Goldington Green Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

The school has improved considerably since its last inspection.

Excellent leadership, from the headteacher and a very strong governing body, has supported an effective team of staff who successfully focus on improving pupils' behaviour and progress. Subject leaders now make a good contribution to raising standards through their monitoring and support for practice in their areas of responsibility. Pupils are consistently well behaved in class and around the school.

All age groups are making good progress, so that achievement is good. Standards at the end of Year 4 are average, despite low standards overall when this group started in the school. Standards are continuing to rise and were above a...verage last year at the end of Year 2.

The key to better progress is the improvement in teaching. Teaching is good and has many strengths, particularly in the use of good procedures to track pupils' progress and so match work to their needs. Teachers routinely prepare different tasks for different pupils although, occasionally, they are not matched as precisely to pupils' needs as they could be, so that a few pupils get work that is too hard or too easy for them.

Relationships with pupils are very positive, so pupils are keen to please their teachers by working hard and behaving well. Most lessons have a good pace because teachers use a variety of approaches to involve pupils fully in their learning. There are no major weaknesses in teaching, but sometimes there are inconsistencies in lessons, so that progress is then satisfactory rather than good.

The curriculum is of good quality, and improved cross-curricular links have contributed equally to pupils' progress and enjoyment. Children get off to a good start in the Reception classes, and make good progress from starting points that, while varying from year to year, are usually below those expected, and sometimes well below. The provision is good, and has recently been enhanced by major improvements to the outside environment.

The key stage leader has accurately identified that staff do not yet take full advantage of these improvements to develop children's learning in the way they do indoors. Children's progress is tracked thoroughly, but the way observations are organised does not maximise their impact on planning future learning. The staff are experimenting with ways to improve this.

The school is a happy and harmonious multicultural community because of the good provision for pupils' care, guidance and support, and outstanding provision to promote community cohesion. Pupils' personal development is good and they have excellent relationships with each other and with staff. They thoroughly enjoy school, with one girl saying that she likes school 'more than strawberries!' The excellent links that the school has with parents also contribute significantly to pupils' enjoyment of school and to their progress.

Partnerships with a wide range of other schools and organisations also contribute significantly to pupils' well-being and progress. Considerable efforts by the school, and the strong links with parents and the educational welfare service, have led to year-on-year improvements in attendance. The school has good procedures to evaluate its own effectiveness, through tracking pupils' progress and a variety of systems to monitor provision.

The improvements made in achievement, behaviour and attendance, and the teamwork and common ambition of staff and governors show the school is well placed to build on its successes in the future.

Information about the school

This is a large suburban primary school. Just over a half of the pupils are of White British heritage, with the rest coming from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds.

The largest groups have Caribbean or East European heritages. More pupils speak English as an additional language than in most schools, but very few are at the early stages of learning English. An above-average proportion of pupils are known to be eligible for free school meals.

The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is average, but the proportion with a statement of special educational needs is well-above average. The school admits children into the Early Years Foundation Stage the term after their fourth birthday. This means that, in some terms, there is a class for children of Nursery school age.

During the inspection, all the youngest children were in the three Reception classes. The school provides before- and after-school care for up to 40 pupils in the Honeysuckle Club, which is managed by the governing body. There is also a pre-school provision on the school's site, which is not managed by the governing body, and which is inspected separately.

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