Greswold Primary School

Greswold Primary School Buryfield Road, Solihull, B91 2AZ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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.  Pupils achieve well and reach standards that are well above average by the time they leave.  Last year there was a rapid rise in attainment in Year 6, with some pupils in this year group making outstanding progress.  Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage, in Key Stage 1 and in Years 5 and 6 through good teaching.  Attainment in mathematics is high throughout the school because pupils develop a very good understanding of the subject.  Teaching is typically good, and a small amount is outstanding. Teachers and other adults work together very well as a team and are particularly good at getting pupils to think for themselves.  Attendance is high because pupils love coming to school. They feel safe, behave well and are very proud of their school.  The school gives pupils a wide range of opportunities to help them become mature, responsible individuals. Its partnerships, at a

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

local and international level, are a particular strength.  Leadership and management, including governance, are good.  Senior leaders work together very effectively as a team and are the major driving force behind the improvement in the quality of teaching and the recent upturn in standards in Key Stage 2.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Progress in Key Stage 2 is not consistently good. In Years 3 and 4, teachers have not always built on the standards achieved at the end of Year 2. As a result, pupils in these year groups sometimes do not make as much progress as they could, particularly when the work set for them is too easy.  Not enough teaching is outstanding. Teachers do not always insist on a high enough standard of work. Sometimes, particularly in Years 3 and 4, they do not show pupils how to improve when they mark their work, and pupils are not always sure whether they have made enough progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 23 lessons, four of which were observed with senior leaders.  Meetings were held with pupils, representatives of the governing body and the local authority, and staff, including senior and subject leaders.  Inspectors took account of 54 responses to the online Parent View. They spoke with parents and carers informally and took note of phone calls and messages sent to Ofsted.  Inspectors observed the work of the school. They looked at a range of documentation, including information about pupils’ progress. They also looked at the school’s behaviour and anti-bullying policies, child protection and safeguarding procedures.

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Inspection team

Kath Campbell, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Nick Asker Additional Inspector Elaine Long Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Greswold is larger than the average-sized primary school.  A below-average proportion of the pupils are eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in local authority care and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action, and at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs, is below average.  A below-average proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language.  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?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching by making sure that teachers:  set demanding work for pupils of all abilities, particularly the more-able pupils  have the opportunity to share and learn from the outstanding practice within the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement in Years 3 and 4 by making sure that:  teachers in these year groups build on the high standards pupils achieve in Year 2  pupils know their individual targets for improving their work  teachers let pupils know clearly the next steps in their learning when they mark their work  senior leaders and teachers use information about pupils’ progress with greater precision to identify pupils in danger of falling behind, so that they get back on track quickly.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children’s attainment on entry varies from year to year. Most children currently in the nursery class started with skills in line with those expected for their age. However, their speech and language skills are sometimes weak.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 After a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage, pupils move into Year 1 with levels of understanding above those expected for their age. Good progress continues in Key Stage 1 and pupils in Year 2 reach standards that are well above average. Mathematics is a very strong subject.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Until recently, progress slowed at the beginning of Key Stage 2 because pupils did not always get hard enough work. Many did not make enough progress and this contributed to a decline in attainment in Key Stage 2. Last year, better teaching and well-considered support brought about a dramatic improvement in standards, particularly in mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school uses its pupil premium funding effectively. For example, additional adults to work with specific year groups and a new reading programme that has proved highly popular have helped to raise achievement for eligible pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ achievement in phonics (the sounds that letters make) is good. Younger pupils quickly gain the confidence to read without help. Older pupils have a genuine enthusiasm for reading. They enjoy a wide range of poems and books by authors such as J K Rowling and Jacqueline Wilson.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Writing has been an ongoing area for development. The proportion of pupils reaching higher levels in their writing is rising. Older pupils benefit greatly from having specific pieces of writing marked in great detail. This helps them to see the progress they have made. This level of precision in marking does not always happen in Years 3 and 4.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In mathematics, pupils achieve very well because teachers constantly encourage them to apply their mathematical skills to real-life situations. Pupils learn to solve problems and think for themselves.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school successfully narrows the achievement gap between the least able pupils and the rest. The progress of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is at least as good as that of other pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Better teaching is the key to the school’s recent improvement. Nearly all the teaching observed during the inspection was at least good, and several lessons were outstanding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Activities are exciting and often link subjects together very effectively. They promote good learning because pupils enjoy the variety. An outstanding example of this was seen when pupils were asked to create bottle holders for the Big Friendly Giant as part of their design and technology day. The pace of learning was impressively fast and the work produced was of high quality.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage, indoor and outdoor areas are attractive places where learning is fun. Teachers and other adults work very effectively as a team. Teaching is consistently good and children gain in confidence because they receive a good level of individual help and guidance when needed. All staff develop children’s language skills well, particularly for those who speak English as an additional language.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Inconsistencies in the quality of teaching in Key Stage 2 are reflected in pupils’ work. The tasks set for Year 3 pupils who had reached high standards in Year 2 were often too easy. In both Year 3 and Year 4, there was some variation in the quality of marking between classes and year groups. There was not always enough difference between the work produced by middle-ability pupils and those that were more able.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Adults who support teachers are highly skilled. They make sure disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs gain the confidence and skills to work independently. In some lessons, these pupils make exceptional progress when they are working in small groups.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ positive attitudes and good behaviour contribute greatly to their good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. They are enthusiastic about school, and in the best lessons are totally involved in their work. They want to do their best and are proud of each other’s success.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage develop very good social skills because all adults recognise the importance of setting firm foundations for future development.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Adults manage behaviour well and relationships with pupils are very strong. Older pupils develop an impressively good ability to work together and show high levels of cooperation.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 In discussion, pupils and their families show genuine appreciation for the help and support they receive. Most parents and carers value the school and its staff highly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 A few parents and carers are not sure that bullying is dealt with effectively. The inspection team looked at this area in detail. The recent anti-bullying week had given pupils of all ages a clear understanding of what was meant by bullying. Younger pupils said that incidents of bullying did occur occasionally, mostly in the playground at lunchtimes. They knew exactly what to do if they had worries, and named several trusted adults who listened to and acted upon their concerns. They were confident that swift, effective action was taken and that there was no recurrence once an adult knew about their concern. Older pupils insisted that incidents of inappropriate behaviour, bullying or racism were very rare, chiefly because everyone got along well together.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils show a good understanding of how to stay safe, including when using the internet and computers. Safeguarding procedures meet requirements set out in government regulations.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The rise in levels of attendance is a real success story. Numerous incentives that encourage good attendance, such as the current attendance challenge, and very tight monitoring procedures have played an important part in the high attendance. The school is working with a small number of families to raise levels even further.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher provide strong leadership. They complement each other’s skills well. In recent times, they have been very successful in recruiting high-quality staff to fit the needs of the school. This strong strategic leadership team has been instrumental in the school’s current success.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Areas for development are clear and teachers are held accountable for the standards pupils achieve. The way in which the school checks the progress of individual pupils is sometimes not precise enough to identify those who are falling behind. This is particularly the case in Years 3 and 4.

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The leadership and management are good

 The checks carried out by senior leaders on the quality of teaching are thorough and give an accurate view of its quality. These checks are a very important part of the school’s work. Senior leaders use them well to improve the performance of every adult working in the school. This can clearly be seen in the way highly effective staff training has led to the consistently good teaching of phonics.

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The leadership and management are good

 Other leaders have a good understanding of how well pupils are doing in their subjects. The Early Years Foundation Stage is led and managed well. The school has a clear grasp of whether disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are making as much progress as they should.

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The leadership and management are good

 The way subjects are taught gives pupils many enjoyable learning experiences that contribute greatly to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. There is a vast range of activities, ranging from the arts to sport, and pupils have numerous opportunities to support others less fortunate than themselves. Links with schools in China, Africa and France are impressively strong.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school values adults and pupils as individuals. It successfully removes barriers to learning so that all pupils have an equal chance of success.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority knows the school well, reviews its quality regularly and provides an appropriate level of support to the leaders and governing body when required.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body is well led and well organised. It supports the school very well, and has a clear and accurate grasp of its strengths and weaknesses. It plays a very effective role in school improvement and works closely with senior leaders to ensure teachers are not rewarded unless they successfully help pupils to make at least good progress. It monitors areas such as safeguarding well and makes sure training requirements are met. The governing body is actively involved in deciding how funding, including pupil premium funding, is spent, and checking that it has the desired impact on pupils’ achievement. It is developing more opportunities for governors to visit lessons to gain first-hand evidence about how well the school is doing, and how its performance compares to that of other similar schools.

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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 pupils’ 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 pupils’ 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 is

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Grade Judgement Description

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 104079 Local authority Solihull Inspection number 402934

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School details

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 477 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Gillian Pickard Headteacher Jeremy Bird Date of previous school inspection 4 Dec 2007 Telephone number 0121 705 4738 Fax number 0121 705 1831 Email address office@greswold.solihull.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, please

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School details

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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