Grangetown Primary School

Grangetown Primary School St George’s Road, Grangetown, Middlesbrough TS6 7JA

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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 Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 This rapidly improving school has a justifiably respected place in the local community.  Leadership and management are good. The highly effective leadership of the headteacher and deputy has vastly improved provision.  Staff operate as a strong team. Together with senior leaders, they have brought about significant and sustained improvement in teaching, learning and assessment since the last inspection.  Standards have also risen rapidly. There is good achievement by most pupils in relation to their different needs and starting points in English and mathematics.  Children in the early years make good progress from their very low starting points.  The resourced provision provides effective support and pupils make good progress.  Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding. They are proud to be pupils at Grangetown and are excellent ambassadors for their school.  The level of care and support for pupils and their

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This is a good school

families and the school’s work in keeping pupils safe and secure are excellent.  In the majority of classes, teachers plan lessons that capture the interest of pupils and provide an exciting variety of experiences. These contribute successfully to pupils’ good progress and their strong spiritual, moral and social development.  Most parents and carers express a very high degree of confidence and trust in the school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Some governors require further training. They do not always have a secure understanding of the school’s achievement data and they are not up to date with training in the ‘Prevent’ duty.  Even though standards are rising year on year, the proportion of boys reaching a good level of development in the early years is not as high as that of girls.  Pupils’ progress in subjects other than English and mathematics varies because planning and monitoring are not as effective.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ learning in subjects other than English and mathematics by developing the rigour with which leaders and teachers: plan for the development of pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding assess and track pupils’ achievement.  Improve governance by ensuring that the governing body receives further training to enhance governors’ understanding of: school data and how it can be used to compare the school’s performance with that of other schools nationally the ‘Prevent’ duty.  Improve provision in the early years by ensuring that the proportion of children achieving a good level of development more closely matches the national average and that the gap between girls’ attainment and that of boys narrows.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The highly effective leadership of the headteacher, ably supported by the deputy headteacher, has resulted in consistently good-quality teaching across the school. They are supported by effective middle leaders and a committed and determined staff. Their drive to raise standards, coupled with good-quality training and development for staff, has brought about rapid improvements in teaching and pupils’ achievement. Self-evaluation is extremely accurate and school improvement planning is insightful.  The school successfully meets its aim to ‘Aspire, Believe, Celebrate’. Central to the school’s caring approach is the importance of each pupil. The work of the school in raising aspirations and supporting families has been praised by community leaders.  The school provides a very supportive and stimulating environment that enables pupils to develop academically and emotionally. Staff, pupils and the vast majority of parents recognise how much the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

school has changed for the better since the last inspection. Pupils and staff flourish in an atmosphere of mutual respect. Discrimination of any sort is not tolerated. There is a real sense of belonging to the school community and recognition of the importance of being considerate.  The school’s leaders have promoted positive attitudes to learning very effectively. This has been instrumental in improving the school, changing the culture alongside a much greater focus on learning and achieving. Pupils’ behaviour and outcomes have improved as a by-product of this.  The school has systematically and determinedly developed leadership at all levels, especially middle leaders. A high proportion of middle leaders are relatively new to their roles. Nonetheless, they have quickly and accurately taken stock of the strengths and weaknesses of the subjects that they lead and have already made a substantial contribution to moving the school forward.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Leaders have been successfully trained in gathering and interpreting evidence on the impact of the changes they make. As a consequence, leaders precisely identify where to focus their work next. There is rigour in the way that leaders of English and mathematics monitor and evaluate teaching, learning and assessment.  The school’s cooperation with the Aspire Learning Partnership has strengthened leadership. The eight schools have collaborated well to ensure teachers’ assessments are accurate and to share best practice around effectively implementing changes to the national curriculum.  The new approach to assessing pupils’ learning ensures that pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding in reading, writing and mathematics are properly secure before they move on to more demanding tasks. As a result, leaders have a high degree of confidence in the accuracy of teachers’ assessments in these subjects.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Leaders use teachers’ assessments to good effect in English and mathematics. They track each pupil’s progress very carefully, identify pupils who are being left behind and determine precisely where there are gaps in pupils’ learning. The school is aware that assessment and monitoring in subjects other than English and mathematics are less developed, and pupils’ learning is consequently less strong in these areas.  Pupils needing extra help receive well-planned support, both within class and through extra one-to-one guidance with dedicated teachers and teaching assistants.  The pupil premium champion and other leaders rigorously check that each disadvantaged pupil receives the package of support needed to surmount any barriers to their success, including emotional and behavioural support. Leaders closely monitor the progress that this group of pupils makes in reading, writing and mathematics. Where necessary, they make arrangements to intervene to improve progress by

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

organising effective teaching of small groups of disadvantaged pupils. This has led to disadvantaged pupils making the same strong progress as others in these core subjects in all year groups.  The curriculum is broad and balanced. It ensures that basic skills are taught well and pupils regularly practise their reading, writing and mathematical skills across a wide range of subjects. The curriculum also ensures that pupils’ personal development is outstanding. Staff promote good teamwork and resilience and these qualities help pupils to achieve well.  The curriculum is further enhanced by specialist provision in French and physical education and an array of well-attended after-school clubs that provide further enjoyable experiences.  The school sports premium has been effectively used to strengthen teachers’ skills and increase participation in healthy activities and inter-schools tournaments. These successfully develop pupils’

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

sporting prowess as well as their social skills.  Educational visits provide uplifting experiences. For example, pupils in Years 5 and 6 visited Whitby, and pupils in Years 1 and 2 enjoyed building sandcastles at Sandsend. Such opportunities for learning and special experiences are specifically planned to broaden pupils’ horizons and help them to develop into well-balanced young people. They contribute well to pupils’ positive spiritual, moral and social development. Pupils’ cultural understanding is not as well developed.  The British values of democracy, the rule of law and respect for others are promoted very well. These contribute to pupils’ understanding of modern British society.  The governance of the school Governors share the passion of senior leaders to secure the best possible outcomes for pupils. They are ambitious for the school’s future success. The governing body provides a good balance of effective

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

support and challenge to the headteacher and senior leaders. Governors receive detailed reports from the headteacher and find things out for themselves through first-hand visits and external monitoring. They regularly visit classrooms and speak to subject leaders to gather evidence about the quality of teaching and learning. Governors oversee the management of teachers’ performance carefully and do not tolerate weak teaching. Governors have a good understanding of how the pupil premium funding and the school sports premium funding are being spent. They recognise the positive impact of this additional funding on pupils. Governors are fully committed to equality of opportunity and hold leaders to account to ensure that they meet statutory requirements. Governors’ knowledge of how to use data effectively, including checking how well the school compares with others, is not as well developed as other aspects of their work. This restricts their ability to hold

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

leaders robustly to account in this area.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The headteacher and governors have determinedly worked to ensure that each pupil receives the external support they need, including support from outside agencies. For example, the appointment of a pastoral manager has effectively brought about positive approaches to working with children and their families. All staff are routinely trained in safeguarding procedures and know how to keep pupils safe. Recent training for staff includes recognising pupils at risk of radicalisation and extremism. However, members of the governing body did not attend this training and as a result, governors, other than staff governors, are not so well informed about the ‘Prevent’ duty.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teaching, learning and assessment have improved since the last inspection and are now good. Teachers have created a purposeful environment where hard work and high expectations are the norm. School monitoring records and inspection evidence show that these raised expectations, combined with closer and more rigorous monitoring, have resulted in pupils making better progress over time.  Lessons are interesting and stimulate learning very well. Pupils say that they enjoy their lessons as teachers challenge them to do their best. Teachers ensure that the lessons they plan build effectively and progressively upon pupils’ prior skills and knowledge. They make sure that all groups of pupils are challenged appropriately and consequently make strong progress.  Teachers develop pupils’ reading skills well across the school. Those pupils who read to inspectors did so confidently and fluently. Older pupils are able to use inference skills effectively to deduce meaning from

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

texts, while younger ones have a range of strategies, including the use of their skills in phonics (the sounds that letters represent) to sound out and read unfamiliar words.  The teaching of writing is good. Pupils are accurately taught different styles and to write for a range of purposes. For example, in a Year 1 lesson, pupils were developing their writing skills by writing lists and instructions based on their sandcastle experiences at the coast on the previous day. They spoke confidently of their use of ‘bossy’ verbs and time connectives as they described their experiences. Pupils enjoy the range of different approaches and activities and this boosts their enthusiasm.  Pupils learn well in mathematics because the teaching is good and activities are planned effectively. Pupils’ very positive attitudes contribute strongly to the progress they make in lessons. Pupils keep trying if they do not succeed at the first attempt. As a poster prominently displayed in Year 6 explains, ‘Mistakes

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

are welcome in this room’.  The most able pupils currently in school are given demanding tasks and teachers have high expectations of what they can achieve, especially in writing and mathematics. In all year groups, the most able pupils make rapid progress and achieve highly.  Throughout the school, pupils choose the level of their challenge (‘chilli challenges’) to extend their learning and consider whether they are taking a ‘spicy’ challenge or a ‘milder’ one, depending on their level of understanding. In a mathematics lesson, pupils used their mathematical skills very effectively to overcome their initial difficulties, grappling successfully with a range of challenging problems about cube and square roots.  While there are strengths in the teaching of foundation subjects, such as history and geography, pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding are not tracked carefully enough to ensure that they build

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

progressively on their previous learning.  Many teachers ask questions that encourage pupils to think and deepen their understanding. Pupils respond eagerly and rapidly to these questions and are keen to contribute to class discussions.  Teaching assistants provide very effective support. They explain tasks carefully to pupils when appropriate, and are patient with those who need more time to understand new ideas.  Stimulating classrooms, and displays of pupils’ work in classes and around the school, celebrate achievements and support learning effectively. Teachers and pupils also use the outside environment to very good effect.  Teaching in the resourced learning support base is good. Teachers and skilled teaching assistants use a wide range of methods to motivate pupils to develop each child’s knowledge and understanding. This results in pupils making good progress. Leaders have introduced a new system to evaluate pupils’

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

progress. Staff are just becoming fully confident in using it effectively.  Teachers frequently check pupils’ work to make sure that learning is secure. Feedback is immediate and incisive, helping pupils to understand misconceptions or take their learning on to the next stage.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  Pupils are incredibly proud of their school and their achievements. Those pupils who spoke to inspectors were so impressed that they could not suggest any way in which they would change the school. Pupils are keen to take responsibilities as school councillors, playground buddies and anti-bullying ambassadors.  Pupils have many opportunities to work collaboratively. During their discussions, they listen to the views of others with interest and respect, debating issues in a mature manner.  Pupils are actively taught the frame of mind that will help them to be resilient learners. Pupils told inspectors how this helps them to persevere when they are struggling and when they make mistakes. Pupils consequently relish the challenge of the harder tasks.  An ethos of respect and tolerance permeates the whole school community. Those pupils who spoke to

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Personal development and welfare

inspectors were clear that it does not matter what you look like or where you come from, everyone is welcome at Grangetown. This attitude is evident in the playground where pupils of all ages and backgrounds play harmoniously alongside each other. As one pupil summed it up, ‘We always look after each other’. Another said, ’Every child is welcomed here’.  Senior leaders place a high emphasis on supporting the emotional well-being of all pupils. Difficult and sensitive issues are discussed in a mature way by pupils so that they are able to offer support to one another. Pupils speak highly of the help that they have received.  Physical health is promoted effectively. A very popular breakfast club is attended by many each morning and gets the day off to a positive start. Pupils develop a good understanding of healthy eating through initiatives such as the ‘Mother’s Day’ and ‘Father’s Day’ lunches and through extra-curricular activities and

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Personal development and welfare

cookery lessons.  Pupils have a clear understanding of how to keep themselves safe, including when online. Visits to school by organisations such as the police help pupils to develop a good awareness of safety on the road and the possible dangers of strangers.  Pupils are aware of the different types of bullying and how to report bullying if they were a victim or a witness. Those pupils who spoke to inspectors are confident that bullying is very rare in their school and are sure that adults can be trusted to deal with it immediately.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. The behaviour of almost all pupils in lessons is exemplary and contributes substantially to the strong progress that they make. Teachers are excellent role models who have skilfully cultivated highly effective relationships with their pupils. As a consequence, almost all pupils are confident learners who relish the opportunity to engage in lessons.  A small number of pupils in Year 1 display behaviour that is challenging. The school has developed successful strategies to limit the impact of this behaviour on others by reorganising classes, providing support led by specialists, and arranging activities led by the sports leader. This enables pupils to learn how best to manage their emotions.  Pupils’ behaviour outside classrooms is also a significant strength. Pupils move around the school sensibly and without fuss. Playtimes and lunchtimes are calm and pupils return to their classrooms eager to learn.

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Behaviour

 Senior leaders, including a newly appointed pastoral manager, have taken effective action to ensure that attendance rates have improved over the past two years. Attendance is at its highest ever level. Gaps between the attendance rates of different groups have narrowed, especially between disadvantaged pupils and others. However, despite improvements, overall attendance is just below average because it has been affected by factors such as a bout of childhood infectious illness in the spring term.  Leaders have developed the school’s ethos and identity and it is now more positive. Parents value how welcoming the school is, with one parent commenting that: ’We cannot praise the teaching staff enough for the valued support, care and compassion that we have received, throughout the school years. Without their input life would have been so much harder for us all. Thank you so very much Grangetown Primary’.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Due to effective teaching, pupils make strong and in some cases, very strong progress. The progress pupils make and the standards achieved ensure that they are well prepared for their next stage in education.  There is an improving picture in the achievement of pupils who have benefited from recent developments in the teaching of reading and phonics. From very low starting points, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in the phonics screening check has improved significantly and is now broadly average.  Pupils’ current work shows that standards continue to rise in key stage 1. The proportion of most-able pupils who are achieving well in key stage 1 is also increasing as the school’s culture of higher expectations and aspirations becomes firmly embedded.  The standards achieved by mainstream pupils by the time they reach the end of key stage 2 are at least in line with, and sometimes above, national figures in reading, writing and mathematics and have been

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Outcomes for pupils are good

for the last two years. The progress made by these pupils across key stage 2 is good, with a larger proportion of pupils making expected and better than expected progress than the national average.  Pupils who are taught in the resourced learning support base make good progress against their targets. Every pupil makes at least expected progress in reading and writing and the proportion making expected progress in mathematics is in line with national figures. Over half of the pupils in the resource base made more than expected progress, which is well above national figures.  Pupils who have special educational needs or disability who are not in the resource base are well supported to achieve well and their needs are well met by staff.  In 2015, the progress made by disadvantaged pupils (and the disadvantaged pupils in the resourced learning support base) was well above the national average at expected and better than expected levels,

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Outcomes for pupils are good

and the attainment gap with other pupils closed.  Current school data shows that all year groups are making good progress from their starting points. The new curriculum is much more challenging, and progress in Year 1, though good, is not as rapid as in other year groups. Year 1 pupils are benefiting from changed timetables and groupings to aid with progress.  The school has correctly identified that girls are doing better than boys, but leaders are working hard to find strategies to close this gap.

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Early years provision is good

 The early years provision has improved significantly since the previous inspection.  By offering places for two-year-olds, the school’s early liaison with parents means that teachers and assistants have as much information as possible before children start their education in school. They use this information very well to ensure that children settle well.  Staff speak to parents about their child’s development and needs on a daily basis and parents have the opportunity to work with their children in school on a half-termly basis at ‘stay and play’ sessions.  Children enter the Nursery with skills well below those typical for their age. They enter as soon as they turn three years old, and they quickly adapt to school life and make good progress in all areas of learning, especially in reading, writing and mathematics.  There has been a successful drive for improvement. This has been boosted by the early years leader and

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Early years provision is good

her team working extensively with external groups. Leaders have created action plans to address any weaknesses identified. This has seen the proportion of children achieving a good level of development increasing year on year for the past three years. The school recognises that there is still more to do to ensure that a higher proportion of children reach a good level of development. Although the gender gap continues to close, girls still outperform boys by significantly more than expected in comparison with national figures.  Effective pupil premium spending has led to disadvantaged children achieving better than the other children last year.  Over the past two years, leaders have invested in the outside area so that it can be used all year round. The outside play area very effectively enhances children’s learning. Teachers and assistants direct and guide children so that they get the most from the equipment, which includes a shelter which children

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Early years provision is good

make good use of for reading and mark making.  Provision is effective in both the Nursery and Reception classes. This is because children get the support they need from the moment they join the setting. Consequently, children make strides in their learning, behave very well and develop positive relationships with adults and their peers.  Routines and expectations of behaviour are made clear from the very start of the early years and children are well behaved, engaged and enthusiastic about coming to school and about their learning. They leave well prepared for the challenges of Year 1.  Children are given every opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge through formal, well-planned phonics and numeracy sessions and by answering the probing questions that are posed by teachers and teaching assistants. Consequently, children make good progress.  The topics covered engage and motivate children very well, and are carefully chosen to appeal to boys as

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Early years provision is good

well as girls. The sports coach also spends four mornings a week in the early years and in Kiddiwinkles (the provision for two-year-olds) working on all of the physical elements of the curriculum as well as initiatives such as ‘squiggle while you wiggle’, which is where children use movement to sharpen their mental agility and start the day with a smile.  Teachers regularly assess how well children are achieving and record this in a variety of ways.  The environment is safe and conducive to children discovering through play. There are rigorous procedures to ensure that children are kept safe, which the leader carefully monitors. Children move between activities within the setting, including to phonics sessions, in an orderly and calm manner.

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School details

Unique reference number 111647 Local authority Redcar and Cleveland Inspection number 10011975

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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 Community Age range of pupils 2–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 222 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Joy Sinclair Headteacher Jason Murgatroyd Telephone number 01642 455278 Website www.gps.rac.sch.uk Email address office@grangetownprimary.org.uk Date of previous inspection 19–20 March 2014

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school.  The school is part of the Aspire Learning Partnership, which is a group of eight schools that provides mutual support and challenge.  Since the last inspection, there have been a number of changes to the staff and governing body.  The school has a local authority resourced learning support base, which caters for 15 children who have learning needs such as moderate learning difficulties.  The school’s early years provision is provided through part-time Nursery classes and a full-time Reception class. The school also provides 12 places for two-year-olds (Kiddiwinkles) in a purpose-built room.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which is additional government funding to support the learning of pupils eligible for free school meals or children looked after by the local authority, is very high.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is well below the national average and the vast

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Information about this school

majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is also well below the national average.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is well above the national average. The proportion identified for additional support with an education, health and care plan is also above average.  In 2015, the school met the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The school provides a daily breakfast and after-school club.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning in all classes, and some observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher.  Inspectors talked to pupils about their work and took account of the work in pupils’ books. They also considered pupils’ behaviour around the school and at playtimes and lunchtimes, and asked them for their views on the school.  The results of the pupils’ online questionnaire were considered.  Inspectors also heard a selection of pupils from Year 2 and Year 6 read.  An inspector joined pupils and staff in an assembly and briefly visited the breakfast club.  Meetings were held with the headteacher and staff with key leadership responsibilities.  Discussions were held with governors, the director of children’s services for Redcar and Cleveland and an officer from the local authority, and the leader of the Aspire Learning Partnership.  Inspectors took into account a wide range of documents including: the school’s own check on its

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Information about this inspection

performance and the quality of teaching; the school development plan; governor documentation; information on pupils’ progress; and records relating to attendance, behaviour and safeguarding.  Inspectors looked at the 12 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, including all the written comments. They also spoke to parents at the start of the school day. Additionally, they considered 23 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Steve Bywater, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Suzette Garland-Grimes 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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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