Grange Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Confidence and consideration, 'The Grange Way', underpin pupils' daily experience. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), enjoy coming to school and form strong relationships with staff.

New pupils quickly settle into this welcoming community. Expectations of behaviour are high and consistently applied. As a result, pupils behave well, and learning is not interrupted.

Pupils trust staff and are confident to raise any concerns they may have. Pupils feel safe and are kept safe at school.

The curriculum is typically broad and ambitious.

Pupils are expected to work hard. They rise to these expectations and prod...uce work of good quality in different subjects. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

Pupils benefit from a wide range of activities. For example, they can develop their interests in table tennis, art, gardening, football, ballet, and archery. There are opportunities to represent the school in sports tournaments and debating competitions.

Pupils readily take on positions of responsibility as lunchtime monitors or on the school council. They are proud of their work. For example, the school council has worked with the catering manager to revise the lunchtime menu and is currently setting up a school radio station.

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

Leaders have ensured that reading is a priority. Staff have been well trained to implement the new phonics programme with precision. They model sounds accurately to pupils.

Weaker readers, including those new to English, are swiftly identified and well supported. They have sufficient time to practise reading using books that are well matched to the sounds they have learned. Pupils develop into accurate, fluent and confident readers who enjoy reading and being read to.

In almost all subjects, the curriculum is broad and ambitious. Leaders have identified the important concepts that pupils need to learn. These are logically organised so that pupils have time to practise, embed and apply ideas before progressing to more challenging learning.

For example, in mathematics, children in early years learn to add and subtract. They use this knowledge of number when learning to multiply and divide. This helps older pupils to recognise equivalent fractions.

Similarly, in history, children in early years learn the concepts of past, present and future. This helps older pupils build an increasingly complex chronology about different groups that invaded Britain such as the Romans, Saxons and Vikings.

However, in a few subjects, aspects of the national curriculum have been omitted or not fully considered when identifying what pupils will learn.

In these instances, pupils do not develop as deep a body of knowledge and understanding.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They check pupils' understanding of what has been learned.

Any errors or misconceptions are swiftly identified and addressed so that they do not persist.

Staff have been trained to recognise different needs. As a result, pupils with SEND are swiftly identified and typically well supported.

Teachers make appropriate adaptations to tasks and activities to support pupils to access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers wherever possible.

Two new specialist classes cater for pupils with more complex needs. Within this provision, pupils receive appropriate interventions delivered by well-trained staff.

However, the specific strategies and approaches used are less well understood by other staff. As a result, when pupils who access this provision are learning alongside their peers, teachers do not consistently reinforce what these pupils need.

Behaviour around the school and in the playground is typically calm and orderly.

Staff provide effective support for pupils who need extra help to focus and regulate their behaviour. Leaders have rightly prioritised improving pupils' attendance. Effective systems are in place and families for whom this remains a priority have been identified.

Pupils' broader personal development is well catered for. Pupils learn about the importance of maintaining good physical and mental health. The curriculum helps pupils to understand what constitutes healthy and respectful relationships and the importance of tackling discrimination.

Leaders help pupils to think about their future, for example by organising a careers day where pupils attend workshops and practise interview skills. Older pupils have also visited universities and had support to write their first thesis.

Leaders and governors, supported by the local authority, have worked effectively to address the weaknesses identified during the previous inspection.

Leaders understand the school's strengths and have identified appropriate priorities to secure further improvement.

Staff, including those at the start of their careers, are rightly proud to work here. They value the opportunities they have to develop as teachers and leaders.

They appreciate the efforts made by leaders to manage workload and maintain well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong culture of safeguarding.

Training reflects the latest statutory guidance. Staff understand the importance of safeguarding and recognise the signs that might suggest a pupil is at risk of harm. They know how to report any concerns that arise.

Leaders take referrals seriously and work with a wide variety of external agencies. These include specialist services providing support to pupils who are young carers or who need support following bereavement. Pupils and their families receive the support they need in a timely way.

The curriculum has been designed to help pupils understand how to stay safe. For example, pupils learn about the risks of working online. Older pupils have worked with police officers to understand the risks of gang affiliation, sexual harassment and knife crime.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have not sufficiently considered specific aspects of the curriculum within a few subjects when identifying what pupils need to learn. In these instances, pupils do not develop a deep body of knowledge and understanding. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum in these subjects reflects the full breadth of what is expected nationally.

• The specialist provision for pupils with SEND is at the early stages of development. Class teachers do not consistently understand their roles in supporting these pupils when in their mainstream classrooms. Leaders, including those responsible for governance, need to check that the provision for these pupils is consistently implemented.