Greenacres Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Everyone is welcomed with open arms at Greenacres Primary Academy.

Each person is appreciated for their individuality. Warm and friendly relationships underpin this caring learning community.

Pupils feel safe and they value the high levels of pastoral and academic support that staff afford them.

Pupils know that staff care about them. They trust staff to help them when they need extra help.

Leaders and staff are ambitious for every pupil, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

All pupils and children in the early years, are expected to achieve highly. Staff are successful at making this happen. Pupils are ...keen learners and they said that their teachers make learning interesting.

Staff have high expectations of pupils' behaviour. Pupils and children in the early years, behave well in lessons and around school. Pupils and their parents and carers said that any incidents of bullying are dealt with quickly and effectively.

Pupils receive an excellent diet of wider personal development. Leaders are highly committed to offering many varied and rich experiences to pupils. Central to the success of the academy is leaders' expertise at developing pupils' character.

By the time pupils leave school in Year 6, they are confident, articulate, responsible, caring and respectful citizens.

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

Leaders have created a well-designed curriculum from the early years through to the end of key stage 2. The curriculum gives pupils the knowledge, skills and understanding to be confident learners in a wide range of subjects.

Leaders have thought carefully about what they want to teach pupils and the order that they want pupils to learn new knowledge. The successfully designed curriculum ensures that pupils and children in the early years, are well prepared for the next stages in their education and for life in modern Britain.

Teachers motivate pupils to learn.

Teachers, including those in the early years, explain new ideas clearly. They help pupils to remember important information and to make connections between different topics and concepts. They provide pupils with regular opportunities to revisit and recap important learning.

Teachers are knowledgeable about most subjects. However, in a very small number of subjects, teachers' subject knowledge is not quite as strong as it should be. Even so, children in the early years and pupils across the school, successfully learn lots of new and important information.

Teachers use assessment strategies well to establish what pupils know and can do. They address pupils' misconceptions quickly. Teachers use assessment information well to inform the next steps in pupils' learning.

For example, they appropriately check for gaps in pupils' knowledge and understanding.

A love of books and reading is an important feature of school life. Beautiful and inviting book displays are a prominent feature throughout the school.

Each classroom has a cosy place for pupils to relax and read quality books.

Children get off to a good start with learning to read from the moment they begin school. They enjoy songs, rhymes and stories in the Nursery class.

The phonics programme is well established and staff teach it with confidence. In the Reception class, children quickly get to know letters and sounds and how to blend them together to make words. The books that they have to practise reading match the sounds they already know.

This helps pupils become increasingly confident readers by the time they leave key stage 1.

Pupils who struggle to read, including pupils who speak English as an additional language, benefit from additional support from well-trained adults. This builds their confidence and quickly increases their fluency in reading.

Staff appropriately identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND. These pupils are given the support that they need to access the same ambitious curriculum as their classmates. They learn successfully.

Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. They are polite, friendly and eager to talk about school life. They show care and consideration for each other and are keen to participate in all that the school offers.

Most pupils attend school regularly.

Leaders' commitment to nurture and celebrate the talents of all pupils is exemplary. Pupils and children in the early years, relish their leadership responsibilities.

They were extremely proud to tell inspectors about the wide range of jobs they apply for around school. For example, classroom assistants, lunchtime buddies, radio DJs and reading ambassadors. Pupils make an important and positive contribution to school life.

Pupils also have access to a large and varied range of extra-curricular activities. Their faces light up with pride when they talk about the many tournaments and competitions that they participate in.

Staff feel well supported by leaders with their workload and well-being.

They are proud and happy to work at the school. Trustees and the local governing body know the school well and offer a wide range of expertise. They hold leaders fully to account for their work to improve the curriculum.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders, staff and governors are well trained and knowledgeable about keeping pupils and children in the early years safe. The procedures in place to identify and report concerns are well understood by all staff.

Leaders are strong advocates for all pupils, including vulnerable pupils and their families. Where safeguarding needs are identified, leaders provide timely support. Leaders engage well with external agencies, when needed.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including how to manage risks when online. For example, pupils learn about cyber bullying and they can clearly describe how to stay safe when on the internet. Pupils know what to do if they have a concern about any aspects of their safety and well-being.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In one or two subjects, teachers subject knowledge is not as secure as it should be. Sometimes, this prevents teachers from delivering subject content to pupils as effectively as they could. Leaders need to ensure that teachers are fully trained to have the subject knowledge that they require.