Grampian Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Grampian Primary Academy continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Grampian Primary is a school where everyone celebrates the many different faiths and cultures of families and pupils. Pupils respect each other's similarities and differences.

Determined staff work hard to help pupils to aspire to achieve well. The school's 'CAN' values drive pupils to be brave, enthusiastic and motivated, in a safe, happy and welcoming environment.

The 'League of Rocks' superheroes are important to everyone.

Pupils are rewarded when they show characteristics linked to one of the 'Rocks'. These are 'reacher', 'creator', 'reflector', 'resolver', 'teamer' ...and 'thinker'. Pupils apply these characteristics to their work and behaviour.

Pupils are well behaved. Those who struggle to manage their behaviour are well supported. Pupils say that if someone is being bullied, they know what to do.

If they have a worry, there is always someone in school to help them.

The school's well-planned curriculum is helping pupils to learn effectively. Staff have high ambitions for pupils.

This includes in the early years. Children who join the school's Nursery do well, and are well prepared to start in the Reception Year. In some subjects, the curriculum is relatively new.

Occasionally, teachers do not adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of some pupils. Gaps in pupils' knowledge are not always correctly identified.

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

Since the last inspection, leaders have developed the school's curriculum.

Staff say that the new curriculum plans are helping them to plan lessons that enable them to teach subject content in a clear sequence. This has helped to reduce their workload. Occasionally, teachers do not consider carefully how to adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of the pupils in their class.

In some subjects, such as art and design, curriculum plans are at an earlier stage of implementation. In these subjects, leaders are checking that the curriculum is suitably designed for their pupils.

In mathematics, teachers are confident to deliver the school's curriculum.

Teachers check carefully for any mistakes that pupils may make. They support pupils to think through how they will answer a problem, before tackling it. For example, in Year 4, pupils looked at a word problem with the numbers covered up.

Pupils decided how they would solve the problem before they were given the numbers to answer it.

The school's phonics programme has been implemented for some time. Staff receive training so they can deliver the programme well.

Leaders check which pupils need more help. In phonics lessons, pupils who need extra support work with staff to help them to acquire and remember sounds. The books that pupils read are well matched to their phonics stage of development.

Passionate staff in the early years support children to play and learn together. Children get off to a positive start in their education. In the Nursery, staff focus on developing children's language and communication.

Staff encourage children to get mucky and explore their environment at forest school. Children show self-control and take part well. For example, Nursery children sensibly used a flint to make a spark, and mixed up porridge for 'Goldilocks'.

In Reception, children are keen to get involved with their learning. Staff support and encourage children who find it harder to mix with others. Children show curiosity, and staff use effective communication to develop learning.

For example, children were looking for minibeasts. They were enthralled to discover worms hiding under the artificial grass.

The school's experienced leader for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) works diligently to meet the wide-ranging needs of pupils.

Teachers make their lessons inclusive for all. For example, the school's knowledge organisers tell pupils what they will be learning next. This helps some pupils with SEND to feel less anxious about their future learning.

Leaders check what pupils can remember. Leaders and teachers typically know which pupils have gaps in knowledge and provide additional support. Occasionally, the checks that leaders make to identify gaps are not accurate enough.

They do not always pinpoint pupils' specific needs. The support these pupils receive is not always precise enough to close gaps in knowledge as quickly as it could.

Pupils behave well at school.

A few pupils struggle to manage their behaviour. Staff help these pupils to know what acceptable behaviour is. Pupils are respectful of each other's differences.

They know that in many ways we are the same. Leaders provide pupils with a range of activities they may not experience outside of school. This includes playing in sports teams, singing with a choir and staying away from home on school trips.

Leaders appreciate the support they receive from the multi-academy trust. This has helped them to design their curriculum. The training and development from the trust are helping staff to refine and develop their teaching.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders know the needs and vulnerabilities of their families well. They commit to working closely with the community to provide support and guidance.

The safeguarding team works together to keep families involved. The team members know that to keep pupils safe, difficult conversations may need to be held. As one leader said, 'These relationships are the only way we will change anything.'

Leaders are aware of the risks in the local area and are unafraid to pass on their concerns to other agencies. Staff know their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and pass on any concerns that they might have.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, such as art and design, the curriculum is at an early stage of implementation.

Teachers have not had time to teach and evaluate the effectiveness of all of the curriculum units that they deliver. Leaders, including subject leaders, should continue to evaluate the impact of these curriculum subjects to make sure the content is as well sequenced as possible. ? Teachers are delivering the school's curriculum.

Occasionally, teachers are not using their professional knowledge to adapt their teaching to meet the needs of the pupils. Leaders must ensure teachers use their knowledge of their pupils to adapt the curriculum and teaching to meet the needs of the pupils in their care. ? Teachers do not always identify the precise gaps that may emerge in pupils' knowledge.

Occasionally, these gaps go unidentified. Leaders must ensure assessments are precise enough to spot specific gaps, and that intervention teaching is targeted to close these gaps in knowledge.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 ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2017.