Greenfields Primary School

Inspection of Greenfields Primary School 472 Coventry Road, Birmingham, West Midlands B10 0UG

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Inspection dates: 14 and 16 November 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They attend well and arrive each day on time, ready to learn. Their attitudes to learning are positive and they behave impeccably well. This means the school is consistently calm. Pupils say bullying is rare and that school helps them to make friends. Staff make sure pupils are safe at school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils. The curriculum is broad with a wide range of subjects. The high focus on learning to read, write and communicate helps to prepare pupils well for their next step. Pupils who are in need of help get the additional support they need.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils do well across most areas of the curriculum. This is because the majority of subjects are planned and sequenced well. Teachers possess strong subject knowledge. They know what to teach and the order in which to teach it. This means pupils learn and remember more. In some subjects, the curriculum is less well developed. Pupils do not study important content in enough depth and could learn more.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders enrich the curriculum with trips and visits. Pupils enjoy visits to museums and to places in their local community. A few pupils cannot recall learning about different cultures when this has been previously taught.

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better?

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils. Since the last inspection, the curriculum has been further reviewed to reflect the breadth of the national curriculum. Pupils access a wide range of subjects.

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better?

Pupils achieve well across most of the curriculum areas. This is because the majority of teachers know their subjects well. They make sure that pupils build on their learning over time. For example, in English, pupils learn how to extend their writing with language and grammatical features. Their written skills develop well. They write for a range of purposes, using language and technical features that develop in maturity over time. Assessment is frequent and purposeful. It is used well to inform future learning. A few areas of the curriculum are under development. In these areas, pupils are not yet studying content in enough depth to help them to learn and remember more.

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better?

Reading is given the highest priority. Leaders know their pupils well and understand that many of them arrive with low starting points. The rigorous and systematic approach to the teaching of phonics means that pupils catch up quickly. They learn and remember sounds and practise reading daily. This strong start prepares pupils well. In key stage two, pupils read confidently and fluently. They enjoy a wide range of different types of books. 14 and 16 November 2023 Pupils who have special needs and/or disabilities get the help they need. The school makes sure that pupils are assessed quickly and use this information to inform detailed plans. Pupils get the right support, which means they are able to learn well across the curriculum.

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better?

Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. This is because there are high expectations that are understood by all. Pupils are respectful and tolerant because of the inclusive culture. The school is calm and orderly during lessons and at breaktimes. Pupils arrive at their lessons on time, eager and enthused to learn. Their attitudes to learning are exceptional. Pupils say that any form of bullying is not tolerated. If things did go wrong, they are confident that staff would help them to resolve any issues.

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better?

Pupils make good use of the leadership opportunities across the school. The school council, classroom and playtime monitors take their responsibilities seriously. Pupils learn about safety. They know how to keep themselves safe online and outside in the community. They are taught about different types of relationships, healthy lifestyles, mental and physical health. The curriculum for relationships and sex education meets statutory requirements.

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better?

Pupils enjoy a wide range of trips and visits. They also enjoy lunchtime clubs, including ‘Brainiac Science’ and cookery. The curriculum includes opportunities for pupils to learn about and celebrate differences in heritage and culture. However, some pupils cannot readily recall this learning.

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better?

Staff feel well supported by school leaders. They say that their workload and work- life balance is considered. Leaders ensure that staff can access appropriate training. The opportunities for professional development are well received and attended.

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better?

The school does not have a governing body. Oversight is provided through the board of directors. The proprietor works closely with the headteacher and knows the strengths of the school and areas to develop. They understand their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 and follow their accessibility plan. Through regular checks, they make sure the school is compliant with the independent school standards.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 In some subjects, the curriculum is less well developed. In these subjects, pupils do not learn content in sufficient depth. This means that pupils are less able to make connections between topics, and this slows their learning. Leaders should ensure that pupils learn important content in appropriate depth so that they are able to learn more and remember more. 14 and 16 November 2023  The school does not ensure that pupils have opportunities to revisit previous learning about different cultures. This means that for a few pupils, they are not able to recall their previous learning. Leaders should develop the curriculum to reinforce and embed learning regularly, to ensure that pupils learn and remember important content around wider cultures.

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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. 14 and 16 November 2023

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School details

Unique reference number 133603 DfE registration number 330/6103

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School details

Inspection number 10299192 Type of school Other independent school

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School details

Email address admin@greenfieldsprimary.school

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 11 to 13 February 2020 14 and 16 November 2023

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Information about this school

 Greenfields Primary School is an independent school located in Birmingham. The school has an Islamic ethos but offers places to pupils of other faiths.  The school was last inspected in February 2020, when it was judged to be good in all areas. Since the last inspection, the school has appointed a new headteacher.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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Information about this inspection

The school meets the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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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

 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Meetings were held with the headteacher and the chair of the proprietor body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, including reading, mathematics, science and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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Information about this inspection

 A number of key documents were also reviewed, including policies relating to admissions, behaviour, curriculum, complaints, health and safety and safeguarding. The lead inspector toured the premises to check for compliance with the independent school standards.  Inspectors also considered responses to Ofsted Parent View. 14 and 16 November 2023

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Inspection team

Melanie Callaghan-Lewis, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Gwen Onyon Ofsted Inspector 14 and 16 November 2023 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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