Greenfields Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Greenfields Primary School Hemsworth Way, Ellesmere Road, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 2AH

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Outcome

Greenfields Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are ‘prepared for life’, which is the trust’s core aim. Pupils enjoy school, are safe and contribute a lot to their school community. They are right to say that staff deal swiftly with the rare cases of bullying or unkind behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

‘The Greenfields way’ teaches pupils to be ‘ready’ to learn, ‘respectful’ to all and to stay ‘safe’. Pupils understand these rules and enjoy achieving what leaders and staff call the ‘Darwin Values’. These values include school-wide aspirations and qualities that help pupils behave and learn well. Pupils aspire to reach the bronze, silver or gold Darwin awards by the time they graduate in Year 6.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff are ambitious and help pupils achieve well. There are some subjects and areas of learning where pupils could do better. Pupils achieve well in mathematics but could still be doing better. Pupils enjoy writing in subjects like history, but there is still potential for them to write more and in greater depth in all subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils achieve very well in sport and physical education (PE), and some reach high standards. This is reflected in the school receiving one of the highest national awards (platinum) for sport.

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

There is good leadership and governance at all levels. Leaders and staff provide a curriculum that helps pupils make good progress. Teachers make sure that pupils in some mixed-age classes do not repeat the same work when moving up a year. Teachers use their ‘knowledge organisers’ well to help pupils learn key skills and vocabulary specific to each subject.

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

The staff provide a stimulating range of activities that have a lasting effect on pupils’ learning. The outdoor woodland area is used very well. ‘Welly Wednesdays’ for early years children provide exciting opportunities for them to explore outdoors. Pupils in key stages 10–11 March 2020

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1 and 2 use outdoor areas to make dens and collect materials in science and geography, as well as engage in a very good range of sports and PE activities.

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In the early years and key stage 1, phonics skills are taught well. This lays good foundations for pupils’ development and interests in reading. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are very well supported. Staff skilfully provide a range of work for pupils with SEND to help them improve their early reading and phonics skills.

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Pupils experience a good range of books, authors and genres. World Book Day inspired them to read and write about their favourite characters. In history, pupils in key stage 1 wrote diaries when learning about Samuel Pepys’ account of the Great Fire of London. Pupils in Year 2 designed ‘wanted posters’ about Guy Fawkes who was ‘most wanted’ by the king. In Year 6, pupils wrote interesting facts about ancient Egypt and the archaeologist Howard Carter. Pupils in key stage 2 wrote about Shakespeare’s ‘villainous character’, Lady Macbeth. These examples, and more, show that pupils can write well independently. But some pupils are capable of writing more extensively, at length, and in greater depth.

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In mathematics, pupils make good progress but could still do better. Teachers do not always assess or ask questions to identify gaps or misunderstandings from previous learning. Pupils have a good understanding of some number facts. But when asked to apply these to more complex problems some pupils struggle. In some lessons, teachers ask probing questions to make sure pupils fully understand the key concepts of division and common factors in fractions. There is scope for staff to develop this practice more commonly in all lessons.

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Staff morale is high. This is reflected in their response to the online survey. The staff believe they are well supported, and their workload is manageable. Governors and the trust enable staff to see and share best practice in other schools. There are well- structured forums for governors, subject leaders and staff to share best practice. Most parents are, rightly, pleased with their children’s education.

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Pupils treat each other and visitors with respect and courtesy. I spoke with many pupils, including those with additional responsibilities that help them respect important British values. These included the ‘home affairs’ members of parliament (MPs) and eco MPs, sports leaders, and buddies who help pupils at breaktimes. The pupils spoke excitedly about the school’s Darwin awards and values that underpin these. Pupils told me how they learn to become ‘adaptable’, calling this ‘changeability’; ‘stickability’ and ‘bouncebackability’. This, they say, helps them persevere and be resilient learners.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The staff ensure that pupils enjoy school and are kept safe. Pupils are taught to keep themselves safe when using computers. Pupils trust that the staff and pupil buddies will help them if they are worried or have concerns. 10–11 March 2020

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The staff are well trained. They know how to report concerns about children’s safety and welfare. Staff vetting arrangements are robust. Leaders regularly check that all staff know who to report concerns to or which services to contact.

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The staff in the early years and the ‘Treehouse’ before- and after-school clubs are well qualified in safeguarding, child protection and first aid.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In recent years, national test results show that pupils at the end of key stage 2 made less progress in mathematics than in reading and writing. Teachers plan mathematics tasks that challenge and make pupils think hard, but do not always ask the right questions to identify gaps or misunderstandings. Teachers should also focus more on helping pupils learn in greater depth. Teachers should consider providing opportunities for higher-attaining pupils to solve more-complex mathematical problems. Leaders should ensure that they continue raising standards in mathematics by the end of key stage 2.  Pupils’ writing is usually well structured but there is potential for them to write more extensively. There is scope to build on the best practice that exists in some classes. Teachers should provide even more opportunities for pupils to write at length, and in greater depth, in all subjects of the school’s curriculum.

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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 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 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, Greenfields Primary School, to be good on 18–19 September 2012.

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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. 10–11 March 2020

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If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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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 March 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10122533 Type of school Primary

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School details

Website www.greenfields.shropshire.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 This is the school’s first inspection since it became an academy, sponsored by the Severn Bridges Multi-Academy Trust (SBMAT), in April 2017. There have been some changes to leadership and staffing since the predecessor school’s previous inspection in 2012.  This is a large primary school. Some classes in key stage 2 have mixed age groups. The early years comprises a Nursery class for three-year-old children and two Reception classes for four- and five-year-olds.  The school runs a before- and after-school club called ‘The Treehouse’.

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Information about this inspection

 I held discussions with members of the local governing body and trustees of the SBMAT. These included the chief executive officer and executive headteacher of the trust; the chair of the local governing body, who is also chair of the board of trustees; and a trustee. Other meetings were held with the head of school; deputy headteacher, who also manages provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); and teachers who manage different subjects.  I spoke with the school’s business manager to check staff vetting and safeguarding records. A meeting was held with the head of school and deputy headteacher, who are 10–11 March 2020

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also designated safeguarding leaders, to consider the effectiveness of child protection and safeguarding procedures.  I spoke with some parents to seek their views about the school and analysed 64 responses to the online survey, Parent View, and 52 written free-text responses from parents collated by Ofsted’s regional office. I also met with most staff and considered the 19 responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire.  I focused on reading and the teaching of phonics, as well as in-depth investigations into mathematics and history. The inspection also focused on the quality and range of pupils’ writing across subjects of the school’s curriculum, including English and history.  Together with school leaders and some teachers responsible for managing subjects, I visited parts of lessons in most classes. I looked at samples of pupils’ work and heard two groups of pupils read. I also met with groups of pupils to discuss their

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mathematics and history work, their views about the school, their behaviour and safety. I had lunch with pupils on both days of inspection and spoke with many during breaktimes and as they moved around the school between classes. I also looked at the 16 responses from pupils to Ofsted’s online survey.  I visited the ‘Treehouse’ before-school club and spoke with the member of staff responsible for managing this.  I considered a range of documentation, including leaders’ evaluations of the school’s effectiveness, the school’s development plan, the trust’s scheme of delegation to its local governing body, curriculum plans, and external reviews carried out by consultants commissioned by the trust.

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Inspection team

Charalambos Loizou, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 10–11 March 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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