Goldthorn Park Primary School

Inspection of Goldthorn Park Primary School Ward Road, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV4 5ET

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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

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 1 and 2 March 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy life at Goldthorn Park Primary School. They love reading and getting lost in a story. Pupils know that they learn lots from books. Pupils are very aware of the importance of learning to read for future life.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for pupils. They want every pupil to do as well as they can and to leave the school well prepared for the next stage in their education. The school vision is for the ‘children to be the best they can be and through learning believe they can achieve anything’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff and pupils treat each other with respect. There is a family atmosphere about the place. Pupils show kindness to those around them and try to support each other in their learning. Bullying rarely happens and when it does, pupils are confident that staff will deal with it. Pupils feel safe at school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders provide many opportunities for pupils to develop leadership skills. Some pupils are members of the ‘young interpreters’ group. This group supports new pupils to the school who may not speak English well. The ‘young interpreters’ show new pupils where things are. They play with them and help them learn.

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better?

Together with leaders from the Elston Hall Learning Trust, the headteacher and the leadership team have made significant improvements across the school. Senior leaders have redesigned the curriculum and teaching approaches. They have provided high-quality training for staff.

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better?

The curriculum has been carefully considered and is ambitious. Leaders have identified the knowledge and skills they want pupils to learn. Where the curriculum is well structured, pupils are taught knowledge and ideas well. In mathematics, for example, teachers recap useful learning so that pupils can deepen their understanding. This helps pupils become proficient in applying their skills in number and calculations. However, some of the curriculum has only recently been designed. Leaders are aware that pupils’ knowledge and skills are not yet secure in these subjects.

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better?

Subject leaders support their colleagues to develop the subject knowledge they need to teach. Most have a clear overview of what is going well in their subject, and what needs to be done to improve it further. Some subject leaders have only recently started to check the implementation of the curriculum. This means that they are not yet able to measure the effectiveness of the curriculum in their subjects. Leaders are addressing this.

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better?

Teachers make regular checks to see how well pupils have understood their learning. They use this information to identify pupils who need extra help to fill gaps in their knowledge. 1 and 2 March 2022

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The school is an inclusive community. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or those who speak English as an additional language do well in school. Leaders quickly identify any pupils with additional needs. Staff receive appropriate training to help them meet the individual needs of pupils.

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Leaders prioritise the teaching of reading. The daily phonics sessions are highly structured. Pupils in the early years begin to learn phonics straight away. Teachers regularly check which sounds pupils can remember. Pupils use the sounds they know to read books with confidence and increasing fluency. Teachers select books for pupils to read that match well the sounds they are learning. Pupils with SEND learn to read well.

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Leaders have thought about the books and authors they want pupils to know. They ensure that pupils read a range of high-quality texts. Older pupils use these texts to help develop their reading skills, such as inference and retrieval. Pupils enjoy hearing adults reading their favourite stories.

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In the early years, children benefit from the positive relationships staff build with their parents and carers. Children settle into school quickly, are happy and enjoy sharing activities. Staff focus on the key knowledge and skills that the youngest pupils need to move on successfully into key stage 1.

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Pupils respond well to staff’s high expectations of how they should behave in lessons. They listen carefully and follow teachers’ instructions.

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Pupils’ personal development is high on leaders’ agenda. Teachers plan rich and exciting experiences for pupils. Pupils enjoy a variety of clubs, for example sports and well-being. They talk enthusiastically about trips out of school, such as a recent visit to Cadbury World. All pupils have equal access to all opportunities offered.

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Governors fulfil their roles well. They visit the school regularly and ensure they are well informed. They use this information to question leaders about the school’s performance.

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Leaders support staff’s well-being effectively.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have created a caring community. Pupils’ safety, welfare and well-being are leaders’ number one priority. Everyone is encouraged to be vigilant. Leaders have up-to-date expertise in all aspects of safeguarding. They act swiftly should any pupils require extra help. They access support from external agencies should it be necessary. Leaders maintain careful records and oversee an effective package of staff’s training. Suitable pre-employment checks are made on all adults who work with the children in school. Pupils feel safe and happy here, and parents confirm 1 and 2 March 2022

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this. The curriculum promotes learning how to keep yourself safe, including when online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s curriculum is not yet sufficiently well planned and sequenced in some subjects. However, it is clear from leaders’ actions that they are in the process of bringing this about, and are making any necessary amendments in response to the pandemic. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been taken into account.  The revised curriculum for some subjects is new. As a result, pupils’ knowledge and skills are not yet secure in all areas of the curriculum. Leaders should continue with their work to assure themselves that the planned curriculum is structured and implemented consistently well in all subjects across the key stages.  Some subject leaders have only recently started to check the implementation of the curriculum. This means that they are not yet able to evaluate fully the effectiveness of the curriculum in their subjects. Senior leaders should ensure that subject leaders further develop their monitoring and evaluation of the curriculum

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

so that they can provide better support to teachers.

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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. 1 and 2 March 2022

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school joined the Elston Hall Learning Trust in November 2017.  The headteacher took up her post in September 2021.  The school does not make any 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.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors met with the headteacher and the deputy headteacher. They also met with the chief executive officer, the executive leader, representatives of the board of trustees and the local governing board of the multi-academy trust.  Inspectors carried out deep dives into these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, history and music. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject 1 and 2 March 2022

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leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors met with the leader for early years and observed children within the setting.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school, including at lunchtime. Inspectors also met with groups of pupils to discuss their views of the school and personal development opportunities.  To judge the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors scrutinised the records for the safer recruitment of staff and held a meeting with the designated safeguarding lead. Inspectors met with staff to check their understanding of safeguarding and the impact of any training received.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and talked to them about their reading.  Inspectors spoke with several members of staff, including those who have recently joined the teaching profession. They considered the responses from staff

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to the online inspection questionnaire.  Inspectors spoke with parents at the start of the day and considered the responses, including written responses, to Ofsted Parent View, the online questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Lynda Townsend, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Mike Onyon Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 March 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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