The Globe Primary Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve outcomes for pupils, by:
  • further accelerating the progress of disadvantaged pupils
  • raising the standards of writing across the curriculum to match the high standards evident in pupils’ English books.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Ably assisted by the leadership team, the executive headteacher and head of school have significantly improved the school since it opened in 2014. Leaders show boundless ambition and determination to provide a first-class education for pupils. One parent noted: ‘The improvement in the school has been amazing, there have been so many positive changes.’
• Leaders’ evaluations of the school’s performance are well informed and accurate. Leaders analyse assessment information and check the quality of teaching and learning to form a clear view of strengths and weaknesses. When pupils’ progress dips, leaders quickly deploy additional staff and resources to help pupils to catch up. Consequently, there has been a rapid improvement in the rate of pupils’ progress.
• Staff receive excellent support to improve their practice. Leaders monitor the quality of teaching and offer useful feedback which staff use to improve further. Teachers benefit from regular opportunities to observe first-rate teachers in their own and other schools. The quality and consistency of teaching has improved swiftly.
• Middle leaders play a pivotal role in the school and have secured significant improvements in pupils’ progress and standards of behaviour. Leaders work with peers from across the multi-academy trust to create and review improvement plans. For instance, the computing coordinator recently introduced changes to the computing curriculum to ensure that pupils develop skills in programming and coding. Year leaders monitor behaviour and support pupils to improve their conduct.
• Leaders and governors have used additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils wisely. A team of learning mentors support disadvantaged pupils before class to ensure that they are ready to learn. Pupils meet mentors after class to discuss their learning and correct any mistakes they may have made. Disadvantaged pupils benefit from insightful feedback from teachers that helps them to improve their learning. Differences between the rates of progress of disadvantaged pupils and others, both nationally and in school, are diminishing rapidly.
• Physical education and sport premium is used effectively to provide training for teachers and increase opportunities for pupils to take part in a variety of sports. Pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged, benefit from a growing range of clubs and enjoy the chance to pursue their interests and improve their levels of fitness.
• The inclusion manager skilfully identifies the needs of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, and works with external agencies to identify the most effective forms of support. Funding is used effectively to remove barriers to pupils’ learning. Excellent transition arrangements ensure that not a minute is wasted when these pupils join the school or move to their next year group.
• The curriculum is well considered, broad and interesting. Pupils explore subjects in creative and artistic ways. For instance, Year 6 pupils created evacuees’ gardens to understand how people produced food during the war. Displays around the school are vibrant, informative and celebratory. In assemblies, pupils develop their understanding of the world around them and sing with joy and enthusiasm. Pupils find homework interesting and developmental. Both parents and pupils praised the balance of digital and creative homework.
• The local authority and multi-academy trust provide regular, incisive support for school leaders. Officers use visits to the school to inform their evaluations, and their reports offer leaders and governors useful benchmarks for their own assessments as well as clear next steps to improve further.

Governance of the school

• Governors are skilled and ambitious for the school. They ask challenging questions of leaders and, rightly, hold them to account for their actions. Governors visit the school to gather first-hand information about performance, health and safety and safeguarding. The findings of these visits are reported at governing body meetings and support governors’ accurate evaluation of the school’s performance.
• The governing body monitors the effectiveness of leaders’ work well and offers suitable challenge when initiatives do not produce the desired effect. Recently, governors challenged leaders to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils and to increase the attendance of pupils. Leaders and governors work as a close team to set targets for whole-school development and identify actions that will achieve these. Oversight from governors has supported leaders to secure rapid improvement.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Procedures for checking staff, governors and volunteers are robust. Statutory checks are carried out diligently and no member of staff starts work until these are complete. Induction of staff is a key strength. All staff, including those who join the school mid-year, are taught to identify and report safeguarding concerns.
• When concerns are received, leaders take the right action to keep pupils safe from harm. Leaders work well with external agencies and parents to ensure that pupils receive the support they need in a timely fashion.
• Pupils and parents receive useful information on how to stay safe. For example, parents attend internet safety briefings that offer useful guidance on how to safeguard against cyber bullying. Pupils who sit on the behaviour and safety committee work with the assistant headteacher to identify and minimise risks around the school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Positive relationships between staff and pupils promote a sense of trust and purpose throughout the school. Teachers explain what they expect clearly and pupils complete their tasks with purpose and zeal.
• Teachers use their accurate assessment of pupils’ attainment to set work at just the right level. When pupils do fall behind, staff identify them quickly and offer bespoke support to help pupils to catch up. As a result, the majority of pupils, including the lower attaining pupils, make good progress.
• Mathematics teaching is a strength across the school. Teachers set work that challenges pupils, particularly the most able, to problem solve and reason. Pupils discuss their tasks enthusiastically and draw upon their secure calculation skills to find solutions. The rates of progress for pupils in mathematics, including the most able, have increased rapidly.
• The teaching of reading is high quality because teachers ensure that pupils read widely and often. When pupils fall behind, staff use intensive support to improve pupils’ phonics and comprehension skills. Pupils’ attitudes to reading are positive and, throughout the school, pupils make strong progress.
• The teaching of writing has improved rapidly in the past two years. Teachers, rightly, focus on teaching pupils the basics in spelling, punctuation and grammar. Pupils use their secure skills to form increasingly eloquent and interesting texts. Consequently, a greater proportion of pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged, are now writing at the expected standard for their age.
• Teachers possess secure subject knowledge across a wide range of subjects. In Year 2, for example, teachers guide pupils to learn common nouns and greetings in Italian. Pupils in Year 4 write basic computer code to move characters around their screen and create simple games. In the foundation subjects and science, pupils make strong progress. Nevertheless, pupils’ writing in these subjects does not match the high quality evident in English lessons.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• The school’s values of aspiration, enjoyment, responsibility and resilience are understood and modelled by staff and pupils.
• Pupils throughout the school stick at tasks and relish challenge. When confronted by obstacles, pupils try to find a solution, safe in the knowledge that adults’ help is available. As a result, pupils are resilient and tackle activities with enthusiasm and drive.
• Pupils show great respect and tolerance for others. They understand their responsibility to the wider community and discuss this in class. Recently, pupils petitioned the parish council to install safer footpaths and telescopes on the seafront to further increase local residents’ enjoyment of the coastline. Pupils’ thoughtful demeanour and proactive attitude prepare them well for life in modern Britain.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. Year 5 pupils completed risk assessments of their classrooms and houses. Pupils in Year 6 have a clear understanding of the dangers of social media and sharing personal information online. Pupils are well placed to deal with the challenges of an increasingly digital society.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well. Pupils in Year 6 think deeply about the challenges of conflicts such as the Second World War, considering thoughtfully how people’s lives were affected. In Year 2, pupils study Judaism, researching artefacts, symbols and practices that are important to the Jewish faith. Pupils’ discussions are lively yet respectful.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils across the school are smart, inquisitive and welcoming. They are keen to share their school with visitors and take great pride in their work.
• Pupils show resolve when completing tasks. They respond to teachers’ feedback with enthusiasm and use this to improve their skills and understanding. Pupils are resilient and determined.
• During breaktimes, pupils play and interact well. Disagreements are rare; however, when they do happen, pupils report that teachers are always nearby to help them. As a result, the playground is joyful and harmonious.
• Leaders and governors monitor behavioural incidents closely. Records show that there has been a reduction in poor behaviour over the last three years. Pupils report that poor behaviour is rare and the very few incidents are challenged effectively by teachers.
• Incidents of bullying are rare and pupils and staff report that these are quickly dealt with to prevent any reoccurrence. Pupils show great respect for their peers and adults around the school.
• Although pupils’ attendance remains just below the national average there have been clear improvements in the attendance of disadvantaged pupils. Leaders are aware of the historically low attendance in the school. Whilst decisive action has recently been taken to encourage high attendance, it is too early to measure the impact of this work.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• In 2016, pupils in Year 6 attained significantly below their peers nationally. Leaders and teachers have taken robust and appropriate action to increase the progress of pupils in English and mathematics. As a result, rates of progress have increased dramatically in key stage 2 and a greater proportion of pupils now attain at the expected standard for English and mathematics.
• Over the last three years, pupils in every year group, including those who are disadvantaged, have made increasingly strong progress. Leaders and teachers identify pupils who fall behind and use additional funds wisely to help these pupils catch up. Consequently, the proportion of pupils attaining at the expected standard for their age has increased. Nevertheless, pupils who are disadvantaged do not consistently progress as rapidly as other pupils nationally.
• Pupils undertake tasks in mathematics that challenge them and require them to solve problems. Recent initiatives to enrich the mathematics curriculum with further opportunities to enquire and investigate have been successful. Pupils across the school address mathematical challenges with tenacity and enthusiasm and make rapid progress.
• Pupils read widely and often. The wide range of texts on offer ensures that pupils can enjoy books that match their interests. Adults in the school share their love of reading and encourage pupils of all ages to read aloud. Support for disadvantaged pupils, including the most-able disadvantaged, is particularly strong. Pupils’ rates of progress in reading are high.
• Historically, writing has been an area of weakness in the school. Teachers now ensure that pupils have secure grammar, punctuation and spelling skills to write and communicate effectively. Pupils’ writing is now interesting and has a clear purpose and message.
• Pupils make good progress in the humanities subjects. Pupils in Year 5 studied pollution and the effect it can have on local flora and fauna. Year 4 compared the life of a Roman soldier to that of a modern Briton, making insightful and thoughtful comparisons between the two lifestyles. Nevertheless, the standard of pupils’ writing across the curriculum is not as high as it is in their English lessons.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make excellent progress throughout the school. Work and support for these pupils is typically set at just the right level. Clear and established transition arrangements ensure that pupils receive consistent support as they move through the school.

Early years provision Good

• Children in the early years join the school with levels of development just below those typical for their age. In 2016, the proportion of children who achieved a good level of development broadly matched the national average. This indicates that children make strong progress from their starting points.
• Children, including those who are disadvantaged, develop good communication skills because adults in class question and prompt children well, and model a rich vocabulary and clear speech. Children answer questions and follow adults’ examples in their responses. As a result, children rapidly develop their vocabulary and use more complex sentence structures.
• The teaching of writing is highly effective. Children write using a variety of media such as sand, glitter and water. Adults offer children continual encouragement and sound guidance on how to form letters. Consequently, children make rapid progress in writing.
• Children select tasks and stick at them, building the resilience seen in pupils further up the school. Adults use incisive questioning to encourage children to think and talk about what they are learning. As a result, children develop resilience and a love of learning.
• Behaviour in the early years is excellent. Children interact, share and play exceptionally well together and listen to adults when they are giving instructions. For example, children built their own houses by moving and stacking blocks, fences and sheets, and working in teams. They showed great determination and used clear communication skills to arrange the items sensibly and safely.
• Safeguarding in the early years is effective. Staff are vigilant and know how to identify and report concerns. Children are taught to manage risk and learn from an early age how to keep safe. Staff work with parents well and offer model sessions to develop parents’ skills.
• The early years leaders have a clear and accurate understanding of the effectiveness of the provision. They use assessment information to plan appropriate and engaging activities for the children. Leaders use funding for disadvantaged children and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities well to provide additional staff and support. As a result, children are well prepared for Year 1.

School details

Unique reference number 141348 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 10036792 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Academy sponsor-led Age range of pupils 4 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 555 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Michele Innes Executive Headteacher Luisa Gould Telephone number 01903 854970

Website www.theglobeprimary.co.uk Email address office@theglobeprimary.co.uk

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The Globe Primary Academy opened in November 2014 as part of the REAch2 Academy Trust, a large primary-only multi-academy trust.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.
• This is a larger-than-average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils who are supported by the pupil premium is similar to the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is slightly higher than the national average.
• The school met the government’s floor standards in 2016, which are the minimum requirements for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in 16 parts of lessons, some with senior leaders.
• In addition to discussions with parents, 46 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, were taken into account, including 44 free-text comments.
• A range of the school’s documentation was scrutinised to gather information on: leaders’ evaluation of the school’s performance; systems for managing the performance of teachers; behaviour and safety of pupils; safeguarding; the progress and attainment of pupils; and curriculum leadership.
• Inspectors scrutinised the school’s website to evaluate the quality of information for parents and whether the school meets statutory publishing requirements.
• Inspectors spoke to pupils to gather their views and heard pupils read.
• Inspectors met with school leaders, representatives from the governing body and officers from the multi-academy trust.

Inspection team

Daniel Lambert, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Penny Orme Ofsted Inspector Peter Wibroe Ofsted Inspector