Greenfield Primary School

Greenfield Primary School Coalheath Lane, Shelfield, Walsall, WS4 1PL

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  All pupils, including those who are disabled, those with special educational needs and those who attract extra funding, make good progress from very different starting points and achieve well. Reading is a particular strength across the school.  Good teaching is well established and there is a determined drive from leaders to make it even better. The best teaching sees learning moved on at a fast pace, questioning that keeps pupils on their toes and many opportunities for pupils to take initiative and responsibility for their own learning.  Pupils play their part in the success of the school through their good behaviour, a readiness to learn and attendance levels that continue to rise. Pupils feel safe, valued and respected.  The headteacher has been a driving force behind the improvements in pupils’ achievement and teaching and learning since the last inspection. She is well supported by

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

the staff, who share her commitment to take the school to the next level.  Governance is good because the governing body has a knowledgeable grasp of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and holds the school accountable for pupils’ achievement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching and learning are not yet consistently outstanding, particularly in writing and mathematics, to enable pupils’ achievement to improve at an even faster rate.  Pupils are not consistently provided with sufficient opportunities to take initiative and responsibility for their own learning. As a result, they sometimes lack the confidence to work independently.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 13 lessons.  All teachers were observed at least once, and teaching assistants and other support staff were also observed supporting pupils.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, key subject leaders, the leader of Early Years provision, the teacher responsible for managing special needs provision, a representative from the local authority and members of the governing body, including the Chair. Meetings were also held with pupils.  Inspectors took account of the nine responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and analysed the parental response to questionnaires that had been sent by the school to parents and carers over the last three years.  Inspectors analysed the questionnaires completed by staff.  Inspectors looked at pupils’ books, the school’s detailed records on pupils’ attainment and progress, the school’s documentation relating to the monitoring and improvement of teaching,

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Information about this inspection

performance management information, school development and improvement planning, safeguarding procedures, the local authority’s monitoring and reviews of the school’s performance and the governing body minutes.  Detailed evaluations were carried out on how the school teaches reading, writing and mathematics, and how well these skills are promoted across the curriculum.  Inspectors heard pupils read and talked to them about their love of literature, their reading skills and how widely they read.

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Inspection team

Martin Newell, Lead inspector Additonal inspector Fiona Robinson Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Greenfield Primary School is similar in size to other primary schools nationally.  The proportions of pupils supported at school action and school action plus are broadly in line with the national average, although the proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs is below the national average.  Most pupils are White British with a small number from different minority ethnic backgrounds. The percentage of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well below the national average.  The number of pupils supported by extra funding (the pupil premium) is a little above that found nationally.  There is a Children’s Centre on site catering for 0–3-year-olds but this is reported on separately. The governing body also provides a breakfast club.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ progress further, particularly in writing and mathematics, by:  ensuring that teaching consistently, over time, is challenging, uses sharp and focused questioning that demands more detailed responses from all pupils, and relies more on pupils’ participation than teachers’ direction  ensuring that there is sufficient attention consistently given to the development of pupils’ spelling skills and their ability to use punctuation, grammar and powerful vocabulary to help bring their writing more to life  providing more opportunities for pupils to use their swiftly improving mathematical skills in more problem-solving and investigative tasks both within mathematics lessons and in other subjects where relevant.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that all teachers provide more opportunities, across the curriculum, for pupils to take initiative and responsibility for their own learning by:  regularly engaging pupils in activities that require them to work independently and to find things out for themselves  encouraging pupils not to rely too heavily on adult support but instead capitalise on their own enquiry skills and knowledge and those of their classmates  encouraging pupils to take risks in their learning while assuring them it is perfectly acceptable if the first answer or work contribution is not always correct.

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Inspection judgements

The achievement of pupils is good.  Overall, pupils are achieving well. There have been concerted efforts to accelerate the progress of all groups of pupils and to move the school forward swiftly since the last inspection.  Improvements have come through an unrelenting focus on improving teaching and achievement. The systems for analysing and tracking pupils’ progress are highly effective because they are thorough and used as a powerful tool to hold teachers accountable for the progress of the pupils they teach.  Children get off to a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage from below expected levels and, for a minority, well below. Staff know how young children learn best and provide them with activities that promote early learning skills well. They seldom miss opportunities to capitalise on children’s curiosity and to nurture independence.  Good progress continues in Years 1 to 6 and pupils’ attainment by the time they leave

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Inspection judgements

school is in line with the national average and above average in reading. The percentage of pupils making expected and better than expected progress from Year 2 to Year 6 is higher than national averages. The school’s tracking data, supported by observations of teaching and scrutiny of pupils’ work, indicate that this trend is set to improve still further.  The outstanding systems for tracking pupils’ progress pay very careful attention to the performance of different groups, including pupils supported by the pupil premium, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs and the small number of pupils from different ethnic backgrounds. Thorough analysis indicates that there is little discernible difference between the performance of different groups and any differences over time have been swiftly identified and good quality interventions put in place so that any gaps narrow markedly.  Reading is a significant strength across the school because children are taught early reading

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Inspection judgements

skills very well. This flying start is consistently built on so that when they leave school pupils are highly competent, fluent readers who read widely and have a genuine love of literature.  The school fully recognises that there is still work to be done to achieve its aim of becoming an outstanding school. The school has introduced a curriculum that promotes writing in a cross-curricular manner and this is proving successful in raising attainment in writing, particularly for boys. However, further improvements are needed in pupils’ spelling skills and their use of a varied vocabulary and accurate punctuation to enliven writing.  Improvements in mathematics are moving at a good pace but opportunities to develop pupils’ investigative and problem-solving skills are not consistently capitalised upon within mathematics lessons or at times in other subjects.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good over time but is not yet consistently of a quality to bring about outstanding achievement for all pupils.  The best teaching and learning is mostly, but not exclusively, in evidence for the younger children and pupils. Here, the tasks are challenging, the pace brisk and questioning gets the pupils thinking for themselves. An excellent balance is struck between teacher talk and pupil participation and there is a buzz of excitement and anticipation as pupils set about their work.  In a Year 1 lesson, for example, all these attributes were present in a writing task where pupils read and performed their stories with great enthusiasm and animation, as well as demonstrating well-developed reading skills.  In other successful learning experiences, teachers ask thought-provoking and open-ended questions and encourage detailed, articulate and sophisticated responses. In addition, the challenge to pupils is raised when opportunities are provided for them to carry out

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The quality of teaching is good

investigative and problem-solving tasks. These strong attributes are, however, not yet consistently to the fore in enough of the school’s teaching.  The marking of pupils’ work is a strength because it clearly outlines why a piece of work is good or what is needed to improve it. Pupils enter into written dialogue with the teacher on comments made and are keen to embed pointers for improvement in future work.  Pupils have a good knowledge of their individual targets and the older pupils know the levels they are working at and what is needed to reach the next level. The best practice sees the pupils being encouraged to use their literacy targets across different subjects.  Teaching assistants contribute much to pupils’ learning. They are both supportive and challenging and help ensure that progress for the less-able pupils and those with a disability or special educational needs is similar to that of their classmates.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The school makes effective use of its test and assessment data to plan and provide good quality intervention strategies to push on pupils’ learning. This helps to ensure that pupils of all abilities make equally good progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils consistently behave well, at times better, and make a telling contribution to the sense of community that wraps around the school. This is evident in class, around the school and on other occasions such as the breakfast club.  Pupils are attentive, keen to learn and show positive attitudes to learning. However, there are occasions when they rely too much on adult support and lack confidence in working independently or testing out new learning in case they make a mistake.  Pupils are proud of their school and feel it prepares them well for the next stage of education. Many take pride in their work.  Behaviour and incident logs are well maintained and show few instances of inappropriate behaviour, bullying or incidents of racist behaviour. Exclusions are rare. Pupils are well aware of the consequences of poor behaviour and staff consistently apply the school’s policies and procedures so that pupils know where they stand.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Older pupils rightly see themselves as good role models for younger pupils and, as one pupil pointed out, ‘ We are a good Year 6 who want to lead by example.’  Attendance is in line with the national average and has improved significantly since the last inspection. This is because the school has utilised effective strategies to highlight and celebrate the importance of regular attendance and ensured that fewer families take holidays in term time.  Pupils have a good awareness of different forms of bullying. As highlighted through discussions with pupils who talked knowledgeably of physical, name-calling, cyber, racist and other forms of bullying. Pupils state that ‘any bullying is dealt with quickly’ and ‘there is always someone to talk to’. They know how to keep themselves safe when using the internet and when travelling and playing in the neighbourhood.  The responses on Parent View and the school’s own questionnaires indicate that parents

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

and carers feel that the school is a safe place for their chidren to learn and that behaviour is good.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

The leadership and management are good.  The headteacher provides strong leadership that is focused squarely on a successful and continuous drive to improve pupils’ achievement and teaching. She benefits from good support from other leaders and staff.  Improvements in teaching have been driven forward through a rigorous and concerted programme of monitoring and performance management. Good and better practice is recognised and disseminated. The school is aware of and complies with the Teachers’ Standards. Leaders are prepared to take the necessary steps to improve teachers’ performance that does not come up to the mark.  All teachers are held individually accountable for the progress of their pupils. Progress monitoring meetings are held regularly, where the data and the quality of teaching are analysed and areas for improvement and challenging targets put in place.  The school’s self-evaluation is robust and provides a realistic appraisal of where the school

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

is at. The headteacher ensures that the school does not rest on its laurels and has already identified the need for, and is working on, further honing of the skills of middle leaders to enable them to impact even further on improving teaching and pupils’ achievement.  The progress of all groups of pupils is tracked very closely, including pupils with a disability or with special educational needs. The impact of intervention strategies and how pupil premium funding is utilised are evaluated against the progress made by targeted pupils.  Good procedures are in place for the professional development of staff that are aligned both to the school’s and individuals’ needs.  The curriculum is well planned and meets the needs of all pupils. The emphasis on developing writing skills across different subjects is reaping good rewards. The use of events, visits or visitors to provide an enthralling stimulus at the start of each term and a

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

‘fabulous finish’ enthuse pupils and staff alike, as evidenced by the good-quality writing produced after a school visit to a ‘Victorian Town’.  An array of visits, visitors, events and trips to places in the locality, as well as residential trips to Shropshire, London and France, all add to pupils’ enjoyment and to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Relationships with parents and carers are good and there is a strong sense of partnership. The high attendance of Year 6 parents and carers at the progress monitoring meetings, where their child’s individual levels and targets are discussed in detail, and attendance of parents and carers at other achievement meetings affirms this.  The local authority has provided good support and challenge for the school and has played its part in the sustained improvements since the last inspection.  The governance of the school:  is good because the governing body has an accurate and realistic awareness of the

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

school’s strengths and weaknesses  ensures that challenging questions are asked in holding the school to account for the quality of education provided  is proactive in ensuring that available funds are used to best effect to have an impact on pupils’ achievement  ensures, with other school leaders, that all safeguarding and child protection policies and practices fully meet requirements.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupil’s needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupil’s needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school

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Grade Judgement Description

is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 104216 Local authority Walsall Inspection number 400695 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 189 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Andrew Howship Headteacher Alison Walsh Date of previous school inspection 25–26 February 2010 Telephone number 01922 682234 Fax number 01922 695534 Email address postbox@greenfield.walsall.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille,

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School details

please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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