Green Gates Primary School

Inspection of Green Gates Primary School Kielder Close, Redcar, North Yorkshire TS10 4HS

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Inspection dates: 13 and 14 September 2022

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding 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 13 and 14 September 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel part of a big team working together to make the school as good as it can be. Many contribute to school life through the numerous leadership roles they undertake, such as ambassadors and mentors. Bullying and unkindness between pupils are extremely rare. Pupils told inspectors that they feel safe. The work of leaders and staff contributes significantly to this.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils cannot wait to get to school in the morning, eager to greet their friends and teachers. They are excited at the prospect of new learning. However, some pupils cannot easily recall what they have learned.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Because staff are so enthusiastic and committed, they have instilled pupils with a sense that their education is precious. Pupils value the high standards that staff expect from them. They try hard in class and behave very well. Staff understand pupils’ individual needs. They go to additional lengths to support pupils so that they do not get left behind.

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What is it like to attend this school?

One parent summed it up, echoing the views of many by saying, ‘This school goes over and above for all children. My child is very happy here and loves coming to school’.

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better?

Leaders have high expectations for the range and depth of subject knowledge that all pupils acquire while at the school. The curriculum is sequenced well. It supports pupils to build their knowledge over time, across a variety of subjects. However, in some subjects, the curriculum does not emphasise the specific knowledge and skills that pupils need to remember long term in order to succeed later. For instance, in Reception and Year 1, pupils do not go over writing simple words with the letters they have learned enough, or practise number formation enough. This has an impact on the quality of some pupils’ writing across subjects, especially pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Similarly, in a small number of subjects, such as geography, pupils struggle to remember important subject-specific knowledge long term.

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better?

Senior leaders have ensured that subject leaders receive effective training to enhance their own subject knowledge. Subject leaders support teachers well, making sure that they are confident in the subject content they are teaching. Teachers carefully consider the tasks they set for pupils. Tasks enable pupils to use their subject-specific knowledge in interesting ways. For example, in science, pupils apply their scientific knowledge in the explanations they give when writing up experiments. These explanations show that, over time, pupils deepen their knowledge of scientific investigation methods. 13 and 14 September 2022

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Across subjects and year groups, including in the early years, the curriculum and teaching focus on subject-specific vocabulary. Teachers ensure that pupils are introduced to subject-specific vocabulary in a logical order. As a result, pupils use appropriate subject-specific vocabulary when completing tasks. Pupils with SEND are given suitable additional support, such as being introduced to important knowledge and vocabulary prior to lessons. This enables them to better understand what they are taught in lessons. Teachers use a range of assessment approaches to check if pupils have learned key vocabulary. This enables teachers to identify any vocabulary that they need to re-visit.

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The teaching of early reading is effective. The school has successfully introduced a new programme for teaching phonics. The phonics curriculum is logically sequenced. For example, in early years, children practise initial letter sounds regularly. This enables pupils to blend sounds together to make words when they reach Year 1. Phonics leaders make sure that pupils who are left behind in their reading get the help they need. Reading books are closely matched to pupils’ phonic knowledge.

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Staff manage pupils’ behaviour very well. They build strong personal relationships with pupils, reinforcing boundaries in a consistent and friendly manner. In early years, staff ensure that children get time to practise routines so that they become familiar with them. The atmosphere in school is calm and orderly. Across classes, pupils show dedication to their studies. A higher-than-average proportion of pupils are vulnerable because they have emotional issues. Vulnerable pupils receive excellent support so that they can participate fully in all aspects of school life.

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The school provides pupils with an impressive range of wider experiences, such as trips to interesting places and visits from experts. These additional experiences broaden pupils’ horizons and provide pupils with a wide range of social, moral, spiritual and cultural experiences. For instance, local police visit the school regularly. Staff ensure that pupils are prepared well so that trips and visits have the maximum effect on pupils’ learning, attitudes and personal development. The curriculum for personal, social and health education is carefully thought through. Teachers give additional emphasis to topics that are especially relevant to pupils’ context. Pupils can speak confidently on important issues, such as what makes for healthy and unhealthy relationships.

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Staff praise the support that they get from leaders, including assistance with workload. They feel very committed to the pupils in the school. The multi-academy trust to which the school belongs provides opportunities for headteachers, deputy headteachers and subject leaders to share their expertise across schools. Trustees keep a close watch on the school and work effectively with local governors.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The designated safeguarding leader (DSL) puts pupils’ safety at the forefront of all she does. She has forged strong relationships with all parents, through home visits and telephone calls. These strong relationships mean that the DSL and other leaders can provide appropriate 13 and 14 September 2022

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support for families with safeguarding concerns. The DSL is extremely knowledgeable about local safeguarding risks. This knowledge informs the training staff receive. Good use is made of external agencies to ensure that pupils receive the help they need. The DSL carefully monitors the support provided by external agencies, including local authority welfare services.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum, especially but not solely in early years and key stage 1, does not always emphasise the important subject-specific knowledge that pupils must embed in their memories. As a result, some younger pupils’ struggle with writing and number formation. Some pupils cannot recall crucial subject-specific knowledge. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum emphasises the ‘must- have’ knowledge that pupils require to move on. They should also make sure that teaching approaches enable pupils to fix this important knowledge in their long- term memories so that pupils can access it automatically.

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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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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. 13 and 14 September 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10240509 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

 The headteacher was appointed to the role in April 2019.  The school is part of Galileo Multi-Academy Trust. The trust appointed a new chief executive officer in January 2021.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is significantly above the national average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is well above the national average.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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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 met with senior leaders and subject leaders. An inspector met separately with the coordinator for pupils with SEND, and a group of phase leaders. 13 and 14 September 2022

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 Inspectors held separate face-to face meetings with the vice-chair of the local governing body and the chief executive officer. An online meeting was held with three trustees.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, history and geography. 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. The lead inspector also listened to a sample of pupils read to a familiar adult.  The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead to review a range of documents, including the school’s single central record and the school’s log of safeguarding incidents. Inspectors also spoke to staff about how they keep pupils safe.  The lead inspector held a telephone conversation with the deputy headteacher of

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the virtual school for Redcar and Cleveland.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of other documentation, including records of pupils’ behaviour and leaders’ evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke informally to pupils to gather their views on school life. They also talked to parents at the end of the school day.  To gather parents’ views, inspectors took account of the views of parents on Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and 19 free-text comments. Responses from staff and pupil surveys were also reviewed by inspectors.

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Inspection team

Sarah Hubbard, lead inspector Her Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Kathryn McDonald Her Majesty's Inspector 13 and 14 September 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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