Grange Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Grange Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy here, with a typical comment being how much they enjoy school.

At breaktimes, pupils look after each other. For example, older pupils invite younger pupils to take part in their games. Typically, pupils behave respectfully.

School staff foster positive, nurturing working relationships with pupils. Pupils trust that school staff will help them if they are worried about anything. Leaders and staff do all they can to keep pupils safe.

Pupils are encouraged to value all people equally. Leaders have made sure that the school curriculum includes learning about pe...ople from a broad range of backgrounds. Pupils are taught about different types of bullying and why it is wrong.

If any incident of bullying occurs, it is dealt with swiftly and effectively.

The school is ambitious for pupils' achievement. Leaders work with a range of experts and therapists to support pupils' learning and to provide training for teaching staff.

Pupils get effective help and support if they need it. As a result, pupils achieve well here.

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

The school places high importance on reading.

Pupils' eyes light up when they talk about their favourite books and stories. In the Nursery, children enjoy listening to stories and singing songs. Pupils have many opportunities to read a wide range of books.

Pupils at the early stages of learning to read receive effective phonics teaching. Phonics is taught from the Reception Year onwards. The school checks what letter sounds pupils know and then matches phonics teaching to what they already know.

Pupils read books precisely matched to the sounds they know. Any pupils who struggle with early reading receive extra teaching and support. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those in older year groups.

The school provides lots of information for parents and carers. This is to help parents to support their children's reading at home. The school regularly consults with school staff on issues that may affect workload and well-being.

All staff consulted said they are proud to work at the school.

The school's curriculum matches the ambition and breadth of the national curriculum. The school has decided the most important knowledge that it wants pupils to know and remember in different subjects in each year group.

Subject content is taught in a carefully ordered sequence. The school works with parents and external professionals to identify pupils with SEND. The school makes effective adaptations to resources and teaching so that pupils with SEND learn the same curriculum as their peers.

The school provides frequent opportunities for pupils to recall prior knowledge. This helps pupils to remember what they learned in previous years and use their prior knowledge to understand current learning. For example, pupils in Year 6 explained how learning about multiples in Year 4 helped them to understand fractions in Year 6.

However, in a few subjects, the school does not build new learning as explicitly on what pupils already know, and pupils struggle to connect current learning to previous learning.

The school ensures that pupils know the conduct that is expected of them. Leaders and staff have high expectations of behaviour and regular attendance.

Low-level disruption is managed effectively to ensure that it does not interrupt learning.

Pupils are taught about relationships in an age-appropriate way. Pupils receive guidance about what to do if they experience anything worrying online.

Pupils are encouraged to share their opinions. The 'Grange Guardians' pupil group shares their views on developing the school with leaders. Pupils enjoy opportunities to take on roles of responsibility in school, such as eco-warriors and digital leaders.

Pupils have access to a range of extra-curricular clubs. These include cooking, basketball and science. The school organises educational visits that extend pupils' understanding.

Pupils in Year 5 part in a residential visit each year.

The governing body receives appropriate training. As a result, it is clear about its role and responsibility.

The governing body provides effective support and challenge to leaders and makes sure that safeguarding arrangements are robust.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few subjects, the school does not make explicit how new learning builds on previous learning.

As a result, pupils struggle to link ideas together and build on what was learned before. The school must ensure that teaching makes connections explicit so that pupils know more and remember more and develop a rich body of subject 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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2014.

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