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Galleywall Primary, City of London Academy has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.
The headteacher of this school is Martin Blain.
This school is part of the City of London Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Mark Emmerson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Catherine McGuinness.
What is it like to attend this school?
This is a happy, inclusive school.
Pupils enjoy coming to school every day because they are looked after well. It is a safe place for them. They are confident that they c...an seek help if they have any concerns.
The school wants its pupils to be aspirational. Its commitment to providing pupils with the best possible experience permeates the excellent curriculum. Pupils respond to this by working hard in lessons.
They succeed highly across all subjects and achieve exceptionally well in writing by the end of Year 6.
The school has high expectations for behaviour. It sets out clearly how pupils should behave, in and out of lessons.
Pupils follow the school rules consistently. In lessons, they are focused and engaged. They treat adults and each other with respect and follow instructions promptly.
Throughout the school day, pupils are polite, courteous, and confident. In very rare cases where bullying occurs, leaders deal with it quickly and effectively.
Pupils take pride in the many responsibilities that they are trusted with, including electing and acting as representatives to the pupil parliament.
The school considers the views of pupils and acts on them. For example, suggestions from pupils led to the school making improvements to playtimes. House captains support their respective houses to earn rewards.
These are awarded for acts of kindness or outstanding achievements.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
Children in this school receive an excellent start to their education. Before children start in the early years, leaders and staff gather information about them from parents and carers.
They also work closely with local feeder nurseries. This enables the school to identify children's needs, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school uses this information well to put suitable provisions in place to meet these needs.
This, together with the ambitious early years curriculum, ensures that, right from the outset, children get timely and well-focused support with their learning and development.
Pupils are supported to learn how to read as soon as they start at school. Well-trained staff deliver the phonics programme effectively.
Pupils practise their phonics by reading books which contain the letter sounds that they already know. Those who are falling behind receive effective support and they catch up quickly. As a result, by the time they get to Year 2, many pupils in this school are reading fluently.
The school has put in place a curriculum that is carefully considered. It has been designed with purpose so that pupils continually build on prior knowledge. In mathematics, for instance, pupils in the early years receive plenty of high-quality opportunities to develop their understanding of numbers.
For example, they learn how to look at a set of objects and instantly know how many there are without counting them. This prepares them for Year 1, when they learn more about how to add and subtract numbers.
The curriculum is delivered to a high standard.
Subject matter is presented clearly. For example, teaching makes use of effective illustrations and examples to help pupils to understand new concepts. When misconceptions arise, staff are quick to address them.
Pupils with SEND benefit from effective adaptations. These include carefully selected resources and effective support from additional adults. As a result, pupils are learning the curriculum exceptionally well.
A rich range of extra-curricular activities, including, for example, poetry, debating and 'mathematics masterclasses', also help pupils' academic learning to flourish.
Opportunities for high-quality cultural enrichment are abundant and varied. Performances at St Paul's Cathedral, along with projects like puppetry workshops, enrich the curriculum.
During careers week, parents and carers come into school to talk about their professions. This helps pupils to learn about the world of work. The school teaches pupils to show mutual respect, including by exploring different faiths, beliefs and abilities.
Teachers take pupils to visit various places of worship to deepen their understanding. The school ensures that all pupils, including those deemed disadvantaged, access these opportunities fully.
Pupils attend school regularly.
The school intervenes promptly if pupils' level of absence becomes a concern. It does what it reasonably can to support them and their families, and, in most cases, attendance does improve.
Leaders take clear actions to improve the school and address issues quickly if they arise.
Pupils' well-being is a priority, and support and opportunities are provided for the whole school community. Staff are proud to be a part of this school. They appreciate that processes are streamlined to help with their workload.
The support of the multi-academy trust has been instrumental in the school's success. The local governing board perform their delegated responsibilities diligently. They provide clarity of purpose and strategic direction to the school.
Experts from the trust provide advice and purposeful challenge to leaders and staff. The result is a school that is making a clear difference to the pupils it serves, regardless of their background or their starting points.
Safeguarding
The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
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 outstanding for its overall effectiveness.
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.
This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding for overall effectiveness in May 2019.
