Ewell Grove Primary and Nursery School

Inspection of Ewell Grove Primary and Nursery School West Street, Ewell, Epsom, Surrey KT17 1UZ

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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 11 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 enjoy attending this friendly, nurturing primary school. Parents describe it as ‘a school at the centre of the local community’. Pupils trust adults to keep them safe. Pupils say that they are well cared for, both physically and emotionally. They say that adults always help them if they have worries or concerns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils to succeed. Leaders believe that inclusion and equality must be at the heart of their work. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are encouraged to do their best. Pupils are keen to learn. As a result, pupils flourish both academically and socially.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons. Relationships between adults and pupils are warm and positive. Pupils are polite and respectful to each other and to adults. On the rare occasions that bullying happens, pupils are confident that adults will deal with it quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are passionate about making sure that pupils have high-quality, relevant experiences in school. Pupils enjoy a well-planned programme of residential visits, trips into the local community and special events such as the ‘Ewell Grove Games’. Pupils are also taught how to recognise and manage risk when they are out and about.

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better?

Leaders have designed an ambitious and carefully crafted curriculum. They have clearly set out what pupils need to learn. Teachers know what they need to teach, right from the beginning of Nursery to the end of Year 6. Leaders have developed a distinctive approach to teaching and pupils learn a broad range of subjects. Pupils in all year groups, including pupils with SEND, are supported well to access the school’s effective curriculum.

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better?

Overall, pupils achieve well. Their achievement in subjects such as mathematics and art is particularly strong. The quality of pupils’ attention to detail in their artwork is particularly impressive. In these subjects, teachers check pupils’ knowledge regularly and plan activities to deepen their understanding. However, in other subjects, pupils do not achieve as highly because the work that teachers provide does not deepen pupils’ understanding as extensively.

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better?

Leaders prioritise reading. Children in Reception learn phonics right from the start, using a well-organised and effective programme. In the early stages of learning to read, pupils read books containing the phonic sounds that they know. This means that pupils quickly become fluent readers. In all year groups, teachers read high- quality books to pupils daily. Pupils love these regular story times. They are keen to discuss their ideas about books. Children in the early years are eager to join in with familiar parts of stories and rhymes. 25 and 26 January 2022

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Attendance is high because leaders are relentless in ensuring that pupils attend school. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. They are eager to learn and cooperate well with each other. In lessons, pupils are calm and focused. Occasionally, there are some behaviour incidents in the playground, but adults deal with these appropriately.

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Leaders provide a wide range of opportunities to support pupils’ personal development. Work to promote pupils’ cultural understanding is strong. Pupils learn about diverse communities in the United Kingdom and in other parts of the world. From the start of Nursery, they learn about different religions, faiths and beliefs.

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Leaders recognise the importance of supporting pupils to develop positive character traits. Pupils show good levels of resilience and independence in lessons. Pupils are given opportunities to debate and discuss ideas. For example, in Year 6, pupils enjoyed debating a question about the Gunpowder Plot.

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Leaders and governors have a clear, shared vision for the school. Leaders want all pupils to access a broad and varied curriculum. Leaders have planned a programme of high-quality staff training to develop teachers’ subject knowledge in all subjects. Because of this, staff feel valued. They are very positive about the school. Staff say that leaders are approachable and mindful of their well-being. Governors challenge leaders well. Governors check on how well the school is doing regularly. They find out pupils’ views and know how well pupils are achieving. Governors have a comprehensive understanding of the curriculum through, for example, how they link effectively with subject leaders. As a result, governance is highly effective.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have established a strong culture of safeguarding. They have robust systems to identify pupils who are at risk of harm. Record-keeping is thorough and systematic. Leaders and staff understand the signs and symptoms of abuse. They tackle any concerns about pupils as soon as they are identified. Leaders work closely with families and other agencies to ensure that pupils quickly get the help they need.

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Safeguarding

As part of a carefully planned safeguarding curriculum, pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe online and about healthy relationships and consent. 25 and 26 January 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The work that teachers provide does not always allow pupils to develop a deep and detailed understanding in all subjects. This means that, while pupils achieve exceptionally well in some subjects, this is not the case in all subjects. Leaders need to ensure that teachers provide pupils with consistently demanding work which enables them to acquire deep and detailed knowledge across the curriculum.

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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

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 29 January 2009

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Information about this school

 Ewell Grove is a larger-than-average primary school with an attached nursery.  At the time of the previous inspection, the school was an infant and nursery school. The age range of pupils at the school was three to seven. The school has expanded since the previous inspection. The age range of pupils is now three to 11.  Previously, the school was known as Ewell Grove Infant and Nursery School.  The school currently does not use 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. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 25 and 26 January 2022

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 The inspectors met with senior leaders and three members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. The lead inspector also held a phone call with an officer from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art and design, geography and languages. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and looked at samples of pupils’ work for other subjects.  The inspectors reviewed the arrangements for safeguarding by scrutinising safeguarding records, interviewing staff and having discussions with pupils.  The inspection team considered the views of parents shared through Ofsted Parent View. They gathered the views of pupils and staff through surveys,

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interviews and discussions conducted throughout the inspection.  Inspectors reviewed a range of the school’s documentation, including self- evaluation reports, governing body minutes and behaviour incident logs.

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Inspection team

Sue Keeling, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Simon Francis 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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