Upton Primary School Ofsted Report February 2024

In February 2024 Ofsted Inspectors judged the school continues to be outstanding.

 

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ comments sum up how much they delight in coming to school. They said that they ‘love’ the way they are not just told things but have to ‘work it out for themselves’. They said, too, that they really enjoy the many trips and visits. For example, pupils studying the Second World War took part in an experience which recreated what it was like to be an evacuee. Pupils said that this, and visits to museums and places of interest, brought their learning to life.

Pupils experience a broad curriculum that is both ambitious and wide-ranging. All the subjects of the national curriculum are covered fully, together with religious education and relationships education. Across subjects, pupils achieve consistently highly. The school provides lots of opportunities for pupils to develop their interests and talents. A wide range of extra-curricular clubs and activities are enjoyed by many pupils.

Pupils behave without fault. This is because everyone upholds the school’s high expectations. It means that lessons are not interrupted by silly behaviour. Teachers manage behaviour calmly. They rarely, if ever, have to intervene to remind pupils about behaviour expectations. The same is true about bullying. Pupils were clear that it seldom happens. They know they can always talk to one of their ‘five trusted adults’. Without exception, pupils said they felt safe in school. The school does, indeed, keep them safe.

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

There are three features that help to make Upton Primary exceptional – consistency, attention to detail and organisation. From these flows everything else that is excellent about the school, from the way the curriculum is designed and taught, to pupils’ first-rate behaviour and the strong published outcomes.

The curriculum is meticulously designed. It is based on a thorough understanding of the subjects and how to put them into practice effectively. The school uses the strong, and often passionate, expertise of curriculum leaders to get underneath the national curriculum and develop comprehensive programmes of study for each year group. Senior leaders are intimately involved in this work, skilfully steering and facilitating developments. This work has done much to reduce teachers’ workload.

Leaders place a high value on providing good-quality professional development. For example, everyone is trained in teaching phonics, whether they teach it or not. This helps to ensure consistency in the school’s approach to teaching pupils to read. Decisions about how to teach subjects are deliberate and based on up-to-date research. Leaders and staff use their in-depth understanding of how pupils learn to ensure that what they do in the classroom is effective. This mix of theory, consistency of practice, staff training and perceptive checks on pupils’ learning is a powerful combination that promotes excellent learning.

Consistency is also clear in the early years. Phonics is taught right from the start of Reception and continues seamlessly until pupils can read fluently. Teachers and leaders constantly check this fluency, providing, where necessary, highly focused support to help pupils catch up. Not only are gaps in learning identified quickly but so are the strategies to close them.

This same detailed approach is used to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school’s methods for supporting the large number of pupils with SEND, including those in the resourced provision, or PAD, are effective. For example, providing time for SEND pupils to settle at the start of the day and ensuring that they experience the same curriculum as others, but with adaptations to meet their needs, promotes learning most successfully.

The wide range of trips, visits to places of interest and extra-curricular activities extends the more formal classroom learning effectively. Many trips and visits are linked to subjects such as history, geography and science. The personal, social and health education programme ensures that pupils are taught about relationships and how to keep themselves safe in and out of school, including online safety.

Leaders and staff ensure that classrooms and the common areas of the school are well organised. This results in an environment that oozes learning, for example through the displays that are everywhere. It also promotes pupils’ excellent behaviour and strong attendance. Leaders are not complacent, however, and check carefully that the detailed procedures to promote attendance are having the desired impact. Attendance is improving year on year.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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