Preston Greenlands Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Nurturing relationships between staff and pupils at Preston Greenlands Community Primary School ensure that pupils are happy and feel safe. Pupils get on well together and make lots of friends. Staff take the time to get to know each pupil and their family.

Parents and carers appreciate this.

Most pupils behave well and follow established routines. Classrooms are calm and purposeful.

Pupils work together sensibly and share their ideas eagerly. They learn that everyone should be treated with respect, regardless of their differences. Leaders deal with bullying and any falling out effectively.

They work with those involved to help them to get along toge...ther in the future.

Pupils are proud to make a difference to their community through events such as singing in local care homes and undertaking environmental clean-ups. They are excited to take part in the wide range of clubs that leaders plan for them.

Pupils comment that these clubs help them to pursue their interests and talents.

Leaders have high expectations for pupils' learning and behaviour. Pupils achieve well in some subjects.

However, in other subjects, they do not learn as well as they should. This is because leaders have not thought carefully enough about the important knowledge that pupils should gain.

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

Leaders have ensured that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), have access to a broad and balanced curriculum.

In some subjects, the curriculum is well established and is understood by all staff. However, in several other subjects, curriculum development is at an early stage.

In some subjects, including reading and mathematics, leaders have ensured that the curriculum identifies the important small blocks of knowledge that pupils will learn and when they will learn them.

Leaders have ensured that the curriculum content is ordered in a logical way so that pupils build on what they know already. As a result, pupils remember what they have been taught and achieve well in these subjects.

However, in other subjects, leaders' expectations of what pupils should know are not clear enough.

Leaders have not considered fully the knowledge that pupils should learn. This means that teachers are less certain about what should be taught and when. This makes it more difficult for teachers to build up pupils' knowledge securely, or to assess whether pupils have understood and remembered their learning.

As a result, pupils do not build their knowledge across the curriculum as well as they should.

In most subjects, teachers plan interesting lessons that hold pupils' attention. Pupils are keen to meet teachers' expectations.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge and present new information clearly.

Leaders have identified the important knowledge that children need to learn in the early years. This helps these children to achieve well.

Children play with each other kindly, work well together and enjoy learning new things. They are keen to share their achievements with others. The early years classrooms and outdoor areas are well resourced.

Staff have worked hard to develop positive relationships through workshops and an open-door policy.

Leaders ensure that the school is inclusive. Leaders are quick to identify any pupils with SEND.

Staff work well with parents and external agencies to assess pupils' needs. Teachers make thoughtful adaptions in lessons to support these pupils' effectively. Nurture provision and the use of safe spaces are helping pupils to manage their own behaviour so that they are well prepared for learning.

Leaders have ensured that reading is a priority across the school. Story times help pupils to develop a love of reading. Pupils like to choose from a range of new fiction and non-fiction books.

More recently, leaders have changed the school's phonics programme to improve pupils' reading accuracy and fluency. Pupils learn how to link sounds and letters correctly. Staff select books that are matched closely to the sounds that pupils know so they can practise their reading.

However, some staff are still getting to grips with how best to implement this new scheme in the classroom. This hinders them in their efforts to provide appropriate support for pupils when they fall behind in reading. This means that these pupils do not catch up quickly enough.

Staff support pupils to behave well. Most pupils show respect to each other and to staff. Leaders have made sure that staff are trained to deal with any challenging behaviour in a sensitive and constructive way.

This helps to minimise any disruption to pupils' learning.

Leaders ensure that pupils are supported well in their personal development. Pupils learn the importance of keeping fit and eating healthy foods.

They are taught to be resilient learners, even when they find this difficult. Older pupils learn about the changes that their body and emotions will go through as they grow up. Pupils learn how to be responsible and active citizens.

For example, they donate to local food banks and raise money for charitable causes. Assemblies and wider opportunities, including visitors to the school and visits to the local area, enhance the curriculum.

Leaders support staff well.

They make sure that everyone receives training. Staff comment that leaders are considerate of their workload and well-being. Staff feel part of a team.

Governors know the strengths of the school and where improvements must be made.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Safeguarding procedures are robust.

Leaders follow up any concerns they may have about pupils' welfare. All staff have received relevant training and know what to do if they have concerns. The safeguarding team works effectively with external agencies to make sure that pupils are kept safe.

Those responsible for governance make regular checks on safeguarding arrangements.

Through the curriculum and assemblies, pupils learn about the risks they may face as they grow older. Pupils have a good understanding of how to stay safe, including online.

They develop an age-appropriate understanding of relationships. Pupils know that they can talk to any adult in school about their worries and concerns.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have not ensured that pupils who fall behind in their reading receive effective support to catch up.

This means that these pupils do not learn to read accurately and fluently as quickly as they should. Leaders should make sure that pupils who struggle the most with reading receive appropriate support to help them catch up quickly. ? In some subjects, leaders have not identified the important knowledge they want pupils to learn or the order in which it should be taught.

As a result, it is difficult for teachers to know what to teach or to check that pupils have learned all that they should. This means that pupils are not learning in these subjects in sufficient depth. Leaders should ensure that, across the curriculum, teachers know what should be taught and when this should happen.