Usworth Colliery Primary School

Overview

Usworth Colliery Primary School is described as a “welcoming and inclusive place” where the school has “taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.” Pupils are “keen to learn” and benefit from a “well-designed and ambitious curriculum” that supports their development. The report confirms that leaders have a clear vision and that staff feel well supported.

Strengths

• The curriculum is “well-designed and ambitious,” helping pupils make “meaningful connections” and deepen their understanding through revisiting prior learning.
• Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is effective, with “tailored support” enabling them to “thrive” and develop independence.
• Early years provision offers a “strong start,” featuring a “language-rich environment” where children are “curious, happy and play well together.”
• Behaviour is good, with pupils showing “respect for each other and staff” and demonstrating “resilience in the face of difficulties.”
• Safeguarding arrangements are “effective,” and there is an “open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.”

Areas to improve

• The school must ensure the “recently strengthened writing curriculum is fully embedded” so pupils can write with greater “fluency and accuracy.”
• Strategies to improve attendance and punctuality are “not effective enough,” and the school must strengthen these to prevent pupils from missing important learning.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”