Griffin Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a friendly and welcoming school.

Pupils treat each other kindly. For example, at breaktimes, pupils make sure no one is left out of games. Pupils are happy here.

School staff foster positive, professional relationships with pupils. Pupils have a range of ways to communicate any concerns to staff. The school prioritises safeguarding.

Pupils are safe, and they feel safe.

Pupils behave maturely and responsibly. They are taught to be helpful and respectful.

Many pupils are of the view that the 'Griffin learner traits' help them to behave responsibly and to learn. For example, some older pupils take on the responsibility of helping childr...en in the early years to understand the importance of sharing and taking turns.

Senior leaders have high ambitions for pupils' achievement.

They are taking swift and effective action to address gaps that they have identified in pupils' knowledge. Some actions have been put in place recently, and others have not started. As a result, some gaps in pupils' knowledge persist.

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

The school's curriculum includes a broad range of subjects in line with those in the national curriculum. Recently appointed senior leaders have identified gaps in pupils' subject knowledge. The school has made changes to the way some subjects are taught.

When the most important knowledge for pupils to know and remember is identified clearly, key content and vocabulary are sequenced appropriately from the early years onwards. Elsewhere, work on developing the school's curriculum thinking and on what pupils need to know and remember has not started.

School staff receive training and support to develop their subject expertise and approaches to implementing the curriculum.

However, when tasks and resources do not support pupils to learn the required knowledge, pupils struggle to remember important information and to connect this to what they learned previously.

The school fosters a love of reading. Pupils read widely and often in school.

Pupils at the earlier stages of learning to read receive effective phonics teaching. This starts in the Reception Year or whenever pupils join the school, if they need it. Teaching staff recognise when pupils struggle to keep up with their phonics learning.

Pupils receive additional phonics teaching if required. They read books carefully matched to their knowledge of phonics. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils receive appropriate support to help them become competent readers. Pupils with SEND receive effective support. The school ensures adaptations to teaching and resources enable pupils with SEND to learn alongside their peers.

Leaders are sensitive to pressures on staff. The school communicates and consults regularly with staff on issues that impact their workload. School staff are supportive of leaders' decisions and enthusiastic about the school.

Typically, pupils are attentive in class and eager to learn. This includes children in the early years. Mostly, lessons take place uninterrupted by off-task behaviour.

Pupils are encouraged to use a range of ways to recognise and talk about their emotions. They are taught about the importance of maintaining a healthy mind and body. Pupils receive guidance to keep themselves safe, including online.

The school works with a range of organisations to promote pupils' wider development. This includes the emergency services, local community groups and charities. Currently, pupils in Year 5 are working with theatre experts to write and perform a play.

Pupils benefit from the wide range of extra-curricular clubs. These include rock climbing, music and sports. The school supports all pupils to access all that the school has to offer.

The school has a sharp focus on the areas that it needs to improve. School leaders work together with leaders of the trust, other schools in the trust and subject experts to provide support for the school's improvement.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school has not identified or sequenced the most important knowledge for pupils to know and remember in all subjects. As a result, pupils have some gaps in their knowledge. The school must ensure that the subject knowledge that pupils need to know is clearly identified and sequenced in all subjects.

• Sometimes, tasks and resources are not well chosen to support pupils to learn the required subject content. As a result, pupils struggle to remember important information and to connect this to what they learned previously. The school should implement plans to support teaching staff to embed the new approaches to curriculum delivery.