Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Miss Emma Taylor Headteacher Ivy Road Primary School Ivy Road Forest Hall Newcastle upon Tyne Tyne and Wear NE12 9AP

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Special measures monitoring inspection of Ivy Road Primary School

This letter sets out the findings from the monitoring inspection that took place on 24 and 25 June 2025, on behalf of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills. The monitoring inspection was carried out under section 8(2) of the Education Act 2005 and was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require special measures following the graded (section 5) inspection that took place in February 2024.

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Special measures monitoring inspection of Ivy Road Primary School

The purpose of a monitoring inspection is not to grade the school’s key and (where applicable) provision judgements, but to identify and report on the school’s progress. It is to highlight to the school and parents any improvements that school leaders have made since the school’s previous graded inspection.

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Special measures monitoring inspection of Ivy Road Primary School

During the inspection, I discussed with you and the deputy headteacher, staff, the interim executive board, and the local authority the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent graded inspection. We discussed the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. I also visited lessons, held meetings with other staff and spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. I have considered all this in coming to my judgement.

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Ivy Road Primary School continues to require special measures. Leaders have

made insufficient progress to improve the school.

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The position regarding the appointment of early career teachers will be

considered again during any monitoring inspection we carry out.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

Since the previous inspection, the school has taken steps to address the areas identified for improvement. An interim executive board was established in March 2025 to support the school in its improvement journey. There have been some changes in staffing since the previous inspection. The number of pupils in the school has fallen but the class structure has remained the same. A headteacher from a neighbouring local authority is providing additional support three days a week. Staff across school and those responsible for governance are committed to the improvement journey.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

You have made improvements to the school’s curriculum. The school has implemented a number of curriculum schemes that have increased the ambition of the curriculum. This has helped to ensure that pupils are accessing learning in line with the ambition of the national curriculum. The curriculum is planned to develop pupils’ knowledge in a logical order. Teachers have increased clarity about what to teach and when.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

Staff are building increasing expertise in teaching early reading in school. The phonics curriculum is well embedded. Children are learning to read well. In key stage 2, the school provide additional support for weaker readers where needed.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

The school has made progress with how they check that pupils are learning the curriculum as intended. In English and mathematics, there is now greater rigour and timeliness with how teachers check pupils’ understanding. This means, teachers have a more accurate understanding of the gaps in pupils’ knowledge.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

The developments in the early years are evident. The early years curriculum and learning environment have been improved. Children have several planned for opportunities to apply new learning and to develop their foundational skills. The school has planned the progression from the two-year-old provision to when children leave Reception Year.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

At present, lessons lack the necessary adaptions or considered activity choice to allow pupils to be successful in their learning. The school is continuing to develop curriculum design and delivery. It has provided training to staff in order to increase the consistency across lessons. However, this is at a very early stage. There is still a great deal of variation between lessons, and the school does not have an accurate oversight of this.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

The school is not checking the impact of its actions effectively enough. While there have been many curriculum changes and improvements to activity choices across school, leaders are not checking the impact of these changes on pupils’ learning effectively. In addition, the improvements to assessment across school need to be further developed. The school now needs to ensure that it improves how teachers address misconceptions and use assessment information effectively to inform future teaching. The school has developed its approach to managing behaviour. It has set out clear expectations. The school has supported staff with training. However, behaviour continues to be a challenge for the school. Many parents and carers, pupils and staff still feel that behaviour is not managed effectively enough. There is still too much variation in how behaviour is managed across the school. The school must ensure that the high

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

expectations that are set for behaviour are consistently applied, so that it improves pupils’ behaviour, their attitudes to learning and conduct.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

Staff are proud of the improvements that have been made in many areas of the school. However, many feel as though some change has not happened quickly enough. This has led to low staff morale. Gaps in staffing has caused additional workload pressures. Staff do not feel supported well enough by the systems in school.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

The school values the support being provided by the supporting headteacher. Due to the delays in academisation, the interim executive board has only formed very recently. The steps being taken are positive and addressing the key areas needed to move the school forward. However, these are very much in their early stages and the impact of these actions is not consistently evident.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

I am copying this letter to the chair of the executive board, the Department for Education’s regional director and the director of children’s services for North Tyneside. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website.

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