Gomersal Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Gomersal Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for pupils in their care.

Pupils enjoy playing with and alongside each other at playtimes and lunchtimes. They are positive about being members of the school community. Leaders have introduced a new behaviour policy.

Pupils talk positively about the changes. They say that these are having a positive impact on behaviour in classrooms and around school.

The school is ambitious for pupils.

Leaders are continuing to develop the curriculum. In subjects where the curriculum is more developed, pupils talk with enthusiasm and excitement about their ...work. For example, Year 5 pupils talk about their understanding of different painting techniques and the recent visit of a local artist.

In the early years, staff support children to follow routines and develop their independence. Staff have a good understanding of how to give children a positive start to their education. Children concentrate for sustained periods of time in their learning and play.

They develop curiosity and interest. They develop positive attitudes to education.

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

The school has undertaken work on developing the curriculum.

Leaders are ambitious for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders have recently made improvements to the systems to identify and support pupils with SEND. Pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as their peers.

Staff give support to these pupils to help them in lessons. However, some of the support that staff provide pupils with SEND is not precise enough to help them to be as successful as possible in their learning.

There is a clear phonics curriculum in place.

Leaders have provided staff with the training they need to teach phonics well. The books that pupils read are matched well to the sounds that they have been taught. Leaders identify pupils who need support with their reading.

They provide these pupils with the support they need to catch up. However, the school's evaluation of the impact of this support is sometimes not as precise as it needs to be. This means that gaps in phonics knowledge are not closed quickly enough.

There is a positive reading culture in school. Pupils enjoy reading. Staff read to them regularly.

In the early years, staff look for opportunities to develop children's vocabulary and communication skills. For example, children talk about the new words they have heard in a recent story.

Leaders understand the importance of the curriculum beyond the academic.

Pupils are taught through the personal, social health and economic curriculum, pupils learn about how to stay safe online and how to recognise healthy and unhealthy relationships. There are opportunities for pupils to take on leadership roles. The pupils who have these roles understand how they are helping others.

For example, peer mentors talk about their role in supporting younger children to play nicely alongside each other. Pupils can talk about their understanding of difference and diversity. They explain why prejudice and discrimination is wrong.

Governors understand their roles well. They offer challenge to leaders. Governors check that what leaders are telling them is accurate.

Subject leaders are given time to make regular checks on the subjects they lead. Although leaders at all levels regularly take action in their areas of responsibility, the school has not developed effective evaluation of the impact of these actions. The school does not have a clear picture of how its actions have a positive impact on the most disadvantaged pupils.

Staff feel supported with their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school does not provide some pupils with SEND with the precise support they need to fully access the curriculum.

As a result, these pupils miss some opportunities to develop independence in their learning and to build their skills and knowledge over time. The school should continue to support staff to quickly identify these pupils and provide the most appropriate support across the curriculum. ? The school's evaluation of its actions is not well developed.

As a result, in some areas of school improvement, the school does not check that the actions taken by leaders are having the desired impact on pupils. The school should ensure that there is a more detailed evaluation of the actions that leaders are taking and the impact these actions are having.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

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 would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which 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 inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2018.

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