Grimley and Holt CofE Primary School

Grimley and Holt CofE Primary School Grimley, Worcester, WR2 6LU

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 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.  Consistently good and often outstanding teaching enables pupils to make exceptionally rapid progress and reach high standards of literacy and numeracy by the end of Year 6.  A practical and engaging curriculum inspires pupils and makes learning enjoyable as well as challenging.  All pupils receive excellent individual care and attention and are exceptionally well prepared for secondary education. As one parent expressed it, ‘The pupils flourish socially, morally and spiritually as well as educationally.’  Behaviour is consistently good and pupils’ boundless enthusiasm for learning was commented on by many parents.  Pupils feel very safe in school, especially those with specific learning needs or emotional and social difficulties. Some parents expressed great appreciation of this.  Outstanding leadership by the headteacher inspires staff, parents and pupils to contribute significantly to school improvement. As a

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

result, the quality of teaching and provision constantly improves.  Governors are exceptionally well informed about pupils’ progress. They challenge the headteacher to improve teaching and make sure that all groups of pupils, including the most-able pupils and those known to be eligible for free school meals, achieve equally well.  The school works exceptionally closely with other schools and agencies to provide the widest possible range of opportunities for the pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector visited eight lessons, mostly accompanied by the headteacher, and observed a range of other activities, including an after-school football club. He saw all teachers teaching.  Meetings and discussions were held with staff, groups of pupils, parents, five members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority. The inspector also talked with a number of parents before and during the school day and took into account the 35 responses to the Parent View questionnaire and written comments from parents.  The inspector heard pupils read in the classroom and looked at the work of past and present pupils in their books. He examined a range of documents including: the school’s self-evaluation; records of the progress of past and present pupils; safeguarding policies and procedures; attendance records and behaviour logs; lesson plans; and records of checks on the quality of

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Inspection team

Peter Kerr, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are White British. Very few pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds and none speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is lower than in most schools. The pupil premium is additional government funding which, in this school, is for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs who are supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is broadly average. The proportion of pupils supported through school action is low compared to most schools.  A pre-school provider shares the school site. It is independently managed and was not included in this inspection.  There were too few pupils in Year 6 in 2013 to make valid comparisons with government floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make learning in mathematics as exciting and memorable as it is in English by:  giving pupils opportunities to use and apply their mathematics skills in the work they do in topics that link subjects together  providing training and support for teachers to bolster their confidence in teaching investigative mathematics  increasing the time available for the leader of mathematics to observe and support teaching and learning in the subject across the school.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The attainment of children when they start in Reception is typically at the level expected for their age. They make consistently good progress and nearly all of them achieve the early learning goals before they begin Year 1. They make particularly rapid progress in their personal development, language and communication skills.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 In Reception, the children readily collaborate with each other while they play, putting forward ideas; for example, about what hygiene rules to have for the classroom restaurant: ‘No dogs allowed!’ They make good progress in numeracy but are sometimes reluctant to choose activities with a mathematical content.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils reach high standards in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6, including in spelling, punctuation and grammar. In each of the last two years, pupils left the school more than a year ahead of pupils nationally. All groups make at least expected progress from Year 2 to Year 6 and a high proportion make better than average progress.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils of all abilities achieve equally well relative to their starting points. Pupils read widely and fluently. They are very confident speakers and have good listening skills. Their written work is of a high standard, both in content and presentation, and they make rapid progress in developing their numeracy skills.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils say that they particularly enjoy learning through the topics and projects set in real-life contexts. This approach helps them to develop particularly good research, collaboration and presentation skills. They also use computers and tablets very competently; for example, to program games and to make video records, with commentary, of science experiments. Numeracy skills are well represented in topic work, for example to cost projects and calculate profit, but pupils have fewer opportunities to carry out mathematical investigations.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make similar progress to other pupils. A number of parents of children with such needs commented on how well their children were doing. Some who had moved their children from other schools where they struggled said that their children’s needs had been swiftly identified and appropriate support provided, resulting in their children gaining in confidence and making rapid progress.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils eligible for the pupil premium achieve at least as well as other pupils in the school. Numbers are very small in each year group, but individual tracking shows that most are catching up with other pupils in the same class.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Lessons are highly enjoyable for pupils and provide them with consistent challenge. Teachers plan activities that engage pupils' interest, focus their minds and encourage them to collaborate with their classmates and find things out for themselves.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers strike an excellent balance between giving the pupils information and challenging them to learn for themselves, particularly in topic lessons. Together with teaching assistants, they support pupils very effectively as they work, providing extra challenge for the quicker learners and good support for those working at lower levels.  Reading is taught particularly well. Excellent teaching of phonics (linking letters to the sounds they make) ensures that all pupils learn the mechanics of reading and spelling securely. The provision of a wide range of books encourages pupils to read widely for pleasure and information.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The pupils’ progress in writing has benefited greatly from the positive feedback teachers give through marking and discussion on how to improve the content of their writing as well as their spelling, punctuation and grammar. The plentiful opportunities and good support pupils have to fully express their ideas orally also contribute to the high standards achieved.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 In an outstanding mathematics lesson in Year 1 and 2, pupils made extremely rapid progress in drawing a plan because the teacher had the confidence to let the pupils set about the task in their own way and then talked to them about their work as it progressed. This enabled the more-able pupils to progress towards drawing to scale while lower-attaining pupils deepened their understanding of the basic concept of a plan. Not all teachers have enough confidence in teaching mathematics to encourage such highly individualised learning.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The additional sport funding provided to all primary schools has been used to employ specialist sports coaches. This enables the teachers to keep improving their own practice in these areas. Reception staff make very good use of the grounds to enable the children to enjoy learning outdoors. This helps them to extend their knowledge of the world and improve their social skills.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils behave very well around the school and are polite and respectful to one another and to adults. Relationships between pupils and between staff and the children are excellent. Older pupils look after younger ones very well. The school is a very friendly, welcoming place for pupils and their families.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The pupils’ exceptional enthusiasm for learning is a very significant feature of the school. Pupils talk animatedly about the projects they are involved in and have a very mature appreciation of the opportunities afforded them by the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils are proud of their school and enjoy taking on responsibilities for example, as school councillors, librarians or representing the school on a team. They like the fact that parents and members of the community are so involved with the school; for example, in making a willow hedge, building a shelter and setting out the vegetable garden and orchard.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Pupils feel that the staff understand them very well as individuals and this helps them to feel very safe in school. They have a good understanding about how to reduce risk to themselves in a range of situations, both within and beyond school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The pupils who spoke to the inspector were particularly knowledgeable about keeping safe when using the internet. Pupils are represented on an E-Safety committee which is a model of good practice in the area.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils have a good understanding of the different forms that bullying can take and are confident that members of staff will listen to them and deal quickly with any incidents that arose. They say that bullying is very rare. School records confirm this.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Attendance is above the average for primary schools. This is as a result of a clear policy and thorough procedures, which have been communicated regularly and effectively to pupils and parents.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher provides very clear and strong leadership. She has the trust and confidence of the staff, governors, parents and pupils.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Central to the school’s high reputation is the creative way it has used topics that link subjects together to enliven lessons and place the pupils’ studies in a real-life context. Governors and parents strongly express their firm belief that this is at the root of the pupils’ enjoyment of school and high achievement. The school is regarded by the local authority as a leader in curriculum innovation.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher regularly checks the quality of teaching and engages external advisers to confirm her judgements. Records of these checks show that the high quality of teaching found at the last inspection has been maintained.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Shortfalls in teaching expertise are accurately identified and remedied. The headteacher has recognised the need for more training and support to increase teaching expertise in investigative mathematics and to extend the time available for the lead teacher in mathematics to observe and support teaching across the school.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Detailed analysis of pupils’ progress identifies areas where achievement falters and records show that immediate effective action is taken to remedy weaknesses. For example, pupils with lower starting points had not made as much progress as those with higher starting points in the 2012 tests. The 2013 tests showed that the action taken had closed this gap.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school enjoys excellent partnerships with local partner institutions. Expertise is shared with other schools. The strengthening of the partnership with the adjacent pre-school unit has smoothed the children’s transition into school. Parents expressed appreciation of this.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school promotes the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development exceptionally well. Shared values are at the heart of school life, and joint ventures with different schools widen the pupils’ perspectives. Visits to ethnically and culturally diverse parts of Birmingham are organised to enrich the pupils’ appreciation of life beyond their locality.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school has a very strong and mutually beneficial partnership with parents. The Parent Voice group meets regularly to channel parents’ views to the school and more than 60% of parents provide practical support; for example, through running clubs, improving play equipment and hearing readers. The school provides classes in parenting skills and an extended induction period for parents with children about to join the school.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The local authority currently provides only limited support to the school because it deems it capable of self-sustaining improvement.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is a much more effective in supporting and challenging the school than it was at the time of the last inspection. Governors are much better informed about how well the pupils are doing and how good teaching is, and they ask challenging questions of the headteacher.  The governing body makes sure that performance management operate effectively and that pay is linked to the performance of staff and their management responsibilities.  Governors are very aware of how the pupil premium is spent to support eligible pupils’ progress and the impact this has on their attainment.

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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 116815 Local authority Worcestershire Inspection number 440337

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 89 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mick Jukes Headteacher Helen Hoarle Date of previous school inspection 18 May 2010 Telephone number 01905 640325 Fax number 01905 640325 Email address office@grimleyholt.worcs.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

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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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