Gusford Community Primary School

Inspection of Gusford Community Primary School Sheldrake Drive, Ipswich, Suffolk IP2 9LQ

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Inspection dates: 12 and 13 November 2024

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

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The headteacher of this school is Stephen Tapley. This school is part of Active Learning Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Lynsey Holzer, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Claire Heald. 12 and 13 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to Gusford Community Primary School. They are eager to attend here and engage well with their learning. The core values such as kindness, honesty and responsibility are embedded in the school’s ethos and lived out daily. These values unite the community, reflecting the school’s motto ‘Together we believe, learn and achieve’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for behaviour and learning. Pupils achieve these. They behave well in lessons and around the school. They conduct themselves with maturity and show respect to visitors and to each other. Initiatives like the bluey club, well-being ambassadors and the eco-team empower pupils to make meaningful contributions. These leadership responsibilities help to foster pride in their school and community and improve pupils’ confidence and self-esteem.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and well supported. They know that staff address issues like bullying promptly and fairly. They appreciate adults who listen and care for their well-being. Parents and carers value the school’s nurturing environment and describe the school as a community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides an extremely well-planned, varied and rich set of experiences to promote pupils’ wider development. These include table tennis, comic, music and gardening clubs. There is something here for everyone.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school is rapidly improving. The ambitious and carefully sequenced curriculum prepares pupils well for the next stages of their education. Staff ensure pupils learn key knowledge that builds over time. This enables pupils to make connections across different subjects. In physical education (PE), pupils develop core skills such as balance and coordination before progressing to complex team sports. In science, pupils enjoy learning about chimpanzees and the female scientist who studied them. The school has an ambitious approach to learning modern foreign languages. Children in the nursery are exposed to Spanish from the moment they start.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school checks the curriculum to ensure its quality and that it is being taught consistently well. However, some of these checks are in their infancy and are not yet well established. Staff require support and guidance to ensure this element of the school’s work is further strengthened.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Reading is prioritised. There is a well-structured phonics programme that starts in the early years. Effective staff training ensures that there is a consistent approach to phonics teaching. Pupils read books that match the sounds they know. Pupils who find reading a challenge receive the support they need to help them to catch up. However, pupils are not routinely exposed to a rich, diverse and engaging literary diet. This limits their reading experience, fluency and range of genres and authors. 12 and 13 November 2024

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Personal development is a real strength. The school’s personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) curriculum is exemplary. It teaches pupils, in an age- appropriate way, about relationships, empathy and respect for diversity. They have a good understanding of faiths and cultures that are different to their own. Pupils show genuine kindness and understanding towards peers, including those new to the school. Leadership roles such as ‘art ambassadors’ allow pupils to contribute actively to school life and the wider community. Opportunities like learning to play golf, how to sail, becoming forest wardens and being a hallway hero instil pride and aspiration. Pupils are being prepared very well for life in modern Britain.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive effective support. The school works closely with staff and families to ensure that pupils with SEND access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. Teachers make thoughtful adaptations to their lessons without diluting expectations. These adaptations ensure that pupils with SEND develop their independence and achieve well from their various starting points.

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The early years curriculum is ambitious and well planned. Thought has been given to the sequencing of activities and how they build towards appropriate end points. Children in the early years settle well into school life. They develop positive attitudes to learning. Staff have high expectations. They consistently use a wide and ambitious vocabulary as the children play and learn. For example, the nursery staff in the mud kitchen checked that the child had ‘pre-heated the oven’. Children are prepared well for Year 1.

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Governors and trustees provide robust support and challenge. They work closely with leaders to manage staff workload and promote well-being. Staff feel valued by leaders, who are supportive of them and have created a climate of trust. This sentiment extends to the school’s engagement with families and the broader community.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The checks that the school makes to ensure the curriculum is being implemented effectively are in their infancy. Staff need support to ensure that these checks are undertaken consistently and rigorously. Consequently, in some subjects, the school is not clear as to what is working well and what needs to improve. The school should ensure that all staff have the knowledge and skills necessary so that all subjects are monitored and evaluated effectively and accurately.  The school has not ensured that all pupils receive a varied, rich and diverse reading curriculum. Consequently, some pupils have a limited experience of different authors and genres. The school should ensure that all pupils receive a full and rich reading diet so that their knowledge, vocabulary and fluency are as good as they can be. 12 and 13 November 2024

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How can I feed back my views?

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). 12 and 13 November 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 13 and 14 September 2022, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been several changes to staff since the previous inspection. This includes the appointment of the headteacher.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point in time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 12 and 13 November 2024

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 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff, pupils and parents; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspection team met with the headteacher, deputy headteachers, special educational needs coordinator, subject leaders and other staff during the inspection.  The inspection team also met with members of the governing body, including the chair. The inspector spoke with the CEO and representatives from the trust.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: early reading and phonics, mathematics, science and PE. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about

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the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects. The inspection team considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff and parent surveys, including the parental free-text comments. The inspectors spoke to pupils about their experiences of school.

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Inspection team

Neil Taggart, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Ryan Freeman Ofsted Inspector 12 and 13 November 2024

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