OFSTED & Quality Assurance Reports

In December 2022, Greenfields gained the Flagship for Inclusion Award . The assessment included a day of evaluation activities which reviewed the practice in school and the extent to which we had actioned targets from the previous assessment. To achieve the Flagship status a school needs to play a strong leadership role in developing inclusion best practice across a network of schools; be committed to extending those networks and publish classroom-based research annually. We are very proud to have been awarded Flagship status for our commitment to inclusive practice.

“The Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher and Leaders have a clear vision for Greenfield Community Primary School and communicate their desire for every pupil to succeed effectively and well.”

“Engagement with parents is a key strength of the school. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. They feel listened to and supported and know that their children do well.”

“This is an extremely happy school where pupils enjoy their learning and want to achieve well.”

“Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) can access all curriculum subjects. Pupils with SEND have their needs identified quickly and accurately.”

“The school continues to move from strength to strength in terms of its superb inclusive practice”

In July 2021 Greenfields was awarded the Leading Parent Partnership Award. The assesses a schools’ competency in the following areas:

~how well a school supports parents as their children transition through or between schools

~how well school includes all groups of parents in supporting their children’s learning and developing their own learning

~the steps taken to ensure that the school is a welcoming, communicative and friendly place for parents

~the way in which school provides clear and accessible guidance to help parents support their children’s learning and development

~how well the school provides clear guidance on the responsibilities of parents, school and pupils, and share this information with parents as a key part of the induction process

~how well the school produces parent-friendly policies to establish effective home–school links

Below highlights the strengths identified by the assessor during the assessment:

• School leaders have a clear vision of how they want to continue their work. Next steps have already been identified. These show clearly where the school will develop practice over the next three years. Parental partnership is an integral part of development plans and will, without doubt, continue to go from strength to strength.
• Governors work closely with school leaders to ensure the vision becomes a reality. The Chair of Governors firmly believes the school’s presence at the heart of the community has fostered improved communication with the wider community.
• Leaders are reflective practitioners and priorities for the school are borne from a firm evidence base.

• The headteacher has developed key roles within the staff team to further strengthen the work with families.
• There was a genuine enthusiasm when talking to staff about their work with parents. They felt the process of working towards the award has enabled staff to think about the impact of what they do and to make any necessary changes, no matter how slight.
• As the school has worked towards the award, staff have been kept well informed about progress. In addition, they have been fully involved in its development and because of this, they have “ownership” of the LPPA award.
• Staff are very flexible in their approach to involving parents and are determined to effectively communicate with all stakeholders.
• The school publishes a high-quality newsletter, reflecting the expectations of the school. It informs parents, on a regular basis, how leaders have responded and acted upon feedback.

• Parents are very appreciative of the staff and feel confident in approaching school if they have any queries or worries. They value the regular contact with staff and school leaders. They feel that communication is a strength of the school. One parent stated, “…improved communication has also been a key factor for me this year, the school has worked hard to try and keep parents informed and provide comprehensive information by email/School Gateway”.
• As their child progresses through school, parents are well informed about key milestones, such as change in Key Stage.
• Parental voice in the school is strong and they are frequently consulted about all aspects of their children’s education. Parents feel valued by the school and know their opinions matter and are acted upon. Another parent felt, in her words, “…school has always gone above and beyond to support my son and our family”.

Impact:

• The LPPA co-ordinator has been highly effective in her role. The comprehensive portfolio is just one document which evidences the thoroughness of her approach and attention to detail.
• Across all areas of the school, there is a consistent approach to informing and engaging parents. This is borne from a clear vision and direction from school leaders and the highly effective way in which the LPPA Co-ordinator guided developments.
• The induction schedule is very thorough and provides parents with a wealth of information. Because of this, parents feel well informed as their children start the school.
• Feedback from parents via the various methods used by the school, reflect the positive relationship between the school and the parent body. Leaders and staff have worked hard to foster and develop these relationships which in turn has positively impacted on the whole school community.

In July 2019, Greenfields was assessed by an Inclusion Quality Mark assessor external to our school. The assessment was a rigorous day long process to evaluate the ethos, systems and impact in respect of inclusion in our school. The assessment how well a school can demonstrate the following criteria:

• Committed to sustaining the Inclusion Quality Mark ethos through collaborative activities.
• Have demonstrable plans to sustain and develop internal inclusive practice.
• Have good mechanisms to disseminate and share good practice between the schools.
• Have, or are able to develop, the capacity to share and disseminate good inclusive practice across a broader cluster of schools.
• Are willing to engage in classroom level research activity that explores inclusive practice.
• Agree to have an annual IQM visit to ratify or validate the progress and develop an annual plan for development.
• Agree to contribute an annual written update of progress against the eight elements as the basis for the annual review.
• Are prepared to contribute to the overall development aims of IQM, supporting the need for expertise or trialling practice.

The during the assessment process, meetings and discussions were help with senior leaders, staff , parents and outside agencies working with our school.

The assessor was very complimentary about many aspects of our school, but most importantly how we recognise celebrate individual needs and strengths of all children.

We went on to receive the Centre of Excellence Award for Inclusion in 2020.

“Both staff and children have clearly developed a love of reading and are able to describe what they have read, likes and dislikes and make links to other books. This can be seen
through pupil voice, reading recommendations and evidence in reading corners. Children’s fluency has improved, this can be shown in their confidence not only when reading aloud but also when telling stories to their peers and adults alike.“

“Children are encouraged to think originally about what they have learnt and how to apply their learning between different situations. At Greenfields the recovery
curriculum has child voice at its centre. The staff recognise that all of their children will have had vastly different experiences of school closure. They put in place plans that
meant they were able to support children who needed time and space to process their experiences, as they knew that without this they would not learn effectively.”

“Greenfields is a thriving school, one with a happy, hard-working community, with our children at its core. They continually demonstrate a whole-child approach to Teaching
and Learning. This means they strive not only for the high academic standards, but also for the development of each child’s social, emotional, behavioural, moral and
communicative skills too. On offer for every child is a carefully structured, varied and exciting curriculum designed to engage and enthuse their learners, inspiring them, to
begin a lifelong thirst for discovery and knowledge.”

Other key features of the school noted by HMI:

• Leaders are passionate that all pupils have the best possible start in education. The early years garden is a special place for the ‘Muddy Bairns’ (children in the early years foundation stage) to share. There are many resources to play with and places for them to explore. Children enjoy the space and make up imaginative games in the mud kitchen and sandpit.
• Pupils have a very positive attitude towards mathematics. Leaders support staff to bring about consistency in teaching across the school. In lessons, teachers check pupils’ knowledge and adapt teaching to cover any misconceptions.
• Leaders map out the detailed knowledge pupils will learn in all subjects.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well in class.
• In early years, all staff interact well with children, modelling speaking and listening. The curriculum develops early literacy, numeracy and social skills.
• Pupils’ personal development is strong.
• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Pupils learn how to recognise risks. Leaders thread online safety through the computing curriculum. Teachers teach pupils strategies to use if they are ever concerned when using the internet.

Click on this link to see all of the school’s previous Ofsted reports