Greenhill Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

There has been no change to this school's overall judgement of good as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection.

However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now. The school's next inspection will be a graded inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has experienced a turbulent period of change since the previous inspection.

This slowed down curriculum development work until very recently. Consequently, the school's ambitious intent for pupils to achieve well in all curriculum subjects is at an early stage of implementation.The school's commitment to wi...dening pupils' participation in sport is one of its strengths.

Pupils take part in a range of competitive sports, including football, athletics and dodgeball. The school provides additional active opportunities, such as bowling, for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). A local golf club provides golf lessons during school time, supplemented by after-school golf for Year 4 pupils.

The school won a trophy for attending the highest number of competitions within the local school sports partnership. Pupils are learning strong teamwork skills.Pupils know the golden rules: 'Be ready, be respectful, be safe'.

Although most pupils follow these rules, some pupils are not respectful of others consistently. Some bullying incidents have occurred during lunchtimes. These have sometimes included racist incidents.

Bullying can make pupils feel unhappy or unsafe. The school recently changed the lunchtime arrangements, and pupils' behaviour is improving as a result. The school is determined to eradicate bullying completely.

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

The quality of education is improving rapidly. When these improvements began in September 2022, the school rightly prioritised improving the curriculum for early reading and phonics, and the early years foundation stage curriculum. The school tackled these strategic priorities effectively.

These improvements are fully embedded now.Children are getting a good deal in the early years. Home visits help to establish a partnership between home and school right from the start.

The school ensures that improving children's communication and language skills is prioritised. Children's spoken language and vocabulary are extended at every opportunity. The learning environment is enticing indoors and outside.

The school extends children's interests to help children learn when they are playing. Children are happy and thriving.The school purchased new reading books to go with the new curriculum for early reading and phonics.

Full training was provided for all staff. This high-quality training ensures that phonics is taught consistently well. The school assesses pupils' phonics knowledge frequently.

After each assessment, the work is matched to what pupils know and need next to ensure that they sustain a good rate of progress. This is one of the reasons that struggling readers are catching up quickly. Many pupils are reading as well as they should for their age, with standards rising.

The school decided to improve the curriculum in all core curriculum subjects next. Curriculum plans in English, mathematics and science have been sequenced carefully to ensure that the most important knowledge is taught well. Cross-curricular links have been made to help pupils use and apply their subject knowledge in other contexts.

For example, pupils in Years 5 and 6 choose independently how to present the results of their investigations when they have been working scientifically. They sometimes choose a Carroll or Venn diagram. Pupils adapt scales and axes accurately if they have selected a line graph.

These cross-curricular links help to reinforce pupils' learning across disciplines. Using and applying their mathematical knowledge, with a real purpose, in science makes learning more meaningful. Pupils are deepening their knowledge of data handling and statistics in mathematics and science lessons.

The school plans to replicate the high-quality science curriculum model in other curriculum subjects. Detailed curriculum plans, identifying the most important knowledge, are still being written in many subjects. Assessment arrangements are still being designed.

Staff appreciate the time that has been allocated to enable them to complete this work. This helps to ensure that their workload is reasonable.The school is also continuing to redesign a new curriculum for pupils' broader development.

Pupils currently have very limited and superficial recall of prior learning about different faiths and cultures.Suitable curriculum adaptations that meet the needs of pupils with SEND are considered in every curriculum plan. In addition to pupils' learning needs, the school makes effective adaptations for pupils with SEND who struggle with interaction and self-regulation.

Some pupils are motivated by 'start and finish' baskets containing short tasks that they can complete quickly. This helps pupils to experience short bursts of success and accomplishment. The school provides sensory breaks for pupils who need frequent rests between tasks.

The school is continuing to refine risk assessments and individual behaviour plans to further improve pupils' behaviour and minimise occasional disruption to learning caused by some pupils in lessons.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There were several gaps on the single central record that were addressed during this inspection.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Curriculum plans do not identify the most important disciplinary and substantive knowledge in foundation curriculum subjects. Pupils are not achieving as well as they should in these subjects. The school should continue to design well-sequenced curriculum plans, aligned to assessments, to ensure that pupils acquire the knowledge they need to meet national curriculum age-related expectations and recall their learning in the longer term.

• The school has a high proportion of subject leaders who are new to their roles. Their subject knowledge and leadership experience are variable. The school should provide training to ensure that all leaders have the knowledge and skills they need to lead their subjects equally well and monitor curriculum implementation effectively.

• Some pupils do not behave consistently well, especially at lunchtime. Some verbal abuse has included racism, which has been dealt with consistently. Some pupils hurt others using physical threats or violence.

This leads to some pupils feeling unsafe or unwelcome in school. The school should continue to embed a positive culture where bullying is not tolerated and all pupils feel happy and safe in school. ? Some pupils cannot recall prior learning about different faiths and cultures.

This inhibits pupils' moral, social and cultural development, and undermines their tolerance and respect for others. The school should improve the curriculum for pupils' personal development so that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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 March 2014.