Graiseley Primary School

Inspection of Graiseley Primary School Pool Street, Graiseley Hill, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV2 4NE

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 21 and 22 May 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy to be at school and feel safe. This is because they feel cared for by staff, who they describe as the best thing at the school. Pupils also enjoy positive relationships with the other pupils. They play well together at social times and work well together in lessons. Pupils know that if there was a problem with anything, staff would help to sort it out.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have raised their expectations for pupils’ achievement. Pupils are now starting to achieve higher standards in reading and mathematics. However, there are still some gaps in their knowledge. This means they sometimes find it difficult to do the work appropriate for their age. In other subjects, they remember what they have been taught, but this is not always what is most important to learn. Sometimes, pupils repeat learning they have done before, without building on it or deepening their understanding. This is because the curriculum in some subjects is not designed well enough.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a range of opportunities to widen their experiences. Pupils enjoy trips to places of local interest and having inspirational visitors to school. Through their roles as young interpreters and in the school council, they become active citizens.

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better?

The passion and the determination of the new headteacher have united the staff and governors to provide a better quality of education for the pupils at Graiseley Primary School. The standards pupils achieved in the past were too low. This is starting to change.

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better?

In a short space of time, the school has reviewed the curriculum in the core subjects, and in the early years. In these areas, there is a clear and progressive sequence of learning. It covers what is most important and builds on prior learning.

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better?

Children make a good start in early years. Staff have a good understanding of children’s needs. There is a clear emphasis on widening children’s vocabulary. The carefully organised environment promotes language and communication. Books are used to engage children and provoke their curiosity. Children are eager to learn and share their learning with confidence and enthusiasm. When writing, however, many children have not secured the basic letter formation they need to write successfully.

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better?

Reading is a high priority throughout the school. Pupils read widely and often. Staff teach reading daily through a well-structured programme. The school supports staff to teach reading effectively through ongoing training. Those pupils at the early stages of reading have extra support to help them catch up. This is starting to improve pupils’ confidence and fluency.

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better?

In mathematics, changes to the curriculum are having a positive impact. Children in the early years learn to count and understand numbers. Through the mathematics 21 and 22 May 2024

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curriculum, pupils’ knowledge starts to build. However, for older pupils, there are still some significant gaps in their knowledge which prevent them from making the progress they need to.

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In some of the other subjects, the school has not identified the most important knowledge that pupils need to learn. As a result, in some lessons, staff do not always emphasise the most important learning or build on what pupils have learned before. This leads to pupils having a surface knowledge of a range of subjects but not a deep understanding. So, in religious education, for example, pupils know about a range of religious practices, but they do not always understand how these practices link to religious beliefs.

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The school works with a range of agencies to accurately identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff use a variety of programmes to target areas such as language and communication and reading. They also use a range of adaptations to make the curriculum accessible to all pupils. These strategies are increasingly having a positive impact for pupils.

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Most pupils attend school regularly. However, there are several pupils who do not attend as often as they should. The school works with families and other agencies to try and improve the attendance of these pupils.

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The wide-ranging curriculum supports pupils to be prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils learn about healthy relationships and how to stay safe online. They make positive contributions to school life through the jobs they do, such as playground leaders and peer supporters.

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Staff work well together as a team. They feel well supported by leaders and appreciate the changes made to try and reduce workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Not enough children in the early years form their letters correctly. This hinders their ability to write successfully. The school should sharpen their focus on supporting children to learn correct letter formation from the start to reduce the barriers to writing.  Some of the older pupils have some significant gaps in their knowledge in mathematics. This hinders their ability to make the progress they need to. The school should sharpen their focus on closing the gaps in older pupils’ knowledge to enable them to make more progress. 21 and 22 May 2024

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 In some subjects, the curriculum does not make clear the most important knowledge they want pupils to know and remember. As a result, pupils do not achieve as well as they could in these subjects. Leaders must ensure that they identify what they want pupils to know and sequence learning in all subjects so that pupils’ knowledge builds progressively year on year.  Several pupils miss too much time from school. As a result, they do not achieve as well as they could. The school should continue to work with families to increase the attendance of these pupils so they can reach their full potential.

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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 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). 21 and 22 May 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.graiseleyprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 2 and 3 October 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been changes to the leadership at this school since the last inspection. A new headteacher started in April 2023.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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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. The 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, the deputy headteacher and other leaders. 21 and 22 May 2024

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 The lead inspector met with the chair of the governing body, other members of the governing body and the local authority school improvement adviser.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, RE and physical education. For each deep dive, the inspector 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.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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 free-text responses. The inspector also took account of responses to Ofsted’s staff survey

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Inspection team

Helen Forrest, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Stuart Grimes Ofsted Inspector 21 and 22 May 2024

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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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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