Springwood Heath Primary School

Springwood Heath Primary School Danefield Road, Liverpool, Merseyside, L19 4TL

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Children make rapid progress in their learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  Between Years 1 and 6, all pupils achieve well. They make at least good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make outstanding progress. This is because their individual and often very complex learning needs are met by highly skilled and caring teaching and support staff.  The quality of teaching is good and at times outstanding. Pupils enjoy their lessons, which provide very well for their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. All groups of pupils feel very safe and included, and their parents unanimously agree with this.  Leaders and governors have ensured that the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement have improved rapidly since the last inspection.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not always set work in lessons which is at the right level of difficulty to help pupils who find learning easier than most to achieve the best they can.  Senior phase leaders and the governing body do not fully check that all pupils, particularly those who find learning easier than most, learn as well as they possibly can in all the subjects they study.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 16 lessons, one of which was a joint observation with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, staff, members of the governing body, pupils and a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors checked school documents relating to safeguarding, looked at pupils’ work in their books, heard some pupils read and reviewed the ways in which the school checks on pupils’ learning.  There were only five parental responses received at the time of the inspection from the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) which could not be viewed by inspectors. However, the inspectors took account of the school’s own parental surveys and staff questionnaires.

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Inspection team

Clare Henderson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector David Halford Additional Inspector Mark Hilton Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average sized primary school.  The school provides enhanced provision for pupils with complex physical and medical needs. Forty pupils are allocated a place within this provision by Children's Services. These pupils are always taught alongside other pupils in the school.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium (this is extra government funding to support children of armed forces families, pupils who are looked after by the local authority and pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals) is well above average.  The proportion of pupils who are disabled and those with special educational needs supported through school action is above average. The proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well above average.  The school runs a breakfast-club and an after-school club.  Almost all the pupils are of White British heritage.

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Information about this school

 The school did not meet the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school is a partner in the South Liverpool Learning Network and the South Liverpool Special Educational Needs Primary Consortium, developing collaborative learning activities with other schools.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of excellent teaching so that pupils’ achievement is outstanding, by ensuring that teachers always set work in lessons which is at the right level of difficulty to help those pupils who find learning easier than most to achieve the best they can.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of leadership and management to outstanding by ensuring that senior phase leaders and the governing body fully check that all pupils, particularly those who find learning easier than most, are doing as well as they possibly can in their learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children start school in the nursery with skills which are well below those typically expected for their age and, for many, exceptionally low in their communication, personal and physical skills.  Highly skilled and caring adults plan activities which are very well-matched to the children’s individual and often very complex needs. As a result, children make rapid progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  Between Years 1 and 6, pupils achieve well and from exceptionally low starting points make at least good progress in their learning.  Pupils’ attainment in national tests at the end of Year 6 in 2012, although improved on 2011, was still significantly below average in reading, writing and mathematics. This data needs to be treated with caution as it does not fully take into account the severe and complex learning disabilities of a significant proportion of the pupils in the school.  The disabled pupils and those pupils with complex learning needs, including those who receive

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The achievement of pupils is good

enhanced provision, make outstanding progress because specialist medical and learning support is provided by well-qualified and effective support and teaching staff. This support is very carefully and sensitively tailored to meet their individual needs.  Lesson observations, scrutiny of work and the school’s own tracking data show that attainment for pupils who do not have special educational needs in the current Years 1 to 6 is close to the national average and improving rapidly in reading, writing and mathematics.  Rates of pupils’ progress are good rather than outstanding for those pupils who do not have additional learning needs because teachers do not always set work in lessons which is difficult enough to help more-able pupils to achieve as well as they could.  High quality teaching of letters and the sounds they make from nursery onwards enables pupils to read confidently and to develop a real enjoyment of reading as they move through the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Reading weeks with initiatives such as ‘Cool Readers At Springwood Heath’, and working in partnership with parents contribute well to this. Consequently, the reading skills of pupils in Years 1 and 2 are improving consistently and are close to the national average for the pupils without special educational needs.  Attainment in English and mathematics for pupils’ eligible for pupil premium funding, is similar or better than that of their classmates and, consequently, this group makes at least good progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils make at least good progress in all year groups because of the good and at times outstanding teaching they receive. This view is strongly supported by the parents who spoke to the inspectors, parental surveys carried out by the school, and the pupils who say ‘teachers make learning fun’.  Relationships between teachers and pupils are friendly, and pupils are encouraged to do their best. In those lessons which are outstanding, searching questioning make pupils think hard and work is set at the right level. In those lessons observed which were less than outstanding, work was at times too easy for more-able pupils and so they did not make the best possible progress.  Most teachers mark pupils’ work very well, particularly in English and mathematics. Pupils are clear on how to improve their work. Pupils act on this advice, assess their own and classmates’ work, and write comments to the teacher.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of the pupils eligible for pupil premium funding is managed well, with good use of specialist support staff. This ensures that these pupils achieve well.  The teaching of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, including those in receipt of enhanced provision, is outstanding because all adults, particularly the highly skilled teaching assistants, ensure that pupils receive very appropriate help specific to their needs.  The room known as ‘Tom’s Space’ for instance, with high quality audio and visual stimuli help pupils with medical and physical disabilities to develop their communication and writing skills very effectively. As a result, all pupils have equality of opportunity and potential discrimination is tackled very well.  Teachers make a strong contribution to the outstanding provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Imaginative teaching and pupils’ full participation in learning,

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The quality of teaching is good

are integral in all lessons. Year 4 pupils, for instance, developed these skills very well as they worked in teams to develop their own company. They had to name the company, create a jingle and write an advertisement which would help to sell the can of dog food they had designed.  In such lessons, literacy, mathematics, drama and information and communication technology (ICT) skills are promoted and applied successfully which prepares pupils well for their future lives.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils very much enjoy school and have excellent attitudes to learning. The respect and care they show for their classmates who are disabled or who have many difficulties in learning is inspirational.  School records show that behaviour is typically excellent around the school and over time. Pupils’ genuine enjoyment of school has a positive effect on their good achievement.  There are very few incidents of poor behaviour. Expert staff very successfully support pupils who struggle to control their behaviour. As a result, these pupils make excellent progress in developing their self-control, which in turn enables them to learn well.  In discussion, pupils were certain that bullying is rare and, when it occurs, it is dealt with swiftly by the teachers. They clearly understood the various forms bullying might take but were equally sure it was not part of life at their school.  Pupils are very proud of their school and willingly take part in a wide range of activities which

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

allows them to present their opinions and bring about change. School councillors, representatives on Liverpool Children’s Parliament or being chosen to be ‘Lord Mayor of Liverpool’ are examples of these opportunities.  Pupils say they enjoy school and in particular, the opportunity to attend the enjoyable breakfast- and after-school clubs.  All groups of pupils feel safe and are acutely aware of what constitutes unsafe situations. They know how to keep themselves and others safe, including while using the Internet. Pupils and staff receive training in e-safety.  Attendance is below the national average. However, this statistic masks the fact that a significant proportion of pupils has severe medical needs and is absent more often than usual with hospital visits. Some of these visits last for prolonged periods of time. During these times, the school links very closely with parents to make sure, where appropriate, that pupils’ learning

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

continues beyond the school.  Without these absences, attendance is broadly average and rapidly improving because the importance of going to school to learn is explained clearly to pupils and parents. Absence is followed up very rigorously.  A daily breakfast- and after-school club, attended by a good proportion of pupils, makes excellent contribution to pupils’ personal development.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is led very well by the headteacher, deputy headteacher and the Early Years Foundation Stage leader. Together with senior phase leaders and the governing body they check to make sure their plans for improvement are working and enjoy the support of staff, who say the school is a very happy place to work.  School leaders regularly check the quality of teaching. Targets set for teachers concentrate on raising pupils’ achievement, and are linked well to training and to teachers’ salary progression. However, senior phase leaders and the governing body do not fully check that all pupils, in particular those who find learning easier than most, are doing as well as they possibly can in their learning.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development exceptionally well. Pupils’ learning is greatly enriched by residential visits, sports, artistic opportunities, clubs and

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The leadership and management are good

activities.  Senior leaders and staff work effectively to prevent discrimination and ensure that all pupils have equal opportunities to enjoy the full curriculum. They are very proud of all pupils and celebrate the contribution each group makes to the life of the school.  School leaders astutely ‘buy in’ good quality support from the local authority and other sources. They use these external reviews to confirm their accurate view of the school’s strengths, and the areas to improve.  Arrangements for safeguarding pupils and child protection procedures meet statutory requirements fully.  School leaders have strong relationships with parents. Parents say they are well-informed about the work of the school because of regular newsletters and the highly informative website. As a result, parents are very supportive of the school.  The strong partnerships which exist with local school consortia provide excellent opportunities

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The leadership and management are good

for staff to share their expertise and learn from each other.  The governance of the school:  Governors are well-informed and have received training to ensure that they have the necessary skills to carry out their roles. They know the key strengths and weaknesses of the school. They are fully aware of how the pupils are achieving compared with other schools nationally, although they are not as well-informed about the achievement of more-able pupils compared to that of other groups in the school. The headteacher is held to account with rigorous performance targets. Governors are fully aware of the performance of staff and their pay levels. In conjunction with the headteacher, they manage the school’s finances efficiently, including the use of pupil premium funding.

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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 104545 Local authority Liverpool Inspection number 404949

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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 263 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Andrew Campbell Headteacher Phil Daniels Date of previous school inspection 24 May 2011 Telephone number 0151 427 7759 Fax number 0151 494 3452 Email address springwood-ao@springwood.liverpool.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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