Westwood Park Community Primary School

Westwood Park Community Primary School Vaughan Street, Winton, Eccles, Manchester, M30 8DH

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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

 Pupils do not achieve well enough. They do not make enough consistent and rapid progress in reading, writing and mathematics across the school.  Although some pupils now make good progress in developing their basic skills, this is not consistent in each class.  Teaching requires improvement. Teachers’ planning does not always meet the needs of all pupils or tell them what to do next to improve.  Teachers do not plan enough opportunities for pupils to practise their reading, writing and mathematics’ skills in other subjects.  Teachers and teaching assistants do not always effectively plan together to ensure all pupils make rapid progress.  Leadership and management require improvement. Leaders at all levels do not plan effectively in order to improve the quality of teaching and raise pupils’ achievement.  Governors are not sufficiently involved in the performance management of staff and do not link this process closely enough to pupils’

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The school has the following strengths

 Behaviour has improved over time. There are clear strategies and procedures in place that everyone understands.  The nurture group and Early Years Foundation Stage are areas of strength in the school.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher have made a measureable difference to the school since their appointment, especially with recent initiatives in literacy and mathematics.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 23 lessons of which one was a joint observation with the headteacher. In addition, the inspection team made a number of brief visits to lessons and heard pupils read in Years 1, 2, 4 and 6.  The inspection team observed the school’s work, including the school’s analysis of how well it is doing and its development plan, documents relating to behaviour and safety, minutes of meetings of the governing body, planning and monitoring files, school improvement reports and attendance documentation.  Inspectors held meetings with groups of pupils, parents, staff, the Chair of the Governing Body and a representative from the local authority.  As inspectors received fewer than 10 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View), these were not included in their analysis. Inspectors took account of the 122 responses to the parents’ questionnaire conducted by the school in October 2012. Inspectors also took account of the 16

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Inspection team

Jean Tarry, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Rosemary Batty Additional Inspector Peter Martin Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger-than-average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is well above the national average. (The pupil premium is additional funding based on the number of pupils in local authority care, from service families and those known to be eligible for free school meals).  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is well above average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is broadly average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards which are the minimum expectations set for pupils’ attainment and progress.  In the last two years, a new headteacher and deputy headteacher have been appointed.  There is a breakfast club run by the parents and managed by the governing body.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching from Nursery to Year 6 in English and mathematics so that it is consistently good or better by:  ensuring lesson planning shows precisely what pupils are to learn, how teachers will be able to check if this has been achieved and the next steps for pupils to take in their learning  ensuring that pupils’ work is closely matched to their individual abilities and interests, and is challenging enough for them to make good or better progress  ensuring that teachers and teaching assistants consistently plan together, so that support staff become more skilled, to enable them to better support those pupils who find learning more difficult.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment in English and mathematics to ensure that all groups of pupils make more rapid progress and that the proportions making and exceeding expected progress are sustained over time by:  ensuring that pupils increase their knowledge of letters and sounds to help them develop their speaking, reading and writing skills more quickly, especially in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Year 1  ensuring that pupils apply their literacy and numeracy skills across the whole range of subjects  developing more strategies to help pupils make faster progress in their basic skills.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:  ensuring that governors play a more rigorous part in the school’s procedures for assessing its own performance and the performance management of teaching, to enable them to support and challenge the school’s leaders  providing a more focused direction to teachers on how to improve the quality of the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children join the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and abilities that are well below those expected for their age, especially in communication, language, literacy and number work. By the end of the Reception Year, children’s skills in the majority of areas have improved. However, their skills still remain below average, especially in reading, writing and calculating skills.  Groups of pupils are involved in a rigorous programme of developing their reading and writing skills on a daily basis because there is now a clearer focus on the teaching of reading throughout the school. However, this work is not yet embedded and, therefore, attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 is not good enough. Pupils’ knowledge of letters and the sounds they make (phonics) is now improving as current data confirm, although their skills are still not good enough.  As pupils move up through the school, they are now making better progress. In 2012, the

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 improved and English was in line with the national average and mathematics was well above. This improvement in mathematics was due to specific teacher training that made a significant impact on pupils’ learning.  Pupils supported through the pupil premium make expected progress and the gaps in their achievement when compared to their peers who are not eligible are now narrowing. The attainment of pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals is average at the end of Key Stage 2 and similar to those who are not. Pupils benefit from the precise allocation of this funding so that teaching assistants, books and electronic equipment are tailor made to best support their learning.  Previously, disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and also those pupils supported through school action made variable progress through school. They now receive good levels of

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

support, their achievements are closely tracked and they are making progress at a similar rate to other groups of pupils.  School data show that pupils in Year 6 in 2012 generally made good progress from their starting points, especially in mathematics.  In the current year, evidence from the school’s data, from lessons and from the work in pupils’ books show that, although improving, pupils’ rate of progress is not as rapid or as consistent as it should be. Some pupils currently make good progress but the progress of others, especially in Key Stage 1 and lower Key Stage 2, requires improvement.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement as pupils’ work over time is not indicative of consistently good and better teaching.  The quality of teaching observed was generally good. However, there were some lessons that required improvement, particularly in literacy.  Teachers do not ensure that plans show precisely what pupils are to learn and how to check if this has been achieved. Teachers do not make sure that pupils know exactly what it is that they have to learn next.  Teachers do not challenge pupils sufficiently to achieve more in lessons and do not match work closely enough to pupils’ individual needs and their abilities.  The teachers and teaching assistants do not work together consistently so that the assistants become even more skilled at supporting pupils who find learning difficult.  In the good lessons seen, teachers supported pupils very well to achieve good results as they were asked to write lines of poetry or to write an explanation about protecting the earth. Work

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

set by teachers was purposeful, relevant and engaging for the pupils and they knew what they had to do next to improve.  The teaching of letters and the sounds they make is now improving and school data confirm this, although teachers and teaching assistants are still developing skills in this area.  Teachers track the progress of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs well. Along with support staff, they check closely how well these pupils, both as groups and individuals, are doing.  The teaching of mathematics is generally a strength of the school as teachers use a range of strategies to engage pupils and lessons are well planned. However, teachers do not provide enough opportunities for pupils to appreciate the relevance of mathematics in other subject areas.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning are improving. They generally feel safe in school as they say there are adults around to help them. A range of strategies are in place and used to eradicate any low-level disruption in class and this is effective.  Pupils have a good understanding of the different types of bullying, including cyber-bullying and how to deal with it. They say that racism and bullying are dealt with effectively. Behaviour in lessons is now much more conducive to learning and continues to improve. The school has plans in place to improve the currently unstructured playtimes.  Pupils take responsibility and help to make their school a warm, happy and safe environment. The ‘Friendship Week’ helps pupils to reflect on the importance of understanding bullying. They feel that adults listen to them and value their views.  The pupils helped to draw up the school’s simple behaviour code, ‘The Golden Rules’. They say

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

the school rules are fair and that everyone is treated with respect.  The parents’ questionnaires carried out by the school show that parents have confidence in the care and safety the school provides for their children. The school tries hard to address issues as they arise, if they know about them. Pupil interviews show that they have great confidence in the school and their teachers.  Attendance is similar to the national average and shows an improving trend. The school has good systems in place to promote the importance of regular attendance, although a few parents remain to be convinced.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher provides effective leadership and has high aspirations for the school. She has the support of an effective deputy headteacher and senior leaders. Together, they have started to check closely the quality of the teaching and its impact on pupils’ progress.  Currently, not all staff are regularly appraised in order to evaluate their performance. There is some relevant training and this has had a good impact on the teaching of mathematics across the school. The quality of teaching in reading and writing is still not good enough.  The responses of staff to the questionnaire generally show that they have confidence in the school and its leaders.  The school now has systems for checking its performance. These identify where it can get better. The quality of planning for improvement, however, lacks clarity as its targets do not focus sharply enough on raising achievement.  Meetings to review the progress of each pupil take place regularly with the literacy and

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The leadership and management requires improvement

numeracy teams. These give staff a clear picture of how well each pupil is doing and helps identify those who need further support.  The school offers a curriculum that meets the needs and interests of the pupils. Year 5 pupils said that, ‘the new lessons in literacy are really helping with spelling, reading and writing.’ However, pupils are unable to readily transfer their literacy and numeracy skills into other curriculum areas.  There is a good variety of visits out, and also visitors who come into the school, and pupils appreciate all of these. A group of pupils thoroughly enjoyed singing at the arena in Manchester. Others are given the opportunity to go swimming and all classes visit the local library. There is a whole range of after-school activities in which pupils engage.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness is a strength of the school. The curriculum reinforces pupils’ eagerness to learn and supports the development of pupils’ personal skills,

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The leadership and management requires improvement

such as being reflective and resilient.  Equality of opportunity is promoted across the school. Leaders are striving to ensure all pupils achieve as well as they can. The school works well with outside agencies and this helps to make a difference to pupils with circumstances that make them vulnerable.  The local authority provides effective support for the school by, for example, helping with reviews on the importance of the quality of teaching and learning across the school.  The governance of the school:  The governing body does not challenge school leaders robustly or hold them to account sufficiently for pupils’ achievement and attainment. Governors are not sufficiently aware of the links between pupil progress and the outcomes of the staffing reviews. However, the governors do use assessment data to compare the school’s performance to that of others. Governors do not contribute sufficiently to managing staff by using the outcomes of

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The leadership and management requires improvement

performance reviews to improve teaching, leadership, management or to tackle any underperformance. Statutory duties are fulfilled by the governing body and discrimination is not tolerated. There is efficient financial management. The use of the pupil premium, for example, is planned carefully to get best value, and its impact on the achievement of pupils known to be eligible is checked. Safeguarding requirements are fully met and policies and procedures are regularly reviewed.

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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 105905 Local authority Salford Inspection number 400810

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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 307 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Claire Fairhurst Headteacher Sara Walker Date of previous school inspection 20 October 2009 Telephone number 0161 7892598 Fax number 0161 7889763 Email address westwoodpark.primaryschool@salford.gov.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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