Green Dragon Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and kept safe at this welcoming school.

Leaders make sure that everyone is included. They aim for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to be adaptable, open-minded and confident. Pupils strive to meet these expectations.

They refer to the classroom superheroes such as 'Captain Confident' and 'Inspector Inquisitive' to remind them of their personal goals.

Leaders and staff want all pupils to be ready to face the world around them. The ambitious curriculum has been designed with this in mind.

Leaders and staff support pupils' language development well, for example by encouraging pupils ...to respond in full sentences from the early years up.

All staff have high expectations of behaviour. Pupils are polite and respectful towards each other, their teachers and visitors alike.

They are proud of their school. Pupils know what bullying is. They said that bullying rarely occurs.

Pupils fully trust adults to resolve it should it happen. Any concerns are managed well.

Leaders provide pupils with a range of visits and workshops.

Parents, carers and pupils appreciate the breadth of opportunities on offer. One parent summed up these positive views by saying that 'leaders and staff go the extra mile'. Families also appreciate the regular workshops that leaders provide.

These aim to help parents understand how best to support their children at home.

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

Leaders have designed and implemented an ambitious curriculum. Overall, the curriculum is planned well.

In many subjects, leaders have identified the most important knowledge that pupils need to learn. They have then broken this down into smaller steps. Over time, pupils learn and remember more.

In art, for example, older pupils can recall detailed information about the artists they have studied. They could explain the artist's style and the skills and knowledge needed to recreate similar pieces of artwork.

In subjects such as mathematics, teachers present information clearly and check pupils' understanding.

They know which approaches and resources to use to help pupils learn well. Staff give pupils plenty of time to practise what they have learned. They intervene carefully when pupils make errors.

In the early years, the environment is deliberately planned for children to explore number.

Leaders have invested in training and resources to identify and meet the needs of pupils with SEND. For instance, support staff carefully repeat and reinforce subject-related vocabulary modelled by the teacher.

In personal, social, health and economic education, pupils' learning is also carefully sequenced. For instance, children in the Nursery learn about who they are and what they can do, and are introduced to the word 'proud'. In Year 1, they take this further and look at how they are similar and different to their peers.

However, in a few subjects, leaders have not thought as carefully about the important ideas they want pupils to understand. Teachers do not routinely check that pupils know and remember key concepts. This means that in these subjects, pupils can sometimes struggle with more complex learning.

Reading is prioritised. Leaders introduced a new phonics programme in September 2022 and trained all staff to deliver it. Although new, the programme complements what was in place previously.

Children in the Reception Year have already acquired lots of initial sounds. This is because leaders make sure that they learn phonics as soon as they start school. All staff make sure those pupils who need to catch up with their reading have plenty of opportunity to practise.

Pupils read with books that closely match the sounds they have learned. Leaders' focus on early reading over the last few years means that pupils learn to read with fluency and confidence.

Pupils are respectful of each other.

They learn about emotions and feelings and are sensitive when exploring these. For instance, pupils said that sometimes friends need space if they are feeling sad. They learn about healthy relationships and things they can do to look after themselves.

All staff promote physical exercise. For example, pupils complete the 'daily mile'. Leaders provide a range of sporting clubs before and after school.

Pupils learn about different world faiths, and key religious festivals are celebrated in school.

The governing body works well with leaders, and it is fully aware of the school's strengths and areas for development. Staff feel supported by leaders and said that they are considerate of workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders make sure that all staff receive the latest training to keep pupils safe. This means that everyone knows what signs a pupil may display if they are at risk of harm.

Staff know who to report concerns to, including if they have concerns about a member of staff. Leaders work closely with a range of external agencies to secure the most appropriate help for pupils.

Staff liaise with the local police to make sure that pupils learn about the immediate dangers in their area.

Pupils are taught how to stay safe online.

Governors understand their roles and perform their statutory duties well. This includes overseeing the pre-employment checks made by the school.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, leaders have not been explicit in identifying the key component knowledge that they want pupils to learn. This reduces how well pupils acquire the knowledge needed to reach leaders' intended curriculum end points in these subjects. Leaders need to ensure that all subjects are clearly planned and sequenced so that pupils deepen their learning over time.

• Where leaders have not identified the key building blocks of knowledge that pupils need, teachers find it harder to check pupils' progression through the curriculum. At times, pupils' misconceptions are not addressed before they are moved on to more complex learning. Leaders need to support staff to check how well pupils understand important concepts and ideas within a subject.

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