Saxon Way Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Saxon Way Primary School Ingram Road, Gillingham, Kent ME7 1SJ

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Outcome

Saxon Way Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The head of school is Jennifer Vidler-Ironmonger. This school is part of The Griffin Schools 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), Anne Powell, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Mike McCreedy. There is also an executive headteacher, Janey Denton, who is responsible for this school and two others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and excited to learn at this welcoming primary school. Staff recognise the importance of building strong relationships with every family. The three pillars of ‘proud traditions, wide horizons and high achievement’ are the foundation of the curriculum, wider enrichment and staff expectations. As a result, pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour in lessons and around the school is calm. Pupils know what school staff expect from them. The school rules of ‘be ready, be safe, be respectful’ underpin this. Pupils understand why they are important and learn about them explicitly. This starts right from the early years. Pupils feel safe. They understand what bullying is and have trusted adults they can speak to if they are worried. There is very little bullying here. On the rare occasion behaviour does not meet expectations, staff are swift to address this.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has thoughtfully considered the wider curriculum opportunities. Disadvantaged pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), benefit from this offer. Trips and visitors are designed to reinforce learning alongside an extensive range of clubs. Links with the wider community and trust strengthen this offer such as visits by the local football team to promote future aspirations for all pupils. 10 and 11 June 2025

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

The school has developed a curriculum that is well sequenced and designed to inspire learning for all pupils. Staff understand pupils’ barriers to learning and help them to overcome these through effective adaptations and support. This includes meeting the needs of those pupils with SEND. There is a carefully planned approach to pastoral support that is designed to enable all pupils to be ready to learn. Activities for each subject are well matched to the intended learning. This starts in the early years, where both indoor and outdoor learning environments stimulate curiosity and link to current learning opportunities.

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

Staff benefit from the support and training they receive from the school and trust. Consequently, they have good subject knowledge about what they are teaching. The majority of pupils remember what they are taught over time. However, in some subjects, the school is still identifying the most important knowledge that pupils should learn. This prevents pupils, particularly pupils with SEND, from building the depth of knowledge they need.

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

The curriculum supports children to become independent learners. Activities are designed to encourage pupils to challenge themselves in every lesson. However, the way that teachers check whether pupils understand their learning is not yet consistent. This means that some pupils have misconceptions that are not identified during the lesson.

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

There is a sharp focus on learning to read. The school’s teaching of phonics, which starts in Nursery, ensures children get off to a strong start. Pupils practise reading regularly to develop their skills. Targeted additional support ensures that every pupil keeps up. Children who are new to the school receive the support they need to catch up quickly. They read books that match the sounds they are learning. This helps them to become confident and fluent readers.

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

Promoting good attendance is a high priority for the school. Robust tracking is in place to identify those pupils who are not attending regularly enough. There is a strategy in place to further improve attendance for these pupils. The impact of these strategies is evident in the significant improvements in current attendance for the majority of pupils, including some of the most disadvantaged.

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

The whole school approach to pupils’ personal development has been expertly developed. The school values and trust pillars are explicitly taught and understood by all pupils. The extensive range of wider curriculum opportunities are a strong aspect of the school’s work. This includes subject festivals such as the science symposium and the arts festival, where pupils engage with other learners across the trust. Pupils with responsibilities such as the head boy and head girl relish their opportunities as role models. Curriculum ambassadors have a positive impact on the curriculum content, empowering them to have a voice for their peers. Pupils learn about equality and diversity, and fundamental British values are taught explicitly. Alongside the curriculum, well-chosen texts and assemblies help to deepen pupils’ learning. 10 and 11 June 2025

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Leaders have pupils’ best interests at the heart of all that they do. Together with trustees and local governors, they provide well-considered support and challenge, which enables the school to maintain the standards at the last inspection. The workload and well-being of all staff are a high priority for leaders. Staff are positive about the support they receive, including those who are new to teaching.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The way that teachers check what pupils know and remember during and after the lesson is not fully embedded. As a result, a small proportion of pupils finish lessons with gaps or misconceptions in their learning. The school should ensure that there is a consistent approach to checking what pupils know and understand so that pupils build securely on prior learning.  In some subjects, the most important knowledge that pupils need to learn has not been precisely identified. As a result, some pupils, including those with SEND, do not effectively build on prior learning or link learning together. The school should identify the knowledge and concepts that pupils need to learn and revisit in all subjects as they follow 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. 10 and 11 June 2025

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This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in June 2016.

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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). 10 and 11 June 2025

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School details

Headteacher Jennifer Vidler-Ironmonger (Headteacher) Janey Denton (Executive Headteacher) Website www.saxonway-gst.org

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 21 and 22 January 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This school is part of the Griffin Schools Trust.  This school runs its own Nursery for children from three years old.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  This school runs its own before-school club.

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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 the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector reviewed the single central 10 and 11 June 2025

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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 inspector spoke to members of the local governing board, a trustee, the chief executive officer and the deputy chief executive officer.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also spoke to curriculum leaders and heard pupils read to a member of staff.  The inspector observed breaktimes and lunchtimes and the start of the school day.  The inspector met leaders to discuss the provision for pupils with SEND. They visited lessons to look at the support these pupils were receiving.  The inspectors considered the responses to the online staff and pupil surveys. They also took account of the responses to the online parent survey, Ofsted Parent View,

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Inspection team

Emma Law, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 10 and 11 June 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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