Moston Fields Primary School

Moston Fields Primary School Inspection report

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Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 30–31 January 2012 Inspection number 377242 Unique Reference Number 105427 Local authority Manchester Inspection number 377242 Inspection dates 30–31 January 2012 Lead inspector Liz Godman

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 321 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Janet Chapman Headteacher Ron Peden Date of previous school inspection 16 November 2009 School address Brookside Road Moston Manchester M40 9GN Telephone number 0161 6811801 Fax number 0161 6818923 Email address admin@mostonfields.manchester.sch.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child's school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

Liz Godman Michael Cooper Additional inspector Additional inspector Judith Tolley Additional inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 23 lessons taught by 12 teachers. Meetings were held with groups of pupils, staff and representatives of the governing body. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school's work, and scrutinised data showing pupils’ progress, safeguarding documents and the school improvement plan. Inspectors looked at 38 questionnaires returned by parents and carers and others completed by pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

The school is a larger than average-sized primary school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is above average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is broadly average. Most pupils are of White British heritage; although a wide variety of minority ethnic groups are also represented in the school. Some of these pupils speak English as an additional language and a few are at an early stage of learning English. The school meets the government floor standard. The governing body provides a breakfast club for pupils registered at the school. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key Findings

 This is a satisfactory school, which has improved since the previous inspection. Pupils’ attainment at the end of Year 2 is now broadly average and children’s achievement in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. Throughout the school most pupils progress at the expected rate, but few make accelerated progress.

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Key Findings

 Although attainment dipped in 2011 at the end of Year 6, the current Year 6 cohort is on track to reach the expected levels by the end of the school year. Sometimes though, some pupils, especially the more-able across Key Stage 2, do not always aspire highly or are not challenged sufficiently to reach the higher levels. A few pupils take insufficient pride in the presentation of their work and their handwriting is untidy. Sometimes opportunities are missed for pupils to use information and communication technology (ICT) to present their work.

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Key Findings

 Pupils make good progress in the lessons where teaching is good and the work is matched closely to the needs of all the pupils in the class. There is good and outstanding teaching, but some satisfactory teaching remains and the quality of teaching is satisfactory overall. In the satisfactory lessons, the pace of learning slows and the work provided is too hard or too easy for some pupils.

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Key Findings

 Pupils say that they feel safe in school and their behaviour is good. Most of their parents and carers agree. Pupils report that bullying is rare and is dealt with effectively. The curriculum develops pupils’ social skills well and pupils show care and respect for others.

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Key Findings

 Senior and phase leaders and the governing body know the school well. They work effectively as a team to monitor pupils’ progress and use this information to adjust provision. As a result, teaching is improving, but the examples of highly effective teaching are not shared and adopted consistently. Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring inspection by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

  Increase the consistency of teaching, so that there is more that is good or better by: - sharing the good and outstanding practice that exists in the school - ensuring that all lessons proceed at a good pace - ensuring that all work is planned to match pupils’ capabilities more closely.   Accelerate pupils’ progress and raise attainment by: - raising pupils’ aspirations and expectations - ensuring that more-able pupils are challenged consistently to reach the higher levels.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ pride in the presentation of their work by: - adopting a consistent approach to the teaching of handwriting in all classes - increasing the use of ICT as a means for pupils to better organise and present their work.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ learning in lessons is satisfactory and sometimes good. Pupils are keen to learn, especially when the lesson interests them. For example, pupils in Year 2 enjoyed rewriting the story of Little Red Riding Hood and adding their own twist. Pupils in Years 3 and 4 enjoyed using the research they had done for homework to write factual reports about different sea animals. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs take a full part in lessons, especially when the teacher recognises their difficulties, adjusts the lesson accordingly and skilled teaching assistants help them. For example, in a Year 5/6 ‘nurture’ group, the teaching assistant modelled expressive reading and engaged the pupils in animated discussion so that they understood the text. Where learning is less effective across the year groups, pupils do not understand the task, there is some time before they start work or their attention wanders because they have lost some interest.

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Achievement of pupils

Children enter the nursery with skills generally below those typical for their age. They settle into routines swiftly, are confident and very enthusiastic. Nursery activities give them a good grounding in all the areas of learning. This gets them off to a good start in developing early communication, reading, writing and counting skills. Good progress continues in the Reception class, where children’s progress is checked carefully. Children show a sustained interest in practising their skills in writing and counting because the classroom is bright and stimulating and adults engage with them well. Pupils make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1. By the end of Year 2 they reach levels that are broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics. Most pupils by the end of Key Stage 1 can read with understanding and can decode words successfully. In Key Stage 2, most pupils make expected or better progress. In 2011,

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Achievement of pupils

pupils’ attainment in English and mathematics dipped at the end of Year 6 as this was generally a somewhat weaker cohort. The school undertook a thorough analysis and acted quickly to improve provision for the current Year 5 and 6 pupils. These pupils are on track to reach the expected levels by the end of Year 6. The school’s tracking data and work in pupils’ books confirm this. Almost all parents and carers are happy with their child’s progress. A very small number who responded to the questionnaire feel that their children are insufficiently challenged. The data confirm that the proportion of pupils reaching at the higher levels is below average. The inspection found that some more-able pupils are unclear about the level of their work and how to reach the higher levels. These pupils are not always stretched or challenged sufficiently. There are no significant differences in the attainment and progress of other different groups and no gap in the attainment and progress of

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Achievement of pupils

pupils known to be eligible for free school meals. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make similar progress to these groups nationally.

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Quality of teaching

The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall and sometimes good, with occasional examples of outstanding teaching. In general, parents and carers agree. The teaching of the planned curriculum enables pupils’ satisfactory achievement in reading, writing and mathematics. Where teaching is good or outstanding, planning for the lesson details how work will match the different levels of attainment and how the needs of individual pupils will be met. The better planning is also adjusted in light of pupils’ response in previous lessons, so that the teacher and teaching assistants know which pupils need more help and which pupils can be challenged further. Some teachers are highly skilled in assessing pupils’ learning, changing groups and deploying teaching assistants in response. As a result, some, but not all, more-able pupils are provided with greater challenge and those who have special educational needs receive additional help in order to practise their skills. For example, in a Year

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Quality of teaching

1/2 lesson on telling the time, more-able pupils were challenged to solve problems. At the end of the lesson some who had found the activities difficult received extra help from the teaching assistants. Good relationships and planned activities in lessons promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively.

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Quality of teaching

Some lesson planning is insufficiently detailed to ensure a close match of work to the needs of all the pupils. Consequently, some pupils struggle to understand what they are to do, or more-able pupils do not produce the work of which they are capable. Where teaching is satisfactory, the pace of learning is sometimes slower because the introduction to the lesson lasts too long, pupils’ attention wanders and there is some time before pupils become involved in their work. Pupils do not always understand the steps necessary to transfer the good ideas to a written form. This is because the teacher has not provided them with a clear method or structure to do this. As a result, pupils’ well-articulated ideas are not consistently reflected in their writing. Teachers also have varying expectations about how pupils should present their work. Some younger pupils’ work is presented well because the teacher emphasises this. In

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Quality of teaching

other classes, the content of pupils’ work is masked by poor handwriting and presentation and pupils do not always take enough pride in their work. Opportunities for pupils to use ICT to present their work are also limited.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They are eager and well- motivated in lessons and understand how to behave in the classroom. This contributes to a calm school and good attitudes to learning. Inspection observations, the school’s records and pupils’ views indicate that unacceptable behaviour rarely disrupts learning. Teaching assistants support pupils with identified behavioural difficulties well so that they participate fully in lessons. This is improving the behaviour and learning of almost all of these pupils.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils are considerate and pleased to help others. For example, older boys and girls are effective buddies to children in the Early Years Foundation Stage and provide good models of safe and collaborative play for these children. Pupils are clear about acceptable behaviour for games taking place in the different areas of the playground. They confirm that behaviour is usually good. Incidents of unacceptable behaviour and the use of exclusion are rare and have reduced over the last few years. Some parents, carers and pupils say that some bullying takes place, but the vast majority feel that the school deals with it quickly and well. Almost all pupils say they feel safe in school. Their parents and carers agree overwhelmingly that their children are safe in school. Pupils understand risks and know how to minimise them, for example, when using the internet or when outside school. They know where to go for help

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ attendance is broadly average and has improved. The very large majority of pupils are consistently punctual to lessons and to school.

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Leadership and management

Senior leaders and the governing body are focused sharply on school improvement. They have improved the quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage and have raised achievement in Key Stage 1. There is an overall trend of rising attainment in Key Stage 2. Improvements to date, accurate monitoring and evaluation and changes made in the light of this, demonstrate the school’s satisfactory capacity to make further improvements. Senior leaders undertook a rigorous analysis when results dipped in 2011. They acted swiftly to reorganise teaching groups and this has enabled the current pupils to keep on track towards their targets. Phase leaders undertake lesson observations and work scrutiny in their key stages, evaluating teaching and learning accurately. They hold regular meetings with the class teachers to plan work across the age group and to check on pupils’ progress. The deputy headteacher has a clear oversight of this work and ensures

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Leadership and management

assessments are accurate. The information gathered is used effectively to identify where pupils are not making the expected progress and groups are adjusted accordingly. This ensures equality of opportunity for most groups of pupils and helps to identify those at risk of underachieving, for example, the more-able pupils. The curriculum is satisfactory and rightly focuses on ensuring pupils have a secure grounding in communication, reading, writing and mathematics. It also promotes pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, their good behaviour and positive attitudes to learning. Well-chosen themes help to develop cultural understanding. For example, pupils in Years 5 and 6 wrote biographies of people of African heritage, such as Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela.

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Leadership and management

Relationships with parents and carers are positive. Most feel well informed about their child’s progress, but some feel that communication could be improved, with more notice for some events and activities. Good liaison with outside agencies helps to meet the needs of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs enabling their progress and inclusion.

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Leadership and management

The governing body understands the school’s strengths and areas for development, based on regular visits during the school day. Governors provide good support and challenge to senior leaders. Safeguarding arrangements meet requirements.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils' needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk).

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils' work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils' punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school's overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils' attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils' freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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to share with their children. It describes Ofsted's main

findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Moston Fields Primary School, Manchester, M40 9GN

Thank you for your warm welcome and help with the inspection. Yours is a satisfactory school, which has improved since its last inspection. Pupils at the end of Year 2 reach about the same levels as pupils nationally and children in Nursery and Reception get off to a good start. Most of you are making expected progress, but some of you could be challenged to make faster progress, especially those who find learning easy. We think your work would look even better if you are helped to improve your handwriting and use ICT more often. When you are taught well and have work that is just right for you, you make good progress. Some lessons are like this, but sometimes the start of the lesson is not very interesting or the work is too hard or too easy for some of you.

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Inspection of Moston Fields Primary School, Manchester, M40 9GN

You told us that you feel safe in school, that behaviour is usually good and that bullying is rare. If there is any, the adults sort it out quickly. Almost all of your parents and carers agree. Some of you showed us how the playground is organised to make sure everyone can play safely. The curriculum helps to develop your good social skills and you show care and respect for others.

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Inspection of Moston Fields Primary School, Manchester, M40 9GN

The staff and governors know the school well and keep a careful check on your progress, sometimes changing things to help you make better progress. To help with this we have asked the staff and governors to:

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Inspection of Moston Fields Primary School, Manchester, M40 9GN

 make sure that teaching is always good so that you can learn more quickly with work that is just right for you   help you to reach the higher levels more quickly, especially those of you who find learning easy so that you can achieve what you want to in life  help you to make your work look good by teaching you to write neatly and letting you use ICT more often.

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Inspection of Moston Fields Primary School, Manchester, M40 9GN

You can help by continuing to do your best. I wish you every success.

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Inspection of Moston Fields Primary School, Manchester, M40 9GN

Liz Godman Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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