Gateway Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are flying high at this thoughtful and caring community school. Many pupils come from families who work in the armed forces and have had to change schools several times.

Despite this, pupils have a strong sense of belonging. One pupil said, 'Someone is always there for you. You learn about how you can cope with and overcome difficulties.'

Pupils say that 'honesty and optimism' are central to the school's values. They enjoy how these are celebrated through recognition, rewards and the house system, as well as events such as weekly celebration assemblies and regular communication with parents. Pupils are excited about their lessons and value the many trips that ...help to bring their learning to life.

For example, a visit to Oxford Castle and prison helped pupils to learn about crime and punishment in history lessons.

Pupils are confident and feel safe. They understand the behaviour policy and how being 'ready to fly' means being ready to learn at Gateway Primary School.

Bullying is almost unheard of at the school, and staff always resolve any issues if anything does happen. Pupils are highly motivated in what is an overwhelmingly positive, nurturing and respectful school culture.

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

Leadership is a strength of the school.

Staff comment, 'The headteacher is inspiring, and the community has so much praise for her.' With a highly skilled leadership team and a clear vision that highlights the pursuit of excellence, leaders have made significant improvements since the previous inspection. Governors are highly skilled.

They know the school's strengths and areas for development and offer robust support and challenge aimed at getting the best out of everyone. Leaders, including governors, are considerate of staff workload and well-being, something that is appreciated and recognised by all.

Leaders have high expectations for all pupils.

They have designed an ambitious curriculum, which is carefully planned to meet the needs of all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and pupils from service families. Some subject areas have been a recent focus for improvement, such as mathematics and reading, including in the early years. In these subjects, staff are clear about what needs to be taught, and they check if pupils have understood carefully.

In other subjects, such as history and art, precise knowledge and vocabulary have not yet been identified, which leads to some gaps in pupils' knowledge. This means that pupils in these subjects are not always achieving as well as they could.

Pupils with SEND achieve well across the curriculum.

The special educational needs coordinator has developed excellent practice and is able to support parents, staff and pupils through her work. Staff work closely with specialist support wherever it is needed so that pupils with SEND are identified and supported quickly. Staff adapt the curriculum and, with the same high expectations, ensure provision matches to the targets identified for each pupil closely.

Pupils, including those in the early years, learn to read well. Leaders have recently introduced a new phonics scheme that is being delivered consistently well. Reading books are closely matched to the sounds that pupils are learning.

Staff have detailed systems so they can check how well pupils are learning phonics. Phonics teaching begins when children first arrive in Reception. If any pupil starts to fall behind, staff make sure that there is support in place to help them catch up.

When teaching the phonics programme, a small number of staff are still developing their expertise to make sure that all lessons are consistently strong. Leaders know this and are working hard to provide all staff with the appropriate training they need.

The wider development and pastoral support of pupils is exemplary.

Pupils are proud of their school. They talk excitedly about their roles, such as house captain and school councillor. British values are closely linked to the cultural experiences of service pupils and families, but this is extended to learning about a wide range of cultures, faiths and beliefs.

Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds consistently benefit from the clubs and activities in place, such as 'Change4Life club', which helps pupils to learn about mental health and healthy eating. Other activities include tennis, choir, athletics, football, swimming and dance. All pupils learn a musical instrument.

There is a deliberate effort by school leaders to overcome the contextual barriers faced by service families, and all pupils settle quickly due to the exceptional support, guidance and clear expectations that run through the whole of the personal development programme.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have detailed knowledge of children and their families.

They place a strong emphasis on communication and assessments to help keep children safe. Concerns are swiftly responded to so that leaders can secure the right help for pupils, including involving multi-agency support if needed. Staff use the curriculum effectively to help pupils know how to report concerns and keep themselves safe, including keeping safe online.

Record-keeping is comprehensive. Leaders ensure that all staff, governors and volunteers have appropriate safeguarding training and have read and understood the policies and guidance. Governors are highly knowledgeable and make appropriate checks, including recruitment checks of new staff.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority) ? Some members of staff are still developing their phonics expertise, and not all are equipped to deliver with the scheme appropriately. This means that some pupils do not achieve as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that all staff receive specific training to further improve phonics subject knowledge and provide effective support for pupils who need it.

• In some foundation subjects, leaders have not yet identified the precise knowledge and vocabulary they want pupils to learn. This leads to pupils having gaps in their knowledge. Leaders should ensure that clear, cumulative knowledge is in place to help all pupils learn well across all curriculum subjects.

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