Greenside Primary School

Inspection of Greenside Primary School Greenside Lane, Droylsden, Manchester M43 7RA

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Inspection dates: 25 and 26 January 2023

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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 25 and 26 January 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those in the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision), thrive at this warm and welcoming school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff work tirelessly to make sure that pupils feel safe, happy and well cared for. Leaders deal with any incidents of unkind behaviour or bullying swiftly and effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have the highest of aspirations, both in terms of pupils’ behaviour and learning. Pupils strive to meet these high expectations. Pupils, including those in the specially resourced provision, show respect to adults and to each other. They are polite, well-mannered and eager to learn.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff place a very high priority on pupils’ mental health and well-being. The pastoral team members provide important support and guidance to pupils across the school. They are assisted by Cookie and Willow, the school therapy dogs, as well as Mr Poppy, the school tortoise, all of whom provide pupils with valuable emotional support.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff maximise opportunities for pupils to engage with their wider community and to be active and responsible citizens. For example, pupils told inspectors about raising money for different charities and good causes.

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better?

Leaders have designed a rich and vibrant curriculum. They grasp every opportunity to open pupils’ minds to the wider world and to enrich pupils’ learning.

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better?

Leaders have thought deeply about what they want pupils to learn, from the early years to the end of Year 6. They have made sure that teachers introduce new learning in a logical order.

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better?

In most lessons, teachers explain new concepts clearly. They use assessment strategies well in most subjects to pinpoint gaps in pupils’ learning. Most teachers check that pupils’ learning is secure before moving on. This helps many pupils to begin to tackle more complex content with confidence. However, during some lessons, teachers do not routinely check that pupils can read texts with accuracy and understanding before they move on to more challenging comprehension activities.

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better?

Leaders have made considerable improvements to the curriculum. Teachers report that these changes have helped them to deliver the curriculum more effectively. As a result, pupils, including those with SEND and those in the specially resourced provision, achieve increasingly well across a range of subjects. As the changes to these curriculums are relatively new, it is too soon to see the full impact of this work, particularly in the school’s published results. 25 and 26 January 2023

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Children get off to a good start in the early years. They eagerly rise to the challenges that staff provide for them. Staff maximise opportunities to expand children’s vocabulary. For example, as part of their topic on the Arctic, children proudly used the word ‘blubber’ to describe the insulating layer underneath a penguin’s skin.

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Leaders place a high emphasis on fostering a love of reading for all pupils. Children enjoy borrowing books from the home library to share with their parents and friends. Leaders have successfully implemented a phonics programme which helps pupils to quickly begin to learn the links between letters and sounds. Early readers use the sounds that they know to read unfamiliar words.

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Leaders quickly identify any struggling readers. However, some of these pupils do not receive effective enough support because they miss too much school. That said, the majority of pupils, by the end of key stage 2, read with expression and fluency. Pupils value the awards that they receive for reading. They wear their reading badges with pride.

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Pupils with SEND, including those in the specially resourced provision, get a good deal at this school. Staff identify and meet pupils’ needs quickly and accurately. Most pupils with SEND learn alongside their peers.

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Pupils walk around the school quietly and courteously. Pupils rarely disturb each other in lessons. However, some pupils do not attend school regularly and miss important learning.

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Pupils have many opportunities to learn beyond the academic curriculum. For example, they enjoy preparing salads, using vegetables that they have grown on the school’s allotment as part of their work on healthy lifestyles. Pupils proudly showed inspectors their many sporting and artistic achievements. Older pupils value their leadership roles in school.

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Governors and the chief executive officer (CEO) know the school well. They hold leaders to account effectively. Leaders and governors place a strong emphasis on considering staff’s workload and well-being. Staff are proud to work at the school.

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The overwhelming majority of parents who shared their views with inspectors would recommend the school to other parents.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and staff receive regular safeguarding training so that they deal with any concerns quickly and effectively. Leaders and members of the pastoral team work effectively with external agencies to ensure that vulnerable families and pupils swiftly receive the support, care and guidance that they need. 25 and 26 January 2023

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Parents and pupils who spoke to inspectors report that leaders and staff are approachable. This helps pupils and their families to feel well supported.

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Pupils learn about different aspects of safety, including crossing the road safely and not giving out personal details when using the internet.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some teachers do not routinely check that pupils can read accurately and understand important vocabulary. This makes it harder for pupils to develop their confidence and understanding of what they have read. Leaders should make sure that staff check that pupils can read unfamiliar texts accurately and with understanding before moving on to more complex reading activities.  A few pupils, particularly those in the early stages of learning to read, do not attend school often enough. This means that they regularly miss important learning. Leaders should check that the work that they are doing to support families with attendance issues has the impact that leaders intend, so that these pupils attend school regularly.  Leaders have made some further refinements to some subjects. As the changes to these curriculums are relatively new, it is too soon to see the full impact. Leaders should make sure the adaptations to these curriculums help pupils to

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

develop a strong body of knowledge so that pupils remember more and apply more over time.

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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. 25 and 26 January 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection, the school has become part of the Victorious Academies Trust.  Greenside Primary School converted to become an academy school in November 2018. When its predecessor school, Greenside Primary school, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  The school has a specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND. The specially resourced provision caters for 22 pupils, ranging from Reception-age children to pupils in Year 6. Pupils’ primary needs are mainly autism spectrum disorder or speech, language and communication needs. All pupils who attend the specially resourced provision have education, health and care plans.  Leaders do not currently make use of alternative provision for pupils.  Leaders provide a breakfast club and an after-school club. 25 and 26 January 2023

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors carried out this graded 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.  Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, other leaders and staff in school. They spoke with governors, including the chair of the local governing board. They also spoke with the CEO and the chair of the trust board.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, physical education, music and history. They spoke with the curriculum leaders of these subject areas. Inspectors also visited lessons, looked at examples of pupils’ work, held discussions with teachers and talked with pupils. An inspector listened to pupils read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors also spoke with leaders from other areas of the curriculum. They looked at pupils’ work and spoke with pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed children’s and pupils’ behaviour at breaktimes and at lunchtimes. They observed pupils’ behaviour as they moved around the school.  Inspectors evaluated leaders’ safeguarding arrangements and scrutinised leaders’ self-evaluation documents and improvement plans.  Inspectors spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school.  Inspectors spoke with parents as they dropped their children off at school. They considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View. This included the free-text responses.  Inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils.

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Inspection team

Louise McArdle, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Vicky Briggs Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 January 2023

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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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