Grange Community Nursery and Primary School

Inspection of Grange Community Nursery and Primary School Brindley Avenue, Winsford, Cheshire CW7 2EG

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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 Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 25 and 26 April 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including children in the early years, help to ensure that Grange Primary school is a harmonious place to learn. There is a strong ethos of mutual respect between staff and pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and what they can achieve academically. This includes those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders make sure that pupils’ well-being and the quality of the curriculum are their most important priorities. Most pupils are keen to learn and they achieve well across a range of subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe in school and they behave well. They show kindness and respect to one another. Pupils know that adults will help them if they have any worries or concerns. If bullying occurs, leaders deal with these incidents swiftly and effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the many opportunities that they have beyond the academic curriculum. For instance, they access a varied range of clubs that take place after school and other trips.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are eager to contribute to the decisions made by leaders through their roles as school councillors, eco-warriors and play leaders. Pupils develop into active citizens who enjoy helping others and raising money for charitable causes.

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better?

Trustees, leaders and staff want pupils, including those with SEND, to achieve to their very best. They have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum which meets the needs of pupils, including children in the early years. Across subjects, leaders have identified the most important knowledge that they want pupils to learn. This knowledge is carefully ordered so that new ideas build on pupils’ previous learning. Within subjects, leaders are clear about the vocabulary that they want pupils to learn as they move through the school.

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better?

Many subject leaders provide valuable guidance and support for teachers in how to deliver the curriculum. In lessons, teachers’ secure subject knowledge ensures that they present new learning clearly to pupils. Staff make checks to ensure that pupils have understood prior learning before introducing new concepts. For the most part, pupils can build securely on what they know already. However, in a small number of subjects, some teachers do not ensure that pupils have sufficient opportunities to recap and recall earlier learning.

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better?

Pupils are eager to learn and they listen well in class. Poor behaviour rarely disrupts learning. However, some pupils do not attend school as regularly as they should. These pupils miss out on important learning and this hinders their learning of the intended curriculum. 25 and 26 April 2023

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Leaders place a high priority on the teaching of reading. Pupils’ love of reading and staff’s skilfull delivery of the new phonics scheme are helping more pupils to become confident and fluent readers. Leaders have ensured that pupils and children are exposed to a broad range of high-quality texts.

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Pupils, including children in the early years, benefit from a well-organised phonics curriculum. Pupils, including those with SEND, read books that are matched closely to the sounds and words that they know. Those pupils who fall behind in reading receive appropriate support to help them to catch up. Older pupils are keen readers. They talked confidently about their favourite authors and the different types of books that they like to read.

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Pupils with SEND, including in the early years, have their needs met promptly by staff. Teachers adapt subject curriculums appropriately to make sure that these pupils access the same learning as their friends. Leaders work closely with outside agencies to ensure that pupils with SEND benefit from suitable support. Pupils with SEND take part in all that the school has to offer.

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Leaders have prioritised pupils’ wider development. For example, all pupils in key stages 1 and 2 have the opportunity to go on a residential visit. Older pupils talked fondly about a recent trip to London where they visited many famous landmarks. Pupils recognise the need to look after the planet for future generations. They learn about different cultures that live within our diverse society. Pupils recognise the need to eat a balanced diet and take regular exercise to keep their bodies healthy.

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Governors and trustees provide effective levels of challenge and support. Representatives of the multi-academy trust provide extensive support in the form of training and the sharing of expertise with staff.

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Staff morale is high and they work well as a team. Those teachers new to the profession are supported well by their experienced colleagues. Staff appreciate all that leaders do to ensure that they have an acceptable workload and work-life balance. Most parents and carers hold the school in high regard and would happily recommend it to others.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There are stringent procedures in place to ensure that safeguarding is everyone’s priority. Well-trained staff know what to do if they have any safeguarding concerns. They have a secure understanding of the potential safeguarding risks in the local community.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that those families facing challenging circumstances receive the help and support that they need. 25 and 26 April 2023

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Pupils know how to keep themselves safe in different situations, such as when online. They also recognise the qualities that make a good friend.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There are a number of pupils who do not come to school on a regular basis. This means that these pupils miss out on important learning, and this prevents them from achieving as well as they should. Leaders should continue their work to support pupils and their families so that these pupils attend school regularly.  In a small number of subjects, some teachers do not ensure that pupils have sufficient opportunities to recap and recall earlier learning. This means that some pupils are less confident in recalling learning from previous years. Leaders should ensure that, in these subjects, teachers afford pupils sufficient opportunities to recap and recall important earlier learning.

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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 April 2023

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School details

Local authority Cheshire West and Chester

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School details

Inspection number 10255927 Type of school Primary

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School details

Headteacher Annette Williams (executive headteacher)

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school opened in November 2018 and is part of the Weaver Trust.  Leaders do not use any form of alternative provision for pupils.  The school runs a breakfast club and a ‘fun club’ after school.

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Information about this inspection

The 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 that the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken this into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held meetings with trustees, governors, the headteacher and other staff.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, they discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers and with some pupils about their learning. They also looked at a sample of pupils’ work. The lead inspector 25 and 26 April 2023

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listened to pupils read with a familiar adult. Inspectors also discussed the curriculum with leaders in some other subjects.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including that relating to safeguarding. They spoke with leaders, staff and pupils about the culture of safeguarding in the school.  Inspectors observed behaviour as pupils moved around the school, in class, in the dinner hall and outdoor-play area.  The lead inspector considered the views expressed by parents in their responses to Ofsted Parent View. This included the free-text comments. She also took account of the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaires for staff. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for pupils.  An inspector spoke with parents as they brought their children to school at the start of the school day.

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Inspection team

Sheila Iwaskow, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Amy Burkes Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 April 2023

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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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