Greenfields Community Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Greenfields Community Primary School Oxford Road, Shepway, Maidstone, Kent ME15 8DF

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Inspection dates: 14 and 15 January 2025

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Outcome

Greenfields Community Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This school has high expectations for pupils’ achievement, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff are working effectively to achieve these aspirations, for example through the recent strengthening of the school’s curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend here. They understand what it means to be a Greenfields pupil. Pupils are kind, polite and friendly. Children in the early years are caring. They learn to take responsibility for their resources and to tidy up. Staff help pupil share, work and play positively alongside one another. This extends through to older pupils, whose lessons are rarely interrupted by poor behaviour and who are respectful of each other’s differences.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff encourage pupils to be ambitious for themselves. Pupils are provided with a range of opportunities and experiences to prepare them for their next steps and to be respectful citizens. For instance, pupils visit care homes to sing to the elderly, and they visit different places of worship. Pupils enjoy visits from artists and athletes who inspire and break down stereotypes. This helps pupils to develop confidence, mutual respect and tolerance of others’ beliefs. Pupils also learn how to keep themselves safe. For instance, they participate in workshops on how to stay safe in the community. This helps pupils to feel safe in and outside of school.

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

The school is aspirational for pupils’ academic achievement and broader personal development. There is an ambitious curriculum, including for children in the early years, 14 and 15 January 2025

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which is designed to ready pupils for their next steps in education and to teach them important life skills, such as first aid and road safety.

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Subject curriculums are ordered to build knowledge progressively. They are designed to help pupils to know and remember more over time. Teachers deliver subject content in this precise order. This supports pupils to learn knowledge and skills because new learning builds on what they already know. Many teachers check pupils’ understanding regularly. Teachers, using their strong subject understanding, mostly address errors and misconceptions. However, in some subjects, teachers do not carefully check that pupils have learned what was intended before moving on. This means that, sometimes, pupils develop gaps in their knowledge that are not identified and then addressed.

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The school makes sure that the needs of pupils with SEND are identified swiftly. They are included in all aspects of the school. Leaders regularly review pupils’ personalised learning plans to ensure the right support is in place to enable pupils to learn well.

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Staff closely follow the school’s systematic approach to teaching reading. Staff have the expertise needed to robustly check the sounds that pupils know. Staff identify where pupils have gaps and put support in place to help them to catch up. Pupils use effective strategies to blend and decode reading books matched to their stage of reading. This helps to build pupils’ confidence and fluency in reading.

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When children join the Nursery, they are taught behavioural expectations and independence skills. Adults get to know pupils well and build positive working relationships with them. Staff create an environment where pupils feel wanted and nurtured. Pupils typically attend school regularly and behave sensibly in and outside of classrooms.

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The school provides a number of experiences beyond the classroom for pupils. For example, pupils enjoy overnight stays in Essex and visits to galleries to bring to life learning in art. Pupils can apply for school-wide responsibilities, which include equipment monitors, house captains or a school job. They are proud of their roles and the contributions they make, such as ensuring the sand areas are well maintained and that equipment is respected. Older pupils reflect positively on their responsibility to demonstrate doing the right thing so that younger pupils will follow suit.

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Pupils’ talents and interests are nurtured from when children join the early years. Pupils have the opportunity to showcase their talents through competitions and performances. This contributes to pupils’ development of confidence and character.

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Staff are keen to share their expertise with others. They receive regular training, which provides them with the knowledge needed to fulfil their roles well. Staff feel valued and that their workload and well-being is considered by leaders.

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The governing body works effectively with the school to maintain its high standards. They use their broad skillsets to assure themselves that the decisions made by school leaders 14 and 15 January 2025

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are the right ones for the pupils. Governors visit the school regularly to check the quality of the school’s work.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Occasionally, pupils’ understanding and recall is not checked as routinely in some subjects. As a result, sometimes, pupils are not helped to build on what they already know, or gaps or misconceptions are not identified. The school should ensure that all teachers routinely check what pupils know and remember to help pupils know and remember more across the curriculum.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in May 2019. 14 and 15 January 2025

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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). 14 and 15 January 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 14 and 15 May 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not currently use alternative provision.  The school operates and manages a breakfast and after-school club.  The school’s Nursery is registered to provide for children aged from two years.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered 14 and 15 January 2025

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the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector met with senior leaders, teachers and the wider school team.  The inspector met with the chair and other members of the governing body.  The inspector met with representatives from the local authority.  The inspector considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View, and the free-text responses. They also took account of responses to the online staff survey. They spoke with pupils to gain their views on the school.

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Inspection team

Kieran Bird, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 14 and 15 January 2025

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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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