Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Debbie Drawbridge Greenfield CofE Lower School Pulloxhill Road Greenfield Bedford MK45 5ES

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Subject inspection of Greenfield CofE Lower School

Following my visit to your school on 6 November 2019, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings. The findings do not change the overall effectiveness judgement of outstanding from the last section 5 inspection.

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Subject inspection of Greenfield CofE Lower School

This inspection was conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and in accordance with Ofsted’s published procedures for a no formal designation inspection of schools. The inspection was carried out to enable Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector to better understand the quality of education in specific subjects provided by outstanding primary schools.

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Main findings

You prioritise the teaching of history at your school. Leaders ensure that within your topic-based approach to learning, teachers are clear about the history that pupils should learn. Pupils enjoy history a great deal. You have ensured that there is sufficient teaching time to allow them to learn a broad range of national curriculum topics. Pupils spoke excitedly about their history learning outside of the classroom, such as during their visit to the Verulamium Museum. Displays within school feature pupils’ replica cave paintings and Bronze Age jewellery. Teaching, together with these broader experiences, develops pupils’ understanding of key events and their chronology well.

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Main findings

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They present information clearly and imaginatively. Typically, teachers sequence activities appropriately and plan tasks that enable pupils to learn more and understand more. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, benefit from access to rich texts and other resources. These broaden and deepen their knowledge. Pupils respond readily when teachers encourage them to find out more about something, such as the Great Fire of London and why it spread so quickly. Teachers assess pupils’ knowledge, including through knowledge quizzes, questioning and discussion. This helps pupils to remember what they have learned.

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Main findings

Pupils’ learning does not fully reflect the ambition of the national curriculum. Pupils have limited knowledge of some important historical concepts such as ‘parliament’ or ‘monarchy’. When they do encounter them, they do not revisit them in different contexts. This limits their ability to think about how and the extent to which things have changed over time. Pupils have too few opportunities to construct challenging historical accounts or argued responses to key historical questions. These things limit pupils’ ability to make connections between things that they know, or to think deeply about causation, change or significance.

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Main findings

Teachers feel well supported by senior leaders and the history subject lead. They appreciate being able to work as a team to plan history activities and share useful resources. All teachers feel confident in teaching history. Leaders and teachers understand the strengths of the history curriculum alongside those aspects that need more development. They are working together to review the curriculum.

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Evidence

During this visit I met with you, the subject leader for history and a group of teachers to talk about the history curriculum. I visited lessons with you and met with a group of pupils to talk about the history that they are learning. I evaluated the history work of a large number of pupils in the school. I also looked at curriculum planning information and other relevant documentation.

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Context

Greenfield CofE is a smaller than average-sized lower school. There are 130 pupils on roll. Most pupils are White British. A very small number of pupils speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below the national average. In September 2019, you took up your position as headteacher at the school

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Context

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Central Bedfordshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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