The Glebe Primary School

Inspection of a good school: The Glebe Primary School Pulford Road, Norton, Stockton-on-Tees TS20 1QY

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Outcome

The Glebe Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. Their teachers have high expectations and challenge pupils to do their best. As a result, pupils achieve well, particularly in the core subjects of reading, writing and mathematics. Other subjects play an important part in pupils’ weekly routine. For example, music lessons are, for many, one of the highlights of the week. Pupils excel when happily singing together modern songs and timeless classics such as ‘Half The World Away’ by Oasis or ‘The Power of Love’ by Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have ensured pupils understand the importance of education and friendship in this country and beyond. Pupils can speak clearly about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which consists of 54 articles, including why every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities. This, in part, plays a significant role in helping to ensure that pupils’ behaviour in and around the school is positive. Although a strength of the school already, pupils say they want behaviour to be even better. They become frustrated when a small minority of pupils do not live up to their own high expectations in class.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is hardly any bullying. Pupils say they feel safe and that teachers do their very best to create a kind and considerate learning environment.

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

In 2019, 86% of pupils achieved the key stage 2 expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics. This was significantly above the national average and in the highest 20% of all schools in the country. Pupils’ attainment in reading and mathematics is consistently strong.

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

Pupils experience many opportunities to develop their interests during and after school. For example, gardening club, yoga and other varied sporting clubs. Pupils improve their leadership skills by representing the student council or by leading in the eco-club. In this way, pupils are well prepared both academically and personally to make the transition to 10–11 December 2019

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School leaders have developed a broad curriculum that helps pupils achieve well. This is because, in subjects such as English and mathematics, leaders have carefully considered when and why staff teach different topics or skills. Pupils draw upon their prior learning regularly. This means pupils are not fazed when they learn new and more difficult concepts. Teachers are developing well their strategies to help pupils remember more. Pupils appreciate the opportunity to study content in depth until, as one pupil said, ‘It sticks in our brain.’

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Pupils love to read. They have a lot of time to do so throughout the week. Children make a positive start with their reading in Nursery and Reception. Staff are trained appropriately to teach the school’s chosen phonics programme. This helps to ensure pupils read books that match their phonics knowledge. The small minority of pupils who need help with their reading beyond Year 1 are supported effectively. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Nearly all pupils can read challenging age- appropriate books, without support, by the time they move into key stage 2. Currently, the school has a generous supply of reading books for pupils to select from various ‘reading corners’. Nevertheless, pupils sometimes supplement the school’s resources with their own to read more books that relate to their areas of interest.

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In mathematics, pupils remember with ease the work they have learned previously. In discussion, a group of Year 5 and 6 pupils talked freely, and in detail, about the different strategies they would use to overcome a range of mathematical problems. Scrutiny of pupils’ work books in mathematics highlighted that the work of a minority of pupils was not clear enough to be followed by themselves or others.

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Leaders of subjects such as history and geography are in the early stages of reviewing the curriculum. Leaders of these subjects are knowledgeable and passionate. However, they appreciate that there is more work needed to ensure they and other staff identify the most important subject content and agree how and when it should be taught. As a result, pupils’ understanding in some subjects is not as strong as it is elsewhere in the curriculum.

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Staff morale is high. Leaders communicate with staff regularly. Staff say they feel comfortable raising concerns with leaders and are confident that issues relating to workload are taken seriously. Relationships with nearly all parents are strong, as evidenced by the many positive responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. One parent spoke for many others when saying, ‘The headteacher, deputy and staff at this amazing school make each child feel they are part of a big family where everyone cares for each other.’

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There are many adults in the school who lead different aspects of the safeguarding curriculum. However, all staff know they have a responsibility to ensure pupils are safe. 10–11 December 2019

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Parents receive regular newsletters to keep them up to date with new fads or crazes that pose a risk to their child. This includes monthly e-safety updates alerting parents to the dangers of things such as ‘sharenting’ (sharing too much personal information on social media sites about their child).

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Pupils say they feel safe. This includes during social times which include a range of activities for pupils to take part in and are supervised well by staff.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s curriculum is not yet sufficiently coherently planned and sequenced in some subjects. However, it is clear from the actions that leaders have already taken to plan next year’s curriculum and train staff in how to deliver it that they are in the process of bringing this about.  The quality of education pupils receive is strong in many subjects, including English and mathematics. However, some pupils’ mathematical notation is not as strong as it should be. This can lead to errors and a lack of confidence, particularly when pupils are learning about place value. Leaders should ensure that, in mathematics, pupils’ written work is accurate, orderly and readable.  Pupils achieve well in reading. Currently, the school’s reading resources are plentiful and dispersed across the school. Some pupils are not fully aware of what the school has to offer; they supplement their reading materials with books from home. Not all

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

pupils have this opportunity. Leaders should ensure that they continue their efforts to develop a love of reading and an appreciation of varied literature by promoting further and organising better the many resources that are available to pupils in the school.

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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 Glebe Primary School to be good on 2–3 February 2016. 10–11 December 2019

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How can I feed back my views?

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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How can I feed back my views?

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. 10–11 December 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110755 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 2–3 February 2016

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is below average.  The proportion of pupils who leave the school at times other than the normal admission date is very small.  Children attend part-time early years provision in the Nursery and full-time provision in Reception.

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Information about this inspection

 I undertook deep dives into mathematics, reading and history. This involved a meeting with subject leaders, visits to a sample of lessons in these subjects and listening to pupils read. The deep dives also included scrutiny of pupils’ books and other kinds of work produced by pupils who were part of the classes I visited. In addition, I had discussions with teachers and a group of pupils from the lessons observed.  Meetings were held with senior and subject leaders, teachers, administrative and support staff, governors and a representative from the local authority.  I scrutinised pupils’ work during lessons and with subject leaders. 10–11 December 2019

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 I held informal and formal discussions with many pupils and observed interactions during social times.  I observed the work of the school and scrutinised a wide range of evidence, including the school’s improvement planning documents, accident logs and behaviour records, safeguarding files and records, recruitment checks and pupils’ reading records.  I took into account the 35 responses from parents and carers who completed Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire. Thirty members of staff completed Ofsted’s online surveys for staff. There were eight responses from pupils to the pupils’ survey.

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Inspection team

Lee Elliott, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 10–11 December 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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