Gainsborough Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

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.

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 co...uncillors 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.

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'.

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.

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.

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'.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(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.