Falla Park Community Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Falla Park Community Primary School Falla Park Road, Felling, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear NE10 9HP

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Outcome

Falla Park Community Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Falla Park are welcoming, friendly and inquisitive. Cheerful smiles abound throughout the school. Pupils’ happiness reflects the nurturing and inclusive nature of the school, where pupils from a diverse range of backgrounds co-exist in friendship and harmony. Pupils embody the Falla Park values of ‘respect, compassion and responsibility’. They thrive and flourish through the positive relationships that the school promotes. Pupils talk with confidence about how well-trained staff keep them safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for pupils’ achievement and behaviour. Pupils enjoy engaging lessons and achieve well, often from lower starting points. They concentrate closely on their work. Their focus is impressive. As a result, the learning environment in the school is exceptional. Throughout the school pupils behave extremely well. They demonstrate courtesy, empathy and respect to one another.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has worked hard to engage with the school community over time. The positive relationships the school has crafted with pupils extends to their parents and carers. As a result, parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school. Their appreciation is reflected in comments such as valuing staff who are ‘attentive and positive in their approach’ and how much their children ‘love coming to school’.

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

From their earliest days in the school’s two-year-old provision, children in the early years benefit from a carefully planned series of rich learning experiences. They develop confidence and resilience. A clear focus on communication and language enables children 7 and 8 May 2025

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to develop into confident learners. Adults promote adventurous vocabulary when interacting with children. This vocabulary is then used independently and accurately. The very youngest children enjoy their ‘milk and story time’ routine. They listen intently to an adult reading aloud. Older children love to sing familiar rhymes and songs. There are numerous opportunities for children to develop a secure understanding of number. Children talk enthusiastically about their own writing and use the language of stories when talking to adults.

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The school places a high priority on pupils’ acquisition of phonics knowledge. Pupils at the early stages of learning to read get the support they need to be able to succeed. They develop secure phonics knowledge, which helps them become fluent and confident readers. However, some younger pupils have difficulty in applying their phonics knowledge to their own spelling. Their errors in spelling are not consistently picked up and addressed. This impacts on the quality of their work.

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The school’s systems for identifying and meeting pupils’ needs are robust and effective. Well-trained and knowledgeable staff ensure that provision closely matches pupils’ needs. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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Effective teaching contributes well to pupils’ understanding of the curriculum. Teachers focus on the important knowledge pupils need to learn. For example, staff enable pupils to explore different strategies to solve mathematical problems. Children in early years are encouraged to explain their learning, such as how tigers’ teeth help them to eat. Pupils are taught explicit geographical skills enabling them to analyse maps accurately use grid references. The impact of the school’s work to develop pupils’ speaking skills is evident in how well pupils talk about their learning. Pupils talk about the formation of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks using precise vocabulary. Others make meaningful links between Mayan and Egyptian civilisations. They talk knowledgeably about concepts such as monarchy.

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Leaders have overseen a significant and consistent improvement in attendance over time. They carefully analyse absence. Actions to address poor attendance are effective. Behaviour across the school is highly positive. Where a very small minority of pupils can occasionally struggle with this, staff support them with empathy and respect.

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The school has carefully planned a programme for pupils’ wider development. Pupils get many opportunities to develop potential career aspirations for later life. Their tolerance, empathy and respect for any perceived difference is tangible. As a result, instances of derogatory language are rare. Pupils with additional responsibilities, including school councillors, take pride in their roles. Pupils’ social and moral development is central to the school’s ethos.

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Since the previous inspection, leaders have been resolute in their determination to sustain or improve performance. Staff are very well supported in their roles. They are highly motivated and proud to work at Falla Park. Governors are well informed. They get all the information they need about the school. However, governors do not question or challenge this information with sufficient rigour. This means they do not gain an appropriate 7 and 8 May 2025

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understanding of the impact of some of the school’s work, particularly around the impact of the curriculum.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some younger pupils’ errors in spelling are not consistently identified and addressed as well as they could be. This means that these pupils continue to repeat these errors over time, reducing the quality of their work. The school should ensure that misconceptions in spelling are identified and addressed consistently and swiftly so that pupils spell and write with increasing accuracy, fluency and quality.  Governors do not question or challenge leaders in sufficient depth to get a comprehensive understanding of the impact of the school’s curriculum. This means that governors do not have an appropriately strong oversight of the school’s work in this area. The school should ensure that governors develop their ability to ask insightful questions so they can offer sufficient challenge and hold leaders to account for the school’s performance.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 for overall effectiveness in April 2019. 7 and 8 May 2025

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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). 7 and 8 May 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 24 and 25 April 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, the school has expanded its nursery to include provision for two-year-olds.  The school does not use alternative provision.  A breakfast club operates on site under the management of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection that 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.  The inspector met with the headteacher, other leaders, some other school staff, the chair of the governing body and a representative from the local authority. 7 and 8 May 2025

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 The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector listened to some pupils from Years 1 and 2 reading to a familiar adult.  The inspector conducted learning walks in the early years.  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 extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.  The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire, including the free-text comments.

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Inspection team

Richard Beadnall, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 7 and 8 May 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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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