Gorseland Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

At Gorseland, pupils say that 'the people make the school special.' The way pupils play together reflects this.

At lunchtime, the multi-use games area is a hive of activity, where pupils join in with a range of games and sports. Pupils of all ages interact well together during the morning breakfast club and enjoy the range of activities on offer to them. Bullying is rare.

Should it happen, staff are quick to deal with it. Pupils are happy and safe.

Pupils enjoy learning and work hard in their lessons to try to reach the high expectations staff have of them.

They like the subjects they learn in school and especially enjoy experiments in science. Many ...areas of the curriculum are new. While pupils enjoy the activities they complete in class, they do not currently have a secure understanding of the new knowledge leaders want them to remember.

Trips, such as the residential at the beginning of Year 6, are events pupils look forward to. They are excited about these new experiences. Pupils enjoy the range of clubs on offer to them, such as the choir, which gives them the chance to attend Young Voices at the O2 Arena.

Weekly 'class meetings' provide pupils with opportunities to mix with a range of age groups. Pupils appreciate these sessions and like being together.

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

Leaders are ambitious for what pupils can achieve.

The new leadership team has recently redesigned the curriculum in most subjects, including phonics. The curriculum now sets out what leaders want pupils to know and remember. This content is in a logical order.

Pupils have opportunities to build on what they have already learned. Where the curriculum is more established, such as in mathematics, pupils have a secure understanding of what they have learned.

Where leaders' curriculum design is new, assessment practices are underdeveloped.

Some leaders and teachers do not have a secure understanding of how well pupils have learned the content in these subjects. This means teachers do not consistently adapt their teaching to address gaps in pupils' knowledge or to revisit important concepts well enough. As a result, pupils often remember more about the activity they have done, rather than the important knowledge leaders want them to retain.

Staff in the early years teach children the sounds that letters make as soon as they start school. In Reception, children move quickly onto blending these sounds together to read unfamiliar words. Books and stories immerse children in a love of reading.

Leaders identify any pupil who is finding reading hard. These pupils receive support to develop their confidence. There are, however, some inconsistences in the phonics subject knowledge of staff.

Some staff have not had the training they need to understand the strategies pupils learn in phonics lessons. There are occasions when staff do not fully support pupils to develop their reading fluency in other areas of the curriculum, or when they hear them read.

Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is inconsistent.

In the specialist support units, teachers carefully adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of pupils well. Here, teachers have the guidance they need to know how to plan the right support for these pupils. For example, well-chosen books and carefully planned activities support these pupils to develop their fluency, comprehension, and love of reading.

However, across the school, there are occasions where some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could. This is because staff do not always receive useful information from leaders as to how best to support these pupils. Furthermore, leaders do not routinely provide the support and training that staff need, to improve their knowledge of SEND.

There are also instances where there is a lack of rigour to leaders' monitoring of the effectiveness of SEND provision.

Relationships between staff and pupils are positive. Staff care passionately about children making a positive start to school and experiencing a range of learning activities in the early years.

Warm, caring and kind relationships between adults and children runs through the early years. Pupils display kindness towards each other. They behave well in lessons and on the playground.

Pupils learn about differences. They understand diversity and the importance of treating people who are different to them with respect.

There has been a significant amount of turbulence to staffing recently.

Most leaders are new to their roles. They have not consistently had the opportunity to monitor the effectiveness of the quality of education in their areas of responsibility. Governors have systems in place to check how well the school is performing.

They are mindful of the balance between supporting staff to manage their own workload and well-being and in checking how well the school is working towards identified priorities.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders complete all required pre-employment checks on adults in the school.

Staff receive regular training and updates and have a secure understanding of how to spot the signs that a pupil may be at risk of harm. They report concerns about pupils quickly, following the agreed school procedures.

Leaders keep precise and accurate records of concerns raised, and all associated actions.

Leaders act in a timely manner, which includes seeking additional support from external agencies. Governors hold leaders to account for safeguarding practices in the school. The curriculum teaches pupils how to keep safe.

This includes when they are online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There is some inconsistency in the subject knowledge of staff in relation to the teaching of phonics. This means there are occasions where staff do not know or use the strategies that pupils learn in phonics lessons to support them to develop their fluency.

Leaders must ensure that all staff have the support and training they need to develop their knowledge of how to teach phonics. This is so they can help pupils use the strategies they learn in phonics in other lessons and when they hear them read. ? In many subjects, there are inconsistencies in how teachers and leaders check what pupils know and remember.

Some teachers and leaders do not have a clear understanding of how well pupils are learning the planned curriculum in these subjects. This means they are not able to consistently adapt teaching to address gaps in knowledge or revisit important concepts. As a result, pupils do not always commit learning to their long-term memory.

Leaders must ensure there is a consistent approach to checking what pupils have learned. They must then ensure that teachers and subject leaders use this information to adapt teaching so that pupils secure their understanding of the knowledge leaders expect them to remember. ? Staff do not always receive the support and guidance they need to best help pupils with SEND.

This means there are occasions where pupils with SEND do not receive the specific support they need. Leaders must ensure they provide all staff with the guidance and training they need to support all pupils with SEND. They must then rigorously monitor and evaluate the impact of this provision.

• Many leaders are new to their roles. Leaders are developing their expertise to monitor their areas of responsibility but have not all had the opportunity to do this. Leaders, including those responsible for governance, must ensure that all leaders have the knowledge, time and support they need to monitor the quality of education from Nursery to Year 6 in their area of responsibility.

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