The Gainsborough Parish Church Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are well cared for.

Staff treat them with kindness and respect. Pupils say that there are lots of adults they can talk to if they are worried or upset. They feel safe in school.

Parents appreciate the supportive community the school provides for their children. One parent said: 'Staff at the school support not only the child but the whole family and have been true diamonds throughout my child's time at the school.'

Pupils behave well.

Playtimes and lunchtimes are happy times. Lessons are calm. Pupils listen when asked and follow the instructions their teachers give.

They work well together. However, their attitudes to learning are no...t as strong. Teachers' expectations of pupils' engagement in their lessons vary.

In some classes, some pupils do not actively participate in their learning when asked to give an answer or share an idea.

The school has been through a period of significant change in leadership. This has slowed the pace of change that leaders have done to improve the school.

Leaders' ambition for pupils has not been high enough. The curriculum is not consistently well organised and thought out. As a result, too many pupils are not ready for the next stage in their education.

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

Leaders have prioritised the teaching of reading. Phonics is taught well. The curriculum sets out the order in which pupils learn new sounds.

Staff receive appropriate training. The phonics leader makes regular checks to ensure that staff are teaching phonics effectively. Assessment is used well to spot pupils who fall behind so that they can have extra help.

This is working well. Children in the early years learn the sounds they need to read and write. Pupils in later years benefit from this firm foundation.

Pupils are enthusiastic about reading.

Many other curriculum plans are not planned out in sufficient detail. Leaders have not set out the specific knowledge that pupils need to learn from the early years to Year 6.

It is not always clear how new learning builds on prior learning. In some lessons, teachers are not clear about what they need to teach. Some teachers work this out successfully for themselves, but this is not consistent across the school.

Sometimes, learning activities are not well matched to the needs of the pupils. This is when pupils lose interest in their learning. Teachers plan opportunities for pupils to revisit previous learning in lessons, but this is not fully embedded.

Too often, pupils struggle to remember what they have been taught.

Teachers' checks that pupils remember what they have been taught are not used well enough in much of the curriculum. Teachers do not routinely use this information to identify and fill gaps in pupils' learning or address misconceptions they may have.

This is an inclusive school. The needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified promptly, and the right support is provided. For example, leaders have identified that an increasing number of children have speech and language difficulties when they start at school.

Leaders have provided specific training so that two teaching assistants can support these pupils. Staff make reasonable adjustments and provide additional resources to help pupils with SEND with their learning. Pupils with SEND learn alongside their peers.

Leaders are ambitious that they will become independent learners and experience success.

The personal, social and health education curriculum is well planned and sequenced. Pupils learn about what a good relationship looks like and how to keep themselves safe.

They learn how to stay healthy, physically and mentally. There is a strong pastoral offer for pupils who need time to talk about their worries. This work is vital for pupils who may otherwise find it difficult to cope in the busy school environment.

However, there is more work to do to strengthen the school's offer for pupils' personal development. The opportunities for pupils to develop their talents and interests are limited. Leaders have not thought carefully enough about the characteristics they want pupils to develop during their time at the school.

This work does not start quickly enough in early years.

Governors have steered the school through a challenging time. They fulfil their statutory duties.

Governors are beginning hold leaders to account for the ambition of the curriculum and are starting to keep a close eye on the difference that it makes to outcomes for pupils. The many changes that have taken place have unsettled some staff. Despite this, the vast majority of staff say that they are proud of, and enjoy working at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Designated safeguarding leaders are knowledgeable. They have established robust systems to keep pupils safe.

Staff receive regular safeguarding training. They are alert to the signs that a pupil may be at risk of harm. Leaders and staff know pupils and their families well.

Safeguarding records help safeguarding leaders to build a profile of pupils when concerns are raised. Leaders take the right action at the right time. They work closely with relevant external agencies to help pupils and their families get the support they need.

Pupils learn about how to keep themselves safe in a range of situations.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Overall, the curriculum is not ambitious enough. Leaders, including governors, do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve.

Too many pupils do not achieve as well as other pupils nationally and are not adequately prepared for the next stage in their education. Leaders must ensure that the curriculum is sufficiently demanding and provides pupils with the knowledge they need to succeed. ? In many subjects, the curriculum does not set out precisely what pupils need to learn, or identify a coherent order in which this knowledge should be taught.

As a result, pupils do not build secure subject knowledge that deepens over time. Leaders need to ensure that curriculum plans identify and sequence key knowledge in all subjects, so that pupils from early years to Year 6 know more and remember more. ? Teachers do not check that pupils have remembered the intended learning with enough precision.

This means that teachers do not consistently provide learning activities that meet the needs of all pupils. Leaders should ensure that teachers use assessment information to check that pupils have a secure knowledge of what has been taught, and to plug gaps in their learning. ? Staff expectations of pupils' attitudes to learning are not consistently high enough.

Some pupils are disengaged in lessons. They do not participate in their learning with interest, respond to their teachers' questions or offer their ideas and opinions. Leaders should raise staff's expectations of pupils' engagement in their learning so that pupils give of their best in every lesson.

• Leaders have not planned carefully enough for pupils' personal development. Pupils do not consistently develop the characteristics they need to succeed. Leaders must ensure that pupils have experiences and opportunities to prepare them well for life in modern Britain and the next stage in their education.

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