The Grove Primary School

Inspection of The Grove Primary School Campkin Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB4 2NB

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 November 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 Good Previous inspection grade Good 28 and 29 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and well cared for at The Grove. They are kind to one another and look after each other at playtimes. From the start of early years, children establish routines that set them up well for their time in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are safe. They build strong relationships with adults and are confident to speak to them if they have any worries. Pupils try their best because of adults’ high expectations. Most pupils behave well; they are fully engaged in learning and work hard in lessons. This includes those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils understand and demonstrate the school values of being ‘ready, respectful and safe’. Pupils are clear that these values underpin everything that they do in the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a range of activities that help to deepen pupils’ talents and interests. These include various sports clubs and a choir. There are trips out that enhance pupils’ learning, such as to a local museum and careers fair.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils celebrate the school’s diversity, both of their peers and staff. When pupils talk about diversity and difference, a typical view is, ‘Everyone is normal here. Being you is what makes you special.’

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better?

The school has established a well-designed, broad and ambitious curriculum. It clearly sets out and sequences the important information that pupils need to know in all subjects from the early years to Year 6. This helps pupils to build on what they already know. A few subject leaders are still developing their assessment processes to help them to monitor and evaluate the impact of the new curriculum plans that are in place.

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better?

The school prioritises reading. Teachers use high-quality texts to reflect the diversity and cultures of pupils in the school. Pupils have regular opportunities to read and enjoy books. This begins in the Nursery as children listen to and learn nursery rhymes. Phonics teaching starts as soon as children enter the Reception class. Well- trained staff teach early reading effectively. Books are well matched to the sounds that pupils know. This helps most pupils to build a secure knowledge of phonics and to read with fluency. For those who find reading tricky, including older pupils, targeted support helps them to keep up and become fluent readers.

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better?

Teachers have strong subject knowledge in the curriculum areas where they have received support and training. This helps them to deliver the curriculum well. In these subjects, teachers present information clearly. They adapt their teaching and routinely check what pupils know and remember. However, in a small number of subjects, their expertise is less secure. In these areas, teachers do not adapt lessons or check whether pupils have gaps in their knowledge as effectively. As a result, pupils do not always have a deep enough understanding of what they have learned. 28 and 29 November 2023

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The school skilfully identifies and supports pupils with SEND. Staff ensure that there are careful adaptations to teaching, which helps pupils with SEND to achieve well. The school gives effective pastoral support to help pupils overcome anxieties and barriers to learning. The school knows these pupils and their families well. This means that staff can provide well-tailored support to help pupils and families when needed.

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Children in early years quickly settle and engage in their learning. They are confident learners. Staff encourage children to use ambitious vocabulary from the start. For example, children were able to understand and use the word ‘submerged’ during an investigation on floating and sinking. They used ‘departure’ when they talked about their class storybook.

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Behaviour around the school and in lessons is calm. On the rare occasions when pupils fall out with each other, they are well supported to resolve their differences. This includes by trained pupils who act as ‘peer mediators’. These pupils are proud to help and support others when there are issues. Pupils attend school regularly. The school has introduced several effective approaches to help reduce pupil absence.

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There is a clear, well-planned personal, social, health and economic education programme in place. This gives pupils the knowledge they need at an age- appropriate level. A number of trips and visits help to enrich pupils’ knowledge and interests. Pupils have a range of leadership responsibilities. These include junior leaders and sports council members. Junior leaders, for example, proudly explain how they support Remembrance Day through selling poppies in school.

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The governing body has a good understanding of the school. This is the result of a well-planned monitoring programme. This enables governors to challenge and support leaders effectively. Governors and leaders are considerate of staff workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some areas of the curriculum, teachers are still developing their subject knowledge. This means that they do not always adapt activities or explain information as clearly as they could. As a result, sometimes, pupils do not develop deep and detailed knowledge of their subjects. The school should ensure it continues to support teachers in developing the skills and knowledge they need in all subjects.  In some subjects, some aspects of assessment need further development to ensure that gaps and misconceptions in pupils’ knowledge are clearly identified, 28 and 29 November 2023

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and then addressed, to help pupils to deepen their understanding. The school must ensure that assessment processes in all subjects are of equally high quality so that pupils learn as well as they should.

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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). 28 and 29 November 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chairs of governing body Gordon Deane and Ruth Cooper

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 11 and 12 May 2022, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school runs a before-school and an after-school club.  The Nursery provision opened in September 2022.  The school uses the services of one unregistered alternative provider.

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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.  Inspectors discussed any continued 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, science, physical education and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of 28 and 29 November 2023

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pupils’ work. The lead inspector listened to pupils from Years 1 to 6 read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and other leaders, including the special educational needs coordinator.  The lead inspector also held a meeting with members of the local governing board.  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.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site during playtime.  The lead inspector held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.  The lead inspector considered 37 responses to Ofsted Parent View, including 23 free-text responses. The lead inspector also considered 23 responses to Ofsted’s

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staff survey and the 26 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Wayne Jarvis, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Lucy Roberts Ofsted Inspector 28 and 29 November 2023

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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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