enjoy playing games and using the equipment on the playground responsibly. Pupils benefit from what the school offers.

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

The school has made thoughtful and deliberate decisions to ensure that its curriculum meets the needs of all pupils. The school has broken down the knowledge and skills that pupils must learn as they progress through the school. The curriculum, from early years through to the end of Year 6, has become increasingly embedded.

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

Teachers benefit from coaching and training to support their teaching. The school routinely checks that staff have the necessary subject knowledge to teach the curriculum. Staff develop confidence to teach subjects through ‘expeditions’. This approach helps pupils to achieve the aims of the school’s curriculum.

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

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. Teachers anticipate and address potential misconceptions in advance of teaching specific concepts. This enables pupils to grasp the important knowledge they need from an early stage. Consequently, they achieve the aims of the curriculum. Pupils from the on-site specialist provision play a full and active part in the life of the school. They receive appropriate support from specialist staff in class.

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

The school has implemented an increasingly effective curriculum to teach pupils how to read. Children in Nursery benefit from frequent interactions that support the development of their language and vocabulary. They enjoy singing songs and listening to stories read by adults. Children learn phonics from the start of Reception. The school ensures that pupils gain a secure phonics knowledge as soon as possible. Staff teach phonics confidently. They address pupils’ misconceptions swiftly. Pupils receive effective and 5 and 6 November 2024

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timely support to help them to keep up. Pupils read books that match their phonics knowledge. They use strategies to break down and read words effectively. Over time, pupils read with increasing fluency and accuracy. Most pupils develop a love of reading as they progress through the school. They enjoy reading books from different genres and by a range of authors.

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Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including online. The school works in partnership with the police community support officer and other services in the locality. This enriches the school’s curriculum. It helps pupils to gain an age-appropriate understanding of risks in the local area. During the inspection, children in the early years enjoyed speaking to the fire brigade who visited the school. They learned about the importance of being responsible with fireworks.

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In recent years, there has been an increasing number of pupils suspended from school. The school uses suspensions appropriately. It ensures that pupils reintegrate back into school when they return. The school does not routinely consider in detail the data it has about suspensions over time.

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The school has established systems to follow up pupils’ absence. The proportion of pupils absent from school is significantly higher than other schools in a similar context. The school recognises this. Nonetheless, the school does not analyse its attendance data fully. This prevents it from fully understanding how to reduce pupils’ absence.

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Staff feel well supported in their roles and benefit from professional networks within the trust. Regular updates through ‘performance narrative reports’ enable the trust to review the achievement of pupils. Leaders, including those with responsibility for governance, gather a range of information to measure the school’s performance. Despite this, the school does not use this information fully to analyse areas of strength and development to support further improvement.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some pupils do not attend school regularly. They miss out on important learning opportunities and do not achieve as well as their peers. The school should continue to work with families to improve rates of attendance for pupils.  The school does not make effective use of the information it has available about attendance, suspensions and the achievement of pupils. Opportunities are missed to critically analyse the impact of the school’s actions to further improve the school. The school, and those with responsibility for governance, should make the best use of the information it has available to strategically inform its next stages of development. 5 and 6 November 2024

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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). 5 and 6 November 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school has a specially resourced provision for pupils with a hearing impairment. It is commissioned by the local authority.  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 judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. 5 and 6 November 2024

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke to the headteacher, assistant headteachers, inclusion lead and director of school improvement from the trust.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and physical education. 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 samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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

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safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors spoke to parents at the school gate. They also reviewed responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View.  Inspectors reviewed responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and met with some staff.

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Inspection team

Matthew Harrington, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Suzette Garland-Grimes Ofsted Inspector 5 and 6 November 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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