Greenways Primary Academy

Inspection of a good school: Greenways Primary Academy Nursery Avenue, Stockton Brook, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST9 9NY

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Outcome

Greenways Primary Academy continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school at the heart of its community. Pupils feel safe and valued. They are welcoming and very helpful. Pupils are proud to attend their school. They are proud of the brand-new outdoor play area. Positive relationships exist between staff and pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff want every pupil to ‘aim high and be a star’ in all areas, which is the school’s motto. Pupils rise to these high expectations. The motto is supported by the school’s ‘big 5 values’, which include ‘bouncebackability’. Pupils speak confidently about how these values link to all aspects of school life.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a calm atmosphere around the entire school. Behaviour is positive and pupils get along well with each other. They value friendship. Pupils say that there is very little bullying at the school. They say that if it does happen, staff deal with it straight away.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and pupils value the school’s wide range of after-school clubs and off-site visits, especially the residential trip to France. These contribute to making pupils’ learning relevant and interesting. Parents speak positively about the schools’ welcoming, family atmosphere. Pupils say, ‘Our school is one big family and we all help each other.’

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Most of the curriculum is very well planned. Links are made to the local area. This makes pupils’ learning more relevant. In most subjects, teachers are clear about what pupils need to learn in each term. This helps teachers to build on what pupils have learned before. In these subjects, pupils remember what they have been taught. Their knowledge and skills build well from year to year. Standards achieved in national tests in English and mathematics are often above the national average.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

In design and technology, art and computing, the sequence of learning is not as well planned. Lessons are not always connected and do not always build on pupils’ previous learning. At times, teachers have to backtrack and fill gaps in pupils’ knowledge. In these 8–9 October 2019

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subjects, pupils do not remember what they have been taught as readily as in other subjects. Leaders are aware of this.

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When children join the Nursery and Reception classes they are ready to learn. This is because the school works closely with families, even before their children start school. Children learn lots of new things quickly due to effective teaching. Activities build on what children already know. Children are cheerful, confident and enjoy speaking to visitors. Their language skills are well developed. Children feel safe and are confident to take calculated risks. Staff are encouraging and helpful. The classrooms and outdoor areas are colourful, well resourced and support learning. Strong relationships exist between the staff and the children.

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Teachers plan and deliver lessons that make learning interesting. They have good subject knowledge. They explain new ideas clearly in ways that pupils understand. Teachers and teaching assistants use questioning well to check and deepen pupils’ understanding. In most cases, work set is matched to pupils’ needs. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. However, the work set for the most able pupils does not always challenge and support them effectively to improve their writing skills.

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Staff place a very high priority on reading throughout the school. As a result, pupils read confidently and with expression from an early age. Most pupils have developed a love of reading and they enjoy sharing stories. Staff teach phonics well and provide extra help for any pupils who fall behind.

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Pupils behave well in lessons and they are keen to learn. Staff manage behaviour well across the school. Pupils trust staff and are confident to go to them for help. Staff take great care of pupils.

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Pupils take on positions of responsibility within school, such as prefects and playground leaders. They have a clear understanding of how our country is governed and they relate this to the school’s academy parliament. From an early age, pupils learn about healthy eating and the importance of exercise.

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Leaders, teachers and support staff form a committed and close-knit team. The school is well led. Pupils are at the heart of all decisions. Staff appreciate the guidance and support that leaders provide. They agree that leaders consider their workload and well-being. Trustees are committed to helping the school provide the best possible education. They support and challenge school leaders to bring about improvements. They make checks on how well subjects are taught. However, they are currently less confident checking some subjects than they are with checking English and mathematics.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Keeping pupils safe is the school’s highest priority. Leaders check staff’s suitability to work with children before they start to work at the school. Leaders ensure that all staff receive 8–9 October 2019

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relevant training on a regular basis. As a result, staff know how to spot signs that may worry them about a pupil’s welfare. They know what procedures to follow if they have a concern about a pupil. Leaders deal with these concerns appropriately, bringing in external help when required. Therefore, pupils get the support they need. Pupils are confident to speak to staff if they have a problem.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s curriculum is designed, planned and sequenced effectively in most subjects. However, design and technology, art and computing are not as well developed. The school needs to build on the work already started to develop these three subjects further. They need to be planned and ordered to develop pupils’ knowledge and skills over time.  Work set by teachers in writing, is not always closely matched to the needs of the most able pupils. In these instances, pupils are not always clear about how they can improve their writing further, so that they can produce work of a higher standard. Staff need to make sure that writing tasks are sufficiently demanding and challenge the most able pupils.  Trustees carry out their duties diligently. This includes monitoring the quality of education within the school. They carry out regular checks on the core subjects, especially English and mathematics. However, their ability to check on some of the

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

foundation subjects is more limited. Trustees should further develop their understanding of the whole curriculum. By doing so they will be better equipped to hold leaders to account for the quality of education in all curriculum areas.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Greenways Primary, to be good on 17–18 September 2013.

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find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 8–9 October 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10111714 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Greenways Primary Academy converted to become an academy in November 2016.  Greenways Primary Academy is one of the two schools in the Learning Village Academy Trust. The two schools share an executive headteacher and a board of trustees.  The school has a breakfast and after-school club. Ofsted separately inspects this provision.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector held ongoing meetings with the executive headteacher and the head of school. He met with three members of the board of trustees, including the chair. The inspector also discussed the school with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector held meetings with the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo), the designated safeguarding lead and the early years leader.  As part of the inspection, the inspector focused mainly on reading, English and art. He met with groups of pupils, curriculum leaders and teachers to talk about the quality of education in these subjects.  The inspector made visits to classrooms. Some of these visits were with the executive 8–9 October 2019

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headteacher, the head of school or the English curriculum leader.  The inspector listened to several groups of pupils read.  The inspector spoke to pupils formally and informally about their learning and experiences at school. He looked at their work to see how well the curriculum is applied. A group of pupils accompanied the inspector on a walk around the school.  Documents relating to safeguarding were checked, including the checks that leaders make on staff’s suitability to work with children prior to employment. The inspector checked that safeguarding policies and procedures are implemented effectively across the school.  The inspector talked to parents before and after school. He considered the 38 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and the 34 free-text responses received during the inspection.  The inspector considered the nine responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  The inspector considered a range of documentation provided by the school. He looked

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at the school’s self-evaluation, school development plan, school policies, curriculum documents, SEND records, published information about pupils’ performance, behaviour records, attendance information and minutes of trust board meetings.  The inspector looked at published information on the school’s website.

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Inspection team

Wayne Simner, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 8–9 October 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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