Girlington Primary School

Inspection of Girlington Primary School Girlington Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD8 9NR

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Inspection dates: 13 and 14 September 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 Outstanding Previous inspection grade Good 13 and 14 September 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to this welcoming and inclusive school. They feel safe and are kept safe by caring adults. Bullying is rare, and pupils know that adults always act swiftly to help resolve any problems. They know that they can go to trusted adults with any worries.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for what pupils can achieve and has high expectations of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils fulfil these high expectations and achieve well. Children get off to an excellent start to their education in the early years.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school also has high expectations of pupils’ behaviour, and these expectations are realised. Pupils are polite and courteous. There is a strong sense of calm and purposeful activity in classrooms. In lessons, pupils are highly engaged in their learning. They are attentive and keen to contribute.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are opportunities for pupils to develop a range of skills and talents through a broad offer of extra-curricular clubs. Many pupils enjoy attending these, which includes clubs themed around different sports, as well as healthy lifestyles through the nutrition club. The school ensures that disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND attend these clubs. Pupils are encouraged to eat healthily, and they all have access to free fruit at breaktimes.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are welcoming and are respectful of others. They are encouraged to take responsibility through class and school councillor roles. Pupils in these positions of responsibility can explain how they contribute to everybody having a role in improving the school.

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better?

The school has an ambitious and well-planned curriculum. The important knowledge and vocabulary that pupils need to learn have been identified. Teachers plan sequences of lessons that ensure that pupils’ knowledge builds on what they have learned before. Where assessment helps to inform these plans, pupils learn well, such as in mathematics. In some subjects, such as music and history, assessment systems are less well developed. In these subjects, teachers and leaders do not know consistently where there are gaps in pupils’ knowledge that need addressing.

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better?

Pupils are well prepared for the next stages of their education. For example, the excellent curriculum in early years gets children off to the best possible start and prepares them well for key stage 1. They learn early mathematical concepts by applying their knowledge in a range of practical contexts. Children also learn about repeating patterns and how to recognise numerals in different situations. At snack time, children in Nursery learn mathematical language relating to shape and length. 13 and 14 September 2023

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The school has the same high ambition for all pupils, including those with SEND. Pupils with a wide range of complex needs are supported well by adults who understand their needs. They achieve well as a result. Pupils in the specially resourced provision for pupils with hearing impairments are well supported. They are integrated fully into the everyday life of the school.

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Reading is given a high priority in the school. It is seen as essential to pupils’ access to the wider curriculum. There is a strong focus on pupils developing their love of reading. In early years, high-quality books are shared and celebrated. Pupils in key stage 2 enjoy reading. They hold interesting and knowledgeable discussions about their favourite books and authors. The school’s chosen scheme for the teaching of phonics is taught consistently well by teachers, who are well trained. Pupils who fall behind or who struggle with reading are quickly identified and supported to keep up. The books that pupils read are closely matched to the phonic sounds that they know.

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The school has a well-structured programme for personal, social and health education. This is delivered thoroughly through lessons and assemblies. As a result, pupils understand some aspects of the fundamental British values, such as democracy and individual liberty. However, some pupils have limited experiences of learning about people and environments beyond their immediate community.

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Pupils behave well. Adults and pupils enjoy positive and productive relationships with each other. In early years, strong routines and high expectations mean that children work well together and with prolonged attention. There are still too many pupils who are persistently absent or who do not attend school as regularly as they should. These pupils miss vital learning. They do not make the progress through the curriculum of which they are capable.

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Adults enable children’s learning exceptionally well in the early years. There is a relentless focus on the development of each child’s language and vocabulary. Familiar songs and rhymes are used expertly and in highly engaging ways to support children’s learning. Adults support children’s well-being and emotional security very well. There are strong and productive partnerships with parents and carers. Children are prepared exceptionally well for key stage 1.

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Governors share leaders’ high ambitions for the pupils. They are passionate and committed to ensuring that all pupils are prepared well for the next stage of their education and for life. They understand their important roles in relation to the school, and they carry out these roles well. They are highly committed and ensure that they visit the school to see plans in action and to monitor the impact of agreed policies.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 13 and 14 September 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Newly introduced assessment procedures in some foundation subjects are not embedded. As a result, teaching is less well informed about the next steps in pupils’ learning and the important knowledge they need. The school should ensure that assessment is used effectively in all areas of the foundation curriculum.  Pupils’ attendance is improving but remains irregular. Many pupils miss out on vital learning and do not achieve as well as they should. The school should continue to work with parents who do not see the importance of regular school attendance.  Some pupils have limited experience of learning about people or communities beyond their own. Because of this, they are not well prepared for life in modern Britain. Leaders should ensure that the school’s programme of personal development is sufficiently well designed so that pupils benefit from a wide and rich set of experiences and learning that prepare them well for life.

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 13 and 14 September 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 23 January 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school was not using alternative provision for any pupils at the time of the inspection.  The school contains a specially resourced provision for 20 pupils with hearing impairments. There are currently 15 pupils on roll.

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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

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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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 the school 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 music. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with 13 and 14 September 2023

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subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of their work. The lead inspector listened to a sample of pupils read to a familiar adult.  To inspect safeguarding, the lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding leads to review records. An inspector scrutinised the single central register of recruitment and vetting checks. Inspectors also spoke with governors, staff and pupils about safeguarding.  The lead inspector spoke with a group of governors, including the chair of governors. He also met with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors reviewed a range of other documentation and policies, including the school development plan, external reviews of the school and minutes of governing body meetings.  Inspectors considered the views of parents. This included speaking with parents at the end of the school day and reviewing the responses submitted to Ofsted’s

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online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

Dughall McCormick, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Vicky Oddy Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 September 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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