West Grove Primary

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

West Grove Primary continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

West Grove's motto, 'Enjoy school, enjoy learning', is at the heart of this welcoming and friendly school. Pupils achieve well because leaders expect the best of them. Pupils are confident and enthusiastic when they talk about their learning.

They say they are happy and that adults help them to learn new and exciting knowledge. Staff, pupils, parents and carers say they are proud to be members of the school community.

All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), have regular opportunities to participate in a wide range of after-school activitie...s, such as football, dodgeball, gymnastics, yoga, art and drama.

This encourages pupils to develop their skills and interests.

Pupils behave well. Learning takes place without disruption because the school is orderly and calm.

Pupils work purposefully in their lessons and play well together at breaktimes. A kind and respectful culture permeates throughout the school.

Pupils say that bullying is rare.

If it does happen, it is dealt with quickly. Pupils know that they can share their concerns with adults, who will support and listen to them. Pupils are safe in school.

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

Leaders have high expectations of all pupils, including those with SEND. They have designed a broad and balanced curriculum that matches the ambition and the requirements which are expected nationally. Leaders have identified the important knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn.

Leaders have sequenced these carefully to ensure that pupils develop their understanding cumulatively over time.

Teachers create assessment opportunities for pupils to recall prior learning. They check how well pupils remember and understand what they have learned, so they can build on current learning.

For example, in art, pupils in Year 1 learn about colour mixing so that their paintings are bright, bold and colourful. Year 4 pupils apply this knowledge confidently when learning about pop art and making choices about which colours to use when creating work in the style of Andy Warhol. Pupils' artwork is celebrated, and proudly displayed around the school.

Similarly, in mathematics, younger pupils recognise the place value of two-digit and three-digit numbers. Older pupils draw on their knowledge of place value to solve and investigate more complex problems involving ordering, rounding and negative numbers.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge.

They plan lessons that motivate and engage the interest of all pupils. As a result, pupils learn and behave very well. This means there is no disruption to learning.

Leaders check that the needs of pupils with SEND are met. Pupils who need additional support are identified quickly. Teachers ensure that planning and resources are adapted to enable pupils to learn and achieve well.

Leaders expect pupils to learn and use a range of subject-specific vocabulary with precision. In most subjects, this is working well. For example, in geography, pupils learn new ambitious vocabulary at the beginning of each lesson.

This helps pupils to remember the features of a town or city. However, in a few subjects, routines for pupils to learn and revise technical vocabulary are not embedded. As a result, not all pupils understand and correctly use this new ambitious vocabulary.

Leaders prioritise pupils' learning to read and have invested in training and resources to strengthen reading across the curriculum. Children in the early years quickly learn letters and sounds, and learn how to blend them together to read words. Additionally, they develop their language skills through nursery rhymes, poems and songs.

Year 6 pupils enjoy reading high-quality texts, including books by William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Louisa May Alcott among many others. Reading buddies provide pupils with the opportunity to read aloud to their peers. This encourages them to develop a love of reading.

Pupils who struggle to read are swiftly identified and benefit from additional support from well-trained adults. This helps pupils to catch up quickly.

Pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment opportunities.

Outings to film studios, exhibitions and galleries broaden pupils' experiences. Year 6 pupils enhance their learning in modern foreign languages with a day trip to France. Strong links with the wider community ensure that pupils develop positive and respectful attitudes.

For example, pupils worked with the Metropolitan Police as part of their 'Portrait of the Queen' competition. The school council regularly leads whole-school assemblies about topical affairs, such as climate change.

Staff appreciate the way that leaders are mindful of their workload.

Teachers, including those in the early stages of their careers, say leaders are supportive. The governing board uses its knowledge of the school to provide appropriate challenge to leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have ensured that all staff understand their role in keeping children safe. As a result, staff know what actions to take if they have concerns about a pupil. Leaders work in close partnership with other professionals and outside agencies.

This means that pupils and families get the support they need.

Pupils know how to stay safe online. They are taught about the risks they may face and where to get help if they need it.

Governors ensure that all appropriate checks are carried out in line with safer recruitment guidance. All staff receive regular safeguarding training.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few subjects, there are not well-established routines for pupils to learn and recap on technical vocabulary.

Pupils then do not understand or correctly use new ambitious vocabulary in these subjects. Leaders need to ensure that pupils have time to learn and embed this new ambitious vocabulary so that they use it with precision.

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 a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in July 2013.

Also at this postcode