Grange Farm Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Grange Farm Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 3 October 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in June 2014. This school continues to be good.

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. The school's motto, 'inspire, achieve, flourish', sums up the aspirational culture of the school, which is clearly shared by leaders, governors, staff, pupils and parents and carers. Since your appointment as headteacher in January 2016, you have b...uilt further on the school's existing strengths.

Your strong leadership, together with effective support and challenge from a knowledgeable governing body and a dedicated and able deputy, ensure that the school continues to improve. The school's effective governing body has an accurate grasp of the strengths of the school and its areas for improvement. Governors visit the school regularly and are reflective in their way of working.

There is some strong teaching in the school. Where it is highly effective, teachers are aware of pupils' performance during the lesson and are able to intervene in order to move children on with their learning. This is not the case in all lessons, as some pupils do not find the work challenging enough.

Pupils are polite, well mannered and keen to share their work. Two pupils showed me a science experiment they were proud of and were able to describe how their findings had changed their eating habits. Another child was keen to show me some maths sums he was completing.

Pupils are alert in class and show positive learning behaviours. Pupils I spoke to were unanimous in their praise for the school and of the support their teachers gave them and the inclusive nature of the school. The majority of pupils who responded to Ofsted's pupil survey said that they would recommend the school to a friend moving to the area.

The majority of parents I spoke to on the playground and those who responded to Ofsted's online questionnaire, Parent View, were positive about the school. A number of parents told me that the school was 'fantastic' and one parent told me that they, 'wouldn't swap the school for any other'. The school provides pupils with a number of opportunities to take part in clubs at different points in the school day.

At lunchtime, I saw pupils enjoying cheerleader club, as well as talking to pupils taking part in gardening club. They were particularly excited about growing pumpkins they would use to make soup. You are rightly proud about the opportunities provided by the school for pupils and are keen to further develop your provision through the forest schools programme.

In your previous inspection, you were asked to develop the use of literacy and numeracy targets across school. I saw evidence in this inspection of the effective use of learning objectives in lessons, the use of focused targets linked to mental mathematics and the use of age-related expectations for reading. Inspectors also asked you to develop literacy and numeracy skills across all subjects.

As a result, leaders have updated curriculum plans so that these now highlight how all subjects link to mathematics and literacy. You have further developed this work to include topic work in literacy and mathematics lessons. I saw an example of this in Year 1, where pupils were writing stories during a literacy lesson, based on the overarching topic of 'memory box.'

However, these developments need to be further embedded across the school. You were also asked to develop tracking systems in all subjects. You have introduced a system that ensures that teachers receive more precise assessment data and are better able to direct additional support to pupils that need it.

Safeguarding is effective. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Staff and governors receive regular training, so that their knowledge of good practice in safeguarding is kept up to date.

They have a clear understanding of what to do if they are worried about a pupil's well-being, and leaders ensure that any concerns are swiftly followed up. Leaders also ensure that appropriate checks are made on staff, governors, volunteers and regular visitors to the school to make sure that they are suitable people to work with children. Pupils say that they feel safe in school and trust their teachers to look after them well.

They have a good understanding of what bullying is, but are confident that bullying is extremely rare in their school. Pupils also understand how to keep themselves safe in different situations, such as when using the internet. Inspection findings ? The inspection focused on a number of key lines of enquiry.

The first of these related to looking at outcomes across key stage 1, and in particular whether the difference between the attainment of boys and girls had narrowed. Although identified groups of pupils made accelerated progress last year, the school did not diminish the difference in achievements between all groups, particularly boys and girls. This remains an area of improvement for the school.

• I also looked at the impact leaders have had on teaching, learning and outcomes at the end of key stage 2, especially in reading and writing. Through careful planning and effective teaching, focused support and regularly tracking pupils' performance, attainment at the end of key stage 2 in reading and writing in 2018 was well above national averages. This was not the case in relation to the number of pupils writing at greater depth.

You are looking at the reasons for this and will be working with schools in other authorities to support you with this work. ? Another key line of enquiry was looking at the impact leaders have had in improving teaching and learning, particularly prior to Years 5 and 6. As part of the inspection process, I observed teaching and learning, looked through pupils' books and spoke to pupils of different ages and levels of attainment.

I also looked at the school's current internal data and looked at evidence relating to how leaders develop teachers. Evidence gathered from these activities indicates a strong teaching profile throughout the school, consistency of expectations and practice, and at least steady rates of progress across the school. I also saw evidence of how leaders monitor and support teachers in order for them to improve their practice.

• Since the previous inspection, the work of the learning mentor and deputy headteacher has ensured that pupils' attendance has remained above the national average year on year. Their supportive work with families and diligent approach ensure that pupils do not miss crucial learning opportunities. ? You have worked hard to ensure that Grange Farm is an outward-looking school.

You work well in collaboration with other local schools. Your partnership with a local university and commitment to fostering partnerships with external providers have created a positive learning culture. This further adds to the school's strong capacity for continued improvement.

The school also provides pupils with a broad, balanced and enriched curriculum. Educational visits to farms, galleries and centres for learning enhance pupils' learning and bring the curriculum to life. Pupils spoke to me enthusiastically about their day at a manor house where they were required to take part in role play, acting as Victorian orphans.

They were able to describe how these memorable activities informed their schoolwork. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that they continue to: ? diminish the difference in attainment between identified groups of pupils, particularly boys and girls, across the school ? ensure that pupils who require it are provided with higher levels of challenge in class in order to extend their learning. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Coventry.

This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Nadeem Bhatti Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I met with you, senior leaders, staff and governors. I carried out short observations of teaching and looked at pupils' work in books and on display.

I talked with pupils in lessons and met with a group of pupils to gather their views. I spoke with parents at the beginning of the school day. I took account of 56 recent responses to Ofsted's online questionnaire, Parent View, as well as the conversations with parents I had on the morning of the inspection, 16 responses to Ofsted's staff survey and 46 responses to Ofsted's pupil survey.

I looked at several documents, including pupils' progress information, the school's evaluation of its performance, development plans and a range of other school records. I observed pupils' behaviour in lessons and around the school. I also checked the school's website and I asked members of staff, pupils and parents about the procedures for keeping pupils safe.

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