Greenacres Primary School

Greenacres Primary School Rutland, Off York Road, Harlescott Grange, Shrewsbury SY1 3QG

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 The school’s performance has improved since its previous inspection.  The headteachers and governors ensure that all staff work together effectively. This has led to pupils making faster progress this year than previously.  Leaders and staff have created a new curriculum which captures pupils’ interests. They have ensured that teaching and outcomes continue to improve, despite recent staff changes.  Teaching, learning and assessment are good. Teachers and teaching assistants have developed strong subject knowledge and use this well to support pupils’ learning, especially in reading and mathematics.  Pupils of all abilities, including those with special educational needs or disability, make good progress in all subjects. Disadvantaged pupils make strong progress in all subjects.  Pupils are proud of their school. They value the guidance they receive, are helpful to others, and are developing a good understanding of British

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This is a good school

values.  Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school is good. They show interest in their learning, and are clearly responding well to the new curriculum on offer.  Pupils are kept very safe and they say they feel safe at school. Leaders have developed effective safeguarding policies and ensure all staff follow them.  Children in the early years make good progress due to the good teaching they receive.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Leaders newly appointed to their posts have not yet been able to show the impact of their work.  Attendance rates are still below average and are not increasing rapidly enough.  Pupils do not routinely apply all they know about grammar, punctuation and spelling. In addition, some of their handwriting is careless.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of leadership and management by making sure that:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 leaders newly appointed to posts make checks on the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in their areas of responsibility  leaders check whether their approaches to improving attendance are working well.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of pupils’ writing by ensuring that:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 teachers remind pupils to use what they know about grammar and punctuation  careless spelling or handwriting is challenged.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The headteachers and governors have managed recent changes of staff well. They have ensured that the quality of teaching in all classes continues to improve. They set a clear ambition for the school community and have created a positive and welcoming atmosphere where pupils can learn and thrive.  The headteachers have a good awareness of how well teachers and pupils are performing. Since the previous inspection, they have improved arrangements for monitoring teaching and learning, so that they have more information about what is happening in classrooms. The headteachers use this information to agree with teachers what actions will be taken in order to improve their work. As a result, teaching and learning have improved.  Teachers value the system for managing their performance as it provides them with an understanding of what they need to do to improve and how to achieve this. Recently appointed teachers, including those

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

who are newly qualified, receive a thorough induction. They acknowledge the benefits of good communication between all school staff as this enables them to develop greater competence in using school systems. Time is made available for them to become familiar with school policies, including those for safeguarding and marking.  Leaders and staff have worked collaboratively to find ways to make sure the school’s new curriculum interests the pupils. This has led to pupils being more motivated in their learning than was the case in previous years. Recent changes to the national curriculum have been fully implemented, with key skills taught in the relevant year groups. Leaders are now developing new assessment arrangements in response to recent changes in national requirements.  Leaders and staff ensure that pupils tolerate and respect people who have different faiths or no faith. Strong relationships between staff and pupils lead to pupils feeling safe and secure in school.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

Discrimination does not occur. Leaders make sure all pupils understand democracy and have an equal opportunity to succeed. As a result, pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Leaders and staff ensure that there are regular opportunities for pupils to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. This is illustrated well in the early years, where activities enable children to listen to, and value, one another’s opinions. This ensures that children develop worthwhile values from a young age. The new curriculum provides opportunities for pupils in all year groups to develop their knowledge of other cultures. However, many pupils are not yet able to talk confidently about this aspect of their learning.  The local authority has an accurate picture of how well the school is performing. It has provided effective support as the school has continued to improve since its previous inspection in 2013. The local authority

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

recognises the positive changes made since it encouraged Greenacres Primary to engage with a local teaching school alliance. Staff have used their discussions with colleagues in the alliance to assist school improvement, for example in checking the accuracy of their current assessment of pupils’ work.  The leader with responsibility for the performance of pupils with special educational needs or disability has kept up to date with national developments. She has used this knowledge to develop effective provision for this group of pupils, so that they make good progress. The leader has facilitated and led training which has helped staff find out what individual pupils need to do to make better progress. Subsequent work by the leader monitors how well they are progressing. If it is found that pupils are not making the desired progress then changes are made to the programmes of support.  Leaders keep detailed information about how well disadvantaged pupils are progressing and ensure that

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

pupil premium funding is used effectively. For example, some of the funding has been used to increase staff hours in order to hear pupils read more regularly and to teach specific mathematics skills. Currently, the progress of disadvantaged pupils is at least as good as other pupils in the school. Leaders are determined to improve progress further in order to close the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils at Greenacres and other pupils nationally.  The school has made effective use of the primary school physical education and sport funding. It has provided pupils with more opportunities to both participate and compete in a wide range of activities. Pupils from Greenacres Primary represent their school regularly at sporting festivals, competing against local schools in various sports, such as athletics. Leaders’ monitoring and evaluation of the quality of teaching of physical education shows that the funding has helped to improve lessons.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Recent staffing changes have resulted in new appointments for some areas of responsibility, including the early years. These leaders are not yet fully involved in making checks on the quality of teaching and the progress of pupils in their areas of responsibility.  Leaders do not check frequently enough that actions taken to improve attendance are having the desired impact. Also, actions are not evaluated thoroughly which means that decisions about future work are not always well informed. Consequently, although attendance rates are improving, they remain lower than they should be.  The governance of the school Governors have supported and challenged the school well since the last inspection. The chair of the governing body has ensured that new members have skills that the school needs, such as those related to finance and the curriculum. Governors gain a good understanding about the school’s performance by visiting regularly. Individual

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

governors have specific roles, including those relating to specific subjects and safeguarding. They check out the extent to which pupils enjoy and engage in their learning. They use this, and other information provided by leaders and staff, to check that pupils’ progress in every year group is good enough. Governors ensure that the pupil premium is being used effectively to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. The governing body is kept well informed about how well teachers are performing and understand the steps taken to reward good teaching and to challenge any weak performance. Governors attend a variety of meetings in the school, including those where pupils’ progress is evaluated. This enables governors to develop a good understanding of how the headteachers are challenging and supporting teachers to ensure pupils make sufficient progress. This work helps to ensure that the governing body holds the school to account effectively.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The headteachers and the chair of the governing body check that all staff and governors understand and apply the agreed safeguarding processes. They refer to local and national guidance in order to ensure that all relevant policies are kept up to date.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teachers ensure that pupils enjoy the interesting activities provided for them. At the time of the inspection, pupils in key stage 2 were selecting books provided by a local library service. They were keen to read as the books’ themes motivated them well. Children in the early years demonstrated good knowledge when they devised potions using various herbs and fruits. Staff were skilful at asking questions that supported children to develop their own opinions.  Pupils learn well in lessons. This is because staff have good subject knowledge, ask helpful questions and make regular checks on how well pupils understand. Teachers and teaching assistants regularly plan activities together to ensure that all pupils receive the support and guidance they need in order to learn.  Lessons are well planned and all adults manage pupils’ behaviour well. Pupils understand and follow the school’s well-established routines. Consequently, classrooms are orderly and purposeful places where

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

pupils are able to concentrate and get on with their work. Teachers treat pupils with care and fairness, which means that pupils, in turn, like and respect their teachers. They are keen to please them by working hard and behaving well.  The teaching of pupils with special educational needs or disability is effective. This is because teachers and teaching assistants know why these pupils find certain activities difficult and provide appropriate support in class and in small groups. Pupils respond well to this extra support and make good progress.  In all year groups, teachers and teaching assistants teach reading well. They use their secure subject knowledge to support pupils’ learning effectively. In the early years, for example, children are quick to secure their understanding of letters and the sounds they make (phonics) because specific skills are taught in meaningful ways that build carefully on their current levels of understanding. Throughout the

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

school, pupils enjoy reading for different purposes in a range of subjects.  Mathematics is also taught well. Pupils thrive on the challenging work set for them and respond thoughtfully to skilful questioning from both teachers and teaching assistants. They make good progress as they have to think hard and apply what they have learned in order to solve the problems presented to them.  Homework provision has improved over the past year. Over time, parents have been keen to support their children’s learning at home, but were not always clear about how best to do this. In response, the school has invested in an internet package which demonstrates to parents how they can work with their children in learning about specific mathematical concepts, such as fractions.  Pupils enjoy writing. As with reading, staff teach specific writing skills well, and work in pupils’ literacy books and in pupils’ writing across different subjects confirms that current progress is good. Nevertheless,

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

while teaching ensures that pupils learn appropriate grammar, punctuation and spelling skills, pupils do not always use what they know in their written work, for example using paragraphs to convey their ideas clearly.  Teachers have higher expectations about how pupils should present their work in mathematics than in writing. As a result, pupils set out their mathematics work neatly, but can be careless with their handwriting.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils demonstrate their understanding of British values, such as democracy and the rule of law, in their day-to-day work and interactions with each other. For example, in the early years, children understand why it is important to take turns and listen to each other’s ideas.  Staff and governors understand the importance of looking after children’s welfare. Leaders ensure that all policies are reviewed and kept up to date, including those relating to child protection. All staff who work with pupils are checked to ensure they are suitable to carry out their roles. Leaders make sure the staff complete all the required safeguarding training so that they know what to look for with regard to pupils’ welfare. Designated leaders are rigorous in ensuring that any vulnerable pupils are cared for appropriately.  Bullying is rare at the school. Parents and pupils agree that this is the case and say that if it does occur

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Personal development and welfare

then staff deal with it swiftly and effectively. Pupils talk clearly about what bullying is and the different forms it can take. They value the support they receive from school regarding issues such as online safety. Discrimination does not occur. Staff demonstrate vigilance in their day-to-day work, which helps to ensure that no pupil feels excluded from any activity.  Pupils feel safe at school. All parents spoken with agreed that their children are kept safe. Pupils’ relationships with all staff are strong. This is because staff know the pupils well and are quick to respond to any problems that arise.  Pupils display positive attitudes to learning. They collaborate well in lessons and are keen to discuss their learning with each other. These attitudes contribute well to the good progress they make in lessons as well as to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils could present their written work

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They are courteous, always displaying good manners, and show good conduct around the school as well as in lessons. At all times of the school day, pupils are well supervised by staff. Pupils say they know who to go to if they want to talk about any issues.  Pupils have a strong sense of right and wrong. They make the right choices when moving around the school, which helps create an orderly environment.  The headteachers and staff have sustained their effective work in promoting good behaviour since the previous inspection. This is the result of their good work in making Greenacres Primary a safe place to learn and play. All adults are prepared to listen to pupils in order to support them in developing positive attitudes to school. As a result, the number of fixed-term exclusions has reduced.  Parents, staff and pupils agree that behaviour is good. Pupils understand rewards and sanctions

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Behaviour

associated with their behaviour choices. Governors and visitors to the school comment on the good behaviour and positive attitudes of the pupils.  The school has taken action to work with parents of children with low attendance. For example, the before-school club was introduced to support parents in getting their children to attend school more regularly. While this has led to better attendance for those pupils who were persistently absent, the overall attendance rate remains below average. School leaders do not evaluate their work in this area as rigorously as they could, so time is lost in agreeing and implementing more effective strategies. As a result, attendance rates are not improving as fast as they could do.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Most children start in Nursery and Reception with skills and understanding that are broadly typical for, or lower than their age. In many cases, children’s communication and language skills are less well developed than their skills in other areas of learning. Typically, they make good progress, due to good teaching. Last year, however, a lower proportion of children, when compared with national figures, reached a good level of development across all areas of learning. This means that this group of children were less well prepared for the Year 1 curriculum than the previous cohort.  Current pupils are making good progress in every year group. Progress is better this year than in previous years. Work seen in lessons and in pupils’ books shows that standards are in line with age-related expectations. This means that pupils are well prepared for the standards that will be expected as they move up through the year groups.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 In 2015, pupils attained results similar to the national average at the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics. Attainment has improved over the past three years, as a result of improved rates of progress.  The majority of pupils who are disadvantaged need to make faster progress than their peers in order to attain the end-of-year expectations. Leaders and teachers are aware of this and ensure that disadvantaged pupils in each year group are making the required progress.  Pupils with special educational needs or disability get good-quality support and make good progress. Clear action plans with specific desired learning outcomes are agreed between staff and implemented with good effect. Staff and leaders keep a close check on progress and adjust support as needs be.  Over the last three years, an increasing proportion of pupils have achieved the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check. Last year, the proportion that reached the required standard was higher

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Outcomes for pupils are good

than the national figure. This year, pupils are continuing to make good progress in phonics and pupils of all ages enjoy reading in a wide range of subjects.  Pupils’ attainment in mathematics is similar to that seen in reading. This good progress results from teachers setting tasks that require pupils to think hard. For example, in Year 1, when asked to find fractions of different amounts, pupils were expected to use a variety of strategies to work out the calculations. As soon as pupils demonstrated their understanding, the teacher and teaching assistant were able to ask more challenging questions in order to move learning on further.  Progress in writing is good across the school. However, pupils do not apply their grammar, punctuation and spelling skills with consistency. In addition, some handwriting can be careless. All in all, this means that the standard of pupils’ writing across the curriculum is not always as good as it could be

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 This year, the most-able pupils are achieving well in reading, writing and mathematics in every year group. As a result, they are attaining higher standards than last year. They benefit from the challenging work they are set, although like other pupils they are sometimes careless with aspects of their written work.

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Early years provision is good

 Leadership and management of the early years are good. Staff use good systems for checking what children can do when they first start school. Parents are kept well informed about what their children are doing at school and how they can help to support their learning at home. Good links exist with external agencies whose roles are to support children in their early development. The school acts on advice given, for example in ensuring that two-year-old children are well supported in learning with their older classmates. As a result, provision in the early years continues to improve.  As a result of good teaching, children of all abilities make good progress through both the Nursery and Reception classes in all areas of learning. Well-designed indoor and outdoor learning environments ensure that children learn a wide variety of skills in different situations. For example, effective teaching of phonics and counting skills were seen when children were exploring their own interests.

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Early years provision is good

 Effective provision for children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development can be seen in the early years. Children understand expectations, such as how to share resources and to respect their environment. Strong relationships between staff and children are another important factor. Parents value the partnership encouraged by the school, and commented that their children are happy at school. This is mainly due to the care and attention provided by staff.  Children behave well and the trusting relationships they have with staff help them to feel very safe. They are enthusiastic learners who pay good attention in lessons. Children play well together and show consideration for one another. Secure spaces, both indoor and outdoor, ensure children feel, and indeed are, safe.  The headteachers and governors are aware that the current leadership of the early years is in its early stages of development. Leaders have achieved a great deal since the start of this academic year. They

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Early years provision is good

are beginning to use achievement information more readily, which helps them plan and deliver activities that enable children to make better progress.

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School details

Unique reference number 123592 Local authority Shropshire Inspection number 10002496

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Foundation Age range of pupils 2–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 147 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Beverly Baker Headteacher Nicola and Simon Hey (joint) Telephone number 01743 464 570 Website www.greenacres.shropshire.sch.uk Email address admin@greenacres.shropshire.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 14 November 2013

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Information about this school

 Greenacres is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Children in the early years are taught in one part-time Nursery class and one full-time Reception class. Two-year-old children are taught in the Nursery class.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is well below average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is well above the national average. The pupil premium is additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of pupils with special educational needs or disability is well above the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress.  Over the past year there has been turbulence in staffing.  The school runs a before- and after-school club for its own pupils four days a week.

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Information about this school

 A very few pupils are taught through local authority alternative provision, on a part-time basis, at the Harlescott Tuition Centre.  The school is part of the Severn Community Cooperative Learning Trust with other schools in the area. The school also works with the North Shropshire Teaching School Alliance.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 11 lessons, two of which were observed jointly with the headteachers.  Inspectors talked to pupils about their reading and listened to them read.  Meetings were held with pupils, the chair of the governing body and other governors, staff and a local authority adviser.  There were too few responses to Ofsted’s online Parent View questionnaire to enable inspectors to analyse the information. Inspectors took account of a parental survey conducted by the school and also spoke with parents and carers.  Inspectors observed the work of the school and looked at a range of documentation written to support school improvement.  Inspectors examined work in pupils’ books.  The school’s child protection and safeguarding procedures were scrutinised.

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Inspection team

Jeremy Bird, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Linda Brown Ofsted Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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