Gainsborough Primary School

Inspection of Gainsborough Primary School Gainsborough Road, London E15 3AF

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Inspection dates: 14 and 15 January 2025

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

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The executive principal of this school is Barb Sims. This school is part of Eko 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), Rebekah Iiyambo, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Philippa King. 14 and 15 January 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff are very ambitious for all pupils. Pupils achieve well across the curriculum because staff have high expectations for them. The school places a strong emphasis on developing pupils’ resilience, which permeates school life. Nurturing relationships exist between staff and pupils. Staff know pupils and their needs extremely well. Pupils know that adults will listen and help them if they have a worry. This helps pupils to feel happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite to teachers, staff, visitors and each other. Their behaviour is impeccable during learning and social times. Pupils have a range of opportunities to take on roles of responsibility. School councillors are chosen by their classmates in a democratic vote. Pupil play leaders take pride in supporting younger children. The school gives pupils the opportunity to ‘walk in the shoes of a leader’ for a day. Pupils can apply to be the site keeper or the principal. They receive feedback on their application, interview and performance. These opportunities develop the school’s values of resilience and aspiration within pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn about faiths and cultures that may be different to their own. For example, they learn about Hanukkah, Diwali and Christmas. Pupils learn that families can look different. They respectfully explain that the most important part of a family is that you are ‘cared for’.

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

Reading is given priority here. Children start learning to read as soon as they join the Reception Year. Children in the Nursery Year learn to identify sounds in the environment. This helps prepare children for phonics learning in Reception. Children in the early years listen attentively to stories. They join in with repetitive phrases with delight. Pupils are given opportunities to visit the local and school libraries. These experiences develop a love of reading across the school.

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

Teaching staff are experts in the teaching of early reading. Phonics is taught effectively and consistently. Teachers explain new learning clearly. Pupils are given regular opportunities to practise the sounds that they have been taught. Books are carefully matched to the sounds and letters that pupils know. Pupils read with increasing fluency and confidence. Pupils who find reading difficult are quickly given the help they need to keep up.

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

The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced. The school has carefully set out the key knowledge, skills and vocabulary it wants pupils to learn year-on-year. For example, pupils in Year 6 have been taught to use their fingertips when dribbling a basketball. This helps pupils to quickly change direction. In the Reception Year, children can successfully compare two groups of counters using words such as ‘more’ and ‘fewer’.

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

The school identifies pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities swiftly. Teachers adapt their approaches so that these pupils access all that the school has to offer. For example, pupils in the specially resourced provision successfully follow 14 and 15 January 2025

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instructions to make a cheese sandwich. Teaching staff in the provision skilfully model language such as ‘spread’, ‘sprinkle’ and ‘more’. These words broaden pupils’ vocabulary.

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Teachers have the subject knowledge needed to teach the curriculum effectively. However, sometimes the checking of what pupils know and remember is not sharp enough. This means that some pupils have gaps in their learning. In addition, in the early years, some adults do not model language and sentence structure effectively enough. This means that some children have limited opportunities to hear and practise new language.

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Pupils are highly motivated to learn. They are proud of their learning. Teachers have high expectations for behaviour. Routines are firmly established. Therefore, learning is not interrupted.

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The programme for pupils’ personal development is exemplary. The school aims for pupils to be ambitious, confident citizens. Pupils visit various industries to learn about careers in construction and aviation. The school has carefully identified key individuals that pupils will learn about across the curriculum. In history, for example, pupils learn about Salima Ikram, a female professor of Egyptology. These experiences raise pupils’ aspirations.

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The school has identified the ‘non-negotiable’ experiences that pupils will encounter by the time they leave Year 6. For example, pupils have the opportunity to camp out under the stars. Pupils in Year 6 visit France to learn more about the D-Day landings. These opportunities broaden pupils’ horizons.

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Trustees are extremely ambitious for the school. They are rightly proud of all the school has to offer. Trustees have appropriate processes in place to check the effectiveness of the school. Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the school. They value the support they receive to manage their workload and support their well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes, the school does not check pupils’ understanding as well as it could. This means that some pupils have gaps and misconceptions in their learning and some are not ready to learn new content. The school needs to ensure that checks on what pupils know and remember identify misconceptions swiftly so that pupils know and remember more. 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

Dates of previous inspection 9 and 10 October 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This school is part of the Eko Trust, which consists of 10 schools.  The executive principal has been in post since September 2024 and is responsible for this school and one other.  The school has a specially resourced provision for up to 14 pupils with autism.  The school does not make use of 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. 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. 14 and 15 January 2025

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 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. 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 senior leadership team. In addition, they met with subject leaders and with groups of staff and pupils.  An inspector met with representatives of the executive team, the trustees, the local governing body and the CEO.  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 carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and

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religious education. 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 pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  The lead inspector listened to some pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  Inspectors considered the responses to the online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View. They also took into consideration Ofsted’s online staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Deborah Walters, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Bob Hamlyn Ofsted 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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