Grange Farm Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Grange Farm Primary School Barncroft Rise, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS14 1AX

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Outcome

Grange Farm Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning in this happy, friendly school. They are proud to belong to the Grange Farm team.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Adults have high expectations of pupils. They help pupils to be ready to learn. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). As a result, pupils are calm and settled in lessons and keen to do their best.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have introduced an ambitious new curriculum. There are detailed plans in place for every national curriculum subject. This has had a very positive effect on pupils’ learning. They remember the important knowledge that helps them to learn more.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are kind to each other, in lessons and at breaktimes. They say they are not aware of any bullying. They know what to do if bullying happens to them or if they see it happening to anyone else. Pupils say they feel safe at school. They are confident that the adults in school will help them if they have any worries.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides many activities and events to support the curriculum and pupils’ personal development. These include visits, visitors, residential visits, a range of after- school clubs and sporting, drama and musical events. Leaders have made sure that enrichment activities have continued as much as possible during the pandemic.

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

Leaders have redesigned the curriculum. They have identified the knowledge and skills that they want pupils to learn in each subject. As a result, in most subjects, pupils have a secure depth of knowledge on which to base future learning. For example, pupils remembered learning about the scientist Linnaeus and classification in science when they were in Year 4. They explained how this helped them when they came to learn about Darwin and adaptation in Year 6. 8 and 9 March 2022

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Teachers plan activities that bring learning alive. Pupils in Year 6 were fascinated to watch teachers dissect a heart. This helped them to understand how the circulatory system works. In the early years, teachers plan activities to stimulate children’s imagination and curiosity. For example, children were using different materials to build houses for the ‘Three Little Pigs’.

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Teachers read to pupils every day. They choose books for enjoyment and to develop vocabulary. Preparation for reading begins in the Nursery, where children enjoy rhymes, stories and playing with sounds. They begin to match sounds to letters at the beginning of the Reception Year. Pupils enjoy the routine of their daily phonics lessons and this helps them to learn quickly. Reading books match the sounds that pupils have learned. This means they can use the sounds they know to read unfamiliar words. Pupils continue to learn phonics until they can read fluently. There is a structured programme in place to help those pupils who have fallen behind.

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In mathematics, teachers skilfully build pupils’ knowledge and confidence throughout each lesson. They recap learning and demonstrate frequently to help pupils to understand and remember more. They make sure pupils can use physical resources and pictures to help them to work things out. This helps pupils who are less confident, or pupils with SEND, to be independent. Teachers quickly spot mistakes. They provide immediate support to help everyone to keep up.

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Leaders have introduced a new behaviour policy. They make sure that all pupils are ready to learn. This has brought about a significant improvement in behaviour. Pupils behave well in lessons, enjoy learning and want to do well. Children in the early years follow the routines that will help them to learn throughout school.

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Pupils learn to value and respect others. Visitors from different faiths have made regular visits to school to talk about their own faith and culture. Pupils in key stage 2 enjoy their weekly coaching meetings, where they discuss a variety of important issues.

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Pupils appreciate the activities that are available for them at breaktimes. The outdoor gym is particularly popular. They are pleased to have the chance to take part in after-school clubs again. These include sewing, arts and crafts, film, choir, ukulele, computer skills and football. Pupils look forward to residential visits in Years 4, 5 and 6. For many pupils it is the first time they have stayed away from home. They have the opportunity to develop confidence and social skills through taking part in team-building exercises.

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Governors have an accurate view of the school. They hold leaders to account well. Teachers feel well supported; they say their workload is the best it has ever been. They say the approach is to ‘do the things that matter, don’t stress about the things that don’t’. Teachers appreciate the quality of the training they receive. They say they are given the time and support they need to bring about improvements. 8 and 9 March 2022

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders provide regular safeguarding training. Staff know what to do if they have any concerns. Leaders are tenacious in making sure pupils receive support when it is needed. Appropriate systems are in place to make sure the adults in school are suitable to work with children.

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Safeguarding

Pupils say they feel safe in school. They are confident that the adults will listen and help them if they have a problem. They have regular lessons and assemblies that help them to know how to stay safe. The school provides advice and support to help parents keep their children safe online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not fully implemented the new curriculum in all subjects. As a result, in some subjects, pupils have not completely secured the depth of knowledge on which to build new learning. Leaders should continue to implement the new curriculum in all subjects.

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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 outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in December 2016.

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How can I feed back my views?

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. 8 and 9 March 2022

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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. 8 and 9 March 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 6 and 7 December 2016, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher has joined the school since the previous inspection.  The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is well above the national average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is above average.  The school has 13 out of a possible 17 ethnicities.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below average.  The school uses an alternative education provider for a small number of pupils. The provider used is The Pivot Academies Leeds.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school has received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 8 and 9 March 2022

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 The inspector met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the assistant headteachers and curriculum leaders.  The inspector met with members of the governing body, including the chair of the governing body. The inspector also spoke with a representative from the local authority on the telephone. She also spoke with the principal of the alternative provision.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and science. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector observed adults listening to pupils read. The inspector looked at subject planning and pupils’ work in geography and religious education.  The arrangements for safeguarding were checked. This included checks on the single

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central record, staff training and safeguarding records. The inspector also talked to the designated safeguarding leads.  The inspector discussed the school’s records on attendance and behaviour with the headteacher.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school, including at breaktimes. The inspector also met with groups of pupils.  The inspector looked at the school’s self-evaluation document and improvement plans.  The inspector talked informally with pupils in lessons and at breaktimes.  The inspector took into account the 26 responses to Ofsted’s survey, Ofsted Parent View.  The inspector met with a number of staff and took account of the 49 staff responses to Ofsted’s online survey.

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Inspection team

Janet Keefe, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 8 and 9 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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