Green Wrythe Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Continue to accelerate pupils’ progress and further raise standards, by:
  • monitoring and evaluating the progress that all groups of pupils make with more precision
  • ensuring that teachers consistently provide the most able pupils with challenging work and feedback to match their abilities
  • providing pupils with more problem-solving and reasoning opportunities within lessons to apply their well-rehearsed number and calculation skills in mathematics.
• Ensure that leaders at all levels, including officers of the trust, act on areas for improvement that are identified in reviews with more rapidity and depth to secure further improvements.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• After the school became an academy in April 2015, there was a period of instability, resulting in pupils’ standards declining. The headteacher has made key changes to the leadership structure, thereby stabilising the school. A plan of action, reversing the decline and raising pupils’ standards, is underway.
• Leaders have been improving pupils’ progress in writing over the last two years. This is due to the high-quality professional development that staff are receiving.
• Leaders have an honest approach to assessing the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. They recognise that some pupils do not make as much progress as they could and are addressing this effectively. Consequently, pupils in most year groups are now making improving progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

• Middle leaders are an emerging strength of the school. Their leadership skills are developing well due to the high-quality training they receive. They know the strengths as well as the areas in need of improvement in their subjects. 

• The school provides well for the needs of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and they make good progress from their starting points. There is a resource base in the school that specialises in teaching pupils who have autistic spectrum disorder. The pupils are very well supported in the resource base and make good progress.
• Morale is high among staff. This impacts positively on the way adults interact with pupils calmly and sensitively, including those pupils who have challenging and complex needs. 

• The curriculum is enhanced with extra activities to inspire and motivate pupils’ learning. Additional activities include trips out, visitors to the school and visits to museums and galleries. Pupils become aware of different faiths, through studying different religions and festivals. Consequently, pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well.
• British values are integrated across the curriculum. Pupils are taught well through a comprehensive personal, social, health and emotional programme. As a result, pupils demonstrate a good understanding of equality, respect for all and knowledge of the rule of law.
• The school uses pupil premium funding effectively. Monitoring of the progress of disadvantaged pupils shows that, overall, the funding is having a positive impact on pupils’ rates of progress.
• The primary school physical education and sports funding is spent effectively. Leaders use the funding to support staff training and for sporting clubs to take place. As a result, teachers have improved their own skills and pupils enjoy taking part in a wide range of sporting activities.
• The majority of parents and carers who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, or who spoke to inspectors agreed that the school is well led and managed.
• School leaders have given much consideration to planning the curriculum. They have developed topics or themes that have an exciting starting point to capture pupils’ interests and engage them in their learning. Where possible, subjects are linked together by an overall theme or topic. This helps pupils to gain a broader understanding of the subjects they learn.
• Senior leaders carefully analyse the progress that individual pupils make in reading, writing and mathematics. However, the monitoring of the progress of different groups of pupils, including the most able pupils, is less rigorous. As a result, leaders are not yet challenging teachers robustly enough to ensure that teachers consistently plan work that demands enough of all groups of pupils. This is especially so for the most able pupils.

Governance of the school

• The governing body is well organised. Governors’ skills and expertise are used well to support and challenge leaders.
• The trust ensures that senior leaders are supported and challenged routinely.
• Governors undertake appropriate training, including safeguarding training, to fulfil their responsibilities effectively.
• Governors ensure that extra funding for disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities is used well, and is having a positive effect on pupils’ progress.
• The trust has commissioned external reviews which provide a helpful picture of how well the school is performing. However, some of the areas identified as needing improvement have not been acted on swiftly enough, which slows further school improvement.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Parents and staff agree that pupils are safe. The school’s processes for checking new employees and volunteers are thorough.
• Leaders ensure that staff receive regular safeguarding training. Consequently, staff are alert to changes in pupils’ behaviour and other signs that raise concerns.
• The culture of care and protection for pupils extends far beyond that of fulfilling statutory requirements. Staff go the extra mile to ensure that pupils with the most complex and challenging needs are well cared for, and receive the support they require.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• All adults have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour in lessons. Classrooms are well-organised, creating a positive environment for pupils to learn.
• The very good relationships that exist between adults and pupils provide pupils with the confidence to ask for help if they do not understand something.
• The teaching of reading is effective. Pupils across the school enjoy reading. Comprehension skills, and particularly retrieval skills, are being taught consistently well in reading.
• The teaching of phonics is systematic and helps pupils to get off to a good start in reading. Pupils use their phonic skills to decode unknown words. Consequently, most pupils are currently making strong gains in phonics.
• The quality of the teaching of writing is good. This is because teachers demonstrate and explain different styles of writing well. Pupils are also given opportunities to write for a wide variety of purposes and in a range of subjects, allowing them to make accelerated progress.
• Typically, number and calculation skills are being taught well in mathematics. As a result, most pupils are making improving progress in mathematics. However, teachers are less adept at consistently planning problem-solving and reasoning activities in order for pupils to deepen their learning. As a result, pupils are not making the accelerated progress of which they are capable in mathematics.
• Teachers and other adults are particularly strong at matching work to the needs of pupils that are behind. As a result, the lower-attaining pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities are making strong progress from their starting points.
• On the other hand, work set for the most able pupils does not demand enough of them. Too often, the most able pupils waste time doing work that is too easy, before they start more challenging tasks. Consequently, this slows these pupils from making consistently good progress.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils enjoy school and have positive attitudes towards their learning. They are polite and listen to each other’s points of view.
• Pupils are confident and showed a willingness to share their views and their work with inspectors.
• Pupils know about the different types of bullying. They say that bullying rarely happens, but that teachers tackle any problems effectively.
• Pupils feel safe in school. They understand the potential dangers of the internet and learn about fire and road safety.
• Most parents who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, agreed that pupils feel safe in school.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils respond well to the high expectations that leaders have of their behaviour. This is seen within lessons and when pupils move around the school.
• Pupils get on well with each other, regardless of their different backgrounds, and treat each other with respect. 

• Historically, pupils’ attendance has been below average. School leaders have worked well with parents and pupils to increase rates of attendance. The measures they have put into place are effective and attendance is improving. Fewer pupils than previously are persistently absent.
• Most of the parents and staff who completed Ofsted’s online surveys agreed that pupils behave well in school.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Most children start in the early years with a range of skills, knowledge and understanding that is below what is typical for their age. Due to the effective use of assessment in the early years, leaders ensure that children’s specific needs are met. Consequently, children are making good progress in the early years.
• The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the national phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 has been below the national average for the last two years. However, following the whole-school focus on improving outcomes in phonics, the school’s current assessment information demonstrates that pupils are making much better progress in developing and using their understanding of phonics throughout the school. In Years 1 and 2, more pupils are currently on track to achieve in line with the national average. This is because phonics is taught more systematically and pupils are taught to use their phonics skills accurately when they read books.
• Pupils across the school are making consistently good progress in writing. Pupils are given many opportunities to practise their writing skills across the curriculum. From low starting points when they enter the early years, pupils catch up by the end of key stage 2 so that they leave the school with writing levels above the national average. 

• Outcomes for current pupils are improving quickly in reading and mathematics. Historical underachievement is being eradicated as leaders have higher expectations.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, including pupils with autistic spectrum disorder are making good progress as they are receiving targeted support.
• This year, the progress of disadvantaged pupils is steadily improving. Evidence from pupils’ work and from the school’s assessment information indicates that many of these pupils are making better progress this year, compared to last year. This is due to more effective teaching.
• The school’s assessment information, supported by inspection evidence, shows that most pupils currently in the school are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. This is because the quality of teaching continues to improve. However, progress for the most able pupils is not yet consistently good across subjects.

Early years provision Good

• The early years is well led and managed. Leaders have an accurate understanding of the strengths of the provision and are focused upon the areas needing improvement. 

• All staff know the children well. Staff are well trained to meet the children’s welfare and learning needs. They particularly focus on teaching phonics, early reading and numbers so that the children have a good foundation to build all future learning on.
• Partnership work with parents is strong. Parents are invited to join in with celebrating and supporting their children’s learning.

• Teachers plan exciting activities for children and they provide good opportunities for exploring and learning. The outdoor environment is imaginatively planned and contains equipment that allows children to explore and take risks.
• Children start in the Nursery with skills and abilities that are, overall, below those which are typical for their age. Through close tracking of their needs, children who remain in the school until the end of Reception make accelerated progress, with the majority reaching levels to be successful learners in Year 1. 

• Children who have SEN and/or disabilities are identified quickly by staff and additional support is planned so that they can make good progress. Staff are used effectively to support children with more complex needs who attend the resource base. 

• Disadvantaged children make good progress from their different starting points. This is because leaders provide effective support for them if they are falling behind in their learning, such as to enhance their speech and language development. Therefore, the pupil premium funding is spent effectively.
• Safeguarding is effective and statutory responsibilities are met.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 141876 Sutton 10041955 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy sponsor-led 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 284 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Alex Bingham Anne Claxton 020 8648 4989 www.greenwrythe.org.uk office@greenwrythe.org.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• In April 2015, the school joined the Greenshaw Learning Trust.
• Most pupils are of White British heritage.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average. 

• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is much higher than the national average, due to the school having a resource provision for 56 pupils with autistic spectrum disorder.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding is much higher than the national average.
• The school meets the current floor standards, which are the minimum set by the government.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in all classes. Leaders accompanied inspectors to many of the visits to lessons.
• Pupils’ work was reviewed during lessons and a more detailed scrutiny was made of pupils’ books with the headteacher and senior leaders. Pupils’ work in a wide range of subjects was scrutinised. Pupils’ work on display was also considered.
• Pupils read to inspectors and inspectors spoke with pupils throughout the inspection to gain their views. 

• Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and during break and lunchtimes was observed by inspectors.

• Formal and informal discussions took place with senior leaders and the trust officer.
• Meetings and discussions were held with a trust official, staff, parents and pupils. Inspectors met with members of the governing body.
• Inspectors scrutinised the school’s documentation on pupils’ attainment and progress, safeguarding, behaviour, attendance, governors’ minutes, the school’s self-evaluation, plans for improvement and external reviews of the school.
• Inspectors considered the 30 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, as well as speaking to parents directly. The responses from 38 staff questionnaires were also considered.

Inspection team

Jenell Chetty, lead inspector Julie Davey Jason Hughes Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector