Greenacres Primary Academy

Inspection of Greenacres Primary Academy Dunkerley Street, Oldham, Greater Manchester OL4 2AX

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Inspection dates: 30 June and 1 July 2022

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding 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 30 June and 1 July 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Everyone is welcomed with open arms at Greenacres Primary Academy. Each person is appreciated for their individuality. Warm and friendly relationships underpin this caring learning community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and they value the high levels of pastoral and academic support that staff afford them. Pupils know that staff care about them. They trust staff to help them when they need extra help.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff are ambitious for every pupil, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). All pupils and children in the early years, are expected to achieve highly. Staff are successful at making this happen. Pupils are keen learners and they said that their teachers make learning interesting.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils and children in the early years, behave well in lessons and around school. Pupils and their parents and carers said that any incidents of bullying are dealt with quickly and effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils receive an excellent diet of wider personal development. Leaders are highly committed to offering many varied and rich experiences to pupils. Central to the success of the academy is leaders’ expertise at developing pupils’ character. By the time pupils leave school in Year 6, they are confident, articulate, responsible, caring and respectful citizens.

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better?

Leaders have created a well-designed curriculum from the early years through to the end of key stage 2. The curriculum gives pupils the knowledge, skills and understanding to be confident learners in a wide range of subjects. Leaders have thought carefully about what they want to teach pupils and the order that they want pupils to learn new knowledge. The successfully designed curriculum ensures that pupils and children in the early years, are well prepared for the next stages in their education and for life in modern Britain.

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better?

Teachers motivate pupils to learn. Teachers, including those in the early years, explain new ideas clearly. They help pupils to remember important information and to make connections between different topics and concepts. They provide pupils with regular opportunities to revisit and recap important learning. Teachers are knowledgeable about most subjects. However, in a very small number of subjects, teachers’ subject knowledge is not quite as strong as it should be. Even so, children in the early years and pupils across the school, successfully learn lots of new and important information.

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better?

Teachers use assessment strategies well to establish what pupils know and can do. They address pupils’ misconceptions quickly. Teachers use assessment information 30 June and 1 July 2022

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well to inform the next steps in pupils’ learning. For example, they appropriately check for gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding.

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A love of books and reading is an important feature of school life. Beautiful and inviting book displays are a prominent feature throughout the school. Each classroom has a cosy place for pupils to relax and read quality books.

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Children get off to a good start with learning to read from the moment they begin school. They enjoy songs, rhymes and stories in the Nursery class. The phonics programme is well established and staff teach it with confidence. In the Reception class, children quickly get to know letters and sounds and how to blend them together to make words. The books that they have to practise reading match the sounds they already know. This helps pupils become increasingly confident readers by the time they leave key stage 1.

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Pupils who struggle to read, including pupils who speak English as an additional language, benefit from additional support from well-trained adults. This builds their confidence and quickly increases their fluency in reading.

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Staff appropriately identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND. These pupils are given the support that they need to access the same ambitious curriculum as their classmates. They learn successfully.

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Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. They are polite, friendly and eager to talk about school life. They show care and consideration for each other and are keen to participate in all that the school offers. Most pupils attend school regularly.

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Leaders’ commitment to nurture and celebrate the talents of all pupils is exemplary. Pupils and children in the early years, relish their leadership responsibilities. They were extremely proud to tell inspectors about the wide range of jobs they apply for around school. For example, classroom assistants, lunchtime buddies, radio DJs and reading ambassadors. Pupils make an important and positive contribution to school life. Pupils also have access to a large and varied range of extra-curricular activities. Their faces light up with pride when they talk about the many tournaments and competitions that they participate in.

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Staff feel well supported by leaders with their workload and well-being. They are proud and happy to work at the school. Trustees and the local governing body know the school well and offer a wide range of expertise. They hold leaders fully to account for their work to improve the curriculum.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders, staff and governors are well trained and knowledgeable about keeping pupils and children in the early years safe. The procedures in place to identify and report concerns are well understood by all staff. 30 June and 1 July 2022

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Leaders are strong advocates for all pupils, including vulnerable pupils and their families. Where safeguarding needs are identified, leaders provide timely support. Leaders engage well with external agencies, when needed.

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Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including how to manage risks when online. For example, pupils learn about cyber bullying and they can clearly describe how to stay safe when on the internet. Pupils know what to do if they have a concern about any aspects of their safety and well-being.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In one or two subjects, teachers subject knowledge is not as secure as it should be. Sometimes, this prevents teachers from delivering subject content to pupils as effectively as they could. Leaders need to ensure that teachers are fully trained to have the subject knowledge that they require.

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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. 30 June and 1 July 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10226213 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Greenacres Primary Academy converted to become an academy school in March 2018. When its predecessor school, Greenacres Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to require improvement overall.  Greenacres Primary Academy is a member of the South Pennine Academies Trust.  Leaders do not make use of any 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

 Inspectors spoke with pupils about their work and school life. Inspectors also spoke with the principal, vice principal and two assistant principals. They also spoke to the early years leader and the special educational needs coordinator. They held discussions with staff, which focused on the well-being and safeguarding of pupils.  An inspector spoke with members of the local governing body, including the chair of governors. An inspector also spoke with the chair of the trust board, the chief executive officer of the trust and an external school improvement partner. 30 June and 1 July 2022

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 Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including that relating to school improvement, safeguarding and the checks undertaken on newly appointed staff.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text responses. They also considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil survey.  An inspector talked with pupils about the books that they like to read. An inspector also heard pupils read to a trusted adult.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, geography and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors 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. Inspectors also spoke to leaders about the curriculum in some other subjects.

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Inspection team

Sue Eastwood, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Shameem Patel Ofsted Inspector 30 June and 1 July 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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