Greenfields Community School

Greenfields Community School Orange Gardens, Nottingham, NG2 2JE

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.  The headteacher, ably supported by the deputy and senior leaders, is driving the school forward with a shared determination to improve the lives of the pupils.  Staff clearly enjoy working at the school and value the pupils’ diverse backgrounds. They discover pupils’ talents, such as their huge enjoyment of singing together, and help them develop as confident young people.  From their low starting points, pupils make rapid and sustained progress across subjects, including English and mathematics. By Year 6 the standards seen in many lessons are above average.  Pupils of all abilities make considerable progress, particularly those from ethnic minority groups. A few boys do not make as much progress as others, particularly in mathematics.  Many pupils say they really enjoy reading, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. This key skill helps them make progress in other subjects.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Teaching is outstanding. In Years 4, 5 and 6 it is particularly effective and this ensures that pupils are well prepared for the future.  The subjects pupils learn about are imaginatively planned, with strong use of the outdoors. This provides an interesting range of activities that motivate all, including those who find learning difficult.  Pupils enjoy school and typically behave very well. The care and guidance they receive is outstanding from the whole staff, including the learning mentor and school counsellor. This ensures everyone feels safe.  Parents and carers are full of praise for what the school does for their children, with several saying, ‘It’s brilliant!’  Members of the governing body are highly supportive of the school and ensure that funding is used well, as seen in the high quality school buildings and grounds.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 15 lessons and several shorter activities, taught by eight teachers. Some of these were joint lesson observations with the headteacher. Inspectors also looked at a sample of recent work and heard a number of pupils reading.  Meetings were held with pupils, representatives of the governing body and local authority. Discussions were held with staff with responsibilities, including the special educational needs co- ordinator, the learning mentor, the school counsellor and the Early Years Foundation Stage leader. Inspectors also took account of 27 responses to the staff questionnaire.  There were too few responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) to be analysed, but inspectors spoke to several parents and carers at the start and end of school sessions.  Inspectors observed the work of the school. They looked at a range of documentation, including information about pupils’ progress, and how the school sets targets for teachers to improve their

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Information about this inspection

work. They also looked at child protection and safeguarding information and procedures.

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Inspection team

Sue Hall, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Suha Ahmad Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school.  About 30% of pupils are White British and slightly more than this are of Pakistani heritage. Other pupils come from a wide range of minority ethnic groups, with around 30 languages spoken in school.  Approximately 65% of pupils speak English as an additional language, which is more than double the national average.  More than half of the pupils are supported by the pupil premium, which is well above average. In this school, this provides additional funding for those known to be eligible for free school meals.  Almost 10% of pupils are supported at school action, which is an average proportion. Approximately 20% are supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs, which is above average.  The school meets the government’s 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?

 Raise the standards achieved by some pupils, particularly White British boys, by:  providing more mental mathematics activities and problem-solving tasks that help pupils develop the confidence to complete their work accurately and speedily.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children enter the Nursery with skills that are well below the expectations for their age. Most children, including those of White British heritage, have limited speaking skills. Initially, many are very quiet and struggle to explain what they are doing. With excellent teaching in the Nursery, children settle quickly and start to develop an enthusiasm for learning. For example, they became much more confident in offering their ideas of things that begin with the letter ‘p’.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Children make excellent overall progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Pupils make good, and occasionally outstanding, progress in Key Stage 1. Achievement improves in Key Stage 2, particularly in Years 4, 5 and 6 where the progress made is excellent. This was seen, for example, in Year 6 when pupils animatedly discussed their ideas to produce a balanced argument for and against the value of graffiti.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 By the time pupils leave school at eleven, standards are often above national averages and have been significantly so in some recent years. A particular strength is the progress made in reading where, for example, in 2012 standards were above national averages and more than half the pupils made better progress than expected from Key Stage 1.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 In writing, standards are average with similar proportions of pupils as found nationally meeting and exceeding the progress expected of them. The sample of Year 6 pupils’ recent unaided writing shows that many are able to use a mature and descriptive range of words for their age.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Standards in mathematics are just below those in other areas because the proportion of pupils making more than the progress expected is not as marked as in other subjects. While several pupils say their favourite subject is mathematics, they are sometimes a little slow in their mental calculations and in using what they already know to solve mathematical problems.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Overall, boys do not do quite as well as the girls, especially those boys whose first language is English. This is partly because a few do not have high enough expectations of themselves. They are often outperformed by pupils who speak English as an additional language, including Black African pupils and those of Pakistani heritage.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils supported by the pupil premium funding do well in writing and very well in reading. This is because the support they receive is well tailored to their needs. They do not always do as well in mathematics, partly because much of the additional help available is focused upon literacy. Overall, the gap between pupils receiving pupil premium support and other pupils in English and mathematics is narrowing.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are well supported and many outperform similar pupils nationally, particularly in reading. Those who need the most help are recognised through the school’s effective use of assessment information that tracks individual progress. The work of the well-trained team of staff, including the learning mentor and the school counsellor, is very effective in enabling many pupils to overcome a range of difficulties and make considerable progress towards their individual targets.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching is often outstanding in more than half of the classes and is consistently excellent in Years 4, 5 and 6. The sample of the pupils’ work reflects the high quality of teaching, and how the staff work successfully to provide a range of activities indoors and outside that interest the pupils and enable them to make excellent progress.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Staff are very enthusiastic in their approach and ensure that learning is enjoyable but challenging. For example, in environmental activities pupils enjoyed learning how to tie knots and work together to form a large joined-up rope. They also make progress in their reading and understanding of information when using written guides and notes to identify frogs living in the school grounds.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Staff use questions very effectively to check pupils’ understanding and to encourage them to share their ideas, as seen to great effect in Year 6. Teachers explain things very clearly to pupils, and time is used efficiently to ensure that pupils move onto their work and do not have to listen to explanations for too long.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 In the Early Years Foundation Stage, a strong emphasis is placed on developing children’s speaking and listening skills. This was seen in an excellent Nursery activity where the teacher skilfully included children with additional needs by encouraging them to use both sign language and speech to share their ideas with others.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and of their learning. They provide work that contains an excellent level of challenge for those of different abilities. For example, in Year 1 when pupils found out about symmetry, the lower attainers drew matching patterns on the wings of a butterfly shape, while higher attaining pupils filled in a diagram identifying horizontal and vertical symmetry.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers and support staff, including the learning mentor and the school counsellor, manage pupils exceptionally well, so that lessons are conducted in a calm and productive manner. Adults give careful feedback to pupils and the marking of their work is thorough. Targets are set for what pupils need to improve, though these are not known by all pupils.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Staff training activities, including support by the deputy headteacher as achievement co- ordinator, have ensured a very strong focus on improving teaching. Support staff are well trained and work in close partnership with teachers to help small groups and individuals, including pupils with additional needs and those entitled to support through the pupil premium.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils very much like coming to school. This was vividly illustrated in an excellent assembly where the sheer joy of singing together shone in the faces of the children and staff as they all joined wholeheartedly in the actions and words of the song. Such enthusiastic activities support pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development in an exemplary manner.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils get on very well together. They are well behaved, polite and helpful to one another and the adults around them. Many say they particularly enjoy meeting their friends at lunch and break times. They recognise their responsibilities to others when moving around school and their obligation to look after their environment. They say they feel very safe.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils have a clear understanding of the different types of bullying, including cyber-bullying, and explain that this is repeated and deliberate action. They are confident there is very little such behaviour in school and staff take seriously any concerns they may have. Parents’ and carers’ views indicate that they feel very satisfied their children are kept safe.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are very positive, including those at the early stages of English, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. The very large majority of pupils throughout the school try hard with their work and produce this neatly and accurately. A small number of boys occasionally do not push themselves as much as they could, because they lack self-esteem.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is outstanding

 Attendance is in line with national averages. The school has worked with considerable success with parents to stress the importance of regular attendance and to cut extended holidays in term time.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher’s passionate commitment to providing the best opportunities for all pupils, together with the enthusiastic and very able support of the deputy headteacher and senior leaders, has led to a marked improvement in the quality of education. Alongside pupils’ academic success, staff prioritise the personal development of every individual.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The questionnaire for staff identifies how everyone enjoys working at Greenfields. This is epitomised by the comment that: ‘I love working at this school and feel that as a community we care about each other… Staff go the extra mile, so that pupils can achieve excellence.’

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 There has been a very successful focus on improving teaching. The deputy headteacher as achievement co-ordinator works closely with colleagues to tailor activities to meet the pupils’ different needs. Staff attend frequent training, and work alongside colleagues and with other schools to clearly identify what good and outstanding teaching looks like. Teachers’ performance is monitored closely, and senior leaders use information from lesson observations and data about pupil progress to decide whether teachers should be paid more.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The work of the Early Years Foundation Stage leader is very effective in ensuring a strong focus on outdoor learning and practically based activities. The learning mentor and school counsellor make a significant impact on supporting pupils with additional needs. This helps them grow in confidence and find more success in what they do.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The local authority provides support for the school when needed. School self-evaluation procedures are very good, and leaders are reflective and self-critical on their journey towards further improvement. Therefore, the school has excellent capacity to continue to improve.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Pupil premium funding is used very well to make sure that individual pupils get the support they need. Data show how successful the use of pupil premium funding is in key areas, with these pupils making better progress than others in reading. Extra teaching and support staff are also employed to support pupils’ personal development. A gardener works with the pupils to grow their own produce that is included in high quality school meals. Local sourcing of other foods shows the school’s commitment to the environment.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school fosters good relations and tackles discrimination by providing the pupils with a very clear moral code where everyone is valued. Spiritual development is exemplified by the moving sense of joy shown by everyone in whole-school singing. Staff actively ensure that all pupils have equal access to learning and are provided with the same opportunities to achieve and thrive. Procedures to safeguard pupils meet current government requirements.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  Governors share a passion for the school exhibited by the whole staff team. They are in the process of changing their pattern of meetings to hold more full governing body meetings and to limit the number of committees so that all governors are informed equally well. Most governors have a link with a class and some visit regularly, including as reading volunteers. Through their work with senior leaders, governors have an accurate understanding of the quality of teaching. They carefully consider the many options for expenditure. They have ensured a high quality and stimulating learning environment inside and out, reflecting their aim that if they want to be an outstanding school, they should look like one.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher provides governors with information about the salaries of all staff and decisions about performance-related pay awards. Governors receive regular and up-to-date information about the performance of the pupils, including data about how well they are achieving.

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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 134842 Local authority Nottingham Inspection number 403664

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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 245 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair George Smith Headteacher Terry Smith Date of previous school inspection 5 February 2008 Telephone number 0115 915 3762 Fax number 0115 915 3726 Email address admin@greenfields.nottingham.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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