Glenmead Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school life at Glenmead Primary School. Leaders have high expectations of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and pupils rise to these expectations.

Pupils take great delight in sharing their learning and talking about how teachers make their lessons fun. They talk enthusiastically about the books they read and the different authors that interest them.

Pupils know the school's rules of being 'ready, respectful and safe' and follow these.

They concentrate on their learning and behave well. At playtime, everyone enjoys the array of equipment and sports organised by leaders and older pupils. Older p...upils are eager to help the younger pupils and are proud to be play leaders at breaktimes and lunchtimes.

Pupils at this school feel safe and well cared for. Some pupils are trained as anti-bullying champions and report any issues should they arise. Bullying is rare and pupils know that adults will act to stop it straightaway if it happens.

Pupils are confident that if they have any kind of worries, they can tell their teachers, who will help them.

Pupils enjoy the variety of trips, visits and clubs that the school has on offer.

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

Senior leaders, including governors, have been clear in their ambition for the school.

This determination has been instrumental in the improvements seen since the previous inspection.

Leaders have carefully designed the curriculum. Topics for each term start with a question.

The questions are designed to get the pupils really interested. Examples include, 'Why don't penguins need to fly?' and 'How is climate change affecting the world?'. In most subjects, the curriculum builds pupils' learning in a logical way and covers all aspects of the national curriculum.

However, there remain a few subjects where leaders have not identified the essential knowledge that pupils must know and remember. Leaders have appropriate plans to rectify this.

Senior leaders provide high-quality training for all subject leaders.

Most subject leaders support teachers well to develop their subject knowledge and to deliver the curriculum effectively. However, in a few subjects, some leaders do not monitor as well as they should, how successfully their subject is being taught. These leaders do not know what the strengths and next steps are in these subjects.

Consequently, a few subjects are not delivered as well as they could be.

The school has prioritised reading. Leaders have introduced a new reading scheme.

Staff benefit from high-quality training and they deliver the phonics curriculum confidently. Children in early years and pupils in key stage 1 learn new sounds in a logical order. Pupils use the sounds they know to read books with confidence and increasing fluency.

Teachers make sure that the books that pupils take home precisely match the sounds that they have learned in class. This supports pupils to develop their confidence in reading. Pupils in key stages 1 and 2 who fall behind with their reading and phonics receive extra support to help them to catch up quickly.

Staff have established consistent routines and make good use of resources. They make sure that pupils read frequently to an adult. Leaders ensure that pupils read a range of high-quality texts.

Pupils use these texts to help develop their reading skills. Pupils enjoy hearing adults reading their favourite stories.

The mathematics curriculum is ambitious.

It is coherently sequenced and has made clear the important information that pupils need to learn. Teachers build on this core knowledge in later years. Pupils can talk confidently about their learning in mathematics.

Pupils demonstrate a wide range of mathematical knowledge and competence from an early age.

Staff support pupils with SEND well. Pupils' needs are identified well and specific actions are agreed to help pupils to progress.

These pupils access the full curriculum and everything that the school has to offer.

The school offers a wide range of extra-curricular experiences for pupils. Pupils enjoy a variety of clubs, such as for athletics and forest school.

Pupils talk enthusiastically about trips out of school, such as a recent visit to Woodlands and Ullswater. All pupils can take part in a performance to show parents and carers what they have learned.

Staff are proud to work at this school and agree that the school is well led and managed.

This is because leaders, including governors, provide good support. Staff are very positive about the actions taken to reduce their workload.

Governors fulfil their roles well.

They visit the school regularly and ensure that they are well informed. They use this information to question leaders about the school's performance.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders are determined to keep pupils safe. They have ensured that all staff have received appropriate training so that they can safeguard the pupils in their care. Staff are aware of their responsibilities to keep pupils safe.

Staff report their concerns readily and leaders take effective action. This includes providing support in the school, as well as close work with external agencies. Leaders keep detailed records of their work to safeguard pupils.

Through the curriculum, pupils learn about the dangers of speaking to strangers. They learn about how to keep themselves safe when online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school curriculum is not yet sufficiently well planned and sequenced in a few subjects.

As a result, pupils' knowledge and skills are not secure in these areas of the curriculum. It is clear from leaders' actions that they are in the process of bringing this about. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied.

Leaders need to complete the process of reviewing the curriculum in all subjects within their identified timescales. ? All leaders are given expectations of their role, support and training. However, not all subject leaders monitor the impact of their curriculum plans and actions with enough rigour.

This means that these leaders do not have the information they need to make improvements to their curriculum area. Leaders need to ensure that examples of stronger subject leadership are shared. All subject leaders need to receive support to monitor and evaluate the impact of their curriculum area.

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