Norwood Primary School

Norwood Primary School Gunthorpe Road, Peterborough, PE4 7DZ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils’ attainment is above average and they all make good progress from their starting points.  Reception Year children do especially well in speaking, and in learning about letters and sounds.  Teaching is typically good and inspires pupils to want to learn because lessons are made interesting. Members of staff work well as a team helping pupils of different abilities.  Pupils’ thorough enjoyment of school is evident in their high attendance and willingness to help each other in class and around school. Pupils feel safe and know how to stay safe.  Leaders know the school well and understand how to make it even better in the future. Consequently, teaching and pupils’ progress are improving rapidly, following a time when progress slowed because of many changes in staffing.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Children in the Reception Year are not always given enough guidance so that they can work purposefully on tasks they have chosen for themselves.  Occasionally, teachers do not ask questions that encourage discussion or give pupils enough chance to explain their answers.  Teachers do not always check that all pupils, especially those of average ability in mathematics, understand their work and are learning quickly.  Leaders do not always identify for teachers precisely what they need to do next in order to improve their teaching.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 20 lessons and mostly with the headteacher or deputy headteacher.  Meetings were held with senior leaders and teachers, pupils, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  The inspection took into account 43 responses to the online ‘Parent View’ questionnaire and held informal discussions with a sample of parents and carers.  The inspection team considered the views expressed in 19 staff questionnaires.  A range of information supplied by the school was scrutinised, including the school’s own assessment data, planning and monitoring documents, the school development plan, records relating to behaviour and attendance, and safeguarding documents.

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Inspection team

Alison Cartlidge, Lead inspector Additional Inspector James McAtear Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Norwood Primary is a smaller than average primary school.  The proportion of pupils at school action (those who need extra help from staff at school) is below average.  The proportion of pupils school action plus (those who receive extra help from professionals external to the school) or have a statement of special educational needs (a legal document which outlines what pupils should be provided with and what they should achieve) is also below average.  The proportion of pupils eligible for extra funding through the ‘pupil premium’ is below average. (Pupil premium funding is provided for children in local authority care, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those from service families, such as in the army).  There have been several changes in staffing and on the governing body over the last two years.  The school meets the government’s current ‘floor standards’, which set the minimum

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Information about this school

expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The after-school care is privately run and was not part of this inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that Reception children are given enough guidance so that the tasks that they choose themselves are always purposeful and move learning forward quickly.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that all teaching is good or better by:  making sure that teachers always ask questions that give pupils the chance to think deeply and explain their thinking  checking within lessons that all pupils, especially those of average ability in mathematics, understand and are learning quickly, and adjusting work where necessary  ensuring that leaders’ lesson observations identify precisely what teachers need to do to improve their teaching.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment on entry to Reception varies from year to year. Last year, the majority of children were working within the levels expected for their age. They made good progress and attainment rose so that most were at or beyond the expected levels when they joined Year 1.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children in the Reception Year are keen to learn. They do especially well in phonics (the sounds letters make) and in speaking. For example, children discussed the emotions of a drowning ant compassionately with comments such as: ‘He was scared because he can’t swim back.’ Girls do better than boys in writing but more ‘boy-friendly’ activities are being planned as a consequence. Occasionally, when children are working at activities they have chosen for themselves, they do not learn as quickly as they could because the activity does not have a clear purpose.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 By the end of Year 2, attainment in reading is above average. Pupils enjoy reading and make use of their knowledge of phonics. They typically say, ‘I’m a good reader because I think about it.’

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment is above average in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6. Pupils make good progress overall but do better in English than in mathematics. This is because, in mathematics, some pupils of average ability make less progress than the rest of the class. Teachers do not always check that these pupils understand their work and are making enough progress within the lesson.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs learn quickly because members of staff provide good support that boosts learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium funding are supported well enabling them to make good progress. Their progress is monitored carefully and additional support provided if they are at risk of falling behind in their learning or if they lack confidence.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Most teaching is good because members of staff work together well and have good relationships with their pupils and as a result pupils learn quickly most of the time. For example, pupils in Year 1 were pleased when encouraged to give each other a ‘round of applause’ by clapping in a circle shape in the air and this helped them to appreciate what they had learnt. Teaching assistants make a valuable contribution to the pupils’ learning and, in most lessons, work is set at the right level of difficulty for all pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is especially effective in Years 5 and 6 because these teachers provide particularly clear explanations and ensure that no time is wasted. Consequently, pupils work quickly and develop and deepen their knowledge and understanding in a range of subjects. For example, in mathematics in Year 5, pupils worked quickly to invent their own challenging sums where the answer was 40.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Behaviour is managed well in most lessons, so that pupils are keen to behave sensibly and work hard. For example, in Year 1 the teacher engaged the pupils fully when role playing as a builder and, consequently, they were keen to estimate numbers of bricks in the builder’s bag.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The way that teachers check how well pupils are doing has improved since the last inspection and, as a result, pupils know how they can improve their work next time. Teachers do not always check during a lesson that all pupils complete their work quickly. Nor do they adapt the work if it is proving too hard or too easy for some of the pupils. This is especially the case in mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Most teachers ask challenging questions. For example in mathematics in Year 6, the teacher asked: ‘What will be necessary for us to solve and draw perimeters?’ Occasionally, teachers correct pupils’ answers too quickly and do not give them enough opportunity to explain their reasoning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The school promotes equality and tackles discrimination well. Members of staff support disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs effectively. They develop these pupils’ confidence by asking questions that help them know what to do, and they make suggestions when pupils are stuck.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are enthusiastic learners. Consequently, attendance is high. They behave well in most lessons and are especially sensible and thoughtful when moving in and around the school. They are considerate and friendly and keen to help each other when working in pairs or groups. Pupils in Year 6 make comments such as: ‘You need good team skills and not argue a lot’ and, ‘You should accept constructive criticism.’

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are good at taking responsibility. They help with a range of tasks as play leaders, buddies and monitors at lunchtime.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Parents, carers and pupils are pleased with behaviour at the school and are especially positive about how safe pupils feel at school. Pupils have a clear understanding of various types of bullying and are confident that any concerns raised or instances that occur will be tackled swiftly. As one pupil commented: ‘If there is any, it will be handled.’

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils show respect for people of various faiths. For example, pupils in Year 4 understood how Moslems worship and why Mecca was important to them. They are aware of their place in the world and the importance of fair trading to support developing economies.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Disruption in lessons is rare, although, at times, some pupils in Years 1 and 2 can be over exuberant and do not always listen carefully when the teacher starts talking.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are involved in checking how well they are doing and know how to improve. For example, one pupil said: ‘I need to use commas to break up my sentences.’

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders have coped well with the many changes in staffing. Progress slowed because new teachers were being trained and supported but the school has recovered from a dip in pupils’ progress and achievement is back to being good. Issues raised at the last inspection have been successfully tackled.

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The leadership and management are good

 Self-evaluation is accurate and reflective, enabling leaders to have a clear understanding of what needs to be done to make the school even better.  Performance management (the setting of targets which help staff improve their work) and professional development (staff training) are organised well, so that the improvement in staff’s skills is of benefit to the school and to individuals. Teaching is improving rapidly, although leaders do not always use their monitoring of lessons to give teachers precise guidance on what they need to improve.

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The leadership and management are good

 Good links are made between different subjects and, as a result, pupils have good opportunities to make use of the various skills they have learned. For example, science linked in to history when pupils in Year 5 discovered why Tudor sailors got scurvy and, in Year 3, pupils used graphs to show how lengths of shadows change during the day.

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The leadership and management are good

 Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. During the inspection it was ‘Faith in the World Week’, and pupils studied various faiths. For example, in Year 5 pupils understood that Sikhs wear bangles because they ‘made you think about what you do with your hands’ and pupils in Year 2 were impressed with a video of Hindu dance.

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The leadership and management are good

 Parents and carers are positive about the school and make comments such as: ‘I’m pleased with everything.’ Communications with parents and carers have improved well, but they could be given more specific advice on reading homework.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teachers who look after subjects are good role models and their good practice is shared amongst the staff effectively.

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The leadership and management are good

 The spending of pupil premium funding is monitored carefully. For example, pupils are given additional help in their weaker subjects or financial support so that they can take part in clubs and visits. This additional support enables them to make good progress and not to be disadvantaged.

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The leadership and management are good

 Safeguarding arrangements meet requirements and enable pupils to feel very safe.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority increased support for the school during the time of its many staff changes, but now provides appropriate ‘light-touch’ support. The school has access to additional resources such as staff training, and members of staff have found this helpful. For example, members of staff have improved their marking following some of this training.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governance has strengthened over the past year, with governors becoming clearer about their responsibilities, including their understanding of, and involvement in performance management.  The governing body plays an important role in gauging the views of parents, carers, pupils and staff so that all concerned with the school can be involved in planning for the future.

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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 is

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Grade Judgement Description

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 110734 Local authority Peterborough Inspection number 403128

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 199 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Warren Fenwick Headteacher Deborah Reynolds Date of previous school inspection 14 November 2007 Telephone number 01733 574717 Fax number 01733 703250 Email address office@norwood.peterborough.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, please

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School details

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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