A York school has an ambitious curriculum and positive pupil behaviour, according to an Ofsted report.
Children at Park Grove Primary Academy “are happy, inquisitive and eager to learn”, inspectors found.
But some pupils under achieve, the report noted.
Park Grove, which is part of Ebor Academy Trust, has 264 pupils. Sixteen per cent qualify for free school meals and nearly 11% have special educational needs.
Under the new Ofsted rules it reached the expected standard in:
- attendance and behaviour
- curriculum and teaching
- early years
- inclusion
- leadership and governance
- personal development and wellbeing
And it ‘needs attention’ in:
- achievement.
The inspectors say Park Grove school leaders “set high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Staff understand the policy well and apply it effectively. This results in positive pupil behaviour both in lessons and during social times.”
The curriculum is “broad, ambitious, and carefully sequenced across subjects”.
“Some pupils have had persistent gaps in their basic knowledge and skills. Recent changes to the curriculum are supporting teachers to identify these gaps and take action to address them,” the report says.
In early years, “staff know the children well. They receive training that enables them to engage in high-quality interactions with children. These successfully support the development of children’s language and vocabulary. Children are happy, inquisitive and eager to learn.”
The report is also positive about pupils’ personal development and wellbeing.
“Pupil premium funding is used to subsidise educational visits and music tuition for disadvantaged pupils. The programme begins in the early years, with a strong emphasis on children’s personal, social and emotional development,” it says.
But achievement needs attention. “Published data from national tests at the end of Year 6 shows a pattern of underachievement for some groups of pupils, namely disadvantaged pupils and those with low prior attainment,” inspectors wrote.
“Both the progress and attainment of these groups have been consistently below the national average over time. Leaders are taking appropriate action to improve these outcomes, but this is at an early stage.”
You can read the full Ofsted report here.
