Rivelin Primary School

Inspection of Rivelin Primary School Morley Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S6 2PL

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 4 and 5 March 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school and its diverse community. They are safe and happy. Staff continually reinforce the school’s core values, which include honesty, respect and curiosity. The values hold real meaning for pupils. Pupils are keen to live up to them, and they mostly succeed. Families of all cultures and backgrounds are made welcome. Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils focus during lessons and behave well at social times.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has an ambitious curriculum. The school supports all pupils to achieve well. Staff clearly understand the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The provision for pupils who speak English as an additional language is a real strength of the school. In the early years, children get off to a strong start and are prepared well for Year 1.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides a wide range of enriching activities for pupils. Children in the early years observe chicks hatching. Older pupils swap letters with pen pals in Uganda and visit the planetarium to learn about space. These opportunities teach pupils about life in the wider world beyond their own experience.

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

The curriculum is developing strongly. Subject leaders are trained well. They provide clear guidance to staff about what pupils should learn and when. Staff have strong subject knowledge, which allows them to address any misconceptions pupils may have. The school has developed a highly effective curriculum for writing. Staff are trained to deliver this well. This is rapidly improving the quality of pupils’ written work. Leaders are also refining the reading curriculum for key stage 2 pupils so ambitious concepts are taught more explicitly. In some wider curriculum subjects, the school has not consistently identified gaps in pupils’ knowledge from weaker aspects of the previous curriculum. This means that, at times, some pupils’ knowledge does not build as securely as it could.

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

Teachers use highly effective strategies that help all pupils to learn well, including pupils with SEND and those who speak English as an additional language. There is a sharp focus on oracy across the curriculum, which helps pupils to learn and use vocabulary. Teachers revisit important knowledge to help pupils remember it. Teachers make effective adaptations for pupils with SEND who need further support or more specialist provision. Teachers use effective resources such as translation tools and visual aids to ensure that pupils who speak English as an additional language learn well. When these pupils join the school mid-year, staff quickly identify their starting points. New pupils are welcomed warmly into the school and soon settle in.

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

Pupils enjoy reading. They make scrapbooks to celebrate and recommend books. Pupils learn to read quickly. Staff expertly teach the sounds within words. Pupils have many opportunities to read, which develops their confidence. Pupils who need more support with reading get extra help to keep up. 4 and 5 March 2025

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Children in the early years learn well. Staff are highly effective in developing children’s language. Activities are purposeful. Children learn the curriculum by exploring their existing interests and developing new ones. Staff know each child’s next steps. Staff make sure children stay on track. Children learn and play well together.

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Some pupils struggle to come to school every day. The school takes a range of effective actions to support families to improve their child’s attendance. However, the school does not consistently make the most effective use of all the information available. This prevents the school from refining its strategy to increase attendance even further.

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The curriculum for pupils’ personal, social and health education is well designed. Pupils learn how to keep safe in the community and online. Pupils remember most of the curriculum well. Their knowledge of fundamental British values is less secure. Pupils have regular walks in the local area. They carry out science and geography fieldwork in the Rivelin Valley, which helps them to learn the intended curriculum.

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The school is well led. Staff have high morale. They value the training opportunities and other support that school leaders provide. Governors carry out their statutory duties well. They use their expertise to develop the school continually.

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Staff develop warm relationships with pupils. At social times, many pupils engage in games and activities. Some pupils are play leaders. They support their peers to join in. There are also spaces, such as the nurture room, for pupils who prefer quieter activities.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of wider curriculum subjects, the school has not clearly identified gaps in pupils’ knowledge resulting from weaknesses in the previous curriculum. When this happens, pupils’ understanding of some important concepts is not fully secure. The school should ensure that gaps in pupils’ knowledge are identified and teachers prioritise the most important knowledge pupils need to learn.  The school does not use all the information it has effectively to help improve the attendance of pupils who do not come to school regularly. Some pupils miss out on learning and other opportunities the school offers because of poor attendance. The school should ensure it uses all relevant information to strengthen its impact on persistent absenteeism further.

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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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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). 4 and 5 March 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 2 and 3 October 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 The school makes use of one unregistered alternative provision. The school takes appropriate action to check the suitability of the provision and to ensure that the pupils are safe.  The school has a new headteacher since the previous inspection, who joined the school in September 2022.

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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. 4 and 5 March 2025

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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.  Inspectors met with senior leaders, including the headteacher and assistant headteacher. The lead inspector also met with representatives of the local governing body, including the chair.  Deep dives were carried out in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art and design 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 samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors discussed and reviewed the curriculum in some other subjects.  An inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  Inspectors spoke to pupils about their learning and their experiences at school. An

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inspector also spoke to parents as they dropped their children off at the school gate.  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 safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour throughout the school day, including during breakfast club, during lesson visits and at breaktime. Inspectors spoke to groups of pupils about their views on behaviour at the school.  Inspectors reviewed the responses received through Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses. Inspectors also considered the responses received to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Zoe Helman, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Gerry Wilson Ofsted Inspector 4 and 5 March 2025

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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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