Southridge First School

Overview

Southridge First School is judged ‘Good’ across all inspection categories, marking a shift from its previous ‘Outstanding’ rating under an older framework. The report describes a school where pupils are “kind, considerate and well-mannered” and feel “safe and happy.” Leaders provide a high-quality education with a curriculum that has moved away from a topic-based approach to focus more on subject-specific knowledge.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate excellent behaviour, knowing what bullying is and trusting adults to help if it occurs.
• The reading curriculum is “well organised,” with daily phonics sessions helping pupils become “confident, fluent readers.”
• Children in the early years enjoy a “vibrant learning environment” where adults adapt the curriculum to engage them.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive effective support, allowing them to “achieve well.”
• Governors hold leaders to account with “appropriate challenge” while providing constructive support.

Areas to improve

• In some foundation subjects, such as history and design and technology, the curriculum is “not sufficiently well organised and sequenced,” preventing pupils from developing a detailed bank of knowledge.
• Teachers do not always use assessment information effectively to inform next steps, meaning curriculum choices do not always match what pupils need to learn.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with staff trained to maintain the attitude that “it could happen here” and the designated safeguarding lead keeping detailed, accurate notes.