Crestwood Park Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 18–19 June 2012 Inspection number 376964 Crestwood Park Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 103790 Local authority Dudley Inspection number 376964 Inspection dates 18–19 June 2012 Lead inspector David Edwards

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 194 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Roger Timmins Headteacher Margaret Stowe Date of previous school inspection 15 May 2007 School address Lapwood Avenue Crestwood Park Estate Kingswinford DY6 8RP Telephone number 01384 818315 Fax number 01384 818316 Email address info@crestwood-p.dudley.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 assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different forma t, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. Inspectors observed seven teachers and visited 12 lessons. Five lessons were jointly observed with the headteacher. Inspectors listened to a sample of pupils reading. Meetings were held with pupils, two members of the governing body, and with staff, leaders and managers at all levels. In addition, inspectors spoke with pupils in lessons and at break times and with some parents and carers. 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 school improvement plans, data on pupils’ attainment and progress, samples of pupils’ written work and information about how teaching is evaluated and improved. They also considered minutes of meetings of the governing body, lesson plans, and school policies, especially documents relating to the safeguarding of pupils. Inspectors analysed questionnaires from 35 parents and

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Introduction

carers and 25 from pupils in Years 3 to Year 6.

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Information about the school

The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school. The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic groups or who speak English as an additional language are below average. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is slightly above average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who are supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average. Since the last inspection, a new headteacher and deputy headteacher have been appointed. The school does not yet have a full complement of staff on the leadership team. The literacy and Key Stage 2 manager left the school in March 2012. The deputy headteacher has taken charge of these responsibilities since that time and a new literacy leader has been appointed and joins the school in September 2012. There is a before- and after-school care facility on site which is separately managed

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Information about the school

and inspected. The school has achieved Healthy Schools status and the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Mark.

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Information about the school

The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress . 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 is only satisfactory, especially in mathematics, and the most-able pupils are not always sufficiently challenged. 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

 Achievement is satisfactory. Though pupil progress has accelerated over the current academic year, it has yet to show impact on attainment over time, to raise it to the expected levels, particularly in mathematics. Pupils do not get enough opportunities to use and apply mathematical skills in other areas of learning. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve in line with their peers.

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Key findings

 The school is moving forward because of the clear direction of the headteacher and deputy headteacher, despite the difficulties in staffing that have occurred. Leadership and management overall are satisfactory, including the leadership of teaching and management of performance. The roles of subject leaders and their impact on driving improvement are developing, but are not fully established.

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Key findings

 Pupils feel happy and safe, a view shared by parents and carers. Pupils see the school as a friendly, supportive place. They are eager to please and want to work hard and learn. Their good behaviour in lessons makes a positive contribution to learning. The school cares for pupils well.

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Key findings

 Teaching is satisfactory. While good teaching was seen during the inspection, satisfactory teaching still exists which slows pupil progress. In the most effective lessons teachers expect and encourage pupils to work hard. There is not always sufficient challenge for the most able and pupils are not consistently using steps to success to evaluate the quality of their own work. Though marking guides pupils to know their next steps in learning, targets are not 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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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise pupil attainment in English and especially in mathematics so it is consistently above average by:  ensuring pupils are consistently given opportunities to use and apply their mathematical skills across the curriculum  regularly reviewing and updating pupils’ mathematical targets so they are always clear about what they need to do to improve further  developing the initiatives in writing across the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and learning so that it is always consistently good or better by:  ensuring all lessons are conducted at a brisk pace  always challenging the most-able pupils  teaching pupils how to use steps to success in all aspects of their work, so they can more successfully evaluate the quality of their own work and be clear about their next steps in learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Consolidate the skills of subject leaders so they have a very clear view of attainment within their subject and can put effective plans into place to raise pupil achievement.

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Achievement of pupils

Children enter Reception with levels of skill and knowledge that are below those expected, particularly in communication, language and literacy. Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage across all areas of their learning. Their work and progress on linking letters and sounds is good. They enter Year 1 with broadly average attainment. From then on, pupils continue to make at least satisfactory progress in their basic skills as they move up through the school. Pupils are now making better progress in reading and writing because it has been a strong focus for development and because of the expertise teachers have acquired. By the time pupils leave the school at the end of Year 6, their attainment is broadly average in mathematics. Achievement is satisfactory rather than good, because a lack of continuity in leadership has not enabled the school to quickly identify the things that

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Achievement of pupils

would drive pupils’ achievement, particularly in mathematics. Attainment in reading and writing at the end of Key Stage 1 and by the end of Year 6 is also at least broadly average. Books are promoted well and school has been successful in raising attainment in reading. 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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Achievement of pupils

Most disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve in line with their peers. This is because their learning is planned in small, achievable steps. As a result, pupils gain a timely boost to their literacy and numeracy skills, as well as to their confidence as learners.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils who join the school later than expected and those from minority ethnic groups, are now making improved progress because the staff identify their needs promptly and provide appropriate support. The pace of progress has accelerated this year as carefully targeted support groups have raised attainment. Through improvements in teaching, the school is narrowing the gaps in attainment between different groups of pupils. Learning in the best lessons is rapidly accelerating because of the challenge and enjoyment in learning. For example, in a Reception lesson children were developing their mathematical skills through the use of a programmable robot toy. In a Year 6 lesson where teaching was good, pupils were developing their persuasive writing skills by creating a leaflet to promote attendance at an outdoor learning centre.

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Quality of teaching

Leaders and managers have placed a high priority on improving teaching. Whole- class sessions are having a positive impact on improving pupils’ progress. Learning objectives are making the purpose of learning clear to pupils at the beginning of the lessons. Where there is good or better teaching, teacher’s effective questioning challenges pupils’ thinking. Pupils also benefit from individual or small-group support. Examples of both outstanding and some satisfactory teaching were seen during the inspection, reflecting a lack of consistency. Where teaching is most effective, skilful questioning and perceptive observation enable staff to establish well what pupils have or have not grasped; tasks are then appropriately modified so that all pupils are suitably challenged. In some lessons, however, more-able pupils are not appropriately challenged and pupils do not use steps to success to judge how well they have achieved. Occasionally, the pace of learning is not brisk enough or

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Quality of teaching

teachers talk too much, which slows progress.

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Quality of teaching

Children greatly enjoyed a highly effective mathematics problem-solving lesson in Key Stage 1 and rose to the teacher’s high expectations of them. In a Year 4 mathematics lesson on fractions, pupils of all abilities, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, were making good progress because of the practical nature of the tasks which were well differentiated and carefully matched to build on prior learning. Teachers often ask pupils to work in pairs or groups to discuss their ideas. Such activities support pupils’ personal development and promote their speaking and listening skills well. The careful presentation of work reflects pupils’ pride in what they do.

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Quality of teaching

Whilst teachers’ marking is generally effective and shows pupils how to improve their work, pupils’ mathematical targets are not always regularly reviewed and revised to help them know their next steps in learning. 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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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils routinely behave well. They are respectful, considerate and courteous to staff and each other and rise to the expectations set by the school. They work well in groups to support one another. Pupils are diligent and follow instructions well. They work hard and want to please and succeed. They have a good grasp of how to stay safe in all aspects of their daily lives. Pupils, parents and carers’ views are highly positive about pupils’ safety. A few expressed concerns about behaviour or how it is managed, but evidence from the inspection and the views of pupils demonstrate that little disruption to pupils’ learning occurs in lessons. Bullying of all kinds and racist behaviour are rare. Pupils praise staff, and especially the headteacher, for dealing fairly and quickly with any incidents should they occur. The school has considerable success in supporting individual pupils who have difficulty in managing their

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

behaviour and works well with parents and carers and outside agencies to effect improvements. The school is rigorous in pursuing the interests of pupils whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils have many opportunities to develop their personal skills. They are rightly proud of their roles as school councillors, playground buddies or lunchtime helpers. This makes a positive contribution to their spiritual, social, moral and cultural awareness. Pupils feel that the role of playground buddies has made playtimes more enjoyable and, apart from some boisterous play by younger pupils, has helped to secure good behaviour. Attendance has improved since the last inspection and is now above average.

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Leadership and management

In the last year in particular, leaders and managers have taken a highly focused and effective stance in dealing with pupils’ attainment, despite difficulties with staffing. In previous years, action for improvement did not yield a positive enough impact on raising attainment. Successes are now evident in the improving rates of pupils’ progress. Actions taken since the previous inspection to improve the teaching of information and communication technology are evident in the school’s award of the ICT mark. Reading and writing skills have also improved and there is good evidence that pupil progress in mathematics is now accelerating. Staff are taking on the challenge of raising attainment and achievement with enthusiasm; they feel a clear direction has been set for school improvement. The provision and outcomes in the Early Years Foundation Stage are good; all staff are involved as a team in managing

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Leadership and management

An important strength is in the headteacher’s and deputy headteacher’s work to keep a close check on pupils’ attainment and progress. Good systems for this have been devised and shared with staff. Reviews of pupils’ progress are held routinely to good effect. Another positive feature is in arrangements to check on and improve the quality of teaching. The headteacher and deputy headteacher have an accurate view of where teaching is strong, where it needs to be improved and how. There is considerable investment in the professional development of staff at all levels to 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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Leadership and management

enhance their teaching skills. The impact of these developments and the satisfactory tackling of the key issues from the previous inspection indicate that the school is capable of improving further.

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Leadership and management

The governing body challenges the school’s performance and has begun collecting information for itself, in order to be able to help steer the school. Its safeguarding systems meet statutory requirements and are rigorous. The school tackles discrimination effectively. In all their work, school leaders and staff are promoting equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination in a concerted manner. The curriculum includes a suitably broad range of subjects and school leaders have introduced a more creative curriculum, which is enthusing pupils in their learning. It is making learning more meaningful and helping them make better progress, through establishing links between subjects. School leaders identified that pupils’ mental mathematical skills were not well developed. The impact of the initiatives they have introduced this year is evident in the rising attainment in mathematics.

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Leadership and management

Subject coordinators are in place but their roles and effectiveness are not sufficiently developed to have the best possible impact on rapidly driving up attainment to improve pupils’ achievement. A good range of visits and visitors enhance the curriculum. The school works well to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development. Assemblies and collective acts of worship play a large part in this. Pupils have good attitudes to learning and are reflective about their learning and important issues in life. Pupils are well informed about their ‘Black Country’ heritage. However, they have a more limited understanding of the lives and traditions of people from different backgrounds in other parts of the United Kingdom and on a global scale, through first-hand knowledge.

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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. 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 ). 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. 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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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

Inspection of Crestwood Park Primary School , Kingswinford , DY6 8RP

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

Thank you for your welcome when we visited your school. We particularly want to thank the pupils who talked with us about their work and read their books to us. Crestwood Park is a satisfactory and improving school.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

Most of you have made good progress so far this year but this was not always true for all pupils in the recent past. We saw that that your skills in mathematics and reading and writing have improved, but there is still work to do to make sure all of you do as well as you can in mathematics. Children in the Reception class make a good start to school.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

You and your parents and carers speak very positively about the school. We can see you are happy here. You are polite and considerate. You attend school regularly, behave well, enjoy learning and want to work hard. You told us that children are friendly. Only occasionally does anyone misbehave. Staff take good care of you and you feel safe.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

While more teaching is now good or better, there is still some satisfactory teaching which does not help you to achieve what you are capable of. In lessons where you make the fastest progress, teachers are skilful in checking how well you are learning, giving you work that is at the right level for you and moving your work on at a good pace. We have asked leaders to ensure that all teachers are equally good at these things. We have also asked them to develop further the teaching plans for mathematics to ensure that the skills you have acquired in numeracy are used regularly in all subjects.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

We have asked leaders to develop the role of some of the adults responsible for leading subjects so that they all contribute equally as well to raising standards. We also want teachers to ensure that you understand your targets well and to review them regularly so that you are clear about the next steps in learning. You can all help to boost your learning by telling teachers if the work is too hard or too easy and by continuing to work hard. I wish you all the very best in your efforts.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

David Edwards 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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