Goldenhill Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive at Goldenhill. They are proud to belong to such a kind and respectful school community. They know that staff care for them and want them to lead successful lives.

They feel safe and know whom they can turn to if they have any concerns.

Pupils understand why good behaviour is important and find the traffic-light system helpful in achieving this. They like earning rewards and class treats.

Pupils work hard in lessons because they are keen to learn. They enjoy reading and achieve well.

Many pupils are keen to take on responsibilities that support other pupils, including as reading ambassadors or play leaders.

They value having a v...oice through the academy council they voted for. Pupils support many charities through fundraising activities, including cake sales.

Pupils appreciate how the curriculum is enhanced through trips and visitors.

This includes performing Shakespeare at the theatre and visiting places of worship. They learn about the different types of jobs they could aim for in the future. Children in early years have loved visits from the emergency services and the local Teddy Bear Hospital.

Older pupils explored the skills needed to become architects and actors, for example.

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

The curriculum is broad and ambitious in its scope. Reading, writing and mathematics are prioritised to ensure that pupils develop strong skills to underpin their learning across the curriculum.

Pupils achieve well in these areas. Other subjects are sequenced in a way to help pupils build their learning over time. There is excellent work in early years to ensure that those first stages of learning are secured and provide strong foundations for pupils when they move into key stage 1 and beyond.

There have been some recent changes in the teaching approaches used in some subjects because the school had rightly identified areas in which pupils' learning could be strengthened. Staff are still in the early stages of implementing these changes and have not yet fully refined their practice of these approaches.

The curriculum resources used sometimes place a heavy emphasis on the recall of factual knowledge without enough opportunity for pupils to apply their learning in depth.

Some written tasks are not structured in a way that enables pupils to explain their learning in sufficient depth.

In a few lessons, learning activities are not adapted well enough to ensure that all pupils secure the key learning. Some pupils do not complete the important steps needed.

Some pupils are not enabled to move on when they are ready to progress.There is appropriate support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Their needs are identified carefully, and clear plans are put in place.

The school supports pupils with SEND well as they move to the next stage of their education.

Reading is important at Goldenhill and is an area of strength. Learning to read and to enjoy reading is part of daily life from Nursery onwards.

Children benefit from expert phonics teaching. There are prompt interventions for anyone who starts to fall behind. The 'reading squads' approach in key stage 1 helps pupils to develop strong reading skills, as do the whole-class sessions in key stage 2.

Pupils of all ages talk positively about reading, including the rewards for their independent reading.

Behaviour is very good. Pupils conduct themselves well in and out of lessons.

The most serious consequences for poor behaviour are used infrequently. This is because the school intervenes to support pupils as soon as they appear to be finding it hard to manage their own behaviour. There is genuine care behind the work of key staff to identify the reasons for poor behaviours and to stop them escalating.

Attendance is improving steadily. The school works well with parents and carers to encourage good attendance and punctuality.

The school's work to support pupils' personal development is a real strength.

There is an absolute commitment to ensuring that every pupil is fully prepared for life. The way pupils talk confidently about diversity and social responsibility is a reflection of the thoughtfully mapped programme of learning they experience. The way pupils learn about different careers from an early age is exceptional.

The school has invested heavily in resources to support pupils' mental health. This includes ways for pupils to monitor how they are feeling and gives them strategies to help them be mentally healthy.

Leaders have accurately identified the ways in which the school's provision can be strengthened.

Trustees and local governors work closely together to ensure that the school meets its responsibilities. The trust provides a range of professional development opportunities for staff. Staff value these and how leaders are mindful of their workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Learning activities and resources are not consistently adapted appropriately to meet pupils' learning needs. This means that some pupils do not secure the key knowledge required to move forward successfully with their learning.

Some pupils are not supported to apply their learning as independently as they are capable of doing. The school should ensure that all teachers adapt learning for all pupils effectively. ? Learning tasks are sometimes designed in a way that focuses on factual recall over the application of knowledge in some subjects.

Some resources inhibit the amount of writing pupils can produce or organise independently. Consequently, some pupils are not enabled to apply their knowledge in enough depth, particularly in their written work. The curriculum should be consistently implemented in a way that enables deeper application of subject knowledge.