Goodrich Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Goodrich is a warm and welcoming place. Pupils are happy, confident and enjoy school. Pupils feel safe.

They said that bullying is rare and that they trust adults to sort out any issues that they have.

Adults have high expectations for pupils' behaviour. Pupils behave well in lessons and at social times.

If low-level disruption does occur, adults quickly get pupils refocused and back on track with tasks. Classrooms are places where all can focus on learning. Pupils are kind and courteous to one another and to adults.

Pupils enjoy learning a range of subjects and do well in the Year 2 and Year 6 national assessments in English and mathematics. However..., the curriculum does not help them to build up and remember knowledge securely across a range of other subjects. The new headteacher has identified the changes that are needed to improve the curriculum, but these have not had time to embed.

Pupils and families value the range of wider opportunities on offer. For example, pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 all go on residential trips. These have been carefully selected so that pupils get to take part in a variety of new experiences.

Pupils also attend a range of extra-curricular clubs such as choir and cookery and in sports. Pupils like that they can take part and be successful in many sporting competitions with other local schools.

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

Pupils experience a broad curriculum that covers the full range of national curriculum subjects.

However, leaders have not ensured that pupils develop their knowledge consistently well across the range of subjects that they study.

In the early years, weaknesses in leaders' curriculum thinking mean that children are not routinely well supported to develop, practise and remember knowledge. While children take part in activities in all seven areas of learning, the early years curriculum does not prepare them well enough for their future learning.

Leaders have not focused on making sure that learning in the early years provides a secure starting point for what children will study later on in the curriculum.

In some subjects, the important knowledge and skills that pupils should learn from the Nursery class to Year 6 has not been identified with clarity and precision. In these subjects, leaders and teachers have not developed coherent sequences of learning that build understanding over time and enable pupils to remember what they have learned.

In some other subjects such as geography and religious education, the curriculum design is clearly mapped out from term to term. However, the activities that teachers are delivering for these curriculum areas are sometimes not well matched to the intended curriculum aims. This means that pupils are remembering the activities that they have completed rather than the knowledge and skills needed for their subsequent learning.

Where the curriculum is well defined and sequenced, and teachers have the expertise to deliver it effectively, pupils learn well. For example, all pupils learn Mandarin from Year 1. Teachers are skilled in following leaders' curriculum thinking.

They make sure that pupils build up a secure and detailed understanding and knowledge of the language.

In lessons, teachers deliver information clearly. However, they do not have consistent strategies to check what pupils know and can do across the curriculum.

Teachers are not able to swiftly identify and address any misconceptions and gaps in pupils' learning. This is particularly the case for pupils with SEND. Although pupils with SEND learn alongside their peers, at times, adults are not skilled enough to provide support that helps pupils to achieve the intended learning goals.

The new headteacher has made sure that reading has been prioritised. This includes putting in place a well-structured approach to the teaching of phonics. All adults have received training.

They make sure that pupils read books that are matched to the sounds they have been taught and know. This helps pupils to become fluent readers. Pupils that are falling behind are identified and are provided with extra practice.

However, some phonics and catch-up sessions do not help pupils to build on and apply what they already know. This is because staff's expertise in delivering the early reading curriculum is still developing.

The provision for pupils' personal development is strong.

A clear and coherent approach is used to teach pupils about their emotions, healthy relationships and mental and physical well-being. The curriculum also teaches pupils about equality and how democracy works. They have opportunities to experience a democratic system in action, for example when voting for their school council representatives and the half-termly nominations for the 'golden book'.

Pupils learn about valuing and respecting the different opinions and beliefs of others.

The new headteacher and governors have an aligned vision for the school. They are aware of the steps that they need to take to realise their aims.

Most staff feel supported and that their workload is taken into account in leaders' work to secure the necessary improvements to the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have established a strong culture of safeguarding.

Regular training takes place for staff and governors. Adults know the signs of abuse to look out for and how to report any concerns that they may have. Leaders have clear systems and procedures to maintain oversight of any concerns.

This means that they are able to ensure that families and pupils get the right support, working with external agencies where needed.

Leaders make the necessary checks on staff, visitors and contractors. They check the suitability of staff before they start working in the school.

Pupils learn about how to keep themselves safe, including when they are online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• What pupils need to learn from Nursery through to Year 6 has not been clearly set out in some subjects. The early years curriculum is not well focused on ensuring that children learn the knowledge and skills needed for their learning in Year 1 onwards.

This means that children are entering Year 1 without the foundations of knowledge needed for their study of the national curriculum. Leaders need to work closely together to ensure that the curriculum is clearly mapped out from the early years onwards across all areas. Leaders should also develop the expertise of subject leaders so that they understand how the early years provides the starting point for learning in a subject.

• There are inconsistencies in the teaching of early reading. Some staff do not have the expertise to deliver the curriculum effectively. Sometimes, they select activities and resources that do not enable all pupils to progressively build up, remember and apply phonics knowledge.

Additional help for weaker readers is not consistently matched to what they need to learn and practise next. Leaders need to ensure that the phonics programme is implemented consistently well and with rigour. They should provide staff with further training on how to deliver the early reading curriculum and check that training and support for staff is securing the intended improvements.

• In some subjects, teachers are not providing learning activities and tasks that support pupils to learn what is intended. Pupils are remembering the activities they did and not the crucial knowledge and skills that have been identified. Leaders need to support teachers to plan lessons that match the intended learning and help pupils to know more and remember more.

• Across the curriculum, teachers do not have consistent strategies to check what pupils know and understand. This means that they are not able to plan lessons that build effectively on what pupils do know and revisit those areas which pupils need to consolidate and practice. Leaders need to support teachers to identify and address effectively any misconceptions and gaps in learning.

• Pupils with SEND are, at times, not being supported effectively in their learning. Some adults do not have the knowledge and skills needed to plan adaptations and tasks that enable pupils with SEND to learn and remember the intended curriculum. Leaders need to provide further training for all staff to ensure that they fully understand how to adapt learning effectively and meet pupils' needs.

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