Grove Street Primary School

Grove Street Primary and Nursery school Grove Street, New Ferry, Wirral, CH62 5BA

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

■ From their starting points, not enough pupils make good progress in their reading, writing and mathematical skills by the end of Year 6. ■ Teaching does not enable all pupils to make good or better progress as work is not always set at the right level. ■ Pupils are not given enough time to work independently because teachers talk for too long. ■ Teaching assistants are not always used fully throughout lessons. ■ Not in every case do all pupils co-operate or engage in lessons and this restricts their progress. ■ Leaders and managers do not focus closely enough on the link between pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching. ■ The governing body needs further detail on the progress all pupils make, especially those in receipt of the pupil premium.

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The school has the following strengths

■ Clear vision, drive and dedication by the headteacher. ■ Improved behaviour management systems, leading to reduced incidents and improved pupils’ attitudes. ■ Significant improvement in attendance rates. ■ The good progress made by pupils in receipt of the pupil premium. ■ Good teaching in the Nursery class ensures that children get off to a good start. ■ Relationships between adults and pupils are highly positive, contributing to how safe pupils feel. ■ Teachers make regular comments in pupils’ books and tell them what they need to do next.

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Information about this inspection

■ Inspectors observed 20 lessons, of which three were joint observations with senior leaders. In addition, the inspection team made a number of other short visits to lessons. ■ Meetings were held with two groups of pupils, the vice-chair of the governing body, a representative from the local authority and members of senior and middle management staff. ■ Inspectors took account of the six responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) during the inspection, spoke to parents and carers and looked at previous views’ of parents and carers collected by the school. Eighteen staff questionnaires were also scrutinised. ■ They listened to pupils read, spoke with them about their learning and looked at the work in their books. The inspectors looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own data on pupils’ current progress, planning and monitoring documentation, records relating to behaviour and attendance and documents relating to safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Heather Simpson Lead inspector Additional inspector Shirley Herring Additional inspector Peter Martin Additional inspector

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Information about this school

■ Grove Street Primary is larger than the average-sized primary school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is above the national average. ■ The proportion of pupils supported through school action is above average and the proportion of those supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is broadly average. ■ Almost all pupils are White British but a small number comes from other minority ethnic backgrounds. Very few are at an early stage of learning to speak English as an additional language. ■ The school did not meet the government’s current floor standards which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress. ■ The school has achieved a number of national accreditations including Healthy School status and an Eco-Flag award.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

■ Raise the quality of teaching in reading, writing and mathematics so that pupils make good progress by ensuring that:  information gained from assessments is used to plan work that is set at the right level and consistently meets the learning needs of all pupils  teachers plan suitably challenging and exciting activities, which encourage pupils to think, generate ideas and become confident, independent learners  teachers enable pupils to move on to their independent work more quickly by spending less time introducing lessons  teaching assistants are always well deployed and help pupils to accelerate their learning  teachers check pupils’ progress and understanding during lessons and make the necessary adjustments to meet their needs  there are consistently high expectations of pupils’ presentation of their work, especially in mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

■ Improve the effectiveness of leaders and managers by ensuring that:  the role of middle leaders is further developed so that they contribute to improving the quality of teaching and make a significant impact on school improvement  leaders at all levels make full use of all assessment information to evaluate the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress  the governing body focuses its challenge more incisively on the progress made by all groups of pupils, but especially those who receive additional government funding, and carefully monitors the quality of teaching.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

■ Children join the nursery with a range of skills that overall are below those expected for their age, especially in language and personal skills. They make good progress as a result of good teaching and a welcoming, supportive environment. They settle quickly and well planned, practical activities enable children to develop social skills and good attitudes from the outset. Nevertheless by the time they enter Year 1, their skills and knowledge are below average, especially in mathematics. ■ The progress pupils make in Years 1 to 6 is satisfactory overall, although it is generally much stronger in English than in mathematics. Currently, pupils are making satisfactory progress in all year groups. ■ By the time pupils leave Year 6, their attainment has been below average in reading, writing and mathematics. However, current school data show that overall attainment is improving, particularly in reading. In addition, work in pupils’ books shows that

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

attainment in English and mathematics is improving, particularly in writing. ■ Pupils make satisfactory progress in reading. Systems are in place to hear children read regularly and provide additional support for those who are falling behind. Years 1 and 2 pupils who read to inspectors were able to talk about stories. ■ Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make satisfactory progress overall, although there are examples of good progress, for example, that of low-ability readers in Year 2. Individual progress is more rapid due to programmed, daily one-to- one support. Pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium make good progress. Boys and girls make similar progress in most year groups.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

■ The quality of teaching is good in the nursery. This is because the teacher plans a wide range of activities to promote children’s learning and enjoyment. These are well supported and supervised by all adults who act as good role models. Resources are used well to engage children. Both the indoor and outdoor areas provide opportunities to promote early literacy and numeracy skills. ■ Teaching is variable in its quality across the rest of the school. Where it is good, teachers use well-planned, practical activities matched to pupils’ different ability levels. This was evident in a mathematics lesson in Year 2; three different activities were planned which challenged pupils and required them to think and explain their answers about place value to a partner. Additional adults were also used well to support lower- ability pupils. ■ Other features within the good lessons are those where teachers use imaginative

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

teaching methods and include the use of technology. For example in a Year 6 lesson, pupils were highly enthused and motivated by the use of i-Pods to create videos, take photographs and locate their house on a map. Collaborative working was also highly successful. ■ Where teaching requires improvement teachers set the same work for the whole class and do not pitch work at the right level for individual pupils. Too long is spent on the introduction to lessons and pupils lose valuable working time. This limits the progress pupils make and hinders their ability to practise and improve their reading, writing and mathematical skills. Expectations of how pupils present their work are also sometimes not high enough, especially in mathematics. ■ The effectiveness of the use of additional adults is also variable; some are used to good effect to support those with learning or physical difficulties but in several classes,

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

teaching assistants are not used fully at all times during the lesson. ■ Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and provide useful feedback. Pupils know the levels at which they are working and can describe what they need to do to improve. Checking pupils’ knowledge and understanding during lessons is less effective. ■ Pupils who are disabled and those who have special educational needs are identified early and receive additional support. Structured programmes are used to meet their needs. Specialist provision is also accessed and utilised well to meet the needs of pupils in receipt of pupil premium. This enables them to make good progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

■ Overall, pupils have positive attitudes to learning. Whilst the majority of behaviour is good in and around school, there are a few instances of less good behaviour in lessons which have a negative impact on the achievement of some pupils. However, this is generally managed well. Pupils, on the whole, cooperate well with each other in lessons and outdoors. They are polite and courteous and display good manners. ■ Pupils know the behaviour policy and the sanctions and rewards in place. They enjoy the ‘star of the week’ assembly, which recognises good achievement and behaviour, and they value ‘golden time’. School rules and codes of conduct are highly visible in classrooms and re-enforce the school’s expectations of good behaviour. Pupils say that behaviour has improved over time. ■ There are few concerns expressed by parents and carers, staff or pupils about behaviour or safety. Pupils say that isolated incidents of bullying are dealt with quickly

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

and effectively. They have an awareness of different types of bullying, including cyber bullying. ■ The school keeps thorough and systematic records of behaviour incidents which include follow-up actions. Other records show that incidents of harassment, racism or bullying are rare. ■ Pupils say that they feel safe and give examples of how the school has taught them to keep themselves safe, for example, on the Internet. ■ Effective action has been taken to address attendance. This has resulted in an improved attendance rate that is now in line with the national average. Pupils enjoy taking responsibility, for example as school councillors, and are proud of their role in organising World Games Day and raising money for charity.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

■ The headteacher has set a clear sense of purpose and direction. She works closely with the deputy headteacher and governing body to promote improvement in pupils’ learning and performance. Systems introduced have brought about improvements to attendance and behaviour and demonstrate the capacity to bring about further improvement. Self-evaluation is accurate overall because leaders know their strengths and are resolute to raise achievement. ■ Middle leaders are beginning to use data to inform their actions for school improvement. They attend training, work with individual pupils and support colleagues. Actions taken to date have not, however, brought about significant improvements to the quality of teaching or increased rates of progress. Designated time has been provided for staff in order to carry out their roles fully. ■ Whilst regular and systematic monitoring of the quality of teaching take place, the

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The leadership and management requires improvement

majority of teaching is currently satisfactory and not enough lessons enable pupils to make good progress. These systems are used in isolation and not enough emphasis is currently placed on linking pupils’ progress with teachers’ performance. ■ The school listens to and responds well to parental and carers’ concerns. Good relationships exist with parents and carers and these are formed from the outset in Early Years. Partnership working with external agencies also ensures that disabled pupils and those with special educational needs receive additional support and are fully included in the life of the school. ■ The local authority provides good support for the school and in its last teaching and learning review identified accurate and appropriate areas for improvement. Support is on-going. ■ The governance of the school :  all statutory duties are fulfilled including safeguarding requirements  governors have a good overview of the strengths and areas for improvement; they

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The leadership and management requires improvement

actively support the school, for example, leading assemblies, participating in lesson observations and running a library  they challenge the headteacher in relation to financial matters but do not always hold leaders to account for the lack of good progress made by pupils over time nor are they aware of the impact that funding from the government for pupils in receipt of the pupil premium has had.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school

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Grade Judgement Description

is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 105011 Local authority The Wirral Inspection number 400749

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 350 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr Mike Vobe Headteacher Mrs Meg Marshall Date of previous school inspection 23 June 2010 Telephone number 0151 645 2170 Fax number 0151 644 1992 Email address schooloffice@grovestreet.wirral.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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. 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 format, such as large print or Braille,

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School details

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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School details

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

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