Keresley Newland Primary Academy

Overview

Keresley Newland Primary Academy is described as a place where pupils feel “welcome, happy and safe,” supported by staff who “know them well.” Leaders have “transformed the school in recent years” through an “ambitious curriculum” focused on language and learning, resulting in good behaviour and high expectations. The inspection highlights a calm, orderly environment where bullying is rare and pupils are kind to one another.

Strengths

• Staff maintain “high expectations” for behaviour and learning, with clear rules about respect that pupils understand and follow.
• There is a strong focus on reading, with daily phonics and story time in early years, helping children develop vocabulary and decoding skills.
• The curriculum places “respect and diversity at the centre,” including a bespoke personal, social, health and economic education programme.
• Staff collaborate effectively, using assessments to make “effective adaptations to the curriculum” so all pupils, including those with SEND, can access learning.
• Leaders are “considerate of [staff] well-being and workload,” contributing to a positive staff culture.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must review support for early-stage readers, as some pupils in key stage 1 “lack the fluency they need to read for meaning.”
• In some lessons, work does not help pupils “develop a deeper understanding of the key concepts,” making it difficult to link prior and current learning.
• Leaders should continue working with families to address attendance, as some pupils “miss too much time from school,” hindering their progress.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective,” with well-trained staff who identify risks, report concerns swiftly, and liaise with external agencies to ensure pupils are safe.