Glebe Primary School

Inspection of Glebe Primary School Church Lane, Southwick, Brighton, West Sussex BN42 4GB

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Inspection dates: 21 and 22 February 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 Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 21 and 22 February 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils get off to a strong start as soon as they join the school. Staff quickly get to know pupils and their families well. They use this knowledge to remove any barriers to learning. Consequently, pupils who need additional support to learn receive effective help. This is particularly evident in the support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils quickly learn the important knowledge and skills they need to be curious about the world around them. For example, pupils eagerly study the chicks they hatched from the eggs they have been incubating, extending pupils’ learning about animal life cycles.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils strive to demonstrate the school’s ‘golden rules’. They know staff have high expectations of them. Pupils show kindness and compassion for each other because the adults around them consistently model what this looks like. Pupils take pride in their achievements, supported by staff who keenly celebrate every learning milestone. Should bullying happen, pupils are confident that staff will deal with it quickly. As a result, pupils feel safe and happy in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is an inclusive school. Pupils proudly talk about what makes them unique and special. Leaders make sure that every pupil knows that they have huge potential to achieve well in the future.

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better?

Leaders and governors are unwavering in their commitment to provide pupils with the very best education. The school’s ‘NIC’ values of ‘Nurture, Inspire and Challenge’ are threaded through every subject and across each school year. Leaders have carefully intertwined these values with the important knowledge that pupils need to grow into confident learners. To ‘Inspire’, pupils learn about important figures who have made valuable contributions to the world we live in today. They learn to debate the importance of their work. A thoughtful selection of linked books and stories exposes pupils to different genres of texts, authors and illustrators. As a class, pupils practise reading these texts, further developing the reading skills that they acquire each year of school. Through this thoughtful provision, pupils build and secure a rich foundation of knowledge.

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better?

The well-developed curriculum starts in Reception. Here, children learn the letters and sounds that they need to become confident readers. Leaders regularly monitor children’s progress and provide additional help to those who find reading more difficult. Children quickly learn to visualise numbers, lengths, sizes and shapes so that they can manipulate them to solve problems.

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better?

While staff have regular training, informed by educational research, not all staff have the precise expertise that they need. This can mean that gaps in learning are not consistently picked up. This means that not all pupils quickly acquire the knowledge that leaders intend through the curriculum. 21 and 22 February 2023

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Pupils behave well because staff help them to understand the school rules. Disruption to learning is rare and, if it does happen, staff generally address it effectively. The school values underpin a culture of high expectations. Termly, classes vote on which ‘NIC’ value they want to practise demonstrating. Teachers help pupils consider how successful they are at upholding these values. Pupils who struggle to manage their emotions receive effective support. This includes workshops to help them manage their worries as well as the opportunity to attend ‘Lunch Bunch’ club. Here, pupils learn strategies that help them positively interact with their classmates.

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The needs of pupils with SEND are quickly identified when they join the school. Staff receive regular training to implement the detailed support plans. This ensures all pupils can play, learn and achieve well across all aspects of school life.

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Teachers use thoughtful books about different families and cultures to help pupils explore themes of respect and tolerance. Pupils develop a sense of community. Class ‘villages’ raise money with the parent-teacher association for play equipment to further enrich playtimes and the club offer after school. Leaders adapt the personal development curriculum to respond sensitively to concerns that arise. For example, the curriculum provides appropriate learning about internet safety, cyber-bullying and social media.

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Governors use robust information to check that leaders are taking the right action to improve educational effectiveness. Together, they regularly seek out external reviews of school systems to check that they hold an accurate view of the school’s priorities. Every member of staff understands their role in driving forward school improvement. They praise the support they receive from the headteacher and the leadership team.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

A strong culture of vigilance ensures that pupils at risk of harm are quickly identified and supported well. The school has forged effective and positive relationships with parents and professionals. It coordinates regular reviews of the support in place for families, to keep pupils safe and attending school regularly. Records accurately report the swift action that leaders take when staff raise concerns about pupils. Weekly ‘bite-size’ safeguarding updates ensure that all staff know about the risks pupils face outside of school.

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Safeguarding

Leaders continuously check that their safeguarding processes are robust by seeking external validation from the local authority and governors. 21 and 22 February 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Not all staff have the expertise they need to check for and effectively close gaps in learning. Consequently, not all pupils progress through the curriculum as well as they could. Leaders must ensure that all staff have the training they need to adapt teaching to help all pupils achieve well.

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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. 21 and 22 February 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 9 and 10 July 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.

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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 carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and art. 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.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors spoke with staff and pupils. The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead to examine records and actions. This included sampling a range of safeguarding 21 and 22 February 2023

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documentation. The lead inspector also reviewed checks on the safer recruitment of staff.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation provided by the school. This included the school improvement plan and self-evaluation form, policies, curriculum documents and minutes of governing body meetings.  The lead inspector met with governors, including the chair. They also had a telephone conversation with the school improvement officer from the local authority.  The views of staff and parents were gathered through discussions and Ofsted’s online surveys.

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Inspection team

Michelle Lower, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Therese Winthe Ofsted Inspector 21 and 22 February 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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