Grayswood Church of England (Aided) Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Grayswood Church of England (Aided) Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are extremely happy and feel safe at Grayswood Primary.

The school has a clear and purposeful vision for both pupils' behaviour and the quality of their work. Pupils demonstrate the school's values, which include love, kindness and respect. Ambitious staff give pupils every chance to achieve well.

Staff deliver this ambition in a caring and nurturing way that pupils respond very well to.

The school has developed its curriculum considerably. All pupils receive a broad and relevant curriculum that includes the right knowledge pupils need to... learn in each subject.

Pupils have pride and take the time to produce their best work. They particularly love reading and enjoy 'getting lost in a world of books'.

Pupils are exceptionally well mannered.

They get on very well with each other and welcome new pupils warmly. They build strong friendships, not only in their classes, but across the school. Children in the Reception Year make a strong start as they settle into school routines.

They are eager to learn. Pupils know what is right and wrong, and that they should not discriminate against others. They want to help others in need, both in the local and wider communities.

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

The school provides a high-quality education. The curriculum sequences the key knowledge, skills and vocabulary that pupils will learn. Teachers have the expertise and skills to deliver the curriculum.

Pupils have the right attitude to want to learn. They show this in both their strong engagement in lessons and in their high-quality work.

The school teaches pupils to read very well.

This has led to high achievement in recent years. The school has prioritised pupils learning to read as quickly as possible. Highly skilled teachers and support staff ensure that pupils learn phonics well.

The school gives pupils who struggle to learn phonics the support they need to improve. All pupils have a suitable book they can read for pleasure and to develop their confidence and fluency. This love of reading develops throughout the school.

The school provides high-quality and varied reading books for pupils to read and analyse to improve their understanding. Pupils also enjoy listening to their teachers read well-chosen and engaging texts to them.

The school's recent focus to improve pupils' achievement in writing and mathematics even further has been very successful.

The school delivers these subjects effectively to ensure that pupils make good progress. The school has the same ambition for all other subjects. Pupils are learning and remembering key knowledge from the curriculum.

They produce some very high-quality work, such as in art and geography. However, the school is not fully aware of how well pupils learn over time in some subjects. As a result, teachers do not always understand pupils' different starting points and any gaps in pupils' knowledge.

This means pupils' learning is not always as strong as it could be because teachers do not always address these issues as securely as they could in those subjects.

The achievement of disadvantaged pupils is strong, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Many parents and carers appreciate the support the school provides for their children.

The school uses any expert external support well to provide staff with the support and training needed to meet different pupils' needs. Overall, the school's provision and adaptations to the curriculum for pupils with SEND are effective.

The school gives pupils some excellent opportunities to broaden their experiences.

For example, the school uses its beautiful forest area to provide enriching and spiritual outdoor activities. All pupils have access to a variety of clubs and trips, which disadvantaged pupils make good use of. Pupils give back to the community by taking on a range of leadership responsibilities.

For example, school ambassadors, sports crew and house captains all help the school to improve even further and make a contribution to the wider community.

Governors are a strength. They have supported the school well in times of change.

They challenge staff to ensure that the best provision possible is made for the pupils. Staff are very happy at the school and they share the school's values, wanting all pupils to achieve well. Parents acknowledge this too and are overwhelmingly positive about the school.

As one said: 'It's a fantastic school. Really good level of teaching and club provision. Dedicated, kind staff.

The kids come back home telling us all the exciting things they have done and learned that day.'

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 always use assessment information as effectively as it could.

This hinders some teachers from rectifying misconceptions and gaps in pupils' knowledge, or giving tasks that could be more advanced and challenging. The school should continue to refine its approach to assessment in these subjects by supporting teachers to identify pupils' achievement and adapt future learning so that all pupils make excellent progress through the curriculum in every subject.

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 June 2018.

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