Green Meadow Primary School

Inspection of Green Meadow Primary School Green Meadow Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham, West Midlands B29 4EE

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Inspection dates: 26 and 27 September 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Janine Arrowsmith. This school is part of Excelsior Multi Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Hazel Pulley, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Jasmine Armstrong. 26 and 27 September 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

The atmosphere in school is supportive, friendly and welcoming of all. In the words of several parents and carers, ‘The staff go above and beyond to help the pupils here.’ As the school vision states, pupils are indeed ready, respectful and safe. They arrive happily and settle quickly to their work. They love learning and always show positive attitudes towards everything they are asked to do.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils achieve well and are proud and excited to talk about their learning. They benefit from the tasks that teachers provide. These are purposeful and well designed to help pupils learn and remember what they are taught.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Whether in class, in the innovative virtual reality suite or on the exciting lunchtime playground, pupils behave well and treat one another kindly. This is because they learn a great deal about how to behave, mutual respect and equality. There are clear rules and high expectations of everyone.

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What is it like to attend this school?

On the rare occasions when behaviour falls short of expectations, school staff are highly skilled at helping pupils to make amends. Pupils trust staff to sort out any issues quickly, and they do so.

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better?

The school, with support from the trust, has put in place an ambitious, broad and successful curriculum. Enhancements to the curriculum in some subjects, including history and mathematics, have had more time to embed than others. Pupils are successful in these subjects, gaining secure mathematical and historical knowledge. However, in a small number of other subjects, the curriculum is well designed but is at an earlier stage of implementation. This means that, although pupils enjoy these subjects, they are not remembering as much as they might.

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better?

Teachers encourage and intentionally teach all pupils to communicate effectively in speech. This starts in the early years. This is consistent across the school and is highly effective. Pupils share their ideas and opinions clearly, and this helps deepen learning. It has also helped them win a local public speaking competition involving other schools.

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better?

Teachers successfully modify and adapt learning so that all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, can access the whole curriculum. As a result, pupils from Reception to Year 6 progress well through the curriculum.

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better?

Children get off to a good start learning to read. They begin phonics from the start of Reception and quickly learn how to put letter sounds together to read simple words. Adults know which sounds pupils can read because they hear them read often. Throughout school, if pupils fall behind with their reading, adults help them to catch up. 26 and 27 September 2023

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Pupils enjoy hearing the high-quality books that adults read to them. This happens regularly, and pupils love following along with the text and talking about the books. This inspires them and gives them a real love of reading.

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In the early years, children settle quickly into routines. The curriculum is ambitious and well structured. Teachers know the children well and adjust activities to provide exactly what they need. The classroom environment is engaging and staff make effective use of high-quality resources to support children’s learning. Although it is so early in their life at school, children are already independent, smiling and able to focus well on the learning they do.

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The school and the trust engage successfully with parents. Parents feel informed and valued. They praise the school for the ambition it shows for all pupils and for the many opportunities it provides. Parents visit school regularly to celebrate their children’s accomplishments and find out how to support learning.

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Pupils develop an excellent knowledge of personal, social and health education. They are learning to become active citizens who are tolerant, empathic and sensitive to differences and diversity. They are being very well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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The curriculum extends well beyond the academic. Pupils get a range of wider experiences. The school carefully selects opportunities that help widen pupils’ personal development. These include residentials, theatre trips and inviting visitors into school to inform and inspire pupils about the world of work. Many pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, which they enjoy attending enormously. Various sporting and creative arts clubs are offered, and there is even a club where pupils learn to touch-type.

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Leaders at all levels share a highly ambitious vision for this school. They have high expectations and a passion to provide the absolute best for every single pupil. They put their plans into action, enabling the school to go from strength to strength.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, the school has not fully implemented curriculum improvements as effectively as in other subjects. This means that pupils do not retain as much knowledge and understanding as they could. The school should continue to implement and review these subjects so that they become as embedded and effective as those subjects which are current strengths of the school. 26 and 27 September 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’ 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). 26 and 27 September 2023

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School details

Website www.greenmeadow.excelsiormat.org

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School details

Date of previous inspection 25 May 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There has been a change of headteacher since the last routine inspection.  The school is a part of Excelsior Multi Academy Trust.  The school uses one registered 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.  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 held meetings with the headteacher, other senior leaders and the special educational needs coordinator. 26 and 27 September 2023

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 An inspector held meetings with the chair of the board of trustees and the chair of the school improvement committee.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, modern foreign languages, physical education and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in 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.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including parents’ free- text responses. Inspectors also took account of responses to Ofsted’s surveys for

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staff and pupils.  Inspectors spoke to parents at the school gate.

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Inspection team

Gareth Morgan, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Kerri James Ofsted Inspector 26 and 27 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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