Manley Park Primary School

Manley Park Primary School Inspection report

p.1

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 5–6 October 2011 Inspection number 377250 Unique Reference Number 105472 Local authority Manchester Inspection number 377250 Inspection dates 5–6 October 2011 Reporting inspector Andrée Keddle

p.1

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

p.1

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 477 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Maria Boylan Headteacher Gary Handforth Date of previous school inspection 8 January 2008 School address College Road Whalley Range Manchester M16 0AA Telephone number 0161 8813808 Fax number 0161 8810390 Email address head@manleypark.manchester.sch.uk 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 rates council children's services, and inspects services for looked after

p.1

children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.2

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

p.2

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk

p.2

You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.

p.2

To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to 'Subscribe'.

p.2

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

p.2

Introduction

This inspection was carried out by four additional inspectors. The inspectors visited 21 lessons taught by 20 teachers and held meetings with groups of pupils, members of the governing body and staff. They observed the school's work, and looked at documentation including safeguarding records, school policies, the school development plan, assessment data, pupils’ work, teachers’ planning, and questionnaires returned from staff, pupils and 126 parents and carers.

p.3

Introduction

The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school's work. It looked in detail at a number of key areas.

p.3

Introduction

 Whether the achievement of all groups is good enough, especially in mathematics.  How effectively the quality of teaching determines whether assessment information is used well and whether learning activities are challenging enough.  Whether the effectiveness of target-setting procedures ensures that pupils make good or better progress.  Whether leaders’ systems are rigorous enough to evaluate the school’s performance in order to bring about improvement.

p.3

Information about the school

This is larger than the average-sized primary school. Most pupils are from minority ethnic groups and three quarters of all pupils speak English as an additional language. The percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is average. The percentage of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities supported at school action is above average and the proportion of those having a statement of special educational needs is below average. The school has achieved Healthy School status and the Eco Bronze award.

p.3

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

p.4

Main findings

Pupils are very proud to belong to this outstanding school and demonstrate this through their enthusiasm for school life and their above-average attendance. Outstanding care, guidance and support ensure that pupils are cared for exceptionally well. Excellent relationships exist between teachers and pupils and between pupils. Good teaching and an exciting and outstanding curriculum inspire pupils and, as a result, they have a love of learning. In lessons they are highly motivated and interested. They show a high degree of cooperation and willingness to learn together in pairs and small groups. In lessons and around school pupils’ behaviour is outstanding.

p.4

Main findings

Pupils have an excellent understanding of what is needed to live a healthy life and make informed choices about their own health, such as participating well in physical education lessons and in extra-curricular sporting activities after school. The extent to which pupils contribute to the school and wider community is outstanding. Pupils take their jobs and responsibilities in school very seriously and the playground buddies and mediators are very effective. The extent of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. The school community is diverse and all groups of pupils get on extremely well with each other and enjoy learning about those with a different faith or cultural background. For example, pupils take great advantage of the opportunities that the school provides to help them to reflect on human values, such as the idea of brotherhood/sisterhood, as part of their work on

p.4

Main findings

From starting points that are well below those expected for their age, pupils make good progress throughout their time in school and reach broadly average attainment by the time they leave at the end of Year 6. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported and make good progress in learning. In the Early Years Foundation Stage children’s progress is outstanding as the result of excellent provision and leadership. During the inspection, all the teaching observed was good and about a fifth was outstanding. The good teaching across the school ensures that pupils make good progress, but the proportion of consistently outstanding teaching is not yet great enough to raise attainment to an above- average level. This is because pupils do not always have sufficient opportunity to assess their work to check it is of the highest standard, particularly in mathematics. At times, higher-attaining pupils do not always apply their skills and knowledge to

p.4

Main findings

sufficiently challenging activities. The headteacher and senior leadership team provide a highly effective vision for improvement and this is fully understood by staff at all levels. The school’s performance is carefully evaluated and pupils’ progress is monitored rigorously against challenging targets. The leadership and management of teaching and learning are excellent. Recent developments in teaching have been very successful in increasing the proportion of outstanding teaching and standards are rising. The capacity for sustained improvement is outstanding. School leaders ensure that the promotion of community cohesion is outstanding through a detailed knowledge of the school and wider community and outstanding relationships with local partners and parents and carers. The use of resources is excellent in ensuring value for money and outstanding outcomes for pupils.

p.4

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment further in English and mathematics by increasing the proportion of outstanding teaching in all key stages by: - identifying the features of an excellent piece of work and helping pupils to use these in assessing their own work, particularly in mathematics - ensuring that all pupils, and particularly the higher-attaining pupils, apply their skills and knowledge to sufficiently challenging activities.

p.5

Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 1

Pupils make good progress during their time in school and reach broadly average attainment as shown by the Key Stage 2 statutory tests in English and mathematics. In the best lessons, pupils make outstanding progress as a result of a fast pace in learning, and excellent, well-structured activities which enable pupils to make great steps in their learning. Additionally, teachers provide opportunities for most pupils to apply their skills and knowledge. For example, in an upper Key Stage 2 literacy lesson observed by inspectors, pupils made outstanding progress by applying their knowledge of the features of explanatory texts in a lesson which had links to both geography and history. In the lessons where pupils make good rather than outstanding progress, opportunities to apply their skills and knowledge are not as well established, especially for the higher-attaining pupils. In all lessons observed by

p.5

Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 1

inspectors, there were very effective links to the whole school topic of ‘Manchester’. Pupils show a high degree of interest in their topic work and it motivates them to work hard. For example, in a Key Stage 1 mathematics lesson, pupils showed high levels of concentration in solving money problems following a trip to the souvenir shop as part of a visit to a local football stadium. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress as the result of frequent small group work with effective teacher or teaching assistant support.

p.5

Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 1

Around the school and in lessons, pupils behave extremely well and show a high level of personal responsibility. They have an excellent understanding of similarities and differences between people of different religions and from different cultural heritages. Pupils speak of the importance of treating others as they wish to be treated themselves. Pupils say that they feel safe in school and speak highly of the pupil mediators who are effective in helping others to resolve difficulties. They have broadly average basic skills and exemplary interpersonal skills and attitudes to work. These, combined with their above average and improving attendance help them to develop good skills for their future lives. These are the grades for pupils' outcomes

p.5

2

Pupils' attainment 1 3 The quality of pupils' learning and their progress 2 The quality of learning for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their progress

p.6

How effective is the provision?

The good, and sometimes outstanding, teaching ensures that pupils make at least good progress over time. Assessment activities which help pupils to check on their own learning are very well established. Pupils regularly engage in ‘peer learning’ when they work in small groups and/or pairs. In the best lessons, this is followed by ‘peer assessment’ when they evaluate the quality of their work together against specific criteria. This is well established in literacy lessons, but less so in mathematics. Teachers’ questioning of pupils is highly effective in developing their language skills, particularly so for pupils who speak English as an additional language. In a lower Key Stage 2 literacy lesson observed during the inspection, the teacher used very good questioning skills to draw out high quality responses from the pupils which extended their skills in using persuasive language. Teaching assistants are very well deployed and provide good support for various groups of

p.6

How effective is the provision?

pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

p.6

How effective is the provision?

The school’s curriculum has been improved and rapidly developed over the last three years. It is broad and there is a good balance between subjects. Rich experiences are offered, for example playing the steel drums. Links between subjects are excellent and lessons are planned around topics which excite and engage pupils, making them want to learn. Pupils have excellent opportunities to learn out of school on educational visits and these provide very memorable learning experiences. There are numerous extra-curricular clubs which pupils attend well and good opportunities to participate in competitive sport against teams from other schools.

p.6

How effective is the provision?

1 The grades for attainment and attendance are: 1 is high; 2 is above average; 3 is broadly average; and 4 is low The school’s outstanding care, guidance and support are evident in lessons and throughout the school. Transition arrangements are highly effective and, as a result, the new children in the Nursery are settled and happy to be in school. Pupils leaving the school at the end of Year 6 are very well supported in making the transition to their next stage in their education. Systems to encourage good attendance are excellent and pupils’ attendance is above average and rising.

p.6

How effective is the provision?

These are the grades for the quality of provision

p.7

2

The use of assessment to support learning 2

p.7

How effective are leadership and management?

Inspirational leadership with a strong focus on meeting the needs of every pupil ensures that the school is consistently improving. Groups of pupils are monitored closely and achieve equally well. Consequently, the school’s work to promote equality and tackle discrimination is outstanding. Excellent work to develop and improve the quality of teaching is ensuring that attainment is rising. For example, highly effective questioning from teachers and teaching assistants ensures that pupils gain a good grasp of key words and technical vocabulary. Priorities for improvement are identified very clearly and the strong team of senior and middle leaders ensures that improvement strategies are consistently implemented across the school. For example, teachers’ feedback to pupils through marking is of consistently high quality.

p.7

How effective are leadership and management?

Members of the governing body are very supportive and regularly spend time in school. They use test and assessment data to identify the broad areas for improvement. They monitor school policies regularly and keep them up-to-date. The governing body has a number of effective committees and their members challenge the school well. Procedures to safeguard pupils fully meet government requirements and are good. For example, staff at all levels, including new staff, are very well trained in safeguarding pupils. The effectiveness of the school’s engagement with parents and carers is outstanding as shown through the excellent communication through letters, the new school website, meetings with parents and carers and workshops. The school makes an outstanding contribution to community cohesion through a very clear analysis of the school’s community and a thorough evaluation of the impact of its work. Strong partnerships exist with other schools in the United

p.7

How effective are leadership and management?

Kingdom and with schools abroad, which contribute well to pupils’ understanding of the wider world. The school is a highly cohesive community and pupils understand their responsibilities to themselves and others very well.

p.7

How effective are leadership and management?

These are the grades for the leadership and management

p.7

1

The leadership and management of teaching and learning 1

p.7

Early Years Foundation Stage

Children make outstanding progress and achieve outstanding outcomes, with strengths in personal, social and emotional development and aspects of mathematics. Provision is outstanding; learning activities are exciting and capture the children’s interest and imagination well. Excellent use is made of the school grounds; children are involved in collecting items to make collages of natural materials. Activities are well structured and children are happy and confident learners. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are given very good support. In addition, there is very effective support for children who are at an early stage of learning English as an additional language. Outstanding leadership ensures a consistent approach, and planning for the children’s learning is very detailed and highly effective. Arrangements to care for the children in small groups are excellent and their well-being and welfare have a high

p.8

Early Years Foundation Stage

priority. Children’s achievements are recorded very carefully and checked to ensure that they make excellent progress. Relationships with parents and carers are excellent and they are made welcome in the Early Years Foundation Stage units. Excellent induction procedures mean that children are happy to come to school and they adjust to their new environment extremely well. One parent was keen to tell inspectors how well their child had settled into the Nursery after a series of short visits. These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage

p.8

1

Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage 1 The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 1 The effectiveness of leadership and management in the Early Years Foundation Stage

p.8

Views of parents and carers

Parents and carers are highly positive about the work of the school. Their responses show that they are pleased that their children are safe, happy and enjoy coming to this school. Parents and carers say that the teaching is good and the inspection team found this to be the case. A very small minority of parents and carers raised concerns about the progress of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The inspection team examined pupils’ progress data and closely observed pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities in lessons and found that overall this group of pupils makes good progress in their learning.

p.8

questionnaire

Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of pupils registered at Manley Park Primary School to complete a questionnaire about their views of the school. In the questionnaire, parents and carers were asked to record how strongly they agreed with 13 statements about the school. The inspection team received 126 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In total, there are 477 pupils registered at the school.

p.10

Total % Total % Total % Total %

My child enjoys school 63 50 57 45 2 2 0 0 The school keeps my child safe 68 54 50 40 1 1 1 1 The school informs me about my child's progress 52 41 63 50 7 6 0 0 My child is making enough progress at this school 47 37 66 52 4 3 2 2 The teaching is good at this school 59 47 55 44 1 1 1 1 The school helps me to support my child's learning 52 41 60 48 7 6 0 0 The school helps my child to have a healthy lifestyle 49 39 71 56 3 2 0 0 The school makes sure that my child is well prepared for the future (for example changing year group, changing school, and for children who are finishing school, entering further or higher education, or entering employment) 46 37 63 50 3 2 1 1

p.10

Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school meets my child's particular needs 45 36 65 52 5 4 0 0 The school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour 51 40 59 47 5 4 0 0

p.10

Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school takes account of my suggestions and concerns 39 31 69 55 1 1 2 2

p.10

Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school is led and managed effectively 45 36 69 55 2 2 1 1 Overall, I am happy with my child's experience at this school 67 53 55 44 1 1 1 1

p.10

Total % Total % Total % Total %

The table above summarises the responses that parents and carers made to each statement. The percentages indicate the proportion of parents and carers giving that response out of the total number of completed questionnaires. Where one or more parents and carers chose not to answer a particular question, the percentages will not add up to 100%.

p.10

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.

p.11

Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 43 47 10 0 Primary schools 6 46 42 6 Secondary schools 14 36 41 9 Sixth forms 15 42 41 3 Special schools 30 48 19 3 Pupil referral units 14 50 31 5 All schools 10 44 39 6

p.11

Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements were introduced on 1 September 2009. This means that inspectors now make some additional judgements that were not made previously.

p.11

Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The data in the table above is for the period 1 September 2010 to 08 April 2011 and are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ).

p.11

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.

p.11

Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100. Sixth form figures reflect the judgements made for the overall effectiveness of the sixth form in secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units.

p.11

Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning, development or training.

p.12

Common terminology used by inspectors

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

p.12

Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving. Inspectors base this judgement on what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

p.12

Common terminology used by inspectors

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

p.12

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.

p.12

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. The following judgements, in particular, influence what the overall effectiveness judgement will be.

p.12

Common terminology used by inspectors

 The school's capacity for sustained improvement.  Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils.  The quality of teaching.  The extent to which the curriculum meets pupils' needs, including, where relevant, through partnerships.  The effectiveness of care, guidance and support.

p.12

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.

p.12

Inspection of Manley Park Primary School, Manchester, M16 0AA

Thank you very much for the warm welcome you gave the inspectors when we inspected your school. We were impressed with your outstanding behaviour and attitudes to learning and your above average and improving attendance at school. Thank you for talking to us freely and giving your opinions in the questionnaires; you are clearly proud of your school and inspectors agree with your opinions.

p.13

Inspection of Manley Park Primary School, Manchester, M16 0AA

You have an excellent understanding of living a healthy life and you make an outstanding contribution to the school and wider community. You take your responsibilities very seriously and you say that the pupils who work as playground buddies and peer mediators do a good job. You feel safe in school and confident to talk to an adult if you have any worries. You receive outstanding care, guidance and support from all staff and there are excellent relationships between adults and pupils. You show great respect to all and understand very well the importance of treating others as you would like to be treated.

p.13

Inspection of Manley Park Primary School, Manchester, M16 0AA

You receive good teaching which ensures that you make good progress. You achieve average standards in English and mathematics by the time you leave Year 6. Overall, we have judged that your school is outstanding.

p.13

Inspection of Manley Park Primary School, Manchester, M16 0AA

The following area for improvement is to help your school become even better.

p.13

Inspection of Manley Park Primary School, Manchester, M16 0AA

 Raise standards further in English and mathematics by increasing the amount of excellent teaching in lessons.

p.13

Inspection of Manley Park Primary School, Manchester, M16 0AA

You can help by continuing to work hard and by attending school every day.

p.13

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 .

p.14