Littlecoates Primary Academy

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Littlecoates Primary Academy Harlow Street, Grimsby, Lincolnshire DN31 2QX

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Outcome

Littlecoates Primary Academy has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The principal of this school is Neville Wilkinson. This school is part of Wellspring Academy 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), Mark Wilson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Cheryl Hobson.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This school is at the heart of the local community. Pupils are extremely well cared for by staff, who have high aspirations for them. Pupils’ views are well considered. There is a true sense that the school’s vision of ‘togetherness’ is lived out by all.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have high levels of respect for staff and their peers. They learn to value the ideas and opinions of others. This helps to establish a calm and productive atmosphere for learning in school. Pupils learn and play well alongside one another. Pupils are proud of the roles they have. They know that becoming a pupil councillor, ‘e-cadet’ or part of the ‘emoji crew’ allows them the opportunity to demonstrate their wider skills of responsibility and care for others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Expectations of what pupils can achieve here, both academically and in their wider personal skills, are high. Pupils are well prepared for their next stage of education, regardless of their starting points. They develop a mature and responsible view of the wider world through the opportunities that they are provided with. For example, the school’s link with a partner school overseas enables pupils to regularly speak and learn from peers across the world about how life is the same and different in another country. 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 carefully designed a curriculum which reflects the backgrounds of pupils who attend this school. Through the knowledge identified, pupils develop a secure understanding of their locality and the wider world. The design of the curriculum enables pupils to make links across subjects and revisit important knowledge. Pupils learn the curriculum well across a wide range of subjects. They are supported by teachers who have strong subject knowledge.

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

The school makes reading a priority. From the start of their time in the ‘daycare’ provision, two-year-olds learn from carefully chosen songs, rhymes and stories. This supports the development of early language skills. Pupils learning to read are taught by well-trained staff. They quickly learn ways to help them to decode unknown words through the schools chosen phonics programme. Throughout school, those at the early stages of reading are supported well. The school quickly identifies pupils’ individual needs. It ensures pupils have the opportunities they need to help them to catch up. Books and texts are selected not only to interest and excite pupils, but to ensure they are practising reading and building on the knowledge they have already acquired. On occasions, the strong foundations that pupils build in reading are not as clearly evident in writing. Some pupils do not get sufficient opportunities to develop and practise their writing skills and

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

are asked to complete more complex tasks before they are ready.

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

Inclusivity is at the heart of this school. Pupils who attend the school’s resource provision, ‘the launchpad’, receive a high standard of care and support. The curriculum is specifically designed to meet pupils’ personal and academic needs. Staff adapt this curriculum into purposeful learning opportunities and are skilled in delivering these. Across school, the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified in a timely way. Right from the start of early years, staff build up positive relationships with parents and carers and establish an ethos of working together. The school works effectively with outside agencies to ensure that the right opportunities are provided for all pupils with SEND to make progress through the curriculum.

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

The school is rightly proud of its wider personal development offer for pupils. This is exceptional. It extends beyond the pupils attending the school to families within the local community. At the heart of this offer, pupils learn to share their own views and respect those of others. They learn to politely question different opinions and debate important issues. Through carefully considered opportunities and links to wider organisations, pupils learn about significant global matters. They learn to understand diversity and challenge discrimination.

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

Pupils enjoy school. From the early years, pupils quickly establish a positive view of learning and attending school. The school’s work to improve pupils’ attendance is having a positive impact. A dedicated attendance team works proactively with parents to address any issues and ensure pupils attend regularly. 10 and 11 June 2025

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Leaders have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths. Improvements are based on the right priorities for the pupils. The school continues to be aspirational in the future developments it has identified.

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Leaders are supported well by local governors and the trust, who understand and fulfil their statutory responsibilities. Staff are proud to work at the school. With support for well-being in place, they are effective in their role in moving the school forwards. Parents are highly complimentary about the school and the support their children receive here.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 On occasions, pupils are not given sufficient opportunities to develop their foundational knowledge in writing. Gaps in their knowledge are not addressed, with pupils set tasks that they lack the knowledge and skills to successfully complete. The school should work with staff to provide pupils with learning activities that enable them to successfully build their writing abilities over time.

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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 predecessor school, Littlecoates Primary School, to be good for overall effectiveness in July 2013. 10 and 11 June 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). 10 and 11 June 2025

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School details

Date of previous inspection 25 June 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not currently make use of any alternative provision.  The school has a breakfast club operating on the same site. This is managed by the school.  The school offers provision for two-year-olds.  The school has one specially resourced provision unit. Launchpad is a 12-place enhanced provision for pupils in Reception to Year 2, with complex communication and interaction needs and autism. Pupils attending have an education, health and care plan.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 10 and 11 June 2025

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in her 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 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 held meetings with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, curriculum leaders and the special educational needs coordinator.  The inspector met with the CEO and the chair of the local governing body. No representatives of the trust board were available to meet with the inspector during this inspection.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning

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and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and breaktimes. She also spoke with pupils about their experiences of school.  The inspector examined a range of school documentation, including leaders’ self- evaluation, improvement plans, records of governance, and documentation relating to attendance.  The inspector considered the responses to the online survey for parents and carers, Ofsted Parent View. She also considered the responses to Ofsted’s survey for staff.

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Inspection team

Sarah Gordon, lead inspector His Majesty’s 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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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