New Pasture Lane Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 30 March 2022

Leaders are developing their bespoke curriculum for New Pasture Lane pupils. There are three layers to the school's curriculum thinking. Layer one is the national curriculum. Layer two is a co-curriculum linked to aspects like beach schools and the Department for Education's Nature Friendly Schools programme. Layer three links to responsibilities and experiences that raise pupils' self-esteem and aspirations. There are many leadership opportunities for pupils throughout their time at the school. For example, they can be mini mentors supporting pupils at playtime, a school ambassador, or a Year 6 prefect. Leaders have recently reviewed the school's behaviour policy. Pupils think it is fair and could give examples of how it was consistently applied at playtime. Pupils know what bullying is. Through Ofsted's pupil questionnaire, they responded that teachers were good at resolving any bullying problems. Leaders have robust procedures for managing pupil absence. Alongside the local authority educational welfare officer, they set attendance targets for those pupils who are persistently absent. This has led to improved attendance over time. Leaders and staff effectively support pupils and their families. The parent support assistant (PSA) and emotional literacy support assistant are vital in helping families access the right external agencies.

What the school should improve

• Leaders have begun to develop a sequenced curriculum. While they have created 'Language Ladders' and skills progression documents; they are still identifying the essential knowledge in some subjects. Leaders have an accurate understanding of the current areas that need developing. Leaders should ensure they have identified the essential knowledge linked to the skills and language they want pupils to remember for each unit of the curriculum.
• Staff have started to use a new phonics scheme, recently introduced by leaders. This has caused some small inconsistencies in phonics teaching and in how adults support pupils when they are reading. All staff have received online training. Leaders have identified further support for individuals, but have not yet had the time to implement this. Leaders should ensure consistency of practice as staff embed the new system.
• Across the curriculum, books did not always show greater ambition for the higher- attaining pupils. Evidence of deeper learning tasks for these pupils is limited in their books. Leaders should ensure that higher-attaining pupils are further challenged in all areas of the curriculum. Leaders can then check the level of ambition for all. The school's curriculum is not yet sufficiently well planned and sequenced in some subjects. However, it is clear from leaders' actions that they are in the process of bringing this about. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied.

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