Eldon Grove Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Leaders have ensured a caring ethos where ambition for pupils is tangible.

Leaders focus firmly on raising pupils' aspirations and on the professional development of staff. Leaders, including trustees and governors, hold colleagues to account for pupils' outcomes. This ensures that leaders and staff have high expectations of pupils.

Leaders' work to promote pupils' personal development and welfare is outstanding. This is supported by a curriculum design which ensures that pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is given high priority. Current pupils make particularly strong progress in writing.

Teachers are adep...t at building up pupils' skills, which pupils apply well in extended pieces of writing. Middle leaders receive effective professional development and use this well to lead improvements in their areas of responsibility. Disadvantaged pupils' outcomes have lagged behind those of other pupils nationally.

With additional, tailored teaching in place, this group of pupils are now beginning to make stronger progress. In mathematics, pupils develop good calculation, reasoning and problem-solving skills. However, too often, the most able pupils are not challenged sufficiently well.

Highly effective teaching and leadership have ensured that the early years provision is outstanding. Children show excitement for learning and make strong progress. At the end of key stage 1, pupils attain highly in reading, writing and mathematics.

Following a decline in pupils' outcomes in reading and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 in 2016 and 2017, attainment in 2018 improved. However, pupils only made average progress from their starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. The teaching of phonics is effective.

Pupils develop early reading skills well. The proportion of pupils that reach the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check is consistently above average. The teaching of reading comprehension has improved.

Pupils read high-quality texts and teachers set challenging activities in this subject. However, too often, teachers do not address pupils' underdeveloped and incorrect answers. This hinders pupils' progress.

Overall, pupils' attitudes to learning are positive. However, when teaching does not meet their needs, pupils show a lack of focus and this hampers their progress.

Information about this school

Eldon Grove Academy is larger than the average-sized primary school.

It has a Nursery class for children from the age of three. The school is part of the Extol Multi Academy Trust. Approximately 30% of pupils are from disadvantaged backgrounds and this is above the national average.

Most pupils are of White British heritage and very few speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils with SEND is below average. The executive headteacher is a national leader of education and is the chief executive officer of the trust.

The school is a national support school. A number of members of staff are specialist leaders of education and some have a role as a moderator for the local authority. The school has a breakfast club for pupils.