Goddard Park Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Goddard Park Community Primary School Welcombe Avenue, Park North, Swindon, Wiltshire SN3 2QN

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Outcome

Goddard Park Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff provide a warm and welcoming environment for all at Goddard Park. Members of the school community demonstrate a strong understanding of the school’s motto, ‘everybody learns, everybody cares’. Staff make it a priority to get to know pupils and to nurture them. Parents say staff are dedicated and supportive. Pupils report they feel safe here and that there are lots of people they can talk to about their feelings.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations that all pupils will access the school’s broad and ambitious curriculum. Everyone is clear about behaviour expectations. These are consistently applied by staff. Pupils cooperate well and display positive attitudes towards their learning. They enjoy orienteering, dodgeball and singing club.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value opportunities to demonstrate leadership at this school. For example, school council members run ‘fruity Friday’, whereby pupils are encouraged to try fruits they have not tried before. This also helps to promote healthy eating. Pupils talk fondly of a school they sponsor in Kenya. They take pride in their efforts to raise money, for example, through discos they have organised. Pupils learn to be philanthropic. They develop an awareness of life beyond Goddard Park.

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

Reading is a priority at this school. Leaders have implemented a phonics and reading programme that is adhered to by all staff. This approach begins in Nursery Year to enhance children’s speaking and listening skills. Staff have had training to deliver the programme with precision. Some pupils are behind where they should be, but staff do all they can to provide swift support so that pupils catch up quickly. Staff assess pupils regularly to review the quality of support provided. Pupils learn how to use the sounds they know to read with fluency. The books that pupils take home help them practise and develop confidence. 18 and 19 July 2023

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Leaders have also designed a well-planned reading comprehension curriculum. Pupils are enthusiastic about reading and talk excitedly about new vocabulary they have learned. This is enhanced by the diverse collection of ‘teacher treasure’ books that pupils choose. The school has a real buzz for reading, and pupils know the importance of learning to read.

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Leaders have thought carefully about what pupils should learn at each stage of their education. They have identified the most essential concepts pupils need to know. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), learn well from the curriculum. Staff identify pupils’ needs early. Leaders provide staff with high-quality training to give pupils with SEND the support they need.

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The curriculum across the school is well planned overall. However, in a few subjects, there is a lack of clarity in how the curriculum builds from the early years. Some leaders are less clear on how learning in the early years provides readiness for future learning in key stage 1 and beyond.

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Teachers make clear to pupils how their learning links to their lives. This leads to high engagement. For example, in mathematics, pupils in Year 6 learn about currency and conversion rates as part of their economic studies. They say this knowledge will be useful for the summer holidays. Teachers carefully select activities to deliver the curriculum. For example, children in the early years learn about the points on a compass when drawing treasure maps.

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Leaders have refined their approach to the teaching of writing. There is now a more consistent way to teach spelling, punctuation and grammar, and to increase writing stamina. In the early years, children apply their phonics knowledge to their writing. Older pupils use technical skills they have learned to write for a range of audiences and purposes. Despite recent improvements, the high quality of education provided by the school is not yet reflected in pupils’ published writing outcomes.

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Staff enrich pupils’ wider development through a well-crafted programme. From the early years, staff encourage children to look after themselves. They talk knowledgeably about why healthy eating is good for you. Further up the school, pupils know how to keep mentally well. They know right from wrong. Staff teach pupils to behave well, and learning is not disrupted by poor behaviour.

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School leaders and trustees are mindful of staff well-being and workload. Staff value this. They feel well supported and enjoy working at this school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

All staff and governors have regular safeguarding training. This means that they have the knowledge to identify any pupils who might be at risk of harm. Staff know how to report any concerns. Leaders keep detailed records, including actions taken. Safeguarding leaders act quickly to get pupils and their families the support they need. 18 and 19 July 2023

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Leaders ensure that pupils learn about how to keep themselves safe, particularly when accessing social media and the internet. All required recruitment procedures are followed to check that staff are suitable to work with children.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, leaders have not set out with enough precision how the early years curriculum prepares children for future learning. This means learning does not build progressively from the early years in all subjects. All leaders need to combine their efforts to ensure that the school’s curriculum is progressively planned from early years to Year 6 so that it builds on children’s starting points.  Following the disruption caused by the pandemic, pupils’ published outcomes in writing have dipped due to a lack of writing stamina and practice. Leaders must continue to embed the new approach to the teaching of writing so that it has a positive impact on pupils’ writing across the school.

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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.

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Background

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

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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.

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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. 18 and 19 July 2023

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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. 18 and 19 July 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6 March 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Goddard Park Community Primary School is a single-academy trust.  The school has a nursery for three- and four-year-old children.  The school uses one registered alternative provision and two unregistered alternative providers.  There is a before- and an after-school club for pupils who attend the school.

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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 has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the school leaders, staff and trustees.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. 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. 18 and 19 July 2023

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 The inspector listened to pupils from Years 1, 2 and 3 read to a known adult.  The inspector evaluated the effectiveness of safeguarding. She looked at the school’s single central record and records of concerns and how staff work to keep pupils safe. The inspectors talked to pupils, staff and governors about safeguarding practices.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school, including at lunchtimes. In addition, she met with pupils formally and informally to hear their views.  The inspector considered responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses. She looked at responses to the pupil survey and responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Lakmini Harkus, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 18 and 19 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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