School focus: Malin Bridge Primary

After meeting with the headteacher, staff and pupils it is clear to see why it was given the highest Ofsted rating possible.

Unusually inspectors gave no further areas for the school to develop – instead the report said leaders must simply sustain their focus of providing a high-quality education for all pupils.

The school uses a variety of methods to engage with pupils and make learning fun.

Regular learning weeks are held where a certain subject or topic is focused on – the most recent was maths week which was dedicated to all things related to telling the time.

Headteacher Robbie McGrath said: “Time is one of the things that kids struggle with.

“They also arrive at the school at different starting points because they have a massive interest in it at home.

"Some parents talk with them a lot about it and some don’t, so it’s something we wanted to put extra focus on.

"The nursery looked at counting and how long it takes to do something. Year 6 did some really complicated things on time problems and timetables.

“Each phase took on a different theme to give it context and make it exciting and interesting.

“Foundation and key stage one classes had the theme of Alice in Wonderland and the week built up to a Mad Hatters tea party with a real rabbit.

“Year 3 and 4 had the theme of Jumanji. They made lots of time-related board games based on time questions. They designed and built them.”

Pupils were rewarded with raffle tickets and the child with the most from each class at the end of the week was given a watch.

At the end of the academic year an arts week is being planned which will culminate in a festival for the whole community.

Other focus weeks have been based on science and STEM – science, technology, engineering and maths – subjects, reading, 100 things to do and healthy living.

The school prides itself on its approach to encouraging pupils to be fit and healthy and has won numerous awards for its sports provision.

Its sport teams and pupils have also won a series of accolades.

Steve Green, PE co-ordinator, said research has shown physically active children learn better so over the last four years the school has been introducing things to make pupils more active.

The Move More Mile was introduced which motivated staff and children to become more active.

Yellow boards with active challenges on were placed around the school and grounds as part of a Move More Minute.

Older children were appointed personal trainers and lunchtime supervisors were told to encourage the least active children to become involved in games.

Safe scrap items have been made available at breaktimes for children to create structures, and crisps and chocolate have been replaced with fruit on the snack trolley.

Mr Green said: “At lunch and breaktimes we now very rarely see kids standing around – our main aim is to get them active.

“If they aren’t playing a game with a sports leader or lunchtime supervisor they are dancing to music. They now go back into class and learn better.”

The school has teamed up with various sports clubs and organisations across the city who hold workshops.

There are also 20 after-school clubs running every week throughout the year including football, gymnastics and rugby. The weekly running club keeps the staff active as well as pupils, while the choir has performed in various locations including local care home and libraries.

To celebrate the clubs’ successes, a variety night is held each year with past performances including dance, gymnastics and football skills displays, poetry recitals and a modern foreign languages talk.

The school has put particular focus on motivating girls to become more active after research found that the age girls are not participating in sport is getting younger.

Mr Green and a Year 6 teacher developed Mighty Malin Girls which involved the oldest girls and their parents taking part in special activity days where inspirational sport stars came into speak.

The school is also part of the Children’s University, which encourages five to 14-year-olds to try new experiences, develop new interests and acquire new skills.

One pupil has achieved nearly 1,000 credits – for 1,000 hours of extra curricular activities – in less than five years.

To encourage extra curricular activity a school council has been developed, which has several representatives from each class.

Activities they have taken part in include collecting items for the Sheffield Homeless Christmas Shoe Box Appeal and The Loxley Park Readers scheme, which sees councillors read to residents at Loxley Park Care Home every month.

Year 1 pupil Lexi Stocks said: “We took our own books to read to them. I read a book to do with elephants and they thought it was really nice.”

Other activities have included forming a Litterbugs Team, which picks up litter after mealtimes, making a poster to encourage road safety outside the school and developing the tiger tours booklet, which will be given as a guide to new pupils and visitors.

Pupils discovered more voting and democracy during the school’s parliament week when a referendum asked pupils if they wanted to see Mr McGrath dressed up as Bananaman.

Year 6 pupil Amia Roberts-Ross said: “At the beginning of the week the councillors did an assembly about parliament week, democracy and having an anonymous vote.”

Olivia Lacey-Kalnars, also in Year 6, added: “Everyone voted on Thursday and on Friday the school councillors went back to the assembly and revealed the vote.

“Everyone laughed so much when Mr McGrath came out dressed as Bananaman.”

To show off the exceptional talents of many pupils, the school held Malin’s Got Talent.

Children auditioned for a place in the show before a team of judges with acts including gymnastics, dancers and a ventriloquist.

Kirsty Connor, who was a school councillor last year, said: “The councillors helped with the auditions and some of us helped to choose the acts which went through with the judges.

“Some of the other councillors helped in different ways – some were backstage.”