Grange Park Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. Children get a good start to their school life in the Nursery and Reception classes. Teachers create a safe, vibrant environment in which children develop good skills and a love of learning.

Pupils make good progress throughout the school, especially in reading and mathematics. Progress in writing is improving and standards are higher than in previous years. Pupils in Year 6 have made exceptionally good progress in all subjects this year.

Teachers make lessons enjoyable. They have good subject knowledge and motivate pupils by giving them topics to explore which both interest them and develop their literacy and numeracy skills well. Disab...led pupils and those who have special educational needs are extremely well supported and make very good progress from their different starting points.

Pupils behave well in and around school. They are polite and helpful to adults and each other and try hard in lessons. Pupils take roles of responsibility seriously and work together to make the school a happy and friendly place.

Pupils feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe in different situations beyond school. Under the strong leadership of the headteacher and senior leaders, the school has improved in all areas since the previous inspection. Improvements in the quality of teaching have led to rises in standards in reading, writing and mathematics.

Senior leaders make sure that pupils' behaviour is good. They ensure that the school is a safe place for pupils to learn and thrive. Governors hold leaders accountable for improving the school.

They ask senior leaders challenging questions and visit regularly to check for themselves how well the school is doing. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is supported particularly well by the school's values which were formulated jointly by staff, pupils and parents. These are displayed around the school for all to see.

It is not yet an outstanding school because : Occasionally, when teachers' explanations in lessons are too long, pupils lose concentration and do not get on with their learning as speedily as they could. On other occasions, pupils who finish work quickly have to wait too long for the next task, which restricts their progress. Teachers do not always give pupils enough opportunities to practise their speech and language skills in different subjects.

The school has not yet developed the links with other local settings that are a key part of its new role as the local 'Hub'. In particular, it has not yet secured their agreement about the approach that all settings will use when preparing children for when they start school.

Information about this school

The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.

Most children in the early years start in a part-time Nursery class in the year in which they are four, but recently the school has started taking some children in the term in which they are three. Most then move to a full-time Reception class at the beginning of the year in which they are five, where they are joined by children from other nurseries and pre-schools. The school has recently been designated the local 'Early Years Hub'.

This means that the school liaises with all pre-school providers to ensure that arrangements for children starting school are well organised and consistent across the area. Most pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is lower than in most schools, and fewer pupils speak English as an additional language.

The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below average. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium, which is additional government funding for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals or looked after by the local authority, is above average. The school operates a breakfast club to cater for pupils who are brought to school early by working parents.

A larger than average proportion of pupils join the school at times other than at the start of the early years. Two members of staff are deemed by the school to be 'Leaders of Education', and work closely with the Severn Teaching Alliance to share their expertise and support teachers in other schools. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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