Gorefield Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mr John Starling Headteacher Gorefield Primary School High Road Gorefield Wisbech Cambridgeshire PE13 4NB

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No formal designation monitoring inspection of Gorefield Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 17 October 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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No formal designation monitoring inspection of Gorefield Primary School

This monitoring inspection was conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and in accordance with Ofsted’s published procedures for inspecting schools with no formal designation. The inspection was carried out because Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector was concerned about the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements at the school.

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Evidence

I scrutinised the single central record and other documents relating to safeguarding and child protection arrangements and met with a group of pupils, governors, staff and a representative of the local authority. In addition, I examined the 21 responses on Parent View posted over the last 365 days, the local authority statement of action and notes of visits by officers from the local authority.

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Evidence

Having considered the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time:

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Context

There are currently 109 pupils on roll. Most pupils are from a White British background. The proportion of pupils that are known to be eligible for the pupil premium funding is below average. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average. Since the last inspection in May 2017, a new teacher has been appointed. At the last inspection, the arrangements for safeguarding were judged not to be effective.

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Context

Leaders and governors have acted quickly to overcome the weaknesses in safeguarding arrangements. They have readily accepted the very helpful guidance and support offered by the local authority to secure effective procedures for safeguarding. Following the previous inspection, you arranged training for staff and strengthened the policies and procedures for safer recruitment and child protection. Governors have checked regularly on the safeguarding understanding of staff and have pointed out gaps in knowledge when they have come across them. The climate for safeguarding is now much stronger than at the time of the last inspection. Nevertheless, there are still a few parents who lack confidence in the safeguarding arrangements. Governors and school leaders are aware that more now needs to be done to ensure that all the new procedures are firmly embedded and that staff continue to develop a sophisticated understanding of safeguarding.

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Context

The record of the staff suitability to work with children is up to date and meets requirements. Additional information, such as the type of safeguarding training completed by staff, is sensibly kept on this record. Individual employment files are orderly and complete.

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Context

All the staff are now up to date with training such as the ‘Prevent’ training to tackle radicalisation and extremism. New staff are subject to an induction which requires them to read and understand all key safeguarding policies. All staff have a safeguarding file which includes a referral procedure which they have demonstrated that they all now adhere to.

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Context

Child protection files are now orderly and secure. They give a detailed record of the referrals, actions taken and work with outside agencies. This demonstrates that staff take action swiftly and appropriately when necessary.

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Context

You have taken the administration responsibility for the child protection and safer recruitment records. In the short term, when all are trying to ensure that safeguarding is effective, this is understandable. However, this is not sustainable in the long term. A review of administration support is being carried out by governors in November 2017. It is very important that the requirements of the administration of safeguarding are considered at this time to ensure the long-term security of the records.

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Context

The response to Parent View and discussions with pupils demonstrate that most pupils feel safe at school and enjoy attending. They reported that, just as at the time of the last inspection, bullying very rarely occurs. They demonstrate a good understanding of what bullying is and how they should respond to it if it should happen to them. Pupils are less knowledgeable about the dangers associated with extremism. Pupils spoken to demonstrated a sophisticated use of the internet and games they play online. They were able to describe the means by which they kept themselves safe online. It is apparent that the school needs to take a lead in the community and with parents to ensure that adults are kept up to date on the measures to secure the safety of children when online.

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External support

The local authority has been instrumental in providing the necessary expertise and guidance to improve all safeguarding records. It has checked that leaders and governors are creating a safe climate within the school. Training has been provided where necessary and reports show that the school has taken the necessary action to ensure that safeguarding is effective.

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Priorities for further improvement

 Governors and leaders should continue to ensure that procedures are embedded and that staff become experts in safeguarding in school.  Governors must identify who is to take responsibility for the administration of safeguarding records to ensure that they continue to be secure.  Broaden the curriculum for pupils in an age-appropriate manner so that they are better prepared to understand the risks associated with different types of abuse such as extremism.  Continue on a regular basis to keep parents and the community updated on the dangers of the internet. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Cambridgeshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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