Park View Community Primary

Park View Community Primary Inspection report

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Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 19–20 April 2012 Inspection number 381861 Unique Reference Number 135279 Local authority Manchester Inspection number 381861 Inspection dates 19–20 April 2012 Lead inspector James Kidd

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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 297 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Barbara Kinch Headteacher John Tennant Date of previous school inspection 11 February 2009 School address Varley Street Miles Platting Manchester M40 7EJ Telephone number 0161 245 7474 Fax number 0161 205 6756 Email address head@parkview.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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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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

James Kidd Robert Birtwell Additional inspector Additional inspector Bernard Dorgan Additional inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Inspectors observed 22 lessons or part lessons, taught by 12 members of staff. They held meetings with three groups of pupils, four members of the governing body, the School Improvement Partner, the learning mentor, the business and site managers, academic and pastoral staff and the senior leadership team. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line Parent View survey in planning the inspection. They observed the school's work, and looked at pupils’ workbooks, internal and external pupil progress data, school improvement planning, safeguarding and child protection documentation and reports written by the School Improvement Partner. They also scrutinised 60 questionnaires returned by parents and carers, as well as those completed by pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

This just-above-average-sized primary school opened in 2007 as the result of an amalgamation of two schools. Pupil numbers are growing over time. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is high, at three times the national average. There is a well-above-average proportion of pupils from minority-ethnic heritages. The percentage of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above that usually seen. The proportion of disabled pupils or pupils with special educational needs is above average. More pupils than average join or leave the school other than at the usual times. The school meets the government floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for learning and progress.

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Information about the school

Park View has Healthy School status and holds the Manchester Inclusion Standard. It is also an Investor in People and has gained the Financial Management in Schools Standard. Since the previous inspection, the school has moved out of its old, Victorian building into new, purpose-built premises. 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. It is not yet good because pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching they receive remain satisfactory over time. Attendance is now much higher than at the time of the previous inspection and is now above average. Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Key Findings

 Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage and the sensitively planned curriculum in Year 1 prepares pupils effectively for Key Stage 1. Attainment by the end of Year 6 is now approaching the national average but boys’ attainment in mathematics often lags behind those of girls. Nonetheless, given children’s low age- related skills on entry to the Nursery, pupils’ achievement in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 is satisfactory and is improving year-on-year.

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Key Findings

 Good leadership of teaching and strong management of performance by senior and middle leaders have eradicated inadequate practice and, although the quality of teaching remains satisfactory, there is now more good and outstanding teaching than before. Although the school has robust systems to develop and support the good quality teaching, some elements of good practice are not used consistently.

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Key Findings

 Pupils demonstrate a mature social conscience and support a range of charities. Members of the school council, ‘buddies’, ‘playground pals’ and wardens are supportive of their peers and younger children. Pupils are proud of their school, feel safe, behave well and are adamant that bullying in all its forms is rare.

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Key Findings

 Inspirational leadership by the headteacher and skilled senior team ensures there is a clear, shared vision amongst staff about how the school is to move forward. Rising achievement, improved teaching, higher attendance and a strong and successful emphasis on promoting pupils’ emotional well-being and self-esteem demonstrate a good capacity for further improvement.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

  Accelerate progress in mathematics, particularly of boys, by:  providing pupils with more problem-solving activities which are linked to real-life situations  providing pupils with more opportunities to practise and reinforce their numeracy skills in all subjects of the curriculum.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Continue to improve consistency in the quality of teaching by:  ensuring that work and activities meet pupils’ individual learning needs closely in all lessons  making sure that the pace of learning in all lessons maximises pupils’ progress  reducing the amount of teacher-direction in lessons, thus providing pupils with more challenge and more opportunities to learn without adult help  ensuring that there are sufficient opportunities in all classes for pupils to gauge their own progress and that of their peers.

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Achievement of pupils

In the words of pupils, ‘We like to work hard and the grown-ups make difficult work fun!’ Indeed, pupils are generally well engaged in their lessons and enjoy supporting their classmates in their learning, calling out ‘Whoosh!’ when their peers give particularly impressive answers in class. They are proud of their work, which is displayed prominently on the walls in classrooms and on the corridors, and, as early as Nursery and Reception, children are delighted to show visitors what they have done. Almost all parents and carers who returned questionnaires are positive about the progress their children are making in the school.

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Achievement of pupils

Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills which are low in relation to the expectations for their age, particularly in communication, language and literacy and in personal development. As a result of comprehensive support from all adults in the setting, they make good progress in both Nursery and Reception. There is an emphasis on ensuring children’s emotional welfare and the curriculum provides a good balance of child-initiated and adult-led activities, Their self-esteem is growing and they play and share well together, often with skill which belies their years. They also involve visitors in their games, offering them pretend mobile phones and saying, ‘You must open it up before you can speak!’

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Achievement of pupils

Attainment by the end of Year 6 is improving quickly and is now approaching that seen nationally; the percentage of pupils on track to reach the higher National Curriculum levels is increasing. This demonstrates satisfactory, but accelerating, progress and achievement since the previous inspection. This is particularly evident in writing and, more recently, in reading as the school’s introduction of more focused phonics sessions continues to be effective. Although reading is below average at the end of both key stages, it is improving and pupils recognise and pronounce more complex words with increasing accuracy. They are now keener to read independently. Boys’ attainment in mathematics is beginning to improve but, as a consequence of insufficient opportunities for them to solve problems using real-life situations, it is still not as high as it should be. The school is also aware that the planned curriculum does not always include opportunities for pupils to practise and reinforce

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Achievement of pupils

their mathematical skills in all their subjects.

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Achievement of pupils

Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs learn and make the same progress as their peers as a result of well-planned small-group and individual support from the talented team of teaching assistants. This team also ensures that pupils who are at the early stages of learning English as an additional language and also pupils whose circumstances make them potentially vulnerable can take full advantage of what the school has to offer.

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Quality of teaching

The school has worked hard and with conspicuous success since the previous inspection to eradicate inadequate teaching. The quality of teaching remains satisfactory but has improved considerably; most teaching observed during the inspection was good and there were examples of outstanding practice. No inadequate teaching was seen. All parents and carers believe teaching is good and although the inspection team judges teaching to be satisfactory, there is no doubt that the proportion of good and better teaching is higher than at the time of the previous inspection. Inconsistencies remain, however, and not all activities in class meet pupils’ individual learning needs closely enough.

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Quality of teaching

In the best lessons pupils have to think for themselves and they use new technology effectively as a learning tool. For example, in an outstanding Year 5 mathematics session, the pupils’ learning was reinforced by complex problem-solving activities which related to real-life situations and also to work completed by pupils in other subjects. Here, the level of challenge was realistic and expectations were high. In all lessons, relationships between teachers and the adults who work with them are good and disabled pupils and pupils with special educational needs benefit from focused teaching in class and also in small-group and individual sessions.

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Quality of teaching

In a minority of lessons, teachers talk too much and pupils are not always required to find things out for themselves without adult help. In these lessons, the pace of learning is sometimes slow and there is a ‘one-size fits all’ approach to activities. Although there are sufficient opportunities in some lessons for pupils to gauge their own and others’ progress, this is not the case in all classes. Teaching has a satisfactory impact on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development overall but in lessons where paired and group work is emphasised it promotes their moral and social development well.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils enjoy their school. They demonstrate their pride in Park View in the film on display in the entrance hall, when they also explain their strongly-held beliefs in sustainability and in the efficient use of energy. They greet their teachers warmly when they arrive at school in the morning and enter their classrooms eager for the challenges of the day ahead. They thrive on praise and look forward to the Friday assemblies, when they receive further recognition for their efforts. They behave well, and, on occasions, outstandingly well in lessons and around school and are invariably courteous to visitors. Attendance has improved markedly since the previous inspection and is now above average. Punctuality is also a strength.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils feel safe in the school and its neighbourhood. They learn about ‘stranger danger’ and of how to use the internet safely. They value the visits from the Police and the fire service and add that fire alarm drills take place regularly. Pupils whose circumstances make them potentially vulnerable feel well supported and are of the view that the school does much to give them confidence in themselves. They have a high regard for the learning mentor, who, they say, ‘Is always there if we need to talk.’ All parents and carers who completed the questionnaires are understandably positive in views that their children are safe and a typical comment is, ‘Staff are really helpful and supportive and there is a calm and nurturing atmosphere in the school. Our children are enthusiastic about Park View and, thanks to the support of the staff, develop good relationships with other children.’ Without doubt, both

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

pastoral and academic staff recognise the inextricable link between the levels of pupils’ confidence and self-esteem and their academic progress. As a consequence, the school gives the development of pupils’ emotional welfare the highest priority: this overriding emphasis on raising pupils’ confidence in what they can achieve begins as soon as children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage. It is hardly surprising that children are making such good progress in their personal and academic development in both Nursery and Reception

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils also have a perceptive awareness of bullying in all its forms and say that such activity is rare. They talk confidently about the dangers of cyber bullying and bullying which is the result of prejudice. Their view is that pupils behave maturely in the playground and that if anything untoward occurs it is tackled rapidly and effectively by staff.

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Leadership and management

The perceptive headteacher and senior team lead by example and are both supported and challenged by a proactive governing body, which has a keen awareness of all areas of school performance. Staff of all levels of experience and responsibility, evaluate the work of the school as a matter of routine and subject coordinators play a key role in gauging the quality of teaching and establishing action plans to promote its improvement. Leaders recognise that some inconsistencies remain. Classroom teachers interrogate progress data confidently and meet half-termly with senior leaders to examine the attainment and achievement of individuals and groups. The monitoring of pupil progress is good as any possible underachievement is identified rapidly and informs the strategies to put pupils back on track to reach their targets. Professional development opportunities are well-founded, are based closely on accurate self-evaluation and have led to significant improvements in

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Leadership and management

teaching, in pupils’ achievement and in attendance. As a result the school is well placed for further development.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is broad and balanced and parents and carers are positive about how it helps to develop their children personally and academically. The curriculum has a good impact on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, ensures that the school is a racially- harmonious community, and provides pupils with many opportunities to take part in music, drama, dance and art. The school choir, for example, performs regularly outside its walls and has a strong reputation in the local community.

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Leadership and management

The school is an inclusive community which promotes equality of opportunity well and which rejects discrimination in all its forms. Safeguarding and child protection policies and practice are fully in place and are reviewed on a regular basis. They meet current government 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 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 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 to 31 December 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

Attendance: the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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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

Floor standards the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures.

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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 Park View Community Primary, Manchester M40 7EJ

I promised I would write to tell you what we found out about your school when we inspected it recently and I have kept my promise! First of all, however, the inspection team would like to thank you for your warm welcome and for the kindness and courtesy you showed us during the two days. We are particularly grateful to those of you who gave up your time to talk to us at lunchtime on the first day.

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Inspection of Park View Community Primary, Manchester M40 7EJ

Park View is a satisfactory school but it is improving quickly. The standards you reach in your work are getting higher and you are beginning to make much better progress in your work. Your behaviour in lessons and around the school is good and you have so many responsibilities, as school councillors, ‘buddies’, ‘playground pals’ and junior wardens to help each other and to make suggestions about how the school can improve further. You look after each other so well and you told us that the adults who work with you keep you safe and secure too! The teaching you receive is satisfactory but it is getting better and we know that you enjoy the many opportunities you have to take part in music, drama, dance and art.

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Inspection of Park View Community Primary, Manchester M40 7EJ

Your headteacher and all the other staff want to make Park View better and better for you. I would like to support them in this. I have asked them, therefore, to help the boys improve their standards in mathematics by giving everyone more opportunities to practise their numeracy skills in all subjects and more chances to solve problems which are linked to real life situations. I have also asked them to make the teaching you receive more consistent across the school, so that you can take more responsibility for your own learning and work out how well you and your classmates are progressing. Finally, I have asked them to make sure you always receive the exact work, at the exact speed, which will help you improve.

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Inspection of Park View Community Primary, Manchester M40 7EJ

Thank you again for helping us with the inspection. We wish you well for the future.

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Inspection of Park View Community Primary, Manchester M40 7EJ

James Kidd 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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