New Road Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 18 April 2023

Pupils come to school eager to learn and excited for the day ahead. They enjoy learning the school's interesting and challenging curriculum. Pupils work hard in lessons and are enthusiastic to talk about what they have learned. They particularly enjoy taking part in sporting competitions and musical performances. Pupils are kind and friendly to one another. They are welcoming to visitors and newcomers to the school. Pupils are accepting of people's differences, cultures and faiths. Those joining the school make friends quickly and settle in well. One pupil described the school as 'a second home'. Pupils feel safe and well looked after. They say that staff genuinely care about them. Many agreed when one pupil said, 'Staff care about our families too.' Pupils know that if they, or their parents, have a problem, adults in school will help them. Bullying incidents are rare and are resolved quickly, as are any minor friendship issues. A small number of pupils can find it more difficult to manage their behaviour. This includes some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff provide effective strategies to support these pupils to manage and improve their behaviour. The school's nurture provision also helps pupils to be calm and to focus on their learning.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of subjects, leaders have not identified in sufficient detail the content that pupils will study. This means that teaching does not always build on what pupils already know. Furthermore, pupils can find it difficult to make links with their prior learning. Leaders need to complete their work to review curriculum plans in these subjects so that the crucial content pupils need to learn is made explicitly clear.
• Sometimes, the targets set for pupils with SEND are not specific enough. This makes it hard for leaders to check whether interventions are working, or whether they need to make adaptations. Leaders need to make sure that the targets set for these pupils identify precisely what it is that pupils need to learn and develop.
• There is variability in how well pupils are supported when learning to read. Sometimes, pupils do not practise reading using books that are matched closely to their emerging phonic knowledge. This means that pupils do not learn to read with confidence and fluency quickly enough. Leaders need to iron out the inconsistencies in the teaching of early reading swiftly.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)