Ewell Grove Primary and Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this friendly, nurturing primary school.

Parents describe it as 'a school at the centre of the local community'. Pupils trust adults to keep them safe. Pupils say that they are well cared for, both physically and emotionally.

They say that adults always help them if they have worries or concerns.

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils to succeed. Leaders believe that inclusion and equality must be at the heart of their work.

All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are encouraged to do their best. Pupils are keen to learn. As a result, pupils flourish both academically and socially....r/>
Pupils behave well in lessons. Relationships between adults and pupils are warm and positive. Pupils are polite and respectful to each other and to adults.

On the rare occasions that bullying happens, pupils are confident that adults will deal with it quickly.

Leaders are passionate about making sure that pupils have high-quality, relevant experiences in school. Pupils enjoy a well-planned programme of residential visits, trips into the local community and special events such as the 'Ewell Grove Games'.

Pupils are also taught how to recognise and manage risk when they are out and about.

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

Leaders have designed an ambitious and carefully crafted curriculum. They have clearly set out what pupils need to learn.

Teachers know what they need to teach, right from the beginning of Nursery to the end of Year 6. Leaders have developed a distinctive approach to teaching and pupils learn a broad range of subjects. Pupils in all year groups, including pupils with SEND, are supported well to access the school's effective curriculum.

Overall, pupils achieve well. Their achievement in subjects such as mathematics and art is particularly strong. The quality of pupils' attention to detail in their artwork is particularly impressive.

In these subjects, teachers check pupils' knowledge regularly and plan activities to deepen their understanding. However, in other subjects, pupils do not achieve as highly because the work that teachers provide does not deepen pupils' understanding as extensively.

Leaders prioritise reading.

Children in Reception learn phonics right from the start, using a well-organised and effective programme. In the early stages of learning to read, pupils read books containing the phonic sounds that they know. This means that pupils quickly become fluent readers.

In all year groups, teachers read high-quality books to pupils daily. Pupils love these regular story times. They are keen to discuss their ideas about books.

Children in the early years are eager to join in with familiar parts of stories and rhymes.

Attendance is high because leaders are relentless in ensuring that pupils attend school. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning.

They are eager to learn and cooperate well with each other. In lessons, pupils are calm and focused. Occasionally, there are some behaviour incidents in the playground, but adults deal with these appropriately.

Leaders provide a wide range of opportunities to support pupils' personal development. Work to promote pupils' cultural understanding is strong. Pupils learn about diverse communities in the United Kingdom and in other parts of the world.

From the start of Nursery, they learn about different religions, faiths and beliefs.

Leaders recognise the importance of supporting pupils to develop positive character traits. Pupils show good levels of resilience and independence in lessons.

Pupils are given opportunities to debate and discuss ideas. For example, in Year 6, pupils enjoyed debating a question about the Gunpowder Plot.

Leaders and governors have a clear, shared vision for the school.

Leaders want all pupils to access a broad and varied curriculum. Leaders have planned a programme of high-quality staff training to develop teachers' subject knowledge in all subjects. Because of this, staff feel valued.

They are very positive about the school. Staff say that leaders are approachable and mindful of their well-being. Governors challenge leaders well.

Governors check on how well the school is doing regularly. They find out pupils' views and know how well pupils are achieving. Governors have a comprehensive understanding of the curriculum through, for example, how they link effectively with subject leaders.

As a result, governance is highly effective.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have established a strong culture of safeguarding.

They have robust systems to identify pupils who are at risk of harm. Record-keeping is thorough and systematic. Leaders and staff understand the signs and symptoms of abuse.

They tackle any concerns about pupils as soon as they are identified. Leaders work closely with families and other agencies to ensure that pupils quickly get the help they need.

As part of a carefully planned safeguarding curriculum, pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe online and about healthy relationships and consent.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The work that teachers provide does not always allow pupils to develop a deep and detailed understanding in all subjects. This means that, while pupils achieve exceptionally well in some subjects, this is not the case in all subjects. Leaders need to ensure that teachers provide pupils with consistently demanding work which enables them to acquire deep and detailed knowledge across the curriculum.

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