Goostrey Community Primary School

Inspection of Goostrey Community Primary School Main Road, Goostrey, Near Crewe, Cheshire CW4 8PE

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Inspection dates: 25 and 26 January 2022

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

This school was last inspected 14 years ago and judged ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework. This reflected the school’s overall effectiveness under the inspection framework in use at the time.

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Overall effectiveness Good

From then until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between inspections. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last inspection. 25 and 26 January 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy to be members of this welcoming school community. They get on well with each other, and enjoy socialising with their friends. Pupils said that kind and supportive staff help them to feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are enthusiastic about their learning. They are motivated to do their best because leaders have high expectations of what they can achieve.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite, confident and considerate. They behave well whether they are playing or learning. This means that pupils can get on with their work without disruption. Pupils understand the importance of treating everyone with respect, regardless of their differences. They said that they would not stand by if someone else was being treated unfairly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils said that if they had any worries, including about bullying, they would feel comfortable about talking to any member of staff, who would do their best to help them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the wide range of opportunities they have to pursue their interests and talents. Pupils spoke proudly of their sporting achievements and of the annual whole-school exhibition that is a celebration of their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers hold the school in high regard. They appreciate the information they receive from school leaders about their children’s progress.

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better?

Leaders have designed the curriculum to ensure that it is interesting, broad and ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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better?

Leaders have identified the important knowledge that they want pupils, including children in the early years, to learn. They have ordered this knowledge carefully so that pupils progress well through the curriculum, knowing and remembering more over time. Consequently, pupils achieve well in a wide range of subjects.

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better?

Most subject leaders have strong curriculum expertise. They provide clear guidance for teachers on how to recap on pupils’ prior knowledge before introducing new content. Pupils, including those with SEND, benefit from regular opportunities to reinforce and secure their learning. This helps pupils to remember what they have learned, and to deepen their understanding.

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better?

That said, a few subject leaders do not provide sufficient guidance for teachers on how to deliver the curriculums effectively. On occasion, teachers do not use assessment strategies well to check that pupils’ learning is secure before moving on 25 and 26 January 2022

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to new concepts. This means that gaps in pupils’ prior knowledge, including some misconceptions, are sometimes not addressed effectively by teachers.

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Through their enthusiasm and warm encouragement, staff ensure that children settle quickly in the Reception class. Children are happy and secure in their environment. They generously share ideas and resources with their friends. Pupils are eager to talk about the knowledge they have acquired and take great pride in the presentation of their work. Pupils’ positive attitudes to their learning mean that teachers can focus on delivering the intended curriculum.

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Leaders have placed importance on teaching pupils how to read well. Older pupils enjoy reading independently and are enthusiastic about the books their teachers read to them in class. Pupils are familiar with a range of authors and are keen to discuss their favourite books.

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Children in the early years learn how to recognise sounds and letters as soon as they start in the Reception class. Pupils practise to read, write and spell using their phonic knowledge in daily lessons. Teachers check regularly on how well pupils are learning to read, and put appropriate support in place for those pupils who fall behind. Consequently, almost all pupils learn to read fluently and accurately by the end of Year 2. However, on occasion, some pupils are given books to read which are too difficult. This means that these pupils do not gain confidence and fluency in reading as soon as they should.

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Leaders ensure that the needs of pupils with SEND are identified early. Teachers deploy a range of approaches to ensure that pupils with SEND access the full curriculum and achieve well. Pupils are also ably supported by well-trained teaching assistants when necessary.

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Leaders adopt creative approaches to widen pupils’ horizons and understanding beyond the classroom. Strong links have been established with a school in South Africa, which helps pupils to gain an insight into the diversity of the world. Pupils in Year 1 were excited to showcase their own natural history museum, and spoke with maturity about their interest in nature and looking after the planet.

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Governors are dedicated in their roles, and are proud of the school’s achievements. However, they are not sufficiently informed about some aspects of the school’s curriculum to be able to check its effectiveness.

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Staff are proud to work at the school. They said that leaders and governors are considerate of their workload and place importance on their well-being. 25 and 26 January 2022

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that staff receive regular safeguarding training, so they can stay alert to the signs which could indicate that pupils are at risk of harm, including from peer-on-peer abuse.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have established clear systems so that any safeguarding concerns can be acted upon promptly. They work with a range of outside agencies to provide the help that vulnerable pupils and their families need.

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Safeguarding

The curriculum provides many opportunities for pupils to learn about keeping themselves safe, including when online. Pupils have benefited from workshops to learn about the important features of healthy relationships, such as consent.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In one or two subjects, leaders have not provided enough guidance and support to help teachers to deliver the curriculums effectively, especially in the use of assessment. This prevents pupils from learning as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that, in these subjects, teachers receive the support and training required to deliver the intended curriculums consistently well.  On occasion, the books that pupils use to practise their reading are not matched well to their phonics knowledge. This means that pupils, especially those who need to catch up, find these books too difficult to read. Leaders should ensure that the books pupils read are matched to their phonics knowledge so that they can read with confidence and fluency.  Governors are insufficiently informed about some aspects of the school’s curriculum. This means that they are unable to challenge leaders about the quality of education for pupils as effectively as possible. Members of the

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

governing body should ensure that they are better informed about the curriculum, so that they can provide informed support and challenge for school leaders. 25 and 26 January 2022

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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 .

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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. 25 and 26 January 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10211827 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 27 November 2007

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, there have been considerable changes to the membership of the governing body, including the appointment of a new chair of governors.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and other school leaders. They also spoke with subject leaders and members of staff. They spoke with three members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. Inspectors also spoke with a representative of the local authority. 25 and 26 January 2022

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 Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in classrooms, around the school and during lunchtime. They spoke with different groups of pupils to discuss their views of the school, their learning, their behaviour and safety.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, science and history. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also observed pupils reading to a familiar adult. Inspectors also considered aspects of a number of other subjects on the school’s curriculum.  Inspectors considered the views of parents and carers shared through Ofsted’s Parent View. This included the comments received via the free-text facility. Inspectors also reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey and the

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survey for pupils.  Inspectors considered a range of documents shared by school leaders, including the school development plan, the minutes taken at governors’ meetings and leaders’ self-evaluation document.  The inspectors checked the arrangements for keeping pupils safe. They reviewed safeguarding documentation and spoke to leaders, staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Janette Walker, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Adrian Martin Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 January 2022

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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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