Grove Primary Academy

Inspection of Grove Primary Academy Caledonia Road, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV2 1HZ

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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

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Philip Salisbury. This school is part of St Martin’s 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, Ben Davis, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Daniel Lee. 8 and 9 May 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

The values of ‘honesty, respect and trust’ are at the heart of daily life at Grove Primary Academy. Pupils are polite and respectful. They work hard in lessons and do their best. At social times, pupils are kind to one another. Play leaders help pupils to play games and enjoy activities. Staff consistently apply the school’s ‘traffic light system’ approach to managing pupils’ behaviour. Adults deal effectively with the rare incidents of poor behaviour. Pupils are safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff warmly greet pupils on their arrival at school each day. The school works hard to make sure pupils attend regularly. Recent work is having a positive impact on improving rates of pupils’ attendance.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Turbulence in staffing has hampered the school’s progress in recent years. However, the school is now back on track. A rigorous and accurate appraisal by leaders has identified the right priorities for improvement. The school’s work to address these priorities is well underway to ensure that pupils achieve consistently well.

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better?

Children in the early years settle well into school life. Staff identify what children know and can do. They plan learning experiences that interest and engage children. Children learn to read and write simple sentences. They count and order numbers. When working independently, children enjoy practising and rehearsing new knowledge and skills. They learn to share and take turns. Children cooperate well with each other and enjoy making new friends. All this helps children to be well prepared for the next stage in their learning.

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better?

The school has adopted a well-sequenced curriculum that is ambitious for all pupils. Recent improvements have brought greater clarity and consistency to curriculum delivery. Teachers know what to teach and when to teach it. They present new learning clearly in ways that interest and engage pupils. However, sometimes teachers do not check how well pupils understand what has been taught over time. This means that teachers are not always clear on how well pupils have learned the curriculum and do not identify what pupils need to do to improve.

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better?

Reading and writing are prioritised. Pupils read and are read to every day. A wide range of diverse high-quality books are available to all pupils. Pupil librarians, book club sessions, reading competitions, author visits and a book tasting café create a buzz about reading. This helps instil a passion for reading in pupils. Skilled staff teach early reading very well. Pupils who fall behind in their reading are quickly identified and receive effective support to catch up. Pupils learn to read with the confidence and accuracy expected for their age. The writing curriculum has been revised and thoughtfully developed to reflect the needs of pupils. There are, however, inconsistencies in the way writing is taught across the school. As a result, some pupils do not achieve as well as they could in writing. 8 and 9 May 2024

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified swiftly. They get effective support to be successful in school. This includes support from additional adults or adaptions to their work. Most pupils with SEND achieve well. However, some pupils, including those with SEND, do not attend school as regularly as they should. This means they miss out on valuable learning and support.

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The school’s work to enhance pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is high quality. Pupils learn right from wrong through the school rules and class charters. Restorative conversations help pupils to think about the impact of their actions or words on others. Pupils learn about different religions, including Hinduism, Judaism and Christianity. They learn about the importance of celebrations and festivals to different faiths. Visits to different places of worship help pupils to understand and respect differences. Pupils learn about democracy through the work of a local councillor. They enjoy taking on school responsibilities, such as digital leaders or school councillors. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Staff feel valued and listened to. The school prioritises staff well-being and has reduced teachers’ workload. The trust has improved how it holds the school to account for its performance.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Despite the school’s work, some pupils do not attend school regularly, particularly those with SEND. This means they miss important learning and do not achieve as well as they could. The school should identify the barriers to good school attendance and engage with parents and carers to seek effective solutions so pupils attend school regularly.  Teachers do not consistently check how well pupils have learned the curriculum. As a result, it is not always clear how well pupils are achieving and they do not always know what to do to improve. The school should ensure that teachers assess the curriculum and use the information to inform teaching to help pupils learn more and remember more.  There are some inconsistencies in how writing is taught. This means pupils do not communicate through writing as well as they could. The school should ensure that pupils are taught to write with the confidence and accuracy expected for

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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). 8 and 9 May 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 13 and 14 November 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

n The school does not use alternative provision. n The headteacher began working at the school in September 2023 .

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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

n 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.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, geography, mathematics and music. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of sessions, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 8 and 9 May 2024

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Inspectors also looked at pupils’ writing. They held discussions with leaders about art, computing, science and Spanish, as well as sampling pupils’ work in these subjects.  The inspectors observed pupils reading to a familiar adult and reviewed reading resources.  The inspectors reviewed a range of documentation on the school’s website.  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 in lessons and at other times during the day.  The inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, the assistant headteachers, the special educational needs coordinator, the designated safeguarding leader, curriculum leaders, and members of the trust, including the chief executive.

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 The inspectors took account of responses to Ofsted Parent View, pupil surveys and staff surveys.

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Inspection team

Lorraine Lord, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Allyson Brown Ofsted Inspector 8 and 9 May 2024

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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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