Gomeldon Primary School

Overall effectiveness

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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils achieve well and make good progress across a range of subjects. Attainment is rising and it is consistently above average by the end of Year 6.  Children make an excellent start to their life in school in the welcoming and stimulating Reception class.  The whole staff create a family environment in which all pupils are well known to them and well cared for. As a result, pupils behave exceptionally well, feel safe in school and their attendance is very high.  Pupils develop skills quickly because teachers expect them to work hard and not waste time. Activities both in and out of lessons make learning exciting and motivate pupils to do well.  Additional government funding is used to good effect to help eligible pupils to settle and learn quickly.  The determined leadership and management of both the headteacher and deputy headteacher have led to significant developments in the last year. This has resulted in an improvement in teaching and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

achievement across the school.  The governing body provides high-quality support and challenge, and is very knowledgeable about the school.  The school receives very effective support from the local authority.  Parents and carers are very pleased with the work of the school, especially the way that their children are cared for.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There is not enough outstanding teaching to ensure all pupils’ progress is rapid in every class.  Some of the most-able pupils are not given enough challenge in the planned tasks.  Teachers do not always insist on pupils presenting their work neatly.

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Information about this inspection

 All teachers were observed teaching. Many of these observations were with the headteacher.  Discussions were held with different groups of pupils, members of the governing body, the headteacher, deputy headteacher staff members and members of the PTA.  The inspector took account of the 28 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, in planning the inspection, and talked to a number of parents and carers during the inspection.  The inspector also took account of the 16 staff questionnaires returned.  The inspector held a discussion with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector looked at pupils’ work and heard pupils from different year groups read.  The inspector observed the school’s work, and looked at a range of documentation, including information about pupils’ performance and progress, the school improvement plan, procedures for safeguarding pupils, the governing body minutes, school policies and curriculum planning documents.

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Inspection team

David Marshall, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  A very large majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils supported through the pupil premium, which is additional government funding for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority, is below average. There are no pupils eligible for free school meals. The proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  There are no pupils with statements or education, health and care plans. This is lower than what is found in most schools.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The present headteacher joined the school in September 2013.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching from good to outstanding by ensuring that:  all pupils, particularly the most able, are provided with work that fully stretches them  all pupils are reminded to present their work neatly and carefully.

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The leadership and management are good

 The experienced headteacher and deputy headteacher create a culture of high expectations at Gomeldon Primary School. This is evident in the vibrant displays and typically courteous behaviour of the pupils.  All staff are enabled to make an effective contribution to the school. Teamwork is good and everyone, including the learning support assistants and administration officer, are considerable assets to the school and are very much appreciated by all concerned.  Planning to secure improvement is robust and comprehensive, involving all staff and the governing body. Specific priorities are clearly identified and are closely aligned with regular and accurate analysis of the quality of teaching. The impact of the latest changes to ensure all pupils, especially the most able in Key Stage 1, make maximum progress is too recent to evaluate.  The plans to improve the learning areas in the Early Years Foundation Stage have been carried out

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The leadership and management are good

extremely well. This has enhanced the start for all children when they join the school.  Leaders carefully and frequently collect assessment information on how well pupils achieve, which they analyse rigorously. They are remodelling this, in collaboration with other schools, in a way that it is user- friendly, particularly for the governing body.  Senior and middle leaders check the quality of teaching and pupils’ work, including marking, in an organised and systematic way. They link this clearly to the well-coordinated arrangements for the management of staff performance. Other leaders make an effective contribution to good teaching in the school.  School leaders give continuing professional development a high priority, for example their highly successful collaborative approach to share best practice is embedded in the school. They alsomake extensive and productive use of the school’s many links with other schools and organisations to develop

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The leadership and management are good

leadership skills.  The staff have reorganised the curriculum very well. The carefully planned introduction of French is a good example of the effectiveness of this planning.This contributes strongly to pupils’ good and improving achievement, as well as pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. There are very well- planned opportunities for pupils to learn about other cultures and faiths.  The school enjoys good relationships with parents and carers. They appreciate the workshops to help them support their children in literacy, e-safety and phonics (letters and the sounds they make). Those who spoke to inspectors during the inspection were very pleased with the leadership of the school and the quality of the information they receive.  The local authority provides very effective support to the school through termly meetings.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is an active and committed group that uses high levels of professional expertise to

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The leadership and management are good

provide very effective support to the school. Governors manage the school’s finances well and they have ensured that additional funding has been used effectively to enable pupils to settle and close any achievement gap with other pupils. Governors are aware of the main strengths and areas for development in teaching and how the school manages the performance of staff. They have ensured that there is a good match between how well teachers are paid and how well pupils achieve. Safeguarding arrangements meet requirements and are regularly scrutinised. The school site is well maintained.  The primary school sport funding has also been very well used to increase pupils’ opportunities to experience different games and sports. Governors are knowledgeable about the school’s track record of achievement over the past three years, and inform themselves regularly about the progress of pupils currently on roll.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. They are keen to apply the skills they have already learnt and to explore new topics. A group of parents and carers interviewed during the inspection explained that their children were eager to share with them what they had learnt during the day.  Adults lead by example, demonstrating the respect and caring nature they expect from the pupils. They are quick to notice when a pupil needs encouragement or support. The positive relationships between staff and pupils make a strong contribution to the good progress made by pupils.  Pupils are very proud of their school. They show respect for the building and for the equipment used by them. They move around the school quietly and calmly, showing an awareness of the needs of others.  There are clear systems to encourage pupils to behave at their best. Pupils are rewarded for displaying good attitudes and are excited about being chosen to be in the ‘hall of fame’.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s work with the few pupils whose behaviour has caused concern in the past has been extremely effective. Teachers think carefully about the impact of attitudes and behaviour on pupils’ achievement.  Pupils’ attendance is consistently well above average as they all enjoy coming to school.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Staff skilfully incorporate messages about safety into the pupils’ activities. For example, children in Reception already understand the need to be careful on bikes and wear aprons while mixing colours.  Pupils say they feel safe at school. They know that the adults in school will help them to sort out any problems that arise. They act very responsibly on the playground, where they are well supervised. Pupils say there is no bullying. They have a very good understanding of different kinds of bullying such as cyber- bullying. They understand how to stay safe on the internet. They know all about keeping safe outside

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

school and assessing risk. All the parents and carers who responded to Parent View feel their children are safe at school.  The school is highly responsive to pupils’ individual needs, especially those moving from one school to another. Staff work closely with parents and carers to help pupils learn successfully as quickly as possible.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The standard of work in pupils’ books and their improving rates of progress show that teaching is typically good. Staff work well together. They develop excellent relationships with pupils that help to foster their good attitudes to learning.  When children in the Reception class start school, they settle in quickly because there is a strong emphasis on developing their social and questioning skills. As a result of the consistently good example set by learning support assistants and the early years leader, staff skilfully encourage children to share their ideas and develop their language skills.  Good use of pupils’ progress information means teachers’ expectations of what pupils can do are generally accurate. Pupils’ progress is rapid where teachers check regularly how pupils are doing and promptly adapt activities to increase challenge or provide support where needed. Occasionally, the work provided,

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The quality of teaching is good

over time, does not enable the most-able pupils to make the maximum progress of which they are capable.  Support staff are highly skilled, and enhance pupils’ learning and manage behaviour effectively. Pupils make good progress because these additional adults are used well to support many different groups of learners.  Since the previous inspection, leaders have focused on improving the quality of feedback pupils receive from teachers. Teaching assistants are skilled at providing verbal feedback. There is an effective whole- school approach to marking. Pupils respond well to the feedback teachers provide, both verbally and when they mark work, and pupils increasingly provide feedback to one another as well.  Staff teach literacy and mathematical skills well across the school. The school’s recent work to develop the use of information and communication technology, to include pupils writing their own programs, is helping

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The quality of teaching is good

to motivate and engage pupils. It also develops pupils’ skills in this aspect of their learning effectively.

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is good

 Pupils across the school make good, if slightly varied, progress in all year groups.  Children joining the school settle extremely well because of the excellent arrangements with parents and carers before they start. These links , beginning with home visits, help children to settle quickly, become familiar with the routines and develop confidence.  The number of children who begin school every year is small. The majority of children start the Reception class with skills and abilities in line with, or above, those normally expected for their age. As a result of the excellent start they receive, their learning quickly accelerates and, by the time they reach Year 1, they have made outstanding progress in all areas and are ready to move on.  Most pupils make good progress in Key Stage 1. In the 2014 national check of how well using phonics is understood by pupils, a well-above-average proportion reached the required standard.

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is good

 The school has identified that in Key Stage 1 some of the most-able pupils could have made greater progress in the past. As the pupils’ books show, the most-able pupils are not always challenged to reach their full potential, or to present their work neatly and carefully, and this affects their rates of progress.  Older pupils are making consistently good progress and the extensive school records show that the standards that these pupils are reaching are often well above average. This is because the school has made some effective changes to the way in which teachers check pupils’ learning and pupils know what they need to do next to improve. The results in national tests for 2014 were again an improvement on the previous year.  Pupils in Years 5 and 6 thrive as a result of being given work which challenges them. Strong teacher knowledge means that work is presented in a stimulating and exciting way which captures pupils’

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is good

attention. This contributes to the good, and sometimes exceptional, progress that pupils are making. They are very well prepared for the next stage of their education.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are successfully meeting the challenging targets set for them and often make outstanding progress. The school has high expectations of pupils, regardless of any difficulties they have to overcome.  Pupils who are eligible for support through additional funding are also making good progress. In 2014, the there were no gaps in attainment between the groups of pupils supported through additional funding due to moving into the school and other Year 6 pupils. This compares very favourably with all pupils nationally. The impact of the school’s investment of additional support is now being seen in the strong progress for the pupils currently on roll.  Pupils are very enthusiastic about the variety of sports that they do at school in sessions with specialist

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is good

sports coaches, including tennis and fencing. The additional sports funding is being used to raise participation in sports, to encourage positive attitudes to keeping physically fit and healthy through lunchtime and after-school clubs. There are also many competitive team games with other local schools, and county competitions, in which the school is extremely successful. Together with improvements to the school’s sporting resources, including the employment of a part-time teacher to enable specialist PE teaching, these motivate pupils to reach good standards.

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is outstanding

 The children settle quickly into the early years class and begin to learn straight away. Parents and carers say they really value the home visits before their children start. They also appreciate the many letters and notes that keep them up-to-date with their children’s progress.  The range of opportunities made available to the children through the carefully planned provision is outstanding. The refurbished outdoor area is thoroughly enjoyed by all involved. This provision contributes to a high level of development of all children, particularly in their spiritual, social, moral and cultural development.  All children’s needs are met exceptionally well, regardless of their ability. Their learning is accurately assessed from the start, and on a day-to-day basis. This enables the staff to provide a broad and rich range of exciting activities that constantly motivate children to want to join in and learn.

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is outstanding

 As a result of the excellent provision, children’s achievement is consistently high across all areas. In particular, their level of development in literacy and mathematics is especially strong.  The proportion of children who make better than typical progress from their starting points is well above average. In 2014, the number of children who achieved a good level of development was very high, and well above national figures.  The quality of the teaching of phonics is excellent. Children thoroughly enjoy starting to read. The delight of the children in the morning sessions where parents and carers are involved in early reading tasks is a joy to all concerned.  Children, who had only been in the school for a few days, were observed paying close attention and responding immediately to questions and directions. The simple task of riding round the playground to find a number on a skittle was being used to reinforce good manners and sharing.

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is outstanding

 The early years provision is outstandingly well led and managed. There has been an unremitting drive to improve the provision from all involved, including the governing body.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 126195 Local authority Wiltshire Inspection number 448571

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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 4−11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 143 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Tim Eldridge Headteacher Patrick Macey Date of previous school inspection 17 September 2009 Telephone number 01980 611370 Fax number 01980 611370 Email address admin@gomeldon.wilts.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 and 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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