Oliver Goldsmith Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school is at the heart of its community and pupils really enjoy coming here. Pupils behave well.

They are confident that staff will listen to them if they have any concerns. Pupils are taught about the different forms of bullying. They said that it is rare and that they know they can speak with staff if they have any concerns.

Staff deal effectively with any incidents that do arise.

Staff and leaders have high expectations for all. They have developed the curriculum to ensure that their aims for pupils' learning are both clear and ambitious.

Pupils work hard to achieve these goals. Typically, they learn well in a wide range of subjects and know t...hat their teachers want the best for them.

Pupils feel safe and well cared for.

Leaders know the risks that some pupils may face. They ensure that all pupils are taught to keep themselves safe.

Pupils spoke highly about the school's inclusive culture.

They described how the achievements of all pupils are celebrated. Pupils also like the special curriculum events that leaders organise for them. For example, they were particularly excited about the celebrations planned for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

Pupils also very much enjoy taking part in the 'international evening', where pupils and families share traditions from their cultures and communities.

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

Leaders want every pupil to achieve highly. In each subject, they have considered what will be taught and the order that pupils will learn this knowledge in.

Leaders' choices show ambition for all pupils. Children's learning in the early years provides a strong foundation for their future learning throughout the school. An example of this is the well-sequenced curriculum for mathematics.

This ensures that children get plenty of practice in important mathematical ideas, such as counting, sorting items and matching them to numbers.

Leaders have prioritised reading. Reading widely and often is promoted well, for instance through regular visits to the local library.

During the weekly reading assembly, pupils' positive attitudes to reading are also celebrated. Attractive reading areas in every classroom help to raise the profile of reading further.

Teachers share stories enthusiastically.

Pupils enjoy having opportunities to talk about the books that they listen to, including the messages the author might want to give. For example, following the telling of the story 'Not Now Bernard' by David Mckee, pupils talked about how the monster might represent Bernard's poor behaviour. This then led to a discussion about how pupils can support friends in the playground.

Leaders have recently revised the school's approach to the teaching of early reading. Pupils now learn phonics through a well-structured programme that develops their knowledge in clearly defined steps. Children begin learning about phonics in the Nursery class.

As they progress through Reception and Year 1, pupils become increasingly confident and fluent with reading and spelling. Staff receive training on how to teach early reading well. Nevertheless, some staff are still getting used to the new approach to phonics.

At times, they lack confidence in how to follow the programme consistently. Leaders have suitable plans to address this through further staff training.

Leaders have made sure that all subjects have clearly sequenced steps for pupils' learning.

For example, in science, leaders have identified the key concepts, vocabulary and ways of working that pupils should learn at each stage of their time at the school. Leaders' clear expectations and guidance support staff to deliver the curriculum. However, curriculum thinking in a few subjects has been established more recently.

Leaders are currently supporting subject leaders' work to check that pupils are learning the planned curriculum successfully. Nevertheless, some teaching does not closely match leaders' clearly defined aims. This affects how well pupils remember some of the key information they have been taught.

Teachers check what pupils know and understand during the lessons. Gaps in pupils' knowledge are identified quickly. Teachers plan effectively to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and pupils who speak English as an additional language.

These pupils' needs are identified accurately. Staff support them to access the same learning as everyone else. For instance, pupils have extra time to learn important subject content and discuss anything they do not understand.

Leaders provide a variety of opportunities to support pupils' wider development and well-being. This includes using the expertise of trained counsellors in school. Pupils take part in a range of clubs and activities, both during the school day and after school.

Pupils spoke positively about the football clubs for boys and girls, and the clubs for gardening and circus skills.

Leaders and governors work well as a team to ensure that pupils benefit from an ambitious curriculum. They act effectively when improvements are needed.

Staff value leaders' work to make the school better. They also said that leaders are supportive of their well-being and workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and staff know the safeguarding issues that pupils may face. Staff work closely with pupils and their families. Staff identify and report concerns promptly.

Leaders hold regular meetings with all staff to discuss any issues they may have seen. Leaders are pro-active in getting pupils and their families the support they need including, where necessary, from external professionals.Pupils are taught about what they can do to look after their well-being including, for instance, when they are not in school or are using the internet.

Leaders and governors have ensured that appropriate checks are made to ensure that staff who work at the school are suitable to do so.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The changes that leaders have made to the way that some subjects are planned and taught are recent. In some instances, what pupils are taught does not match up fully with leaders' curricular thinking.

This reduces how successfully pupils are able to deepen their knowledge over time. Leaders need to strengthen the way in which staff implement the planned curriculum so that pupils can build on their prior knowledge as they move through the school. Leaders' work should include further developing the role of subject leaders, including their oversight of how effectively the planned curriculum is taught.

• Some staff are still becoming familiar with the new phonics programme. Overall, the programme is taught well, but some teaching is not as precisely matched to the programme's expectations as it could be. Leaders should provide staff with further training to strengthen the school's work to ensure that all pupils learn to read confidently and fluently.