Gladstone Road Primary School

Inspection of Gladstone Road Primary School Wooler Street, Scarborough, North Yorkshire YO12 7DD

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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 3 and 4 July 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Gladstone Road are happy and are enthusiastic ambassadors for their school. They offer a warm welcome to visitors and speak with real affection about the staff at the school. Some pupils in Year 5 are chosen as well-being ambassadors. They speak very proudly about the support they offer to other pupils across the school. One ambassador told an inspector, ‘We look after people if they’re ever sad and give them a friend.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have worked to improve the curriculum across school since the previous inspection. Subject leaders are knowledgeable and passionate about their subjects. They have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. Pupils enjoy a range of educational and residential visits, both locally and further afield. These visits are linked to the learning in school. Year 6 pupils recently returned from an educational visit to London. The school’s head pupils talked with enthusiasm about this visit.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour at the school is positive. Pupils and adults consistently display high levels of respect for one another. Bullying is very rare. Where pupils’ behaviour falls short of leaders’ high expectations, staff take action to address this. Pupils at this school feel safe and know how to stay safe. Staff and parents agree.

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better?

Leaders at all levels have developed and reviewed an ambitious curriculum over the past 18 months. Subject leaders have a clear understanding of the knowledge that pupils need to learn. Many curriculum subjects are well established. Pupils show high levels of interest and enthusiasm in lessons. However, some of the approaches to implementing the curriculum and the assessment of how well pupils are learning are not consistently embedded in some foundation subjects.

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better?

Teachers and leaders make adaptations to the curriculum to allow pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to access the same lesson content as their peers.

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better?

Leaders ensure that the early years provision forms the foundation for all other learning across the curriculum. The well-designed curriculum for the youngest children gives them a varied range of experiences that help to prepare them for future learning. In Reception, adults provide a purposeful environment for play and learning inside and in the outdoor learning environment. Activities in many areas promote and extend learning. Children benefit from a language and number-rich environment. This means that they develop their vocabulary and number skills well.

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better?

Leaders have ensured that the teaching of phonics is effective. This allows pupils, including those whose first language is not English, to become fluent and capable readers. Children are taught phonics from their first days in Reception and quickly develop key skills to help them with their reading. Where pupils in key stage 1 need extra help with phonics, adults deliver focused interventions. Pupils talk with 3 and 4 July 2023

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enthusiasm about reading. They demonstrate a genuine love of reading. They enjoy access to a well-stocked library. There are many opportunities for reading and accessing high-quality books built into the school day.

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Pupils enjoy a carefully planned curriculum to develop their character. Pupils benefit from the school’s work to promote equality, diversity and tolerance. Pupils show high levels of understanding and empathy for others. The school offers a wide range of extra-curricular clubs, which children enjoy. Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are well represented in these clubs. Leaders identify barriers to participation in clubs and seek to remove these wherever possible, including offering all clubs free of charge.

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Leaders at all levels have a clear view of the strengths of the school and those areas that require further work. This includes a board of committed and knowledgeable governors who have a comprehensive overview of the school. Governors have built up a strong board with well-defined and clearly understood roles. They have a clear strategic plan and offer appropriate challenge to school leaders to support the continual drive for improvement. Teachers feel supported by leaders. They believe their well-being and workload is given priority by leaders.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a very strong culture of safeguarding at this school. All adults working in school, including governors, receive appropriate training to keep pupils and each other safe. Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to keep themselves safe. They understand the systems that leaders have put in place to keep them safe. Staff at the school have a good awareness of the local risks and how to help pupils avoid them. Leaders ensure that pupils who are at risk get the help they need and take appropriate, rigorous action to ensure pupils’ safety. Recruitment processes in school ensure that the necessary safeguarding checks for staff and volunteers are robust.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The implementation of the curriculum is not fully embedded in a small number of foundation subjects. Some of the work given to pupils does not give them sufficient opportunity to achieve the aims and ambitions of the curriculum. Leaders should ensure that they support teachers to implement leaders’ full curriculum design with consistency across all subjects.  Assessment of what pupils have learned is not as strong in some foundation curriculum subjects as it is in others. As a result, the ways that teachers check what knowledge pupils can recall in preparation for future learning is less established in some areas of the curriculum. Leaders should ensure that the systems to check on what pupils have learned accurately inform future learning. 3 and 4 July 2023

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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. 3 and 4 July 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10279396 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 1 and 2 December 2021, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been no significant changes to the school since the previous inspection.  The school admits children from Reception onwards. It has no nursery provision.  The school does not use alternative provision.  The school operates a breakfast club.

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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

 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, school leaders, representatives of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, science, geography, physical education and art. For each deep dive, inspectors met with 3 and 4 July 2023

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subject leaders, looked at curriculum documents, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  An inspector listened to pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 reading to a familiar adult. The inspector also talked to a group of pupils in Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 about reading for pleasure.  Inspectors reviewed safeguarding, attendance and behaviour records, including the single central register of recruitment checks on staff.

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Inspection team

Richard Beadnall, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Paul Martindale Ofsted Inspector 3 and 4 July 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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