Gallions Mount Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Gallions Mount Primary School Purrett Road, Plumstead, London SE18 1JR

p.1

Outcome

Gallions Mount Primary School continues to be a good school.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and safe in this school. They listen to their teachers and are keen to learn. Pupils behave sensibly and calmly in class and around the school. Children learn routines as soon as they join the school that help them to be ready for learning. Staff, including those in the early years, are ambitious for what they want pupils to achieve.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

The staff team are very proud and happy to work here. They have high expectations and aspirations for all pupils. All pupils are included in all aspects of the school and adjustments are made to ensure this happens.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are taught to be respectful of everybody regardless of differences. They demonstrate this in school, through their interactions with one another and in their actions.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are excited by the opportunities that leaders organise. These include enrichment activities, such as design technology club, a residential for pupils in Year 6 and ‘street tag’. They are proud of their school choir and enthused by outings that build on what they have learned previously. Pupils would like more opportunities for clubs.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

‘The school has a real family feel. The children and staff all know each other and look out for their friends. The staff work hard to do their very best for the children’ was typical of the views of many parents and carers.

p.1

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have developed an ambitious curriculum in most subjects. Most curriculum thinking sets out the knowledge that pupils need to help them make progress and learn well. Teachers, including those in the early years, teach sequences of lessons that build pupils’ knowledge over time. In some subjects, leaders have not identified the development of specific and essential skills as clearly from the early years through to Year 24 and 25 May 2023

p.1

2

6. This means pupils do not build their understanding and enquiry skills as securely in those subjects.

p.2

2

Teachers are confident in the subjects they teach and have strong subject knowledge. They explain new concepts clearly and address misconceptions quickly. Teachers ensure lessons recap prior learning and pupils can practise what they already know. This means most pupils recall key information effectively and remember more over time.

p.2

2

Staff use a consistent and systematic approach to teaching pupils to read, beginning early in Reception. Reading is taught successfully and is built on in Years 1 and 2. Teachers know when pupils are not keeping up. Leaders provide support to help pupils to catch up. For some pupils in Year 3 and above, the books that pupils read contain sounds they do not know, and support to help older weaker readers to catch up is not as strong. As a result, sounds are not embedded into pupils’ long-term memory as securely to help them to become fluent readers quickly.

p.2

2

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), including those in the early years, are supported well. Leaders identify pupils’ needs early. They seek advice from other professionals to get the right help. Most pupils with SEND learn the same curriculum as their peers. For those other pupils with SEND, the focus is on the most important things they need to learn. They receive the help relevant to their needs.

p.2

2

Pupils behave well and classrooms are places where pupils can learn uninterrupted. Teachers have strategies to manage behaviour and pupils know and respond to the school’s golden rules. Pupils want to do well and have positive attitudes to learning.

p.2

2

The personal development programme prepares pupils for their future lives in modern Britain. Pupils are taught about healthy and unhealthy relationships, including consent. They are encouraged to understand and articulate the importance of equality.

p.2

2

The governing body knows the school’s priorities. It supports and challenges leaders. There are some aspects of the curriculum in which the governing body’s understanding is not as strong. Therefore, the ability to hold leaders to account is more limited.

p.2

2

All staff are proud to work at the school. They feel supported and are given training to do their jobs effectively. The staff team have manageable workloads and they value actions taken by leaders to ensure this.

p.2

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

p.2

Safeguarding

There is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. The safeguarding team extends to those who lead on SEND, behaviour and attendance. They work in partnership, so they know their pupils and families well. Leaders emphasise raising any concerns promptly and ensuring that swift actions are taken to keep pupils safe. 24 and 25 May 2023

p.2

3

Staff know their safeguarding responsibilities and the school’s contextual issues. Leaders and the pastoral team work closely with families, identifying needs and providing information on keeping themselves and their children healthy and safe. Recruitment procedures are robust. Leaders complete all necessary checks on new staff.

p.3

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In key stage 2, pupils who have gaps in their phonic knowledge and are weaker readers are not routinely given books that match the sounds they are learning. This means that they are not helped to catch up as quickly as pupils in key stage 1. Leaders need to refine their phonics curriculum for older pupils who are weaker readers in key stage 2, and ensure that all books that older pupils read always match the sounds they are learning.  Leaders have not identified the essential knowledge and disciplinary skills that pupils and children in the early years should learn or the order in which this should be taught. As a result, the activities that teachers prepare do not routinely match expected outcomes and pupils do not strengthen their understanding as routinely. Leaders should ensure that teachers, including those in the early years, know what skills pupils should be taught, how to teach them and when this should happen.

p.3

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

p.3

Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2013.

p.3

How can I feed back my views?

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.

p.3

How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school. 24 and 25 May 2023

p.3

Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

p.4

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. 24 and 25 May 2023

p.4

School details

Inspection number 10289765 Type of school Primary

p.5

School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

p.5

School details

Website www.gallionsmount.greenwich.sch.uk

p.5

School details

Date of previous inspection 21 March 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

p.5

Information about this school

 At the time of the inspection, the school was making use of alternative provision at Kidbrooke Park Learning Centre.

p.5

Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, and other senior and middle leaders in the school. The inspector spoke with members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector 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.  During the inspection, the inspector reviewed a range of documentation, including in relation to safeguarding, the wider curriculum, attendance and pupils with SEND. 24 and 25 May 2023

p.5

6

 The inspector spoke with leaders and staff to understand how workload and well-being are taken into account in the school.  The inspector also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for parents, staff and pupils.

p.6

Inspection team

Kieran Bird, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 24 and 25 May 2023

p.6

7

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.

p.7

7

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.7

7

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

7

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

7

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7