Grange Moor Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a small, friendly school where everyone is welcome.

Caring for pupils is at the heart of everything staff do at Grange Moor. Parents recognise this and spoke with high praise of how the staff team 'go over and above' to support children. Parents are very positive about the supportive ethos that permeates school with comments like, 'Every child is treated as an individual, they are encouraged and respected.

It is wonderful.'

Pupils feel safe and are happy to come to school. Leaders make sure they are safe.

Pupils behave considerately. The relationships between adults and pupils are caring and respectful. Pupils talk positively about the impor...tance of being kind and making good choices.

They understand how to show these values in the way they behave and how they act with consideration towards others.

Leaders have high expectations of what they want pupils to achieve. However, the school's curriculum is not yet planned with sufficient care.

Some pupils do not achieve as well as they should. This is particularly true for some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Across the wider curriculum, staff do not keep a close enough check on how well pupils remember what they have been taught.

As a result, pupils are unable to consistently apply what they already know when learning something new.

Pupils get off to a strong start in early reading and phonics. Staff encourage a love of books and reading throughout the school.

Pupils talked with enthusiasm about books they read in English as well as in other subjects such as science and history.

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

Since the previous inspection, leaders have worked carefully to develop a new approach to early reading. Leaders have identified the important knowledge that pupils need to learn and the order in which they should learn it.

When learning to read, pupils revisit what they already know before building on this secure learning with something new. Leaders can demonstrate how this approach is supporting pupils to learn quickly in reading and writing.

In mathematics, curriculum thinking sets out what pupils should learn and when.

The subject leader understands what pupils know and what they need to learn next. However, some pupils still struggle to learn the intended curriculum. This is because they have gaps in their knowledge and in some classes learning is not carefully planned.

There are inconsistencies in the approaches used across key stage 1 and 2. In early years and Year 1, the teaching of mathematics is more precise. In this phase of school, children with SEND are supported well.

They are able to learn alongside their peers in the early years foundation stage (EYFS).

In some subjects such as science and history, leaders have not considered the order of what pupils need to learn. This means that learning does not routinely build upon what pupils have been taught before.

This makes it difficult for teachers to check what pupils know and remember. As a result, subject leaders do not have an accurate view of how well pupils are achieving.

Leaders make use of a range of resources to identify pupils with SEND.

They also identify and support those pupils who are behind in their development. The pupils with the most significant need have a specific programme that is carefully considered and implemented. However, teachers do not always make effective use of the advice and guidance given to them.

As a result, some pupils with SEND do not progress through the curriculum as well as they should.

In the early years, many learning opportunities are carefully planned to support pupils in being ready for Year 1. For example, Reception children self-register each morning by placing their picture within a tens frame.

This helps them become more familiar with understanding tens and ones. It also introduces them to counting in tens to support them in being ready to develop this further in Year 1. Routines in the EYFS are well established.

Leaders are committed to supporting personal development. They use carefully chosen stories on themes such as diversity and equality. The resources available in the areas of provision change regularly and are linked to the class reading book.

This sometimes reduces the opportunities for children to explore independently and develop their own ideas.

Pupils benefit from many opportunities to support their personal development. Pupils understand and celebrate difference.

Pupils talk articulately about right and wrong choices. They speak up against injustice and prejudice. Leaders ensure that pupils are well prepared for living physically and mentally healthy lives.

They teach pupils how to stay safe online. Leaders know they have more to do to ensure that pupils understand how to keep themselves safe beyond their local community. Staff have undertaken training to support them in developing this aspect of personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE).

Governors are supportive of leaders. They visit school regularly and take an active role in the personal development of pupils. Governors have supported leaders in developing careers education.

At a recent careers fair, former pupils came to speak with pupils about their career and the different routes they took to achieve this. However, governors have not provided leaders with sufficient challenge to improve the quality of pupils' education. Leaders and governors plans to improve school are not precise or measurable.

This hinders the ability of leaders to review their work and know whether this is leading to improved outcomes for pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Checks made on staff who work with children are made and recorded.

Leaders know the pupils and their families well. Staff receive regular safeguarding training. They report concerns in a timely way.

This allows leaders to secure the help that pupils need, including working closely with external agencies.

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe and understand the meaning of words such as consent. Older pupils know how to keep themselves safe online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Curriculum planning does not set out in enough detail the small steps that must be taught and in what order. Staff do not always know the key knowledge that pupils need to learn. Pupils do not build on what they already know well enough.

Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is well planned from EYFS to Year 6. This will support all pupils to meet ambitious end points that prepare them well for both middle school and high school. ? The implementation of the curriculum is not consistently strong across the school.

Some subject leaders have not yet received the training they need to help them to plan and deliver their subject well or to support their colleagues to do so. Some pupils leave lessons with misconceptions and do not always remember what they have been taught. Leaders should ensure that all staff receive the training and support they need to deliver the curriculum well.

• Teachers do not plan effectively for all pupils with SEND. As a result, teaching does not support some pupils to revisit what they know and secure their learning before taking important next steps. Leaders must ensure that the quality of the curriculum offer for pupils with SEND is not narrowed.

The implementation and impact of additional support should be robustly monitored ? Governors have not supported and challenged leaders with suitable rigour. This means that some areas of weakness identified in the previous inspection have not been addressed in full. The governing body needs to take timely and decisive steps to ensure that all pupils receive a good quality of education.

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