Garsington Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Garsington Church of England Primary School Wheatley Road, Garsington, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX44 9EW

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Outcome

Garsington Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at this school are happy and safe. They enjoy coming to school and describe it as ‘incredible’, ‘happy’ and ‘amazing’. Pupils behave very well in school. They get on confidently with each other and show respect for adults in school. Pupils say that bullying rarely happens. If it does, they know they can talk to any adult and the problem will be dealt with immediately.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s values can be seen in the way both staff and pupils work together. For example, at playtimes older pupils are responsible, enthusiastic and kind when helping younger pupils. The values represent what it is to be a ‘Red Kite Learner’ and pupils show these in all areas of school life.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and teachers want the best for every child. They provide a broad curriculum. Learning is enhanced through themed weeks and trips. Pupils spoke enthusiastically about ‘Aspirations Week’ and visits to interesting places, such as Yenworthy Lodge. Pupils attend clubs, including lacrosse, mindfulness and tech club. These activities are very popular with the pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are full of praise for this supportive and nurturing school. One parent, echoing the views of many, said, ‘The staff are fantastic and go above and beyond for our children.’

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

Leaders have maintained a good standard of education since the previous inspection. They are determined that all pupils should, and do, achieve high standards. The school’s vision of ‘a vibrant community where everyone can believe and achieve’ underpins all that happens. Leaders have carefully considered how they are developing their curriculum. They have made sure that the new plans they have in place help pupils to learn more and remember more across a wide range of subjects. 22–23 January 2020

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The school’s curriculum is fully planned and sequenced in some foundation subjects but not all. It is clear that leaders are prioritising the curriculum and working through subjects in a manageable way. Staff are trialling methods to help make sure the pupils do not forget their new learning. Leaders know they now need to carefully check how well the curriculum plans work and that some plans may need adjusting.

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Pupils do well in reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders give priority to reading from the very beginning. The teaching of phonics is well organised and effective. Pupils start practising sounds by reading them with staff. Adults choose books for pupils that are well matched to the sounds they are learning. Pupils have a love of reading and enjoy the different books they read in school. Pupils told me about their favourite authors and how they really enjoy reading the class novels. They are given the opportunity to read for pleasure in class and during playtimes. Many pupils I spoke with said enthusiastically that they ‘love to read’!

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In mathematics, teachers plan interesting lessons that engage the pupils. Teachers have introduced more practical apparatus and problem-solving challenges to the mathematics curriculum. Teachers ensure that pupils master core skills and key vocabulary before they move onto more demanding topics. All the pupils I spoke with said they enjoy mathematics and find the new approaches challenging.

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Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. They teach pupils the habits and attitudes they need to be successful learners. Lessons are interesting and pupils want to learn. They are given opportunities to learn outdoors and apply the practical skills they have learned. For instance, pupils undertake exciting science experiments in the school grounds.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn well. The special educational needs coordinator uses her expertise to provide support for these pupils. This ensures that they access the whole curriculum. Staff work with parents and outside agencies to make sure that, collectively, they have thought of everything that might help a pupil further.

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Children in the early years get off to a great start. Staff provide interesting activities to help children explore and investigate. Children learn to play and work alongside each other and show respect for adults. Staff work effectively to help children develop their early reading and mathematical skills. They present information to children in engaging and exciting ways. Staff understand children’s needs well and provide effective support for any who fall behind.

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The headteacher and her leadership team are well respected by staff, pupils and parents. Staff work well together and morale is high. Staff say that leaders are supportive and considerate of their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 22–23 January 2020

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Staff throughout the school are well trained. They know what to do if they have concerns. The school’s record of checks they carry out on adults working in the school is detailed. Staff involve other agencies to support pupils and their families when necessary.

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Parents, staff and pupils agree that pupils are safe in school. There is a strong culture of promoting pupils’ well-being across the school. One parent said, ‘The school is warm, welcoming and the staff really care about the children.’

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have planned the curriculum carefully in most subjects. There is further work required in the sequencing of learning in some subjects. Leaders need to ensure that the planned learning builds on what pupils already know and understand.  Leaders need to ensure that their monitoring of the new curriculum is effective so that improvements needed can be swiftly actioned.

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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, Garsington Church of England Primary School, to be good on 7 February 2017.

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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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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 22–23 January 2020

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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. 22–23 January 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10122311 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

 Garsington Church of England Primary School is part of the River Learning Trust. The River Learning Trust is a multi-academy trust which comprises 22 academies. The school joined the trust in May 2017.  The school has a distinctive Christian ethos.  The school has a breakfast club and after-school club.

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Information about this inspection

 During the inspection, I met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, the chief executive officer of the trust and the chair of the local governing body.  I did deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and science. I discussed curriculum design with subject leaders, carried out a series of lesson visits, scrutinised pupils’ work and spoke to pupils and teachers about the curriculum.  I took account of the 74 responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey and the additional 45 free-text responses.  I spoke to staff to gather their views of the school and considered the views of 19 members of staff who responded to Ofsted’s staff survey. 22–23 January 2020

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 I spoke to pupils throughout the inspection and took into account the 67 responses to Ofsted’s online pupil survey.  I looked at the school’s training records, spoke with pupils and checked staff’s safeguarding knowledge to ensure that pupils are safe. I met with the designated safeguarding lead and the school’s special educational needs coordinator.

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Inspection team

David Harris, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 22–23 January 2020

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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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